Jacob Toews

Individual Profile Jacob Toews

1. 186473 Birth: 4 Oct 1844, Nieder-Chortitza, Chortitza, South Russia Baptism: May 1863, Chortitza, Chortitza, South Russia Immigration: 1 Jul 1875, S. S. Moravian; arrived Quebec City, Quebec Death: 19 Feb 1920, Rural Municipality of Roland, Manitoba Burial: Winkler, Manitoba Misc: farmer; deacon of the Mennonite Church Family: SPOUSE: Hiebert, Gertruda, 25 May 1844 Married: 12 Oct 1865; Burwalde, Chortitza, South Russia 1 -- +Toews, Jacob J., 6 Aug 1866 2 -- +Toews, Abraham J., 10 Aug 1867 3 -- +Toews, Julius J., 5 Feb 1869 4 -- Toews, Anna, 13 Nov 1870 5 -- +Toews, Anna, 23 Apr 1872 6 -- Toews, Susanna, 28 Feb 1874 7 -- +Toews, Susanna, 18 Feb 1876 8 -- Toews, Wilhelm J., 29 Sep 1877 9 -- +Toews, Gertruda, 27 Aug 1879 10 -- +Toews, Diedrich D., 24 Feb 1881 11 -- +Toews, Peter H., 23 Jan 1882 12 -- +Toews, Johann, 4 Apr 1883 13 -- +Toews, Aganetha "Nettie", 1 May 1884 14 -- +Toews, Maria, 11 Aug 1885 15 -- Toews, Kornelius, 19 Mar 1887 Family: SPOUSE: Wolf, Anna, 3 Apr 1845 Married: 21 Nov 1909; Father: Toews, Julius, 1811 Mother: Wall, Susanna, Abt 1813 Notes: Birth Source: West Reserve Bergthal Church Record (1885-1895) Vol. A, page 74 Birth Source: Bergthaler Church Records of Manitoba (West Reserve), page Reg 2, p12 Birth Source: Sommerfeld Gemeinde Buch: Registers of the Church at West Lynne, 1881-1935, page Vol 2A, p392 Birth Source: Sommerfelder Mennonite Church Register, Untitled Volume, page p138 Birth Source: Reinländer Gemeinde Buch : 1880-1903, Manitoba, Canada, page 318-2 Birth Source: Suderman, Harold J., page 30 Jul 2002 Birth Source: 1873 Yazykovo Census See www.mhsbc.com website. Birth Source: Zaporozhye State Archive, Fund F-59, Inventory 1, File 3 Baptism Source: West Reserve Bergthal Church Record (1885-1895) Vol. A, page 74 Baptism Source: Bergthaler Church Records of Manitoba (West Reserve), page Reg1, p325 Baptism Source: Sommerfelder Mennonite Church Register, Untitled Volume, page p138 Death Source: West Reserve Bergthal Church Register No. 1, page 325 Death Source: Suderman, Harold J., page 30 Jul 2002 Notes: R318-2 Another source has birthdate as 16 Oct 1844 (West Reserve Bergthal Church Register, No. 1, p.31 and 325). Another source has n.s. marriage date as 24 Oct 1865. His gravestone says he died 19 Feb 1919. SUV-138 says he was born 22 Sep 1844. Resident of Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. In the 1873 Yazykovo Colony Census he is listed at Adelsheim #33. Another source has n.s. marriage date as 24 Oct 1865. He had the first shingled roof in West Reserve (on ne30-1-3W), and was thus called Schindel Toews. He and his family migrated to North Dakota in 1875 and in 1882 to Manitoba. Listed as Jacob Tows, died 19 Feb 1920 in Vitals death record. Manitoba Bergthaler record agrees on death on 19 Feb 1920. Immigration Source: Quebec Passenger Lists of Mennonite Immigrants to Manitoba: 1874 - 1880 Marriage Source: Reinländer Gemeinde Buch : 1880-1903, Manitoba, Canada, page 318-2 Marriage Source: Reinlaender (Manitoba). Mennonite Church Register, Canada 1875-1922, page 318-2 Marriage Source: Sommerfelder Mennonite Church Register, Untitled Volume, page SUV-138 Marriage Source: West Reserve Bergthal Church Record (1885-1895) Vol. A, page 74 Marriage Source: West Reserve Bergthal Church Register No. 1, page 31 Marriage Source: Suderman, Harold J., page 30 Jul 2002 Last update: 7 Nov 2012 This date covers only this individual's personal data and not family data (marriages, children, etc.)

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Jacob Toews English Passport 

Jacob Toews Russian Passport
Jacob Toews 2nd Land Acquistion in North Dakota-pg. 2
Jacob Toews 2nd Land Acquistion in North Dakota-pg. 1
Jacob Toews 3rd Land Acquistion in North Dakota-pg. 1
Jacob & Gertrude Toews
Jacob Toews Gravestone
Jacob Toews Family
Gertrude (Hiebert) & Jacob Toews
1880 United States Federal Census
1906 Canada Census of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta
1901 Census of Canada
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EDIT Jacob Toews Family

1889

Manitoba

Back Row(Row 1), L-R: Jacob, Julius, Father-Jacob, Abram. Row 2: Mrs.Julius(Anna Giesbrecht)Toews, Mrs.John(Susanna Toews)Wiebe, Mrs.Jake(Anna Toews)Giesbrecht. Row 3: Mrs. Jacob(Anna Letkeman)Toews, Mother-Gertrude(Hiebert), Mrs.Abram(Maria Dyck)Toews. Row 4: On lap,Maria Toews, daughter of Jacob Toews, Maria,daughter of Jacob and Gertrude, Agnes(Aganetha),daughter of Jacob and Gertrude, Maria,daughter of Abram and Maria(Dyck)Toews. Row 5: Diedrich, Peter, Gertruda, John(Johann), William(Wilhelm). All children of Jacob and Gertrude.

