Waterloo Region Generations
A record of the people of Waterloo Region, Ontario.

Breslau (Cressman) Mennonite Church See Breslau Mennonite Church Breslau

1815 - 1815  (~ 0 years)


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  • Name Breslau (Cressman) Mennonite Church See Breslau Mennonite Church Breslau 
    Nickname
    Born congregation begun 1815  226 Woolwich St., Breslau, Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Unknown 
    Church 1815  Breslau (Cressman) Mennonite Church, Breslau, Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location 
    congregation begun 
    Died congregation begun 1815 
    alt name Bef 1968  Cressman Mennonite Church, Breslau, Ontario Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Name Cressman Mennonite Church Breslau 
    Person ID I636  Properties
    Last Modified 6 Dec 2011 

  • Notes 
    • (Research):Breslau (Cressman) Mennonite Church

      Begun: 1815

      Services were begun in Breslau in 1815. In 1834,  Benjamin Eby's  log meeting house, which had been built in Berlin in 1813, was moved to Breslau to the Cressman farm. Preaching services which were held every four weeks began in the reconstructed meeting house in 1837. A new brick church was built in 1856, at which time the old log meeting house was moved to Frederick Schaefer's brickyard. The old building may have been used for storage or an office until approximately 1880 when it was clad with white "Breslau Brick" from the brickyard, and used as a home by Frederick Schaefer and his family. The address of the house is reported to have been 18 Woolwich Street; it was still standing in 1985, according to Alder 1985, with the original log walls possibly preserved within the brick ones.

      A summer Sunday School was begun in June of 1872. It was held in the Breslau schoolhouse until 1877 when it was moved to the church. Sunday School continued on in the summers only until 1889 when Sunday School classes began to be held all year.

      The 1856 white brick church was taken down in March 1908, and was replaced with a new white brick church. In 1968 the name of the church was changed from Cressman Mennonite Church to Breslau Mennonite Church. Major renovations were made to the church in the same year. It is of interest to know that land amounting to approximately three acres was deeded to the congregation by Christian C. Snyder in three parcels, in 1837, 1859, and 1870.

      Joseph Hagey,  the first minister at Cressman's, was ordained on February 10, 1839. He was ordained bishop in 1851. Ministers who followed him in serving the church at Breslau were  Jacob Woolner Sr .,  Elias Weber ,  Isaac A. Wambold ,  Jacob S. Woolner , and Oscar Burkholder. Services were held every four weeks from 1837-1867, and bi-weekly from 1867-1894 when weekly services were begun.

      Records:

      Some Births and Deaths for 1860, from the records of Joseph Hagey, may be found in the Civil Registers for Waterloo County, on National Archives of Canada Microfilm C-15758. This microfilm is available on interlibrary loan, or at the Kitchener Public Library. It is believed that baptisms conducted by Joseph Hagey from 1865-1866 are in Abraham W. Martin's book of baptisms. These records have been transcribed by Isaac R. Horst, and are in his book, Baptism Records 1842-1980, published in 1980 and available at the Kitchener Public Library. The Sunday School Records 1872-1948 are at the Mennonite Archives of Ontario. For information regarding these records, please contact the Archivist at Conrad Grebel College, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G6.

      [ADDRESS/LOCATION: 226 Woolwich St. (west side), Breslau, ON NOB IM0; 648-2501]
      w References: Alder 1985; Burkholder 1935:66-68; Cressman, WHS 1969(57):39; Epp 1974:125; Epp 1982:269; Good 1984:1.
      Church History: Burkholder, Oscar. Cressman Mennonite Church, Breslau, Ontario, 1956.1a

      1aAmbrose, Rosemary. Waterloo County Churches A Research Guide to Churches Established Before 1900. Kitchener, Ontario, Canada: Waterloo-Wellington Branch, Ontario Genealogical Society, 1993. [used the kind permission of Rosemary Ambrose 2011] 

  • Event Map
    Link to Google MapsBorn - congregation begun 1815 - 226 Woolwich St., Breslau, Ontario Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google MapsChurch - congregation begun - 1815 - Breslau (Cressman) Mennonite Church, Breslau, Ontario Link to Google Earth
    Link to Google Mapsalt name - Bef 1968 - Cressman Mennonite Church, Breslau, Ontario Link to Google Earth
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