Bernhard Warkentin, born in 1847 in the Mennonite village of Altonau, Ukraine, came to the U.S. in 1872 to find new land, and his letters home made him a leader of the Mennonite migration from Russia that brought about 5000 Mennonites to Kansas. In 1875 he married Wilhelmina Eisenmayer of an Illinois German Methodist family; both of their fathers were prominent millers. In Kansas, Warkentin operated several mills and promoted wheat growing, especially Turkey Red hard winter wheat, and his work helped make Kansas the Bread Basket of the World. A Victorian house was built for Bernhard and Wilhelmina Warkentin in 1886-87. He died by accidental gunshot on a trip in the Holy Land in 1908, and Wilhelmina lived there until her death in 1932.