Jacob was born in the Mennonite village of Neugortitz, South Russia.

• Jacob R. Toews was able to supply much of the information in this story which Anne Giesbrecht offered to write for him. As stated in the description, he would be a grandson of the Jacob Toews (1844-1919) who first immigrated to North America with his family.

--------------------------------------------

  The Toews were descendants of those Mennonites who had left the Netherlands because of religious and civil persecutions, and who settled in the Vistula Delta, Prussia, in the sixteenth century.  Here they lived for some 250 years under constant civil and religious duress.  In the eighteenth century they were on the move again, and were among the first settlers to leave the Danzig area, who founded the Chortitiza Colony, which was established during the years 1789-1824.  Chortitza was the first settlement in South Russia, and was also known as the Old Colony.

In the 1870s the Russian Czar began to renege on some of the privileges which had induced the Mennonites to settle there. For instance, they were no longer exempt from military service. Some Mennonites opted to remain in Russia and agreed to serve in the Forestry Service as an alternative to the military. However, other more conservative Mennonites felt that their future in Russia was insecure.
My Aunt Maria Toews Peters recalls the family story. "When Grandfather Toews had received his visa to go to Canada, his brother Julius tried to take it away. They even got into a scuffle. Grandfather won and retained his visa and was able to emigrate. However, the other members of his family decided to remain in Russia."
Upon the death of his mother, Grandfather Toews received his inheritance and this enabled him to purchase a farmstead which was their home until they emigrated to America in 1875. The first group of Mennonite settlers to America reached their destination in 1874. The journey from Russia to Canada usually took about seven weeks. This consisted of travel by train via Berlin and on to Hamburg, where a ship would take them via the North Sea to Hull, England on to Liverpool, and across the Atlantic Ocean to St. John's, Newfoundland to Halifax, and down the St. Lawrence River through the Great Lakes, to Sault Ste. Marie, Duluth. From there they took the train to Moorhead, Minnesota which is across the Red River from Fargo.
Grandmother Gertruda Hiebert Toews was privileged to have her parents and most of her brothers and sisters emigrate to America at the same time. My grandparents, Jacob and Gertruda Toews, came to Canada on the S.S. Moravian No. 25, arriving in Canada on July 1, 1875. On the same boat were Grandmother's family, consisting of my great grandparents, Abram Hiebert, born 6-6-1820, and Anna Hildebrand Hiebert, born 2-1-1823. Grandmother Toews' siblings, Wilhelm Hiebert, born 15-01-1856; Dietrich Hiebert, born 30-08-1849; Maria Hiebert Wolff, born 14-12-1851; Abram Hiebert, born 23-08-1848; as well as spouses and children of her siblings.
In addition, we recently discovered that the family of Johan Schelenberg, who was twice married, and whose first wife Susana Toews, the sister to my Grandfather, came to Canada on the same boat as the Toews/Hiebert families.
When these immigrants arrived in Fargo, they had to wait several days before getting transportation via a riverboat to take them north to Manitoba. This stopover served as an opportunity to make necessary purchases as well as to recover from the long journey by ship and train.
During the layover in Fargo, American land agents tried to sell these Mennonite settlers on the opportunities to obtain homesteads available 25 miles west of Fargo. The immigrants were also able to look around and view the terrain. Grandfather and his brothers-in-law were well impressed with the area.
As soon as the riverboat was ready to continue the journey, the immigrants boarded with all their baggage and supplies, and were transported northward down the Red River, some 60 miles beyond the American-Canadian border, to the junction of the Rat River. Here they landed around the middle of August, 1875. Then they were transported some five miles further via Indian ox-carts to the immigrant reception houses.
Jacob Shantz, a Mennonite from Ontario, whose family had immigrated from Pennsylvania to Ontario, became involved with the settlement of the Russian Mennonites in Manitoba. He was concerned that suitable living quarters would be provided the new settlers on arrival, as it would be months before they could build their own homes.
The result was that four buildings were constructed 20 ft. by 100 ft., to provide a simple shelter until the settlers were able to create their own. Each building was divided into 12 rooms so as to accomodate 48 people. The wood to construct these buildings was hauled by wagon and a team of horses which Shantz had purchased in Minnesota. By the time the first Mennonite settlers came to Manitoba, the reception sheds were ready for occupancy.
The families remained at the sheds while the men rented ox teams, and criss-crossed the terrain through the available homesteads, and sought information about the condition of the land, water situation, the terrain, whether wooded or prairie, etc.
