Preservings 11 (1997) - Plett Foundation

0. Introduction.
The purpose of this and subsequent articles
is to investigate the ancestry of the
Friesens recorded in the Bergthaler
Gemeinde Buch (BGB), and who therefore
lived for some time in the Bergthaler Colony.
Where possible connections will be made
from the 1776 West Prussian census and to
the Manitoba 1881 census. Initially, these
articles will focus on the male Friesen lines.
The sections which follow are not in any particular
order, except by natural family groups.
I should mention, at the risk of repeating
what I stated elsewhere, that the names
Friesen and von Riesen are for all purposes
the same name. There is overwhelming evidence
from the church and other records in
support of this assertion. Von (Van) Riesen
is the older form, and was retained by many
of the more urbane West Prussian Mennonites,
particularly among the city dwellers
around Danzig, Elbing and Marienburg. The
von Riesens were from the town of Ryssen
in Overjssel and not from Friesland, as might
be supposed (the name which denotes a person
from Friesland is Fröse). Some of the
earliest records show the forms “van Ryze”
and “de Ryze”.
How and why some van Riesens transformed
their name to Friesen is not too clear,
but this change was underway in the 1700s.
The more conservative Mennonites tended to
drop the “de”, the “van” and “von” from their
names in the interest of simplicity (in both a
practical and a moral sense). The de Fehrs
and de Walls dropped the “de” and the von
Dycks and von Bergens dropped the “von”
(incidentally, the “de” is not the French “de”
but the Netherlandic “de” meaning “the”; i.e.,
de Wall(en), or de Waal meant the person
from Waal). Some persons in the mid-1700s
were writing their name as Riesen, but many
had already transformed this into Friesen.
1. Jacob Friesen of Lindenau 1776.
Jacob Friesen of Lindenau was a
Grüzmacher, a grist müller, and in 1776 was
listed as having 4 sons and 2 daughters. His
wife’s first name was probably Agatha (that
is one of his wives, if he was married more
than once). He died before 1795.
These children include:
1.1. Jacob. He was probably not included in
the 4 sons and was probably the Jacob Friesen
listed at Marienburg in 1776. He was a
Krämer (storekeeper);
1.2. Martin (b. 1766, bapt. 1784);
1.3. Aganetha (b. 1765, bapt. 1783) married
(a) an unknown Dyck, (b) Franz Berg,
No. 11, December, 1997
Ar Articles: Ar ticles:
Bergthaler/Chor
Bergthaler/Chortitzer Bergthaler/Chor titzer F FFriesens
F riesens
by Henry Schapansky, 914 Chilliwack Street, New Westminster, B. C., V3L 4V5.
(c) Isaac Ens, (d) Johann Breuil, (e) Nicholas
Dyck. She came to Russia in 1788-89 with
her first husband and lived at Neuendorf,
later Osterwick, Old Colony;
1.4. Peter (b. 1769, bapt. 1787). He came to
Russia in 1796 and settled at Neuendorf:
Wirtschaft 4 1802 (B.H. Unruh, p. 249),
Wirtschaft 3 1808: BHU, 267, Old Colony.
His wife was Anna (b. 1780) whose maiden
name is currently unknown;
1.5. Eliesabeth (b. circa 1771, bapt. 1789);
1.6. Bernhard (b. 1776, bapt. 1795) married
(1802) Anna Gerbrand (b. 1769) and moved
to Russia in 1816. He eventually settled at
Friedensdorf, Molotschna, 1835 census,
Wirtschaft 17.
