Sherkston Mennonite Church (Sherkston, Ontario, Canada)
Sherkston Mennonite Church, also known as Bertie Mennonite Church, now extinct, located on Lot 35, Concession 1 of Bertie Township, Welland County, Ontario, lay north of Lake Erie some 12 miles west of Buffalo. The deed was given in 1828 to the "Mennonite Society" by Samuel Sherk. No record exists of the nature of the building until a brick church was built in 1853. This was replaced by a cement block church in 1917. Ministers who served are George Zavitz, Christian Herschi, John Zavitz, Benjamin Hershey, Peter Sherk, John Hershey, Nelson Michael, Gilbert Bearss, Howard Stevanus, Noah Hunsberger, and Simon B. Martin. For about 20 years before the building of the church in 1917 the congregation was nearly extinct. By 1925 there were only 25 members. With declining membership the church was sold to the Brethren in Christ ("Tunkers" in Canada) in 1931, whose families dot the area, and the congregation dissolved. This was a very early settlement of Mennonites in Ontario, Jacob Zavitz (Sevitz) having come from Lancaster County in 1788. A score of families may have been the extent of the Bertie settlement, with as many or more in Willoughby Township further north near Niagara Falls. Their activity in the Mennonite Conference of Ontario was apparently never very great.
| Author(s) | Joseph C Fretz |
|---|---|
| Marlene Epp | |
| Date Published | 1986 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Fretz, Joseph C and Marlene Epp. "Sherkston Mennonite Church (Sherkston, Ontario, Canada)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1986. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sherkston_Mennonite_Church_(Sherkston,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=172678.
APA style
Fretz, Joseph C and Marlene Epp. (1986). Sherkston Mennonite Church (Sherkston, Ontario, Canada). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Sherkston_Mennonite_Church_(Sherkston,_Ontario,_Canada)&oldid=172678.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 515. All rights reserved.
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