The weather during these days was cold and rainy, and clouds of mosquitoes plagued the people day and night. Grandfather Toews, and his brothers-in-law, as well as some of the other immigrants, were very disappointed with their findings. They went on foot to what is now Winnipeg but were disappointed in their findings there as well. In Winnipeg, Grandfather exchanged some of the gold which he had brought from Russia for Canadian dollars. This was the proceeds from the sale of his farmstead in Russia. In total, he had $3,000 in gold. My father recalls that his mother had made purses out of sheepskin in which Grandfather carried the gold.
These disappointed settlers and their families decided to go back to Fargo where the region and the weather had been more to their liking. They returned to Fargo, boarding a riverboat to take them south.
The land agents in Fargo directed Grandfather and his companions to the settlement opportunities 20 miles west of Fargo where Swedish immigrants had already established a settlement. Near this settlement was the hamlet of Mapleton, where all the needs of the new settlers could be fulfilled. Grandfather and his companions were well pleased with the region, and in a short time, they had acquired their homesteads and shelters for the families and their cattle.
Grandfather had exchanged his Canadian dollars into US currency and since there was such a good exchange rate at the time, he was able to pay for their trip to Fargo with the money gained.
Grandfather purchased 160 acres of good farm land at Mapleton. Namely, the south half of the south east quarter, and the south half of the south west quarter of Section 10, Township 139, North of Range 51 west of the fifth principal meridian. This land was purchased from Anton Desjarlis; Peter Wallberg was the attorney. This title was made in 1875, grandting Jacob Toews and Abraham Ens "the right to sell, and convey and possess the land and premises in a quiet and peaceable possession" (In 1989 Jacob Toews (17-03-1917) researched this in the Indenture made the 20th of October, 1875, at the Court House in Fargo).
Jacob and Gertruda Hiebert Toews established their first home in the New World at Mapleton, North Dakota. Their property had a stream which ran through the farm. They had a fish trap on the stream and were able to enjoy fish for breakfast every morning.
Grandparents had five children, namely Jacob (6-8-1866), Abram (10-8-1867), Julius (5-2-1869), Anna (23-4-1872), and Susanna (12-3-1874), who had been born in South Russia, when they came to America. One daughter had died in infancy, and Susanna died shortly upon arrival in North Dakota. Five more children were born at Mapleton, North Dakota-another Susanna (18-2-1876), Wilhelm (29-9-1877), Gertruda (27-8-1879), Diedrich (24-2-1881), and Peter (23-1-1882). They lived at Mapleton for 8 years and came to Southern Manitoba in 1882, where four more children were born-Aganetha (1-5-1884), Johann (4-4-1883), Maria (11-8-1885), and Kornelius (19-3-1887) who died a month later.
Grandfather Toews had been hoping that more dissatisfied settlers from the East Reserve in Manitoba would join them in North Dakota so that in a few years they would have a closed Mennonite community, provided with a church and school. Through correspondence with relatives in Manitoba, they learned that dissatisfied settlers from the East Reserve were moving to the West Reserve, and that these had no intentions of resettling to Mapleton. The settlers at Mapleton were greatly disappointed at this information and they agreed that the best solution would be to sell their farms to the Swedes and to move to the West Reserve in Manitoba.
A number of Swedish families had settled at Mapleton, prior to the arrival of the Mennonites, and had already established a rural school in that area. The Mennonite settlers, concerned that their children receive an education, sent their children to the local school. Before long, a friendly relationship developed between the Swedish and Mennonite children. The Mennonite parents feared their children, being only a small minority, would lose their Mennonite identity by inter-marrying with the Swedish young people. This they could not allow to happen. Grandfather Toews, the Hieberts, and other Mennonite settlers realized that if they wished their families to remain Mennonite, they would need to return to Manitoba. Grandfather sold his farm for a better price than he paid for it. The family moved to Manitoba in 1882.
In 1875, Jacob Y. Shantz had led a survey party to the Pembina Hills region in Southern Manitoba. The purpose of this exploration was to find a home for the Furstenlander Mennonites, today called Old Colony, of whom we are descendants. He discovered that this area had very good soil. By Order-in-Council of April 25, 1876, this region of seventeen townships was set aside for Mennonite settlement. This area was called the West Reserve. The East and West Reserves consisted of 25 townships, or over half a million acres of land.
By 1877, the East Reserve wasn't able to absorb more immigrants due to the quality of the soil. Some from the East Reserve moved and settled in the West Reserve. The West Reserve began receiving Mennonite immigrants in 1875. They settled in villages as they had in Russia.
