Jacob Yost Shantz

Jacob Yost Shantz (1822-1909), of Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, for many years a promoter of the Mennonite settlements in Manitoba, was the eighth child of Jacob and Maria Yost Schantz, of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, who had purchased a farm in what is now Kitchener.

Shantz 's interests soon extended beyond his vocation of farming. Fruit growing, maple sugar production, and the operation of a sawmill were added to his activities. Later he entered the building and contracting business. He promoted various industries in his city, the chief being the Dominion Button Works*. Shantz was easily the wealthiest Mennonite entrepreneur in Ontario in the early 1880s, with more than 300 people on the payroll of his Dominion Button Works alone. Over-expansion and possible mismanagement in a declining market led to virtual bankruptcy by 1886. Shantz spent the rest of his life paying his debts, and died a man of moderate means.
Shantz became a member of the Mennonite Church (MC) at an early age. In 1875, desiring a more progressive church, Shantz became a member of the group later to be known as the Mennonite Brethren in Christ. For 18 years he served on the Managing Committee of the Gospel banner and for at least eight years on his denomination's Foreign and Heathen Missionary Society.  He was always deeply interested in the temperance movement and a defender of Biblical nonresistance.
In 1898 Shantz joined the local Christian Science congregation, and remained a member in good standing until his death, although evidence is inconclusive on the question of whether he remained actively involved to the time of his death in 1909. He was still an active member, serving on the congregation's board of directors, at age 81 (1903).
Four factors help to explain Shantz's interest in the then-new Christian Science movement.
(1) Shantz had a lifelong interest in the innovative, whether in business, land settlement, or religious thought, though he always believed himself to be orthodox.
(2) The emphasis in Christian Science on a rigorous, healthful lifestyle was appealing. Shantzwas active in the temperance movement, and was a vegetarian at least part of his life.
(3) Jacob Y. Shantz was a "healer" with a reputation for curing cancer. Although his approach differed from that of Christian Science, enough common interest existed to prove attractive.
(4) Shantz probably felt rejected by the Mennonite Brethren in Christ (United Missionary) denomination as he was phased out of all leadership roles by 1896.
Although Shantz was a quiet and unassuming man, his voice had a deep, organ-like tone that people did not forget. He was married three times,

* The Shantz Button Manufacturing Company of Berlin, Ontario (a.k.a. Dominion Button Works) was established in 1871, after Jacob Y. Shantz assumed ownership of its precursor company, the Pioneer Button Works, which was begun by Emil Vogelsang and H.S. Huber, ca. 1866. This was the first button manufacturing factory in Canada. In 1871, the business employed 27 workers, mostly women and children. The company was variously known as the Dominion Button Works and the Shantz Button Manufacturing Company in the 1870s and 1880s. In 1891, the business was incorporated as the Jacob Y. Shantz & Son Company Limited, and by 1910, was the largest employer in Berlin, Ontario, with a workforce of over one hundred men, women and children. At this time, Berlin was also known as "Buttonville" because of its many button factories, of which Shantz's was the largest. Jacob Y. Shantz was also active in many other business interests, and was instrumental in promoting immigration to Manitoba among the Canadian Mennonite community. He served briefly as Mayor of Berlin in 1882. Dilman B. Shantz, Jacob Y. Shantz's son and successor, was widely known for innovation and efficiency in the button manufacturing process. Natural materials such as vegetable ivory (from tagua nuts imported from South America) and mother-of-pearl (from fresh water shells harvested from the Grand and Thames rivers) were the raw materials for most buttons made in the Berlin factories. Other natural materials used included wood and horn. In the twentieth century, the company began to use other materials such as casein and bakelite and later, plastics. In 1912, the company was renamed Dominion Button Manufacturers Ltd. under the new ownership of David Gross as President. He was succeeded by his son, Mervin Gross who introduced the production of plastic buttons in the 1940s. Dominion Button Manufacturers Ltd. closed in 1964, by which time most other Canadian button making companies had also closed, because of the emergence of new materials, new technologies and greater competition from foreign manufacturers.

This building was built by Jacob Y. Shantz around 1870. Originally it was the Pioneer Button Works (Shantz in partnership with Emil Vogelsang), then it was known as the Shantz Button Company, a.k.a. Dominion Button Works. It burned in 1893 and the business moved to a corset factory on Water Street. In 1910, fire again destroyed that building, and Dilman.B. Shantz (Jacob Y.'s son) again rebuilt on Water Steet on the same site. In 1912, David Gross took over the company, and it was renamed Dominion Button Manufacturers Ltd. In 1964, the company ceased to operate.

Known as the Ivory Button factury, Shantz's Button Munufacturing and Dominion Button Works, the plant was started ca. 1866 by Emil Vogelsang and H.S. Huber. Jacob Yost Shantz bought the works in 1871 and by 1910 it was the largest employer in Berlin, Ontario.

The plant passed from Jacob to his son Dilman, who was widely known for innovation and efficiency in the button manufacturing process.

 In 1912, the company was renamed Dominion Button Manufacturers Ltd. under the new ownership of David Gross. He was succeeded by his son, Mervin Gross who introduced the production of plastic buttons in the 1940s. Dominion Button Manufacturers Ltd. closed in 1964

Shantz Memorial Plaque, near Schanzenfeld, Manitoba
Source:  http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Shantz,_Jacob_Yost_%281822-1909%29