© Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Last updated June 26, 2009)

Historical note

Heinrich Jacob Friesen was born 2 September 1900 in the village of Rudnerweide, Gnadenfeld Volost, Berdjansk Bezirk, Taurida Guberniia in South Russia to Jakob and Elisabeth (Flaming) Friesen. He received elementary education in the village school and secondary education in Gnadenfeld. He was baptized in the Mennonite Church on the 1 June 1921 upon the confession of his faith. He married Justina Warkentin on 21 May 1924. They emigrated from Russia in 1926 and settled in Manitoba where they lived and mainly farmed. Places of residence included Meadows, Elm Creek, Pigeon Lake, Marquette, Winnipeg and Rosser. They had 6 children. Heinrich died in Winnipeg on 25 June 1985. The funeral service was held in the Schoenfelder Mennonite Church at Pigeon Lake, Manitoba.

Scope and content note

This fonds contains the memoirs that Heinrich J. Friesen wrote between 1974 and 1979. The first part covers life in Russia, childhood memories, political awareness surrounding the 1917 Russian Revolution, marriage and emigration from Russia to Canada. In the second part, Friesen recounts his memories of life in Canada. This part is organized by chronologically by year (and by month toward the end of the manuscript). There are also about ten pages of background and family genealogical data in a separate folder.

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