Martha Snyder^{[1, 2]}

1893 - 1945  (52 years)

• Name	Martha Snyder
  Born	5 Feb 1893	Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  Gender	Female
  Name	Martha Bechtel
  Residence	1911	Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [5]
  	Mennonite
  Eby ID Number	00106-5929.2
  Died	12 Mar 1945	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3, 6, 8]
  Buried	15 Mar 1945	Wanner Mennonite Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [3, 6, 8]
  Person ID	I16002	Generations
  Last Modified	3 Mar 2025

  
  

  Father	Rev. Absalom B. Snyder,   b. 7 Mar 1861, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 11 Mar 1936, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 75 years)
  Mother	Mary Groff,   b. 15 Aug 1864, Woolwich Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 25 Nov 1949, RR2, Preston, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 85 years)
  Married	17 May 1892	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [1, 9]
  Family ID	F261896	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Nelson Bechtel,   b. 9 Jan 1887, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada ,   d. 20 Mar 1968, Boca Raton, Palm Beach, Florida, United States  (Age 81 years)
  Married	22 Aug 1916	Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   [10]
  Children	1. Dorothy Helen Bechtel,   d. 6 Nov 2010, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada   2. Janet May Bechtel,   b. 28 Jan 1918, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. 27 Feb 2013, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 95 years)   3. Mary Alma "Alma" Bechtel,   b. 3 Dec 1920, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. 11 Jun 2010, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 89 years)   4. Ruth Evelyn Bechtel,   b. 20 Jul 1924, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. Yes, date unknown   5. Dorothy Helen Bechtel,   b. 21 Oct 1926, , Ontario, Canada ,   d. 6 Nov 2010, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  (Age 84 years)   6. George Bechtel,   b. 4 Aug 1932,   d. 3 May 2019  (Age 86 years)
  Last Modified	4 Mar 2025
  Family ID	F3234	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Notes

  Bechtel. - Martha, daughter of the late Absalom B. and Mary (Groff) Snyder, was born Feb. 5, 1893; departed this life March 12, 1945; aged 52 y. 1 m. 7 d. On Aug. 22, 1916, she was united in marriage to Nelson Bechtel. To them were born five children: Janet May, Mary Alma, Ruth Evelyn, Dorothy Helen, and George. Surviving are her beloved husband, 5 children, her mother, 2 brothers, 3 sisters, 9 nephews, one niece, and many other relatives and friends. She united with the Mennonite Church at the age of twelve and was deeply interested in its welfare. She rendered effective service in the sewing circles and relief work of the church, and for a time served as president of the Ontario Conference Association. She was kind, co-operative, and a true Christian, loved by her family, church, and community. Funeral services were held at the Wanner Mennonite Church in charge of C. F. Derstine, assisted by S. F. Coffman. Theme: "There Are Twelve Hours in a Day." Gospel Herald - Vol. XXXVIII, No . 1 - April 6, 1945, pages 14-15 _____________________ Martha Snyder Bechtel 1893 - 1945 Martha grew up in the midst of congregational activities and when the women in Ontario began organizing, Martha was prepared to fill a role among them. Wanner Women Organize Martha Snyder was born on February 5, 1893 to Absolom B. and Mary (Groff) Snyder near Hespeler, Ontario. Her father was ordained a minister shortly before her birth. Church activities and evangelistic meetings in particular, received a great deal of time and energy in the Snyder family. The Snyders were members of the Wanner Mennonite Church. As the oldest in the family, Martha was unable to attend high school, but in the fall of 1913, she enrolled in the academy in Goshen, Indiana. Nelson Bechtel from Hespeler was studying music at Goshen also. Although Martha probably was at Goshen only one year, she was introduced to the wider Mennonite world of mission interest. On December 1, 1915 the Wanner women met at the Absolom Snyder home to organize a women's missionary society. Someone recalled that at this meeting Mary Snyder was in charge, and that Martha coached her mother on how to go about electing officers and voting on other matters. No doubt, the initiative for this venture came from Mabel Groh, a member at Wanner, and whose story is told elsewhere in this book, but it may be that Martha had also received inspiration for women's work at Goshen. At the 1915 meeting, Ada Bechtel was elected president, Martha was on the cutting committee, and Mother Snyder on the visiting committee. At the second organizational meeting in 1916, Martha was elected president, but by that time she was Mrs. Nelson Bechtel. During that first year they sewed for the Kitchener orphanage and supplied mouth wash for the soldiers. Those were the years of World War I.. Martha sometimes also acted spontaneously. The family recalls that one Sunday morning they were on their way to church. Seeing some boys at the river fishing, the Bechtels stopped, and Martha invited them to come to Sunday school. It was also Martha and Mabel Groh who drove around the community with horse and buggy inviting people to church. Daughter Dorothy recalls that Martha made up Christmas baskets for needy families. Whether this was a project of the church or a personal one, she no longer remembers. Daughter Ruth remembers taking food across the fields to an ailing neighbour. When the Mennonite refugees from Russia came in the 1920s, Martha also did special things for them. The Ontario Women Organize In the winter of 1936.... vice president, Martha very ably presided over the meeting and was elected president. Martha was serving as president when World War II broke out, and the women began to do a great deal of sewing for relief. Martha did not always feel up to the tasks which her office required, but she was very capable and could do what she set about to do. In 1941 she resigned due to illness. She died on March 12, 1945 at the age of 52. Edna Bowman remembers Martha as very outgoing and friendly. She was tall, blonde, with a striking bearing. When the women were looking for someone to serve on their committee, she was a likely candidate. Excerpts taken from Willing Service: Stores of Ontario Mennonite Women by Lorraine Roth. Published September 1992 by Mennonite Historical Society of Ontario, Waterloo, Ontario in cooperation with Women's Missionary and Service Commission of Eastern Canada, pp.13-15. With permission from author and publisher.