In 1882, when the Toews family decided to leave North Dakota, and move to join the Mennonites, the family now consisted of the parents and nine children ranging in age from sixteen to infancy, as follows: Jacob-16, Abram-15, Julius-13, Anna-10, Susanna-6, Wilhelm-5, Gertruda-3, Diedrich-2, and Peter several months. It was quite an undertaking to make the decision to leave their farmstead in North Dakota and start again in a new situation.
As in Russia, Mennonites ruled their villages and administered their civic affairs through the "Gebietsamt". There was considerable resistance in both the East and West Reserves when the Manitoba government introduced the Municipality and the Municipal Council. The reeve, councilors and the secretary-treasurer soon replaced the Schulze, Oberschulze and their assistants. Eventually, all "Gebietsamt" business was conducted through the municipality. The freedom of the New World also affected the Mennonites. Even though many in the Reinland area preferred to live in villages, the farmers were able to get their farmsteads surveyed and obtain personal ownership of the land, rather than as before that the church had the ownership. In all aspects the church had always played a very important role in the lives of the Mennonites. Before October 5, 1880, there had ben no official church organization in the West Reserve. All the Mennonites were generally called or considered Old Colony people. However, people from the surrounding villages did get together for woship services, at the church built in 1876, in the village of Reinland (as of 1992 this church building still stands as the oldest Mennonite church building in Western Canada). At this October 5, 1880 meeting in Reinland, the first West Reserve Mennonite Church was officially organized. A new church register was started and all those who wanted to be in the church, henceforth, had to have their names entered. In keeping with tradition the church was called Reinlander Mennoniten Gemeinde. The Reinlander church, generally called Old Colony Church in Manitoba folklore, remained firm in its resistance to change.
In 1882 when the Toews family moved to Southern Manitoba, it wasn't easy to acquire land in the villages. However, there was land available from the Hudson's Bay Company. Grandfather purchased 3/4 sections of land south of the village of Neuenburg-NW 1/4, SW 1/4, SE 1/4 and later he also acquired NE 1/4 of 26 Section Township 1, Range 4, west of the Principal Meridian. The first 3/4 which he purchased from the Hudson's Bay Company cost $4.50 per acre. This was not a homestead, and he was able to pay for all of it. It was productive sandy land.
When the Mennonites first settled in Manitoba they had to live in very primitive housing made of brush and hay. The first winter had caused much anguish to some government officials who were concerned about how the Mennonite settlers would be able to cope in the frigid weather. One of the officials went out to check as he expected much suffering due to the approaching winter. However, he discovered that all the families were comfortable and warm. Some lived in log houses plastered with a mixture of mud, sand and hay, inside and out. Some of the Winnipeg lumber dealers were disappointed with this rugged Mennonite resourcefulness.
Since Grandfather Toews had had the advantage of being able to sell his homestead in North Dakota, he now had the finances to build a 30 foot by 48 foot house. The outside of the house was built of wood siding, and homemade bricks were filled in between the 2x4s. Furthermore, the house had a wood shingle roof. In those days, because of the many common names, people were identified by nicknames. Therefore, the Toews' family were known as "Schindel Toewsen" or "Forma Toewsen" because they lived on a farm.
The barn was located north of the house-it did however have a thatched roof. The house and barn were separate, not like in the villages where the house and barn were connected, as they had been in Russia.
Grandparents, Jacob and Gertruda Toews, were hardworking pioneers, and helped establish their children on land near Neuenburg. They also became members of the Old Colony Mennonite Church of Reinland. They prospered at Neuenburg. However, most of their business transactions took place at the hamlet of Winkler, which was about ten miles north. They also experienced some difficulty adjusting to the village society.
In those days young people married early to begin their own farming operations. The oldest son, Jacob, married Anna Letkeman in 1885, when both were 19 years of age. Grandfather bought a quarter towards Neuenburg for Jacob. At the age of 20, his son Abram married Maria Dyck in 1887, and was sold one of Grandfather's quarters. In 1888, Julius married Anna Giesbrecht from the village of Reinland, and began farming near Blumenfeld. For his son-in-law, Jacob Giesbrecht, also from Reinland, he bought school land one mile north of Neuenburg.
