34th Western District Mennonite Conference
Creator: Harden, Homer Thomas, 1882-1939
Date: October 20, 1925-October 23, 1925
This is a panoramic photo of the attendees of the 34th Western District Mennonite Conference in Buhler, Kansas, standing outside a tent and a church building.

34th Western District Mennonite Conference
Date: October 20 - October 23, 1925
This is a panoramic photo of the delegates to the 34th Western District Mennonite Conference in Buhler, Kansas, standing outside a tent and a church.

Abraham Eitzen farm, Marion County, Kansas
Date: 1904
This is a photograph of the Abraham Eitzen farm located 2 miles east and 2 1/2 miles south of Hillsboro, Kansas. It shows the home, farm buildings and a windmill. It is a snow scene and there is a horse drawn sled in the image.

Administration Bulding, Bethel College, Newton, Kansas
Date: Between 1910 and 1919
This photo shows the exterior of the Administration Bulding, Bethel College, Newton, Kans.

Adobe house on the Barkman farm, Marion County, Kansas
Date: 1899
Mary Barkman, Agnes Barkman, Edward Dewald, Mrs. Peter Barkman, William Dewald, Peter M. Barkman, and Dietrich Barkman are standing in front of their adobe house, Marion County, Kansas.

A. J. Dyck to Arthur Capper
Creator: Kansas. Governor (1915-1919: Capper)
Date: April 23, 1918
Reverend A. J. Dyck of the Hoffnungsau Mennonite Church, Inman, Kansas, wrote this letter to Governor Arthur Capper of Topeka, Kansas, concerning the Third Liberty Loan drive and its impact on the German American community. Dyck explains that the members of his church have bought more than the amount of Liberty Loans required by the established quota in order to prove their loyalty and avoid harassment by "mobs." In addition, Dyck asks Capper if it would be acceptable for members of his church to donate to the Red Cross rather than providing money to support the war effort.

Alexander Braun oral history
Creator: Keckeisen, Sara J. (Sara Ellen Judge)
Date: 2006
An oral interview with Alexander Braun conducted by Sara Keckeisen. He was born July 10, 1923 in Wernersdorf the Ukraine the son of Peter and Katharina (Braeul) Braun. After World War II, Mr. Braun fled west from the former Soviet Union. Eventually he immigrated to Canada (1949) on contract with the Canadian Government to work as a miner in Northern Quebec. After years of persistent attempts, in 1953 he was able to come to the United States from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, to join his wife and her parents in Kansas. Alexander worked in auto body repair. He later was employed by the Kansas Neurological Institute (KNI) and the State of Kansas as a Master Electrician before his retirement in 1991. These are long clips. The first clip is sixty-three minutes, the second is seventy-three minutes. A searchable transcription of the interview is available by clicking on Text Version below.

Bernhard Warkentin to Wilhelmina Eisenmayer Warkentin
Creator: Warkentin, Bernhard, 1847-1908
Date: May 9, (1875?)
A note written in German by Bernhard Warkentin to Wilhelmina Eisenmayer, his fiance. They were married in 1875. The note contains pressed flowers.

Bottle of turkey red wheat
Date: 1974
Glass bottle containing turkey red variety of wheat seed. Charles Goebbel, of Burlingame, Kansas, purchased this bottle in 1974. That year residents of Goessel, Kansas, sold these bottles to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the introduction of turkey red wheat in Kansas. According to legend, German Mennonites emigrating from Russia first planted hard winter wheat in Goessell in 1874. Turkey red proved highly adaptable to the Kansas climate and provided greater yields than any previous variety.

C.B. Schmidt to Colonel A.S. Johnson
Creator: Schmidt, C. B.
Date: March 23, 1875
This letter is from C.B. Schmidt, foreign agent for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to Colonel A.S. Johnson of the Land Commission. Schmidt writes about stopping in Prussia to get information on the local Mennonites and what their feelings are on immigrating to the United States.

C.B. Schmidt to Colonel A.S. Johnson
Creator: Schmidt, C. B.
Date: June 09, 1877
This letter is from C.B. Schmidt, foreign agent for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad to Colonel A.S. Johnson, Acting Land Commission for the Santa Fe Railroad. Schmidt writes about the prospect of foreign immigration coming to the United States in the near future, mostly focusing on the number of Mennonites and other Russo-Germans expected to immigrate. Page 7 of the letter contains a statement of land sales to "Foreigners from the U.S. and Canada" and "Foreigners from Europe Direct. It covers the time period February 15, 1873, through May 30, 1877. Sales are grouped by Germans, Austrians, Scandinavians, French, Russo-Germans, Dutch, and Swiss. It shows the number of acres and the amount of income by group.

