Preservings 11 (1997) - Plett Foundation

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Preservings Gottlieb and Karoline Krentz Pioneering Days of Gottlieb and Karoline Krentz: by Art and Evelyn Krentz, Box 823, Steinbach, Manitoba, R0A 2A0 Family Background. Our grandparents Gottlieb and Karoline Krentz came to Canada from Russia in August 1891. A few years later our great-grandparents, Michael and Justina Krentz followed them to Canada. They lived with them several years until they passed away. Gottlieb and Karoline had three children at the time they came to Canada, Emilie, Gottlieb and Juliana. Shortly after they arrived, Juliana passed away at the age of seven. They later had three more children, Christof, Leo and Emil. Establishing the Homestead. While herding cattle in the pastures, Grandmother Karoline would tell us of those early pioneering days when they first came to Canada. She said they settled down some three miles south of Steinbach, located on SE10-6-6E. They purchased 160 acres of land for ten dollars and after living there for three years, the land would then be theirs. Grandfather Gottlieb built a little log house which they shared with two other families for the first winter. The families were the Modrow’s and Schmidke’s and each had a few children. Grandma said the winter nights were so cold that the men would take turns staying up at night to keep the fires going. That first Christmas Eve our Dad Christof was born in that little log house. The other families built their own homes that first summer, and eventually bought farms of their own and then moved their houses on them. During the harvest and threshing time Grandma went to work at Peter H. Wiebe’s farm which was about one mile south of Steinbach. Since our Dad Christof was only a few months old she had to carry him all the way while the other children followed. She was paid fifty cents a day and they gave her food for herself and the children. After a long hard day of work, she came home at night to still more household chores before her days work was done. The evenings were also spent spinning wool and knitting for the family. Grandma said at one time they were fortunate enough to own a cow so they could have milk for the children. She also made butter to exchange for coffee and sugar at the H.W. Reimer’s Store in Steinbach. During this time Grandpa worked very hard clearing bush land with the use of a grub axe, which was only a hand tool. Finally after many hours of back-breaking work he had cleared enough land on which to build a house and a barn. Establishing the Church. The early pioneers gathered in various homes to take part in reading services. At Friedensfeld, these were conducted by Gottlieb Staerk, Adolf Kihn, Julius Holme and Karl Hollander. In 1896 Pastor Berthold assumed the ministry in this part of Manitoba and was particularly remembered for a missionary festival which he organized in the district. A missionary from New York was the guest speaker for this special event which took place in Grandpa’s newly erected barn. Grandma remembered Gottlieb and Julianna Schmidtke Krentz. They were the parents of Reinhold S. Krentz, Ida Krentz Thompson, William S. Krentz, and Emil S. Krentz, well-known and respected residents in the Steinbach area. serving the pastor his dinner in the dishes which she had brought along from Russia. She also mentioned how pleased she was when the pastor was able to stay overnight. All of the pioneers, for many years afterward, treasured the memory of Missionary Kohlrusch of New York, who remained in the district for three months to the great spiritual benefit of every family. The first Lutheran pastor to visit the settlement was Rev. Ludwig Streich. On his first visit, June 14, 1898, he baptized four youngsters. Also, thirty people received communion, among them were Michael and Justina Krentz and Gottlieb and Karoline Krentz. About this time, Grandpa decided to move his family to Dominion City in hopes of finding better farm land. So they dismantled the log house, log by log, numbering each piece and moved it to Dominion City. However, after only one year, they found the land to be too wet without proper drainage and the soil was too heavy for the horses to be able to work it. So they returned to their original farm outside of Steinbach, bringing along the again dismantled log house and having to set it up once again. 78 By this time the Friedensfeld settlement consisted of more than twenty farms. Unfortunately, the settlement did not yet have a church or a school, but that did not stop Pastor Berthold from serving the people with the Word of God. He also encouraged the people to build a school in which the children would be able to receive instruction necessary to become faithful members of the church and useful citizens to our land Canada. Pastor F. Beer of Winnipeg commented that in spite of the fact that the land in the Friedensfeld area had more stones and far more sand than the farmers would like, there were still some thirty to forty families here of German descent and of the Lutheran Confession. He also stated that a few years earlier a “Wanderfieber” attacked the settlement and it was in danger of disappearing. The chances of building a church or a school then seemed to be quite impossible. But the many settlers that decided to stay and face whatever would come, were very happy they did. Because they persisted, they now found that the hardships they went through were worth the reward they received. They now had a very bright future for Christof (1891-1970) and Emily Borosky Krentz (1892-1956). They were the parents of Matilda (Mrs. Ferdinand Mehling), Ida (Mrs. Emmanuel Fender), Rudolph Krentz, Art Krentz and Elsa (Mrs. Ed Biedler), all well-known in the Steinbach/Friedensfeld area. their families. In the summer of the year 1900, the settlers of that area, at their own expense, erected a handsome and spacious building which would serve as a church as well as a school. On November 15, of that same year, Pastor Beer dedi-
