# Mennonite Board of Guardians: helping immigrants 1873–1876 · Overview The Mennonite Board of Guardians was organized at Summerfield, Illinois, on 2 December 1873. It brought together committees formed by the Indiana–Michigan Mennonite Conference and the Western District of the General Conference. Christian Krehbiel served as president, David Goerz as secretary, John F. Funk as treasurer, and Bernhard Warkentin as an immigration agent. The board negotiated with railway and steamship companies and raised gifts and loans to help families who could not afford passage. Its work soon extended beyond transport to settlement assistance, including cooperation with relief efforts in Kansas. This was shared practical service across conference boundaries during a major migration. Most of the initial work was accomplished by the end of 1875, although settlement aid and loan repayments continued afterward. The chart prints the board twice on different lines; both markers refer here to the same cooperative organization, rather than two unrelated bodies founded in the same year. - [Supplied branch chart, IMG_9379](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/blob/main/sources/church-history/photos/IMG_9379.jpg) - [Mennonite Encyclopedia: Mennonite Board of Guardians](https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Mennonite_Board_of_Guardians) --- Page: https://history.truechristian.church/en/events/mennonite-board-of-guardians/ [Contribute a correction or addition](https://github.com/trueChristian/history.truechristian.church/issues/new?title=Correction%3A+Mennonite+Board+of+Guardians%3A+helping+immigrants&body=%23%23+Page+or+topic%0AMennonite+Board+of+Guardians%3A+helping+immigrants%0A%0APage%3A+https%3A%2F%2Fhistory.truechristian.church%2Fen%2Fevents%2Fmennonite-board-of-guardians%2F%0A%0ARecord%3A+mennonite-board-of-guardians%0A%0ADate+currently+shown%3A+1873%E2%80%931876%0A%0A%23%23+Correction+or+addition%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Sources+and+evidence%0APlease+include+book%2Fpage+references%2C+archive+links%2C+or+first-hand+documentation.%0A%0A%0A%0A%23%23+Image+credit+%28if+applicable%29%0ACreator%2C+source%2C+and+permission+or+public-domain+basis.%0A%0A%0A%0ASubmitted+for+review%3B+this+issue+does+not+publish+changes+automatically.)