INTRODUCTION.

     Waterloo County is situated near the centre of the western half of Ontario, the peninsula bounded by the Lakes Ontario, Erie, Huron and Georgian Bay.  Beginning from the south, it contains first the Township of Noitli Dumfries, with Galt as its chief business centre.  It is chiefly settled by Scotchmen.  Due north of it lies Waterloo Township, which was originally bought, and in great part settled, by Pennsylvania Mennonites.  North of this Township lies Woolwich, which was also largely settled by Mennonites.  West of Woolwich is Welleslev Township, originally settled by people of various nationalities and religions.  Lastly comes Wilmot Township, taken up in large part by the Amish Brethren.
     The inhabitants of the four northern townships of this County are mostly of German origin, and still retain the language and customs of their Fatherland.
     The first settlers coming to Waterloo Township were, Pennsylvania German Mennonites, still called Pennsylvania "Dutch," though few of them really came originally from Holland, the country of the Dutch.  Most of them came from further up the Rhine, Germany and Switzerland.  The Palatinate furnished most of them, and these Pfaelzers, as they are called in Germany, succeeded in imposing their peculiar dialect on the whole German population of the County. Only  in New Germany the Lower Alsatians, being in the majority, imposed their dialect on their neighbors from other parts.
     The early arrivals of German Pennsylvanians came in 1798, and took up land on the southern end of Waterloo Township along the Grand River, which flows through the whole County from north to south.  They bought their land from Richard Beasley, Some years later, when a considerable number had come in, they discovered that Mr. Beesley was not the sole owner of the land he was selling.  He had two partners.  Moreover, the land, which comprised almost the whole of Waterloo Township, was encumbered with a large mortgage.
     This proved a great setback for the new colony for the nonce.  However, the colonists called a meeting, selected several among their midst as delegates to lay their case before their friends in Pennsylvania.  In the end they succeeded in forming a company, called "The German Land Company," which subscribed the capital to redeem the mortgage on the block of land forming Waterloo Township, and to purchase the whole block.  Then they had it surveyed, divided into lots of 448 acres each, which they afterwards distributed by lot to the shareholders of the company, according to each one's subscription.  The survey included no road allowances.  The roads of the Township were afterwards made where most convenient, without regard to regularity or system.