Preservings $20 Issue No. 26, 2006 - Home at Plett Foundation

Throughout his life, Mr. Froese’s gentle disposition
was his strongest negotiating weapon.
For instance, one fall evening a half dozen or
more riders on horseback showed up on his yard.
He went out to greet them and asked what their
mission was. “We are here to schobanack (to do
mischief)”, was their response. “This is Halloween
Night!” Mrs. Froese, looking out the window,
had flashbacks of the old country. The pranksters
finally decided to drag the cultivator onto the
road. Mr. Froese conceded that if they must, he
would help pull the cultivator. They pulled only a
couple of steps when one of them said: “This is a
no-fun guy, lets move on,” and they did.
Mr. Froese never owned a car. Once he took
a driving lesson from one of his sons. This turned
out to be a short course. He drove the car from
the middle of the road to the ditch, and at once
concluded horses were a more reliable method of
transportation. His poor eyesight was likely the
reason for his disinterest in driving.
In 1945 plans were made to retire and move
to Grunthal. On July 15, just before moving day,
Mr. Froese passed away after being hospitalized
for three days. Mrs. Froese made her scheduled
move and lived alone in a small house till her
death on October 2, 1961. She had never required
medical attention until her last month.
Gone - but fondly remembered by those
whose lives they have touched.
Johann Broesky (1838-1912), Colourful Pioneer
by great great grandson Robert Broesky, West Bank, British Columbia
Family Background.
Without a doubt, Johann Broesky (1838-
1912) was one of the most colourful characters
to settle in the East Reserve in 1874.
Johann Broesky was born in Prussia. After
his first wife died, he joined Gottlieb Jahnke,
Juluis Radinzel, and a Mr. Vetrowsky in a move
to Russia. Evidently all three men were Lutheran.
Their only possession evidently was a hand
cart. 1 In Russia the men found employment with
various Kleine Gemeinde (KG) farmers, including
Cornelius Loewen, in the Borosenko area
northwest of Nikopol.
Daughter Anna Broesky (born July 6, 1869)
was taken in as the foster daughter of Peter P.
Toews, Bishop or Aeltester of the Blumenhof KG.
Another daughter Florantine Katharina Broesky
was taken in as the foster daughter of Jakob Friesen
(1820-88), brother to Johann Friesen, third
Aeltester of the KG. Another daughter Elisabeth
Broesky was taken in as the foster daughter of
Johann Esau (1828-1906), Rosenfeld, the first
KG Brandaeltester.
Johann Broesky had a desire to join the KG
and was presented to the brotherhood at a meeting
held on December 26, 1873. According to the
“Genealogy Register” of Peter Toews, Broesky
was baptised in the KG upon the confession of
his faith on May 20, 1874, possibly one of the last
baptisms before the emigration to America.
Ten days later, May 30, 1874, the first group
of emigrants left Borosenko and embarked upon
what would be a 6 week-long journey to Manitoba.
Johann Broesky was among the first group of 65
families who arrived at the confluence of the Red
and Rat Rivers in Manitoba on August 1, 1874.
Second Marriage, 1874.
Gottlieb Jahnke and Julius Redinzel also
came to Manitoba and settled in Blumenort,
where all three married daughters of veteran
Molotschna school teacher Cornelius Friesen
(1810-92) and Maria Rempel (1819-97): see
Helena Jahnke, “Lineage of my Grandparents,
Klaas Friesens, born in West Prussia,” in Profile
1874, pages 209-212, for the story of this family.
Maria Rempel was the daughter of Abraham
Rempel (1798-1878), a prosperous Vollwirt
from Margenau who emigrated to Blumenort,
Manitoba in 1878.
On December 19, 1874, Broesky married
Anna, daughter of Cornelius Friesen, in the first
wedding to take place in Blumenort. Daughter
Johann Broesky’s son Cornelius F. Broesky was an
aggressive farmer who also owned steam thresher.
Elisabeth is listed as part of Johann Broesky’s
family in Peter Toews’ “Genealogy Register”, an
indication that she may have been given back for
him to raise after his second marriage.
“Johann’s second marriage was quite traumatic
and ended in separation, and so did his
membership with the Blumenort Kleine Gemeinde”
(R. Loewen, Blumenort, p. 269)
Anna became mentally ill and Johann moved
out of the home living at various locations such as
Heuboden and Didsbury, Alberta. Johann died in
British Columbia, separated from his family.
Anna was taken in by her parents and looked
after by the Blumenort church. The journals of
neighbour Abr. F. (“Fula”) Reimer contained
numerous references to her situation, such as
when she tried to burn her house down. Anna died
September 9, 1927, and was buried in Grünthal.
She was honoured by a lengthy write-up in the
Steinbach Post, September 14, 1927, by school
teacher Gerhard G. Kornelsen, in which he stated,
“According to Katherina (Jahnke) Klassen, niece
of Johann and Anna Broeski, her aunt Anna was
a praying mother and grandmother, who prayed
much for her children and grandchildren.”
Children:
Some of the Broesky sons joined the Chortitzer
church and lived in Schöneberg, northeast
Johann F. Broesky, a son of Johann Broesky lived with
his wife in the village of Schoenenberg, northeast of
Grunthal.
of Grünthal. Cornelius F. Broesky was an
agressive farmer, owning a threshing outfit and
steam-engine.
Son Martin F. Broesky (1887-1921) was an
inventor and built the first car in southeastern
Manitoba in 1905. In 1914 Martin moved to Saskatchewan,
homesteading north of Morse. He was
appointed as one of the delegates to investigate
settlement opportunities in Paraguay but died of
a heart attack before this came to pass.
Daughter Anna Broeski married Peter W.
(“Schmedt”) Toews, well-known Steinbach
blacksmith who moved to Swalwell, Alberta, in
1907: see Peter W. Toews, “Life’s Chronicle,”
in Pioneers and Pilgrims, page 137-155. They
were the parents of Herman B. Toews, formerly
Calgary, Alberta, an avid genealogist.
Conclusion.
The good in our history can serve as a heritage
for generations to come and the bad can be an
example so that descendants need not suffer the
same mistakes.
Endnotes:
1 Royden Loewen, Blumenort, a Mennonite Community in
Transition (Blumenort, MB: Blumenort Mennonite Historical
Society, 1983), p. 268.
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