Jacob Franz Toews

JACOB F TOEWS and Helena Lohrenz

Jacob was born September 5, 1861, In the village of Pordenau in the Molotschna River area of South Russia. He was thirteen when he moved with his parents to a 65 acre farm north of Mountain Lake, Minnesota. At the age of twenty-seven he married twenty-year old Helena Lohrenz on October 30, 1888. The young couple moved to their own farm four miles forth of Mountain Lake and lived there until their retirement in 1924 when they moved into an elegant house in Mountain Lake in which to enjoy a much earned retirement from farm work. Jacob and Helena were charter members of th Bethel mMennonite Church. Helena was born on June 19, 1868, in Alexanderthal, a village not far from Pordenau. She was ten when her parents immigrated to a farm south easy of Mountain Lake, MN. Jacob died April 8, 1935 at the age of seventy-three and Helena lived almost a century, she died 45 days after her ninty-ninth birthday. They had eight children, Helena, Elizabeth, Jacob, Franz, Nicolai, Marie, Gerhard and Rudolph. She was content with her role as mother and housewife. She had a god relation with her husband, it was assumed that men did the talking, she was a good listener. Her voice was soft and peaceful. She did everything she could to make things go well and provide a comfortable home, she was a loving person. her son, George, remembers how she would pull him over and give him a big warm hug. He also recalls that after evening meals, Jacob would sing familiar hymns and Helena would hum along. She was intelligent and creative with a great deal of courage and initiative. This developed in the most beautiful way during the 32 years following her husband’s death. She loved to read and do needlework, memorize scripture and stanzas of hymns and extended German poems. She would decide these on special family gatherings. Her oldest daughter, Marie, was 50 when John Warkentin proposed marriage to her. Marie had been living with her mother all those years and was fearful of her mother’s reaction o the idea saying it was probably too old to get married. Helena, her mother, at 69 responded, “If you only had six months to live, it would still be worth it”.

A story related by Marvin Taves is titled “Bringing Home the First Car, circa 1910”. “This is a brief version of Dad’s account to be of the delivery of my Grandfather, Jacob F. Toews’ first car. In Dad’s words: Father had been notified by the dealer in Mt. Lake that the new car he ordered had arrived and was ready for him. Father asked me to go to town and bring it home. At the dealer’s they introduced me to the car and started me on my way home to the farm four miles north. It was exciting! I had never driven a car before. All went well except I had not learned how to stop the car, that is, how to disengage the engine. All the rest of thew ay home trying to figure out how to disengage the engine! The entire family was there to watch and advise. Finally, Dad and my brothers grabbed the rear of the car and dragged it to a stop, killing the engine. Then I was sent back to town by horse and buggy to figure out how to disengage the engine. It was simple! Just lift the tiller. Instead of a steering wheel the car ha da stick for steering. Raising it, it served as a clutch. Father tried to drive but almost ran up a tree; after that as the oldest son, I was the family chauffeur as long as we had that car.”

Jacob Toews Friesen speaks fondly of his grandparents. “Grandfather Jacob Toews often reached for a pad of paper after the evening meal to prices his writing skills. He as soft-spoken but articulate and spoke with authority. He as a manager-administrator, dreamer, planner, leader in the church and church-related activities and a Sunday School teacher for 33 years, Church Trustee for 24 years. He was a member of the board that founded the Mennonite Parochial School in Mountain Lake. As father he was in control and the authority in decision-making as expected in his day. As head of the household he led the family in worship morning and evening with everyone present. In the community he was known as a model farmer on a model farm, he sold seeds that were invariable the cleanest and best variety. One could never come into their years to do business without being invited in for a cup of coffee.

Franz Toews From Heubuden, West Prussia to Mountain Lake, MN 1812-1898 and his Decendants: Toevs, Toavs, Taves, Taevs

Researched and compiled by Luella Toevs Wiese, 1993
with Helena* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 18 2022, 21:46:00 UTC

with Helena* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 20 2022, 9:16:52 UTC

with Helena* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 17 2022, 6:04:56 UTC

༺✿✿✿✿༻ LOVING MEMORY ༺✿✿✿✿༻

John F. Toevs
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1858 - July 1925* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 17 2022, 6:09:54 UTC

• Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 26 2022, 3:41:13 UTC