The West Reserve settlement was not cmoposed of one homogenous group. There were serious problems, some of which related to the fact that these settlers originated from different villages in Russia. There was also a deep spiritual concern. There was faith in God and the desire to live a deep spiritual life. But there was disunity and disagreement as to what should be done. The fifteen years, 1877 to 1892, were difficult years for all. However, church renewal was slowly taking form.
Grandparents, Jacob and Gertruda, became part of the renewal movement. In the Hoffnungsfeld area the minister, Jacob Hoeppner, William Harms and Franz Sawatzky had been ordained by East Reserve elders before 1887. At the same time Grandfather Toews had also been ordained as a deacon and served in this capacity for many years. This was the beginning of the so-called Bergthaler Church in Southern Manitoba.
My father recalled a heavy electric storm which had occured in Southern Manitoba when he was a young boy. It was in the month of August, while the Toews family was living south of Neuenburg. The year must have been between 1883 to 1889. About twenty people were at the Toews home celebrating the engagement of a young couple. The storm was so strong that a window crashed onto a table at which some young men were sitting, thier faces were cut and covered with blood. The kitchen wall, which consisted of a wide chimney, had toppled and the bricks were scattered all over the kitchen floor. Father's sisters, Gertruda and Maria, had been standing near the kitchen wall when it fell and the two girls were found lying among the bricks. The two younger sisters, Neta and Maria, were able to stand when lifted, but Trudy was severly burned and unconscious, she was all blue and her arm and leg were badly scorched. They laid her down outside. Suddenly it began to rain heavily and she came to and began to breathe. Nobody had been killed. Even the dog ended up with only a swollen foot.
As a consequence of this lightning storm, seven other homesteads were also struck and burnt. Because Grandparents' house was built of bricks, they didn't have a fire.
At the turn of the century, the available homesteads, in the confines of the West Reserve, had all been taken. Therefore, young married couples had to look elsewhere for free homesteads. The township adjacent on the north side of the West Reserve still had available homesteads. Some of the Toews moved first, followed by Julius Toews and the Jacob Giesbrechts.
The oldest son, Jacob and family, remained at Neuenburg. He moved his building to the village. Big wooden wheels were placed under the barn, and twelve horses were hitched to the building. In 1900 the John Hooge's, as well as my grandparents, left the Reinland-Neuenburg area. The Hooge's moved to Kronsgart and Grandparents acquired a farm near Winkler. Here they built a modern two-story house. Also, a big barn with a windmill on the roof which was used to grind feed for the farm animals. Grandfather also owned a threshing machine, which was operated by his son Diedrich, during the harvest season.
In 1902, Grandfather made a trip back to Russia to visit his family whom he had not seen since he emigrated to America in 1875. His parents had already died but his siblings were still there. He was satisfied that he had made the right choice to emigrate to Canada. His two younger half-sisters, Maria and Gertruda and their husbands, returned to Canada with him. Maria and her husband, Abraham Paethkau, later moved from Canada to Mexico, but a few years later returned to Southern Manitoba. Gertruda was married to a Letkeman.
Grandfather Toews also became a shareholder in the Winkler Flour Mill. For a time, my Uncle Wilhelm Toews worked at this mill.
Grandmother Gertruda Hiebert Toews died of cancer on October 6, 1909. After Grandmother's death, Jacob Toews bought a house in Winkler and lived there for some time.
Further waves of Mennonite immigrants continued to arrive from Russia to Manitoba during the 1900s. My mother's parents, the Jacob Thiessens's, arrived in Manitoba in the spring of 1903. Grandfather Thiessen bought a farm 2 miles north of Winkler. This farm already had a seeded crop growing at the time of purchase. He was very pleased about their move to Canada, however, he did not live long enough to harvest his first crop; he died of cancer.
Grandfather Thiessen was survived by his widow and children. Their daughter, Maria, found employment at the Jacob Toews' farmstead in the summer of 1903. As things turned out, my father Diedrich D. Toews and Maria Thiessen were married on November 29, 1903, at the Toews home. Elder Jacob Hoeppner officiated.
Grandfather Toews, who had been widowed in October 1909, got married to Grandmother Thiessen. They lived together for some time until Grandmother Thiessen/Toews had a stroke and became helpless. She then went to live with her daughter Maria and son-in-law Diedrich Toews.
In the meantime, Grandfather Toews' health was deteriorating too so he moved in with his daughter Gertruda and son-in-law John Hooge. Grandfather Toews died February 19, 1919. He and his first wife, Gertruda Hiebert Toews, are both buried in the Winkler Cemetery, southwest of Winkler. Their graves are west of the east entrance close to the north boundary. There are two individual tombstones in gray.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Jan 17 2022, 5:39:58 UTC
Jacob was born in the Mennonite village of Neugortitz, South Russia.