  
  

• Sources

  [S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 284. [S3] Book - Vol I A Biographical History of Waterloo Township and other townships of the county : being a history of the early settlers and their descendants, mostly all of Pennsylvania Dutch origin..., 725. [S163] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - Wanner Mennonite CC#6479 (formerly Waterloo Township). [S86] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo South - 1901, Waterloo (South/Sud) G-5 Page 8. [S342] Census - ON, Waterloo, Waterloo South - 1911, Breslau, Waterloo Township Div. 5 Page 7. [S8] News - Gospel Herald, Obituary of Martha Snyder - April 6, 1945, pages 14-15. [S2858] z Vit - ON - Birth Registration, Birth Certificate 034321 (1893). Name:Marthe Snyder Date of Birth:5 Feb 1893 Gender:Female Birth Place:Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Father's name:Absalom B Snyder Mother's name:Mary Groff [S2588] Cemetery - ON, Waterloo, Cambridge - Wanner Cemetery Internet Link. BECHTEL/ Nelson BECHTEL/ 1887-1968/ His wife/ Martha SNYDER/1893-1945/ Margaret McTavish/ BECHTEL/ 1907-1985/ [S2488] aaa Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, marriage certificate 012039 (1892). Name:Mary Groff Age:27 Birth Year:abt 1865 Birth Place:Waterloo, Ontario Marriage Date:17 May 1892 Marriage Place:Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Father:Andrew Groff Mother:Mary Bauman Spouse:Absalom B Schneider [S2488] aaa Vit - ON - Marriage Registration, marriage certificate 021719 (1916). Name:Nelson Bechtel Age:29 Birth Year:abt 1887 Birth Place:Waterloo Marriage Date:22 Aug 1916 Marriage Place:Waterloo, Ontario, Canada Father:Jesse Bechtel Mother:Rebecca Cober Spouse:Martha Snyder

  
  

• Event Map

  Born - 5 Feb 1893 - Hespeler (Cambridge), Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Residence - Mennonite - 1911 - Breslau, Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Married - 22 Aug 1916 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Died - 12 Mar 1945 - Waterloo Twp., Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada Buried - 15 Mar 1945 - Wanner Mennonite Cemetery, Cambridge, Waterloo Region, Ontario, Canada  = Link to Google Earth