Family stories

I received two family stories Fast and Wiens 

Here is a link to the Fast Story 

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/005730880

Probates

Today I learned about probates. Probate is the legal process whereby a will is "proved" in a court and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased.

Probates have a lot of information in them; this will help confirm family members along with where they are residing and also gives you an insight into the wealth of the family.

I was able to find the probate of my second great grandfather Heinrich S Peters. In the document it was noted the health of his wife Anna Wall Peters and also who he wanted to take care of his wife in the event that he passes before his wife.

I have a hard time reading some of the words, so I'm going to see if I can have someone dictate it for me.

I was able to find Heinrich S Peters's where it mentions his wife Anna, and his children:
Heinrich K "Henry" Peters - b. 1868, d. 1946

Cornelius Henry "Nels" Peters - b. 1887, d. 1943
Johannes "John" Henry Peters - b. 1891, d. 1948
Hermann Heinrich Peters - b. 1861, d. 1921
Anna Peters Hiebert - b. 1866, d. 1950
Peter H Peters - b. 1874, d. 1937
Elizabeth H Peters Wiens - b. 1877, d. 1946
Jacob Henry Peters - b. 1880, d. 1962
Daniel H Peters - b. 1883, d. 1960

Click on the Documents tab to see the 3 page file

John (Johann) A. Fast and his wife, Anna H. (Peters) Fast

This story was found on Ancestry.com, From preface of Fast Family Tree, Compiled by Martha Lepp (Mrs. John) 1971. Judy_Pahlke originally shared this on 10 Nov 2007



Looking for material for a brief historical background of our forefathers it is difficult to find information on one certain family. This is due to the fact that our people were at times forced to flee because of persecution and continual search for religious freedom.In checking history we find the family name of Fast among a group living in Prussia in about the year 1776. Just when they moved to Prussia is not known, however, it could have been during the 1500's when Charles V persecuted and tortured those that could not go along with the rituals and practices of the Roman Church because of their personal beliefs in Christ our Lord. These conditions caused our forefathers to flee, leaving their homes and farms. Some even lost their lives. It was at this time that our people scattered, some going to Holland, others to north Germany, Freisland and Prussia.It was during this time that Menno Simon, a priest, left his church and was converted. He became and evangelist and organized many churches and this became the faith of our fathers and whereby we received the name of Mennonites.Our forefathers were not considered citizens for Prussia, and in spite of the fact that they were people of great talents in farming and business, problems and difficulties arose again and again putting an increasing amount of pressure on the Mennonite families. Young men were pressured to serve in the army (Mennonite faith taught non-resistance) or else the heavily taxed.In the year 1786 Catherine II, Empress of Russia, having heard of the Mennonites as hard working and talented people, who were looking for a new land with less political and religious pressures, invited them to come from Germany and Prussia and to the Ukraine in South Russia. 

 In the year 1818 the forefathers of the Fasts moved to Russia. Here they prospered and the Mennonite people engaged in silk production, flour mills, factories in farm equipment and dairy products, farming and many profitable businesses. A good educational system was established. Here most of our forefathers prospered and a number of churches were built in the area.In time, again their freedom was restricted and our people were gravely concerned for the future of their children and coming generations. At this time their thoughts turned to America and it was in the year of 1876, John (Johann) A. Fast and his wife, Anna H. (Peters) Fast decided to leave Russia and come to America with their nine children. Two more children were born later in America. They left their home in Alixzandkron, Russia with a group of others and arrived in Mountain Lake, Minnesota on August 1, 1875. They settled on a farm 10 miles northwest of Mountain Lake in Carson Township. The mother, Anna, died when the youngest child, Herman was six years old.


Later John Fast married Mrs. Enns Penner who had several children of her own. John Fast died in June 1896 leaving his children fatherless when the youngest was fourteen. The stepmother then left the children on their own. An older married sister moved in with them and cared for them.