1.2. Martin Friesen.
Martin Friesen (b. 1766) came to Russia
at the same time as brother Peter. He is listed
at Rosenthal in 1802, Burwald in 1803 and
1808 (Wirtschaft 1: BJU, p. 274), a moderately
well-off farmer with 7 horses and 11
cattle. His first wife was Eliesabeth Braun,
his second wife was Sara (b. 1779) whose
maiden name is currently unknown. Possibly
she was a daughter of Johann Klassen of
Kronsweide. His children include:
1.2.1. Margaretha (b. 1786);
1.2.2. Eliesabeth (b. 1788);
1.2.3. Jacob (1793-1843) married (a) Maria
Rempel, (b) Maria Dyck. He moved to
Bergthal. BGB A15;
1.2.4. Agatha (b. 1795);
1.2.5. Martin (b. 1801), married Helena
Unger;
1.2.6. Johann (b. 1804);
1.2.7. Abraham (b. 1807) married Margaretha
Penner. He moved to Bergthal. BGB A2;
1.2.8. Helena (b. 1808);
1.2.9. Peter (b.8.2.1812, d.6.1875) married
1832 Anna Banmann (b.1808). This last entry
is my conjecture which agrees with all
the data, but for which no primary documentation
is on hand.
1.2.3. Jacob Friesen (1793-1843).
Jacob Friesen married Maria Rempel
(1793-1827). He married again to Maria Dyck
(b. 1800). Jakob Friesen died soon after the
Bergthaler Colony was established. In 1844
his widow married Jacob Harder (1818-50),
also of Bergthal, BGB A15. Jacob Friesen’s
family includes:
1.2.3.1. Helena (1817-41) married Jacob
Sawatsky, BGB B3: Preservings, No. 9, Dec
1996, Part Two, page 16;
1.2.3.2. Martin Friesen (1820-59) married
Helena Hiebert (b. 1816). His second wife
33
was Susanna Suderman (1834-58) and his
third wife was the widow Sarah Funk, nee
Siemens (1818-99). His widow married
Heinrich Striemer in 1862. BGB B9. They
came to Canada in 1874 and settled in
Kronsgard, WR. Martin’s children were:
1. Jacob Friesen (b. 1845);
2. Helena Friesen (b. 1853) married Johann
Gerbrandt;
3. Abraham Friesen (1854-1921) married
Katherina Striemer and came to Canada with
the Bergthalers. Schönau, West Reserve,
Manitoba 1881 census;
4. Johann Friesen (1857-1944) married Maria
Abrams (1860-1925) (later Aganetha
Abrams), Neuanlage, West Reserve, 1881
Manitoba census. Their son Abraham (1894-
1987) married Agatha Schulz (1898-1971)
and they are the parents of Dick S. Friesen,
retired farm machinery dealer in Steinbach—
see Cathy Barkman, Preservings, No. 9, Dec
1996, Part Two, pages 25-27;
5. Martin Friesen (1859-1929) married Maria
Ens (1860-1973) daughter of Klaas Enns who
died in Russia. Martin married for the second
time to Helena Friesen. Martin is found
in the Miscellaneous category, West Reserve,
1881 Manitoba census. They lived in the
Plum Coulee district. Their daughter Helena
married Cornelius H. Friesen (1903-76) minister
of the Bergthaler Church in Grunthal.
Their son Jakob E. Friesen was the father of
Henry D. Friesen, Steinbach realtor, formerly
of Grunthal. Their son Frank E. Friesen was
the author of The Martin Friesen Genealogy
(Winkler, 1976), 32 pages, from which much
of the information for this section was taken;
1.2.3.3. Jacob Friesen (b. 1828) married
Maria Leycke and was the Gebietschreiber
for the Bergthaler Colony. BGB B122. He
came to Canada with the Bergthalers,
Schönweise, East Reserve, 1881 census. His
oldest son Bernhard (b. 1855) married Helena
Abrams, Silberfeld, West Reserve, 1881
census;
1.2.3.4. Anna Friesen (b. 1830) married
Jakob Reimer;
1.2.3.5. Margaretha Friesen (b. 1832) married
Peter Penner;
1.2.3.6. Johann Friesen (1833-60) married
Katherina Falk (1831-1923), who later married
his cousin Abraham Friesen. BGB B 137.
His children include:
1. David (1856-93) married Anna Wiens
(later Anna Klassen). Schönsee, East Reserve,
1881 Manitoba census. Their son
David Friesen later moved to Altona where
he founded the printing firm of “D. W.
Friesens & Sons”. David’s sister Helena