Franz Janzen

He arrived in Quebec 13 Jul 1875 on the S.S. Peruvian No. 30. They settled in Osterwick, Manitoba, Canada.

http://www.mmhs.org/download/passenger.pdf

Pictures and family documents:

Johnson family http://tinyurl.com/2b2jk9

Typed from book, “The Brauns of Osterwick” by Peter Brown. Peter Brown was the son of Anna Janzen and Gerhard Braun.

“Those early settlers needed bricks both for building chimneys and for their indoor bake ovens. My Grandfather Janzen and his second son Franz went for a load of bricks and, as was the custom in those days, they took their shot-gun along just in case they might happen to see some game that would look good in a pot and add variety to their daily fare. Since the guns at that time were muzzle loaders there was no thought that they could wait with loading the guns until they had spotted either a prairie chicken, duck goose or rabbit. Such game would likely not choose to be a “sitting duck.” Seemingly grandfather and Uncle saw no game on that trip. When they arrived at home, Uncle Fraz reached for the loaded gun to remove it from the top of the load of bricks. He took hold of the muzzle and pulled it towards himself. In so doing the trigger mechanism was apparently tripped. The gun was discharged and the full blast of it struck him in the middle. Wall says the lad screamed with pain: Father, help me; Father, I am dieing, Help me. He walked around the loaded wagon writhing in agony and fright. Very soon he knelt in front of the yoke of oxen, prayed the Lord’s Prayer and died.

There is a touching detail related to this tragic event. Franz was twenty-six when he died. The exodus from Russia and the uncertainties of the migration to Canada, the lack of housing accommodation here in Manitoba, were all obstacles to romantic plans. He was not yet married. However, with the families settled as well as was possible at that time he was about to be married. And to whom” According to David Wall, eightyish, whose parents were neighbors to the Janzens and to the Brauns, in the pioneer Osterwick village, Franz, the eldest living son of the Janzens, and Katharina, the first born of the Jakob Braun children, were promised to each other. Tragedy struck and our Aunt Katharina later married Uncle Peter Hoeppner.”

(Ginny) I mentioned this story to a man who does a lot of early Mennonite research. He told me it was unlikely that the family had that type of gun at that time. I don’t know if the story is true or not.