I found the probate for John A Fast- The document is 56 pages. I have it saved, but do not know how to upload such a large document to the site.  

Heinrich Peters and Heinrich Peters, Jr.

This information was provided by the descendants of Sara H. Peters Fast, Elizabeth H. Peters Kroeker, Anna Peters Fast and Heinrich Peters Jr.

Heinrich Peters and Heinrich Peters, Jr.

The Peters family is thought to be of the Dutch and German descent, originating in Friesland, a province of Holland.  (According to the “Mennonite Encyclopedia” Vo. IV, p. 150). The family name appears frequently among lists of deacons and preachers of West Prussia from where they migrated to South Russia.

Heinrich Peter’s family lived near Elbing, Prussia. Heinrich Sr.’s oldest child, Sara, was baptized in 1843 by Elder Peters at the age of 14 in Thiensdorf (map), about six or eight miles south of Elbing.  Thiensdorf was a Mennonite village in the Vistula Delta, 25 miles south of the Baltic Sea.  Plautdietsch (plautdietsch), or Low German was the dominant language.  One of Sara’s grandchildren remembers it said that Heinrich Sr. was a miller (Miller) in Russia. It is thought his ancestors also followed this trade in Prussia. (Although we know in Mountain Lake, Heinrich Jr. was a blacksmith, plying his trade at 611 Tenth Street where part of the original home is now used as a garage.) (611-10th-St-N-Mountain-Lake-MN-56159)

Heinrich moved to Russia in the spring of 1843.  He came by wagon on a two month trip, bringing his wife and six children with him.  Sara, the oldest was fourteen.  Cornelius, the youngest child was about one year old.  Other family stories mention Ukrainian robbers who often preyed on the Mennonites as they travelled, killing their victims first and then searching them for whatever they might find. 

Heinrich Sr. chose to move his family to the Russian Mennonite colony of Molotchna (Molotschna).  Molotchna contained more than fifty little farm villages and was located approximately 100 miles southeast of Chortitza, in the Russian province of Tourida.  The family lived first in the village of Alexandria, second in the neighboring village of Gnadenheim, third in Steinbach, about 12 miles to the southeast, and finally in Pordenau.  (The length of stay in each village is not known.)  Elizabeth Peter’s husband, Peter Wiens, used to talk about how as a teenager he would skate to town and up and down the river visiting friends in other villages. One has to wonder if the younger Heinrich and his brothers did the same during their years in Molotchna.

During this time, the family were members of the Mennonite Church of Gnadenfeld.  All of the villages in the eastern half of the settlement were related to that principal Mennonite town and its church.  In 1860, the Mennonite Brethren Church became an independent branch of the Gnadenfeld congregation and Heinrich Jr. joined their membership. 

In 1865-66, a certain Herman Peters from Molotchna and a member of the fledgling Mennonite Brethren Church of Gnadenfeld started a new movement within the church.  He separated from the fellowship along with approximately 20 families.  They were known as Apostolische Brüedergemeinde (Apostolic Brotherhood), the Peters Brethren and the “Brotbrecher” (Breadbreakers).  This was a nickname bestowed upon the group because its members broke their bread in their homes as well as in communion service. The movement was an attempt to encourage extreme separation from the world and from anything in one’s personal life, like bodily adornments or personal photographs, which could result from pride or worldliness.  In some ways they were similar to the Amish. 

It is known that Heinrich Jr. became a member of this group, though he did not always stay geographically related to it in the following years. His grandchildren said that when they knew him in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, his mirror was always covered with a cloth so that he could see only his hair when he combed. Pride in self was not tolerated.  They never knew him to allow a photograph of himself to be taken, though his children did finally take one of him after his death.  In Mountain Lake, even though he was a member of the Mennonite Brethren Church, he was still known as “Brotbrecher” (Breadbreaker) Peters.  There has been much family debate as to whether or not the Herman Peters who founded the Breadbreakers was the younger brother of Heinrich.  The Herman Peters who started the movement was said to have been born 1840/1841, lived in Gnadenheim as a child, and joined the Mennonite Brethren Church in 1860 when Heinrich did.  Both men moved to the same area of Crimea at about the same time.  In later years, Elizabeth Peter’s children remembered her talking quite a bit about “Smolyantz”. A town by the name of Smolyanovka is located near Omsk, Siberia in the area where Herman Peters settled with his church in 1900.  Note:  There is no definitive proof of this theory.  It has just made for interesting debate.

