Snyder Community
Hale County, Texas
Mennonite Colony
Plat
Map
This plat map was submitted by John J. Smith, of Goshen, IN. The title indicates it was "drawn by Peter Snyder, Agent." There is no date on the map, but based on my initial search of deed records at the Hale County Court House, I estimate 1909. Emanuel Hartman is shown as the landowner of the northwest quarter of Survey 2, Block D7. He "bought" these 160 acres on May 12, 1909.1 The map may have shown Emanuel as the landowner earlier than the deed date, since he had moved his family to the Snyder Community in 1908.2
If all the landowners recorded on this plat map shows are Mennonites, the total of 4800 acres is half of a section short of the acreage reported by Henry E. Landis at the end of 1908. He wrote to the Gospel Herald, a Mennonite publication, that the colonists had possession of "about 5120 acres, almost in a solid block which is much to our advantage and largely due to the untiring efforts of our beloved brother P. B. Snyder."3 There are several deed records I have not yet located.4 When I find them, I may have to revise my estimated map date.
The map may have been used by Peter Snyder to recruit more Mennonites to the colony. Besides calling himself "agent," Peter labeled several sections of land for sale, quoting price and financing conditions. I haven't yet discovered who owned these "for sale" sections or how Peter came to be an agent.
John Smith said his father, Tilman Smith, likely got this copy of the plat map from Vernon Snyder, Peter's son, in the 1970's or 1980's. "Vernon was married to one of Tilman's first cousins, Mamie Smith Snyder; they were "close" and they stayed in touch throughout their lives."5
I used this plat map to guide my deed record research in Plainview in November 2006. It led me to transactions involving a number of Mennonites who probably never lived in the Snyder Community. Various articles in Hale County History cited deed records for many of the colonists, but made only limited references to non-resident landowners. Some of these articles also indicated that several of the colonists farmed land owned by other Mennonites who did not live on their property.
Why these people bought farm land but didn't move to Texas is a question for further research. Perhaps it was a way of giving practical support to the colonization effort. By renting their land to colonists, these non-resident landowners made larger farms possible. I'm also eager to find deed records showing when Mennonites sold their land.
Footnotes
1. Deed Record, Hale County, County Clerk's Office, Vol. XXI, p. 82, May 12, 1909. This was actually a gift from father to son. The price listed on the deed record is "one dollar and Love & Affection." Emanuel's father Elias had purchased the whole section (640 acres), along with "128½ acres more or less" in Survey 25, Block D6, on October 20, 1908. (Deed Record, Hale County, County Clerk's Office, Vol. XVII, p. 118, October 20, 1908.)
2. Gladys Rastetter Mason, "Early Settlers of the Snyder Community," Hale County History Volume VII, Number 1 (February 1977): p. 16.
3. Henry E. Landis, "Plainview, Texas, Dec. 29, 1908," Gospel Herald (January 16, 1909): p. 665.
4. Sol D. Esch, A. L. Buzzard, Aaron Good, Ferdinand Rastetter, H. R. Newcomer, C. Leatherman, and P. L. Landis.
5. E-mail message from John J. Smith to Bonnie Snyder Smith, July 30, 2006.
copyright ©
2007 Bonnie Snyder Smith