cated the church. The church was located on NE16-6-6, the Schinkel homestead. The congregation at that time from the statistics given by Pastor Beer, stated that from July 1898 until June 15, 1900, a period of only two years, he had baptized 18 persons, confirmed 8 and had given communion to 262 persons. The congregation then totalled 150. The congregation continued to grow so rapidly that within three years the original building was too small to serve as a church. So in 1903 a second building was erected on the same yard. It had seating for some 250 persons. The No. 11, December, 1997 name of the congregation was then changed from Peace to St. Pauls. On November 8, 1903 the dedication of the new St. Pauls Lutheran Church took place. The old church continued to serve as a school. The original church council consisted of Stanislaus Schielke, Gottlieb Wiesner and Gottlieb Krentz, and Gottlieb Staerk was the assistant carpenter for the building of the church. The Krentz Family. Eventually all of Gottlieb and Karoline’s children married. Emilie married George 79 Goritz. Gottlieb married Juliana Schmidke. Christof married Emilie Borowski. Leo married Olga Laeckelt. Emil married Olga Weiss, however she passed away during childbirth of a son who also died. Emil then remarried to Francis Wonnek a few years later. In 1920, their son Christof took over the farm and lived there till 1954. Christof’s son Arthur then took over and is still living there today. Sources: Genealogy of Michael Krentz 1828-1985 (Steinbach, Manitoba, 1985), 20 pages. Clearsprings Pioneers: The First Five Years 1869-1874 Clearsprings Pioneers: The First Five Years 1869-1874; by Ed & Alice Laing, Box 1088, Steinbach, Manitoba, R0A 2A0, “Clearsprings history buffs”. Introduction. Clearsprings - where did the name come from? Why was it used to name a road, why was it used to name a large shopping centre in the city of Steinbach? To make an old story come to life, let us tell you that the name “Clearsprings” goes back many years, back to 1869. The first settlers of Clearsprings were born in Scotland in the early 1840s. By mid 1860s these adventurous young men and women were crossing the ocean, arriving in Ontario to begin farming. Life was exciting in Ontario. Some of these young men and women soon married. Land was becoming expensive and when these young men heard that there was plenty of fine land of the best quality for a reasonable price out west they decided that is where they should go. Before long these young pioneers sold their land in Ontario, gathered up their belongings and started west to Manitoba by train. At this time the nearest Rail Road terminal to the Red River Region was St. Cloud, Minnesota, 400 miles south of Fort Garry, now Winnipeg, which at that time had a population of 250. There are many stories written about how the pioneers made the trip from St. Cloud by horse and covered-wagon. One story tells of meeting Louis Riel with his two aides on the trail as they were fleeing Manitoba after the Riel Rebellion was quashed by Colonel Wolseley and his military expedition. The First Settlers, 1869. In 1869, before the land was surveyed, the nearest Post Office was Hudson Bay Company, Fort Garry, a three-day trip for the mail. John and Mary Mack from Hensall, Ontario, are recorded to be the first settlers to pioneer the area later called Clearsprings in 1869, located on SW13-7-6E. The Macks were closely followed by others from Hensall: Thomas Rankin located on SW11-7-6E, the Map of the Clearsprings district showing the locations of early homesteads and the date of establishment of each. This map was prepared by Ed and Alice Laing based on the writings of pioneer Wm. Cohoe, 1949. The Clearspring settlement covering the south half of Township 7, Range 6E, was not originaly included in the R. M. of Hanover. site of today’s Mennonite Heritage Village; John Jamieson located on SE14-7-6E; and Thomas Slater, located on NW14-7-6. Obviously they were drawn to the area by the many springs of crystal clear flowing water, therefore calling this new area “Clearsprings”. Feeling the need for family life, John Jamieson and Thomas Rankinson went back east to marry the young ladies they left be- hind and then returned to Clearsprings. Thomas Slater came in 1871 and never married. Sad to say, with no living descendants in the area, that the only place to find these names in the community today are in the “Historical Clearsprings Cemetery”. Glowing reports of the opportunities in the postage stamp province of Manitoba were sent by mail to families and friends back east. The pioneering spirit soon inspired them to
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Price $10.00 -being the Newsletter
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with each new religious fad and man
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No. 11, December, 1997 The Gebietsa
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No. 11, December, 1997 News News an
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sian Mennonite community in Canada
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history of the role of Mennonite wo
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The name change of the KG von Riese
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Friesen’s grandfather, Klaas R. F
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intensive work such as apple pickin
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Page 71 and 72: itious woman”, and this was very
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Preservings 11 (1997) - Plett Foundation

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