It appears that sometime around 1866, Heinrich moved his family to Crimea, a peninsula jutting into the Baltic Sea, about 200 miles southwest of Molotchna.  Then, in 1871, the Molotchna settlement, in an attempt to find more land for its growing population, opened a new settlement called Zagradovka (Sagradovka), located west of the Ingulets River, a tributary of the Dnieper.  Heinrich Jr. moved his family there sometime thereafter. It is unknown how long they lived here, but it was long enough that Elizabeth spoke about it to her children.  She would often say, “When we still lived in Zagradovka . . . “.  Her children couldn’t remember the details of the conversation, only the name of the town.  She would also refer to Molotchna in conversation, but more vaguely. 

After Zagradovka, the Peters family moved to the village of Tokulchak in Crimea. This was another village that Elizabeth spoke to her children about.  (I only wish they had remembered details of her life there in addition to the names.)

In early 1894, Heinrich Jr. moved his family to Mountain Lake, MN.  His brother-in-law, Johann J. Fast – husband of Heinrich’s oldest sister Sara, helped finance the trip.  On the way to the ship, the family stopped by some deep water to wash clothes.  Elizabeth, 15 years old at the time, was washing clothes on the bank.  When she got up she became dizzy and tumbled into the water.  She went under three times and was close to drowning.  When she came up the third time her brother caught hold of her hair braid and pulled her to safety. She was upset he had pulled so hard on her hair, not realizing how much trouble she had been in. (Heinrich Jr.’s siblings - Johann & Sara Peters Fast, Martin &  Elisabeth Peters Kroeker, and Johann Abraham & Anna Peters Fast previously immigrated to Mountain Lake on July 25, 1875. They sailed from Antwerp, Belgium on the ship name “Nederland”. The Fast name was misspelled as “Faas”.)  

The 1900 census shows Heinrich and Anna in Midway Township, Mountain Lake, MN District, with their youngest two sons.  They confirm the 1894 immigration date.  Anna lists herself as being the mother of 9 children, 6 of who are still living.  Heinrich is a blacksmith.  Anna developed severe rheumatoid arthritis shortly thereafter and was unable to care for herself the last 20 years of her life. 

Notes on Elizabeth Peters, daughter of Heinrich, Jr.

Elizabeth was a very petite woman, only 5’2”. Her schooling was all in Russia, so she spoke only German. She was about 36 years old when she learned English.  She was an avid reader, becoming so engrossed in her books that she wouldn’t hear her children ask her questions.  She first read German books that were passed around the community.  After learning English and returning to Mountain Lake, she would check out books from the Public Library.

Before they met, Peter P. Wiens (age 19) worked as a laborer at the farm of his cousin, Heinrich Kroecker, in Midway, Cottonwood, MN. Heinrich was also Elizabeth’s cousin.  Peter spoke Russian and German, and learned to speak English working on the farm.

After their marriage, Peter apprenticed as a carpenter and opened his own business in addition to farming.  He helped build the red brick Mountain Lake School at 12^th Street and 4^th Avenue that his grandchildren later attended.

Elizabeth and family were members of the EMB Church – originally known as the Burderthaler Church. One of her daughters remembered being baptized along with several other girls in the middle of the winter.  They travelled to a lake about 2 or 3 miles from the church where the men took a tree saw and cut a hole in the ice.  The girls were then baptized by immersion and travelled back to church in the buggies.  

