© Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Last updated January 31, 2003)


Friesen, Heinrich, 1842-1921

Retrieval numbers: Vol. 2107-4

Title: Heinrich Friesen fonds
Dates: 1886-1916
Extent: 2 cm of textual records

Historical note

Heinrich Friesen, minister, teacher and farmer, was born on November 11, 1842 to Jacob and Helena (nee Dyck) Friesen in the village of Schoenfeld, Bergthal Colony, South Russia. He was the 5th of seven children. Friesen was baptized on May 28, 1862 and later that same year on September 30th was married to Agatha Hiebert. Their marriage produced 13 children of which seven survived. They also adopted a daughter, Katharina Goertzen, who was three years old when she joined the family. In 1874 he and his family immigrated to Canada where they settled in Hochfeld, Manitoba. He was ordained as deacon on December 15, 1881. Four years later he was ordained to the ministry of the Gospel on December 3, 1885. In addition to preaching in all the churches on the East Reserve which required a great deal of travelling, Friesen also taught in the village school. This led to some humorous incidents as Friesen was rather deaf and couldn't always hear what was happening in the classroom. He retired in 1911 and moved in with his daughter and her husband on their farm. It was here that he died September 12, 1921.

Scope and content note

This fonds contains three letters addressed to Heinrich Schellenberg. It includes one general funeral sermon which could be used for any older person who died naturally. It contains one sermon based on Pauls letters especially Ephesians 6 and focuses on staying alert and remaining strong in the faith. It contains one sermon based on Luke 19:1-10 which is the story of Zacchaeus. It contains one sermon which encourages his listeners not to fear death but rather to look forward to eternity with Christ. The last sermon in this fonds is based on Luke 14:16-24 which looks toward the last days when all of the children of God will be seated together at the great banquet table. Finally this fonds contains one notebook of five poems.

Index terms

Creators

Friesen, Heinrich, 1842-1921

Adjunct descriptive data

Finding aids

No other finding aids currently available.

Notes

Custodial history

Collected by David and Trudy Schellenberg of Winkler for the Christian Heritage Library.

Language

Hand-written Gothic German

Arrangement

Described by Sharon H. H. Brown December, 2002.

Restrictions on access

None

Other notes

Acc. no. 97-150