Old Colony Mennonites

Old Colony refers historically to Chortitza, the older Mennonite settlement in the Russian Empire. The photographed exhibit also uses Old Colony Groups as a broad heading for several related conservative communities. That heading should not erase the differences between Old Colony, Bergthal, Chortitzer, Sommerfeld, and other churches.

The chart follows migration to Canada in the 1870s and later moves to Latin America. Families sought places where their faith, schools, language, and communal arrangements could continue. The branch explorer provides separate entries for the named Bergthal, Chortitzer, and Sommerfeld lines, allowing readers to follow these relationships without treating them as interchangeable.