• Jacob R. Toews was able to supply much of the information in this story which Anne Giesbrecht offered to write for him. As stated in the description, he would be a grandson of the Jacob Toews (1844-1919) who first immigrated to North America with his family.

--------------------------------------------

  The Toews were descendants of those Mennonites who had left the Netherlands because of religious and civil persecutions, and who settled in the Vistula Delta, Prussia, in the sixteenth century.  Here they lived for some 250 years under constant civil and religious duress.  In the eighteenth century they were on the move again, and were among the first settlers to leave the Danzig area, who founded the Chortitiza Colony, which was established during the years 1789-1824.  Chortitza was the first settlement in South Russia, and was also known as the Old Colony.

In the 1870s the Russian Czar began to renege on some of the privileges which had induced the Mennonites to settle there. For instance, they were no longer exempt from military service. Some Mennonites opted to remain in Russia and agreed to serve in the Forestry Service as an alternative to the military. However, other more conservative Mennonites felt that their future in Russia was insecure.
My Aunt Maria Toews Peters recalls the family story. "When Grandfather Toews had received his visa to go to Canada, his brother Julius tried to take it away. They even got into a scuffle. Grandfather won and retained his visa and was able to emigrate. However, the other members of his family decided to remain in Russia."
Upon the death of his mother, Grandfather Toews received his inheritance and this enabled him to purchase a farmstead which was their home until they emigrated to America in 1875. The first group of Mennonite settlers to America reached their destination in 1874. The journey from Russia to Canada usually took about seven weeks. This consisted of travel by train via Berlin and on to Hamburg, where a ship would take them via the North Sea to Hull, England on to Liverpool, and across the Atlantic Ocean to St. John's, Newfoundland to Halifax, and down the St. Lawrence River through the Great Lakes, to Sault Ste. Marie, Duluth. From there they took the train to Moorhead, Minnesota which is across the Red River from Fargo.
Grandmother Gertruda Hiebert Toews was privileged to have her parents and most of her brothers and sisters emigrate to America at the same time. My grandparents, Jacob and Gertruda Toews, came to Canada on the S.S. Moravian No. 25, arriving in Canada on July 1, 1875. On the same boat were Grandmother's family, consisting of my great grandparents, Abram Hiebert, born 6-6-1820, and Anna Hildebrand Hiebert, born 2-1-1823. Grandmother Toews' siblings, Wilhelm Hiebert, born 15-01-1856; Dietrich Hiebert, born 30-08-1849; Maria Hiebert Wolff, born 14-12-1851; Abram Hiebert, born 23-08-1848; as well as spouses and children of her siblings.
In addition, we recently discovered that the family of Johan Schelenberg, who was twice married, and whose first wife Susana Toews, the sister to my Grandfather, came to Canada on the same boat as the Toews/Hiebert families.
When these immigrants arrived in Fargo, they had to wait several days before getting transportation via a riverboat to take them north to Manitoba. This stopover served as an opportunity to make necessary purchases as well as to recover from the long journey by ship and train.
During the layover in Fargo, American land agents tried to sell these Mennonite settlers on the opportunities to obtain homesteads available 25 miles west of Fargo. The immigrants were also able to look around and view the terrain. Grandfather and his brothers-in-law were well impressed with the area.
As soon as the riverboat was ready to continue the journey, the immigrants boarded with all their baggage and supplies, and were transported northward down the Red River, some 60 miles beyond the American-Canadian border, to the junction of the Rat River. Here they landed around the middle of August, 1875. Then they were transported some five miles further via Indian ox-carts to the immigrant reception houses.
Jacob Shantz, a Mennonite from Ontario, whose family had immigrated from Pennsylvania to Ontario, became involved with the settlement of the Russian Mennonites in Manitoba. He was concerned that suitable living quarters would be provided the new settlers on arrival, as it would be months before they could build their own homes.
The result was that four buildings were constructed 20 ft. by 100 ft., to provide a simple shelter until the settlers were able to create their own. Each building was divided into 12 rooms so as to accomodate 48 people. The wood to construct these buildings was hauled by wagon and a team of horses which Shantz had purchased in Minnesota. By the time the first Mennonite settlers came to Manitoba, the reception sheds were ready for occupancy.
The families remained at the sheds while the men rented ox teams, and criss-crossed the terrain through the available homesteads, and sought information about the condition of the land, water situation, the terrain, whether wooded or prairie, etc.
The weather during these days was cold and rainy, and clouds of mosquitoes plagued the people day and night. Grandfather Toews, and his brothers-in-law, as well as some of the other immigrants, were very disappointed with their findings. They went on foot to what is now Winnipeg but were disappointed in their findings there as well. In Winnipeg, Grandfather exchanged some of the gold which he had brought from Russia for Canadian dollars. This was the proceeds from the sale of his farmstead in Russia. In total, he had $3,000 in gold. My father recalls that his mother had made purses out of sheepskin in which Grandfather carried the gold.
These disappointed settlers and their families decided to go back to Fargo where the region and the weather had been more to their liking. They returned to Fargo, boarding a riverboat to take them south.
The land agents in Fargo directed Grandfather and his companions to the settlement opportunities 20 miles west of Fargo where Swedish immigrants had already established a settlement. Near this settlement was the hamlet of Mapleton, where all the needs of the new settlers could be fulfilled. Grandfather and his companions were well pleased with the region, and in a short time, they had acquired their homesteads and shelters for the families and their cattle.
Grandfather had exchanged his Canadian dollars into US currency and since there was such a good exchange rate at the time, he was able to pay for their trip to Fargo with the money gained.
