The Mennonite Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Reference Work on the Anabaptist-Mennonite Movement, 4 vols. (Scottdale, Pa., 1955–59). Co-edited by Cornelius Krahn, Hilda Wiebe’s husband (see Cornelius Krahn - the family’s historian of Dutch Anabaptism).
Volumes 2–4 are free online (found 2026-10-31)
The Internet Archive has unrestricted, full-text copies of vol. 2 (D–H, 1956), vol. 3 (I–N, 1957) and vol. 4 (O–Z, 1959): vol. 2 · vol. 3 · vol. 4. Only vol. 1 (A–C) is borrow-only. So most entries on the list below can be read now without waiting for the printed set; vol. 1 (Amish, Bender, Claassen…) still needs the books.
Why it matters here: GAMEO, the online encyclopedia built from this work, blocks automated access (Human tasks and blockers, item 2). Christopher’s printed copy gets around that. Photograph an entry (or its column) and drop the photo in the vault; an AI can transcribe it into the right note.
Entries to photograph first
Families: Wiebe · Fieguth · Claassen · Toews · Ramseyer · Neuenschwander · Lehman · Sprunger · Stauffer · Mast · Hochstetler · Troyer · Miller · Kuhns · Schrock · Plank · Smiley
Places and congregations (Wiebe side): Heubuden · Ladekopp · Altenau · Prangenau · Danzig · Elbing · Marienburg · Trakt (Am Trakt) · Lysanderhöh · Beatrice (First Mennonite) · Paso Robles
Places and congregations (Swiss and Amish side): Eggiwil · Langnau · Signau · Trub · Sonnenberg · Münsterberg · Montbéliard · Alsace · Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines · Northkill · Somerset County · Holmes County · Walnut Creek · Oak Grove (Smithville) · Berne (Indiana) · Putnam County (Ohio)
People and topics: Menno Simons · Dirk Philips · Emden · Münster · Frisian and Flemish Mennonites · Brotherhood (ship) · Bluffton College · Bethel College · Civilian Public Service · Mennonite Central Committee (France) · Cornelius Jansen · migration of 1874
Tip: there is no entry for Krahn himself (he was alive and an editor), but many unsigned articles on Dutch and Prussian topics are his, signed “C.K.”.
- When the volumes arrive (early Nov 2026), photograph the entries above, starting with Wiebe, Heubuden, Ladekopp, Altenau, Trakt and Ramseyer task/human
Record compiled 31 October 2026.
About this research
Supporting documentation is linked throughout. This project is an exercise in AI-assisted research and development, and I haven’t manually verified every link or conclusion. All transcriptions and translations of Swiss parish records were made with AI, and their accuracy should be treated accordingly.