Kauffman, Daniel D. (1864-1935)

David & Mary Kauffman

Daniel D. Kauffman: minister in the Amish Mennonite community near Hartford, Kansas, the West Union Amish Mennonite Church in Iowa, the Mountain View Mennonite Church in Creston, Montana, the Mennonite Church at Clarence Center, New York and the Mennonite Church at South English, Iowa, was born in John County, Iowa, on 20 September 1864, and died at South English, Iowa, on 26 March 1935. He married Ontario-born Mary Steckly on 29 January 1885. They had one son and four daughters.

The Kauffmans moved frequently, from Iowa to Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, back to Kansas, Iowa, Montana, California, New York and then back again to Iowa. Drought and other economic difficulties accounted for much of this mobility, but some of the moves were also a response to ministry.

The Kauffmans were baptized and received as members of the Amish Mennonite Church. In 1895, while living in Lyons County, Kansas, Daniel Kauffman was ordained a minister to serve the Amish-Mennonite congregation near Hartford, Kansas. For various reasons, but mainly because of continued dry weather, most of the families of that church moved elsewhere, and in 1901 Daniel Kauffman accepted an invitation to serve in the West Union Amish Mennonite Church in Iowa. They remained there until 1913 when they followed their grown children who had moved earlier to Creston, Montana. Almost immediately after the Kauffman's arrival in Creston, they participated in the organization of the Mountain View Mennonite Church. He became the congregation's leading minister after Bishop Jacob Roth, who had lived in and served the community and a small group of Mennonites since 1903, left for Texas in 1916 or 1917.

Evangelistic concerns and the relative geographic isolation of the Mountain View Mennonite Church led Daniel Kauffman to invite Bishop Norman B. Stauffer of the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference to conduct a sixteen day series of Bible conference and evangelistic services in 1919.

Ill health prompted the Kauffmans to move, initially only for the winter of 1923-24, to California and subsequently to Clarence Center, New York. Before leaving, however, Daniel Kauffman was instrumental in having the Mountain View Mennonite Church become affiliated with the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Church.

The Mountain View congregation remained without a resident minister from the time of the Kauffmans departure until 1928, but benefited from fairly frequent visits by bishops and ministers of the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference. Mary (Steckly) Kauffman returned to live with her children at Creston after the death of her husband, Daniel Kauffman, in 1934.

Bibliography

Regehr, T. D. Faith, Life and Witness in the Northwest: Centennial History of the Northwest Mennonite Conference, 1903-2003. Kitchener, ON : Pandora Press, 2003.

Mountain View Mennonite Church: A History of the Church at Creston, Montana. Kalispell, Montana: Mountain View Mennonite Church, 1992.

Stauffer, Ezra. History of the Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference. Ryley, Alberta: Alberta-Saskatchewan Mennonite Conference, 1960: 73-74.

Author(s)	Ted D Regehr
Date Published	December 2003

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MLA style

Regehr, Ted D. "Kauffman, Daniel D. (1864-1935)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. December 2003. Web. 24 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kauffman,_Daniel_D._(1864-1935)&oldid=92242.

APA style

Regehr, Ted D. (December 2003). Kauffman, Daniel D. (1864-1935). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Kauffman,_Daniel_D._(1864-1935)&oldid=92242.

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