Grandfather purchased 160 acres of good farm land at Mapleton. Namely, the south half of the south east quarter, and the south half of the south west quarter of Section 10, Township 139, North of Range 51 west of the fifth principal meridian. This land was purchased from Anton Desjarlis; Peter Wallberg was the attorney. This title was made in 1875, grandting Jacob Toews and Abraham Ens "the right to sell, and convey and possess the land and premises in a quiet and peaceable possession" (In 1989 Jacob Toews (17-03-1917) researched this in the Indenture made the 20th of October, 1875, at the Court House in Fargo).
Jacob and Gertruda Hiebert Toews established their first home in the New World at Mapleton, North Dakota. Their property had a stream which ran through the farm. They had a fish trap on the stream and were able to enjoy fish for breakfast every morning.
Grandparents had five children, namely Jacob (6-8-1866), Abram (10-8-1867), Julius (5-2-1869), Anna (23-4-1872), and Susanna (12-3-1874), who had been born in South Russia, when they came to America. One daughter had died in infancy, and Susanna died shortly upon arrival in North Dakota. Five more children were born at Mapleton, North Dakota-another Susanna (18-2-1876), Wilhelm (29-9-1877), Gertruda (27-8-1879), Diedrich (24-2-1881), and Peter (23-1-1882). They lived at Mapleton for 8 years and came to Southern Manitoba in 1882, where four more children were born-Aganetha (1-5-1884), Johann (4-4-1883), Maria (11-8-1885), and Kornelius (19-3-1887) who died a month later.
Grandfather Toews had been hoping that more dissatisfied settlers from the East Reserve in Manitoba would join them in North Dakota so that in a few years they would have a closed Mennonite community, provided with a church and school. Through correspondence with relatives in Manitoba, they learned that dissatisfied settlers from the East Reserve were moving to the West Reserve, and that these had no intentions of resettling to Mapleton. The settlers at Mapleton were greatly disappointed at this information and they agreed that the best solution would be to sell their farms to the Swedes and to move to the West Reserve in Manitoba.
A number of Swedish families had settled at Mapleton, prior to the arrival of the Mennonites, and had already established a rural school in that area. The Mennonite settlers, concerned that their children receive an education, sent their children to the local school. Before long, a friendly relationship developed between the Swedish and Mennonite children. The Mennonite parents feared their children, being only a small minority, would lose their Mennonite identity by inter-marrying with the Swedish young people. This they could not allow to happen. Grandfather Toews, the Hieberts, and other Mennonite settlers realized that if they wished their families to remain Mennonite, they would need to return to Manitoba. Grandfather sold his farm for a better price than he paid for it. The family moved to Manitoba in 1882.
In 1875, Jacob Y. Shantz had led a survey party to the Pembina Hills region in Southern Manitoba. The purpose of this exploration was to find a home for the Furstenlander Mennonites, today called Old Colony, of whom we are descendants. He discovered that this area had very good soil. By Order-in-Council of April 25, 1876, this region of seventeen townships was set aside for Mennonite settlement. This area was called the West Reserve. The East and West Reserves consisted of 25 townships, or over half a million acres of land.
By 1877, the East Reserve wasn't able to absorb more immigrants due to the quality of the soil. Some from the East Reserve moved and settled in the West Reserve. The West Reserve began receiving Mennonite immigrants in 1875. They settled in villages as they had in Russia.
In 1882, when the Toews family decided to leave North Dakota, and move to join the Mennonites, the family now consisted of the parents and nine children ranging in age from sixteen to infancy, as follows: Jacob-16, Abram-15, Julius-13, Anna-10, Susanna-6, Wilhelm-5, Gertruda-3, Diedrich-2, and Peter several months. It was quite an undertaking to make the decision to leave their farmstead in North Dakota and start again in a new situation.
As in Russia, Mennonites ruled their villages and administered their civic affairs through the "Gebietsamt". There was considerable resistance in both the East and West Reserves when the Manitoba government introduced the Municipality and the Municipal Council. The reeve, councilors and the secretary-treasurer soon replaced the Schulze, Oberschulze and their assistants. Eventually, all "Gebietsamt" business was conducted through the municipality. The freedom of the New World also affected the Mennonites. Even though many in the Reinland area preferred to live in villages, the farmers were able to get their farmsteads surveyed and obtain personal ownership of the land, rather than as before that the church had the ownership. In all aspects the church had always played a very important role in the lives of the Mennonites. Before October 5, 1880, there had ben no official church organization in the West Reserve. All the Mennonites were generally called or considered Old Colony people. However, people from the surrounding villages did get together for woship services, at the church built in 1876, in the village of Reinland (as of 1992 this church building still stands as the oldest Mennonite church building in Western Canada). At this October 5, 1880 meeting in Reinland, the first West Reserve Mennonite Church was officially organized. A new church register was started and all those who wanted to be in the church, henceforth, had to have their names entered. In keeping with tradition the church was called Reinlander Mennoniten Gemeinde. The Reinlander church, generally called Old Colony Church in Manitoba folklore, remained firm in its resistance to change.
In 1882 when the Toews family moved to Southern Manitoba, it wasn't easy to acquire land in the villages. However, there was land available from the Hudson's Bay Company. Grandfather purchased 3/4 sections of land south of the village of Neuenburg-NW 1/4, SW 1/4, SE 1/4 and later he also acquired NE 1/4 of 26 Section Township 1, Range 4, west of the Principal Meridian. The first 3/4 which he purchased from the Hudson's Bay Company cost $4.50 per acre. This was not a homestead, and he was able to pay for all of it. It was productive sandy land.
When the Mennonites first settled in Manitoba they had to live in very primitive housing made of brush and hay. The first winter had caused much anguish to some government officials who were concerned about how the Mennonite settlers would be able to cope in the frigid weather. One of the officials went out to check as he expected much suffering due to the approaching winter. However, he discovered that all the families were comfortable and warm. Some lived in log houses plastered with a mixture of mud, sand and hay, inside and out. Some of the Winnipeg lumber dealers were disappointed with this rugged Mennonite resourcefulness.