German American farmers, Marion County, Kansas
Date: 1918
This is a photograph of a group of German American farmers standing before a very large tractor and threshing machine in Marion County, Kansas. An American flag is suspended between the two machines.

John and Henrietta Brunk Cooprider family
Date: Between 1900 and 1909
A photograph of the John and Henrietta Brunk Cooprider family, who were members of the Mennonite Church and lived in McPherson County, Kansas. Members of the family are identified as (left to right) front row: Henrietta, Ruth, and John and back row: Stella, Grace, and Florence.

Mennonite Brethren Press, McPherson, Kansas
Date: Between 1909 and 1910
A photograph showing the interior of the Mennonite Brethren Press, McPherson, Kansas. A. L. Schellenberg, manager and editor, is on the right with a beard and dressed in a suit.

Mennonite Couple
Date: 1870s or 1880s
This black and white photograph shows an unidentified Mennonite couple dressed in traditional Mennonite clothing. Like many Mennonites in the 1870's, they were lured to Kansas by railroad advertising campaigns that promoted the sell of productive farmland and exemption from military service on religious grounds. With these incentives for settlement and religious freedom, Mennonites immigrated toward Marion, Harvey, and McPherson counties to buy lands owned by railroad companies. In these close knit and sometimes isolated communities, German Russian customs and strong religious beliefs were maintained for several decades.

Mennonite family
Date: Between 1885 and 1899
A Mennonite family standing in front of their frame house, Marion County, Kansas.

Mennonite persecution now a forgotten chapter in state history
Creator: Hutchinson News
Date: August 31, 1975
This article published in the Hutchinson News, details the difficulties German Americans, especially Mennonites, faced in Kansas during World War I.

Mennonites loyal
Creator: Topeka Journal
Date: September 12, 1917
This article, published in the Topeka Journal, argues against claims that Mennonites support Germany and the Kaiser because they do not support violence of any type.

Must not shift burden in fighting kaiserism
Creator: Topeka Capital
Date: January 13, 1918
This article published in the Topeka Capital addresses the decision by the Kansas State Board of Agriculture to deny Kansas Mennonites status as Conscientious Objector exempting them from service in World War I. Included in the article is arguments by C. B. Schmidt who supports the granting of Conscientious Objector status to Mennonites.

Religious views not a valid exemption claim
Creator: Topeka Capital
Date: November 27, 1917
This article from the Topeka Capital details the efforts of Mennonites to receive an exemption from wartime service during World War I due to their religious views.

Scenes of Sherman County, Kansas
Date: 1890-1945
Multiple scenes of Sherman County, Kansas.

Six gun to 61
Creator: Kansas. Centennial Commission
Date: 1960
This film by the Kansas Centennial Commission commemorates 100 years of Kansas statehood with an overview of Kansas history. The twenty-five minute film begins with the Louisiana Purchase and ends with President Eisenhower's speech in Abilene, Kansas, in 1959. The film was produced by the University of Kansas Television-Film Center with assistance from the Kansas Historical Society, and it was written and directed by Robert D. Brooks and J. William Walker.

Student body, Bethel College
Date: May 23, 1916
This is a panoramic photo of the student body at Bethel College in Newton, Kansas. Bethel is a Mennonite college.

Susanna Heatwole Brunk Cooprider and Reuben J. Heatwole families
Date: Between 1896 and 1898
A photograph of the Reuben J. Heatwole and Susanna Heatwole Brunk Cooprider families taken in Groveland Township, McPherson County, Kansas. Both families were members of the Mennonite Church. They are identified as (left to right) front row: George W. Cooprider, Walter Cooprider holding Henry F. Cooprider, Nettie M. Cooprider Hostetler, Reuben J. Heatwole (with beard), Ethel Cooprider Erb, Florence Cooprider Friessen, John A. Cooprider holding Ruth Cooprider Zook, and Grace Cooper Diller, back row: Minnie Brunk Cooprider, Frank Stutzman (hired hand), Henry Heatwole, George R. Brunk, Susanna Heatwole Yoder, Charles W. Cooprider, Lucy Cooprider Ely, Charles Yoder, and Henrietta Brunk Cooprider. Susanna Brunk Cooprider was present but remained in the house because she thought it was vain to be photographed.

The Kansas picture book
Creator: Tewksbury, George E.
Date: 1883
This early picture book of Kansas includes many illustrations promoting Kansas people, places, and events. It may have been funded by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad to promote immigration and settlement.