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The bulk of the materials in this collection consist of sermons, poems, songs, and catechisms, a church register, and other religious writings documenting Mennonite church and community life in Balk, Friesland (The Netherlands) during the first part of nineteenth century, 1786-1850. The papers also include sermons, poems, correspondence, and other miscellaneous records pertaining to Balk Mennonite life in New Paris, Indiana.

Most materials are in Dutch. Available English translations are noted in the detailed collection description.

The collection is organized into series, most of which are groups of documents associated with the Smid Family siblings and the wife of R. J. Smid. Series include:

(1) Background Articles and Information on Balk Mennonites, 1948-2006

(2) Early Materials, 1786, undated

(3) Obe Johannes Smid, 1815-1849

(4) Akke Johannes Smid, 1820-1828

(5) Jacobjen Johannes Smid, 1822-1836

(6) Ruurd Johannes Smid (R. J. Smith), 1822-1893

(7) Grietje Jacobs Symensma (Margaret J. Smid), 1845-1895

A hodgepodge of materials pertaining to the family of Jacob Christophel, a Mennonite immigrant to Elkhart County Indiana in 1818 and one of the founders of Yellow Creek Mennonite Church.

Miscellaneous documents accumulated by Harry Symensma, a Mennonite immigrant from Balk (Friesland, Netherlands) and member of the Mennonite (Dunkard) church in Union Township (presumably Elkhart County), Indiana, and his son, Henry Symensma, of New Paris, Indiana.  Materials include property tax and other reciepts, real estate assessments, a letter from John F. Funk offering condolences to Henry Symensma, and Dutch militia documents.

These papers are divided into two series:

Church Records, 1850-1952

Family Records, 1863-1948

Papers of a prominent Mennonite family in Elkhart, Ind.  G. L. Bender was a teacher and postmaster.  He served as the first treasurer of the Mennonite Board of Missions and Charities and as a deacon at Prairie Street Mennonite Church.  Elsie Kolb Bender was a homemaker and mother of seven children, including Harold Stauffer Bender.

The papers consist primarily of correspondence to and from various members of the Bender family and are divided into the following series:

(1) G. L. Bender Correspondence (2) Harold Stauffer Bender Correspondence (3) Cecil and Alice Bender Correspondence (4) Florence E. Bender Correspondence (5) John Bender Correspondence (6) Robert Bender Correspondence (7) Violent Bender Turner Correspondence (8) Wilbur Bender Correspondence (9) Elsie Kolb Bender Correspondence (10) Miscellaneous (11) Photographs

These personal papers of a late 19th century Mennonite evangelist are divided into five series:

(1) Diaries, 1871-1899

(2) Correspondence, 1866-1901

(3) Notebooks and Financial Records, 1861-1880

(4) Miscellaneous Materials, 1865-1905

(5) Barbara F. Coffman Material for John S. Coffman Biography, 1949-1963

(6) Bishop Samuel Coffman Materials, 1861-1893

This collection documents Newcomer's experiences in Civilian Public Service camps as a conscientious objector during World War II. Materials include ration books, camp rosters, photographs, miscellaneous correspondence, and a memoir of his experiences.

The collection also documents Newcomer's interest in the history of Mennonites in northern Indiana, specifically the Yellow Creek Mennonite Church. They include photographs, estate sale bills, and photocopied documents related to Yellow Creek members who were conscientious objectors during World War I.

This series includes the constitutions of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference of the (old) Mennonite Church / Mennonite Church USA and minutes of annual conferences dating back to the 19th century and including both the minutes of the Indiana-Michigan Mennonite Conference, the Indiana Amish-Mennonite Conference, and the Indiana-Michigan Amish-Mennonite Conference.  From 1922 to 1947, executive committee minutes are interfiled with the annual conference minutes. In more recent years, reports include the minutes from the previous year's conference.

Also found in this series are materials pertaining to a conference-wide study of divorce and remarriage, minutes and correspondence related to the possibility of an independent Michigan Mennonite conference, and annual conference-related correspondence.

Papers of a friend and associate of John F. Funk who served as assistant editor / editor in chief of the Herald of Truthfrom 1886 to 1904.  Kolb edited a number of other Mennonite periodicals, was active in the Sunday school movement, and served as president of the Mennonite Evangelizing and Benevolent Board.  He married John F. Funk's daughter, Phoebe, in 1893.

Kolb's papers are divided into two series:

(1) Correspondence, 1866-1923

(2) Miscellaneous, circa 1853 - 1965

The records of this Menonite congregation located in Shipshewana, Ind. include:

(1) Early Records (to 1950) and Church Histories, 1871-1985

(2) Photographs, 1892-1994

(3) Newsletters, 1944, 1997-2011

(4) Bulletins, 1960-2003

(5) Miscellaneous Congregational Records, 1950-2011

These records are divided into the following series:

Series 1: Core Congregational Records, 1872-1998 Series 2: Membership Records, Lists and Church Directories, 1892-2021 Series 3: Church Bulletins and Newsletters, 1928-2011 Series 4: Sunday School Records, 1882-1946 Series 5: Women's Activities, Sewing Circles, etc., 1908-1981 Series 6: Societies, Groups, 1913-1995 Series 7: Prairie Street Church History, 1872-1981 Series 8: Miscellaneous Documents and Records, 1902-1974 Series 9: Audio Visual Materials: Photographs and Sound Recordings (reel to reel and cassette), 1901-2000

Fragmented documents associated with F. A. Krull, who married Simkjen Baukes Rystra (1841-1916), a niece of Ruurd Johannes Smid (R. J. Smith).  Materials include a list of significant dates in Ane A. Krall's emigration from the Netherlands and settlement in Elkhart County, Indiana, and later Sacramento County, California, a birthday calendar with notes about family birth and death dates, and F. A. Krull's copy of the Mennonite Publishing Company's Hymns and Tunes for Public and Private Worship and Sunday School, published in 1890.  Also includes a list of books once associated with these papers that were transferred to the Mennonite HIstorical Library in Goshen, Indiana.

Papers of a layman and church secretary of the Howard -Miami Mennonite congregation in Kokomo, Ind.  Materials pertain to lay religious and congregational life and document sermons preached and heard, offerings made, and congregational membership.

The records are divided into the following series:

(1) Church Governance, 1892-2003

(2) Church Bulletins, Newsletters, and Directories, 1949-2010

(3) Sunday School, 1877-1950

(4) Women's Organizations, 1907-2005

(5) Miscellaneous, 1905-2006

The collection consists of the marriage license of Jonathan Kurtz and Lizzie L. Byler dated March 18, 1878 in Noble County, Indiana.