Since Grandfather Toews had had the advantage of being able to sell his homestead in North Dakota, he now had the finances to build a 30 foot by 48 foot house. The outside of the house was built of wood siding, and homemade bricks were filled in between the 2x4s. Furthermore, the house had a wood shingle roof. In those days, because of the many common names, people were identified by nicknames. Therefore, the Toews' family were known as "Schindel Toewsen" or "Forma Toewsen" because they lived on a farm.
The barn was located north of the house-it did however have a thatched roof. The house and barn were separate, not like in the villages where the house and barn were connected, as they had been in Russia.
Grandparents, Jacob and Gertruda Toews, were hardworking pioneers, and helped establish their children on land near Neuenburg. They also became members of the Old Colony Mennonite Church of Reinland. They prospered at Neuenburg. However, most of their business transactions took place at the hamlet of Winkler, which was about ten miles north. They also experienced some difficulty adjusting to the village society.
In those days young people married early to begin their own farming operations. The oldest son, Jacob, married Anna Letkeman in 1885, when both were 19 years of age. Grandfather bought a quarter towards Neuenburg for Jacob. At the age of 20, his son Abram married Maria Dyck in 1887, and was sold one of Grandfather's quarters. In 1888, Julius married Anna Giesbrecht from the village of Reinland, and began farming near Blumenfeld. For his son-in-law, Jacob Giesbrecht, also from Reinland, he bought school land one mile north of Neuenburg.
The West Reserve settlement was not cmoposed of one homogenous group. There were serious problems, some of which related to the fact that these settlers originated from different villages in Russia. There was also a deep spiritual concern. There was faith in God and the desire to live a deep spiritual life. But there was disunity and disagreement as to what should be done. The fifteen years, 1877 to 1892, were difficult years for all. However, church renewal was slowly taking form.
Grandparents, Jacob and Gertruda, became part of the renewal movement. In the Hoffnungsfeld area the minister, Jacob Hoeppner, William Harms and Franz Sawatzky had been ordained by East Reserve elders before 1887. At the same time Grandfather Toews had also been ordained as a deacon and served in this capacity for many years. This was the beginning of the so-called Bergthaler Church in Southern Manitoba.
My father recalled a heavy electric storm which had occured in Southern Manitoba when he was a young boy. It was in the month of August, while the Toews family was living south of Neuenburg. The year must have been between 1883 to 1889. About twenty people were at the Toews home celebrating the engagement of a young couple. The storm was so strong that a window crashed onto a table at which some young men were sitting, thier faces were cut and covered with blood. The kitchen wall, which consisted of a wide chimney, had toppled and the bricks were scattered all over the kitchen floor. Father's sisters, Gertruda and Maria, had been standing near the kitchen wall when it fell and the two girls were found lying among the bricks. The two younger sisters, Neta and Maria, were able to stand when lifted, but Trudy was severly burned and unconscious, she was all blue and her arm and leg were badly scorched. They laid her down outside. Suddenly it began to rain heavily and she came to and began to breathe. Nobody had been killed. Even the dog ended up with only a swollen foot.
As a consequence of this lightning storm, seven other homesteads were also struck and burnt. Because Grandparents' house was built of bricks, they didn't have a fire.
At the turn of the century, the available homesteads, in the confines of the West Reserve, had all been taken. Therefore, young married couples had to look elsewhere for free homesteads. The township adjacent on the north side of the West Reserve still had available homesteads. Some of the Toews moved first, followed by Julius Toews and the Jacob Giesbrechts.
The oldest son, Jacob and family, remained at Neuenburg. He moved his building to the village. Big wooden wheels were placed under the barn, and twelve horses were hitched to the building. In 1900 the John Hooge's, as well as my grandparents, left the Reinland-Neuenburg area. The Hooge's moved to Kronsgart and Grandparents acquired a farm near Winkler. Here they built a modern two-story house. Also, a big barn with a windmill on the roof which was used to grind feed for the farm animals. Grandfather also owned a threshing machine, which was operated by his son Diedrich, during the harvest season.
In 1902, Grandfather made a trip back to Russia to visit his family whom he had not seen since he emigrated to America in 1875. His parents had already died but his siblings were still there. He was satisfied that he had made the right choice to emigrate to Canada. His two younger half-sisters, Maria and Gertruda and their husbands, returned to Canada with him. Maria and her husband, Abraham Paethkau, later moved from Canada to Mexico, but a few years later returned to Southern Manitoba. Gertruda was married to a Letkeman.
Grandfather Toews also became a shareholder in the Winkler Flour Mill. For a time, my Uncle Wilhelm Toews worked at this mill.
Grandmother Gertruda Hiebert Toews died of cancer on October 6, 1909. After Grandmother's death, Jacob Toews bought a house in Winkler and lived there for some time.
Further waves of Mennonite immigrants continued to arrive from Russia to Manitoba during the 1900s. My mother's parents, the Jacob Thiessens's, arrived in Manitoba in the spring of 1903. Grandfather Thiessen bought a farm 2 miles north of Winkler. This farm already had a seeded crop growing at the time of purchase. He was very pleased about their move to Canada, however, he did not live long enough to harvest his first crop; he died of cancer.
Grandfather Thiessen was survived by his widow and children. Their daughter, Maria, found employment at the Jacob Toews' farmstead in the summer of 1903. As things turned out, my father Diedrich D. Toews and Maria Thiessen were married on November 29, 1903, at the Toews home. Elder Jacob Hoeppner officiated.
Grandfather Toews, who had been widowed in October 1909, got married to Grandmother Thiessen. They lived together for some time until Grandmother Thiessen/Toews had a stroke and became helpless. She then went to live with her daughter Maria and son-in-law Diedrich Toews.
In the meantime, Grandfather Toews' health was deteriorating too so he moved in with his daughter Gertruda and son-in-law John Hooge. Grandfather Toews died February 19, 1919. He and his first wife, Gertruda Hiebert Toews, are both buried in the Winkler Cemetery, southwest of Winkler. Their graves are west of the east entrance close to the north boundary. There are two individual tombstones in gray.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Oct 2 2023, 16:21:02 UTC