Around 1800, families of Mennonites began to move north from the United States to Canada in search of farm land. Ezra Eby collected family histories from Pennsylvania German pioneer families in Waterloo Township, Ontario, and published these as "A Biographical History of Waterloo Township" in 1895 and 1896.

At this Website:

• Learn the story of the Pennsylvania to Waterloo migration.
• See objects associated with six Mennonite pioneer families (Shantz, Eby, Baumann, Clemens, Schneider, and Hallman)
  • furniture, clothing, quilts, pottery and other artifacts
  • account books, deeds, wills, and other documents
  • photographs, maps, headstones
• Build family trees from the thousands of people listed in Eby's book
• Discover museums and archives that preserve Ontario Mennonite history.
• Learn more about Mennonites and immigration in Canada, including interesting places you can visit in Waterloo Region.

Eby's book is available online at Our Roots - Nos Racines. The original manuscript is stored at the Joseph Schneider Haus Museum in Kitchener, Ontario. Click here to learn the importance of Eby's work.

The purpose of this site is to bring the exact text of Ezra Eby's book online and enhance it with digital content whose provenance has been carefully checked to associate it with people named in Eby's book.

Researchers have discovered, and continue to discover errors in Eby's work. We invite you to share your corrections and additional information with others.