Peter and Elizabeth moved to Canada in 1900 to try farming, but returned within a year because the land was too dry.

On Jun 22, 1908 two tornados combined into one massive tornado and hit Cottonwood County. The tornado set down on the home of Jacob Fast (son of Anna Peters & Johann Fast). It tore out the chimneys, blew out all of the windows and destroyed several buildings before moving on. This was the third tornado to hit Jacob’s property in the previous few years and his losses were tremendous. The storm also hit 25 other Mennonite farms, including Peter Wiens. Peter’s barn and outbuildings were completely destroyed, but his house located only a few rods east of the barn had only minor damage. Two steel water tanks were carried away and no trace of them was ever found.  A team of horses was carried a half a mile and dropped, unharmed.  Fortunately, because of the use of storm cellars, few people died.

In 1913 Peter and Elizabeth moved along with several other Mountain Lake Mennonite families to a new settlement in Chinook, Montana.  Peter and the other fathers traveled by immigrant car – box freight cars in which all of their belongings were loaded including farm machinery and cattle, chickens and pigs.  Elizabeth and 7 children, ranging from ages eleven months to twelve, came by passenger train.  In addition to homesteading, Peter helped build the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren church in Chinook as well as several homes.  Because their home was close to the school, they often boarded teachers.  Since the teachers did not speak German, Elizabeth learned English in order to communicate with them.

In 1937, the family returned to Mountain Lake.

Elizabeth’s children described their home life as simple, but their family relationship as close. Every evening before retiring the family gathered in friendly conversation, eating sunflower seeds (commonly known as Russian peanuts). There was also a short prayer session before retiring.  Music was a large part of their life at home.

Food was plain, but nourishing.  Coffee was roasted barley, rye bread was made from home ground rye. Zwieback, pfeffernüsse and pluma moos were favorites. Preparing for Sunday worship kept everyone busy on Saturday. There was the baking of bread, cakes, cookies and dried fruit pies.  Meat was generally cooked, not roasted.  Sunday was faithfully observed by everyone going to church early, taking lunch or dinner along. As was custom, men sat on one side and women on the other.  Women wore black veils or scarves after they were married.  After church, there was lunch, choir practice and visiting. Although church services were always in German, after WWI the services were switched to English.

Filling in The Blanks

I'm so over joyed to have been contacted by a "Missing Peters"

I have been trying to fill in the blanks for the two oldest:

Peter Henry Peters
Elizabeth H Peters Wiens

Almost a month exactly from the last blog post, I had Elizabeth H Peters Wiens great granddaughter email me. She found my last blog post and emailed me.

So excited to have her fill in the blanks.

Finding The Peters Family

This blog has been so helpful to the lost Peters family!
So many people have contacted me and I have a large list of family to help fill in the blanks
 Heinrich S "Henry" Peters and Anna Wall Peters had 6 children together:

Peter Henry Peters
Elizabeth H Peters Wiens
Jacob Henry Peters
Daniel Henry Peters
Cornelius Henry "Nels" Peters
Johannes "John Henry Peters

I have contacts for:
Jacob Henry Peters
Daniel Henry Peters
Cornelius Henry "Nels" Peters
Johannes "John Henry Peters

But I'm missing the two oldest:
Peter Henry Peters
Elizabeth H Peters Wiens

This is a summary of what I have for Peter:
When Peter H Peters was born on October 16, 1873, in Russia, his father, Heinrich, was 36 and his mother, Anna, was 21. He married Elizabeth Margie Toews and they had four children together. He then married Margaret R "Maggie" Dahlke Peters and they had eight children together. He died on November 10, 1937, in North Dakota, at the age of 64, and was buried in Margie, Minnesota.

This is a summary of what I have for Elizabeth H Peters Wiens:
When Elizabeth H Peters Wiens was born on January 25, 1877, in Russia, her father, Heinrich, was 40 and her mother, Anna, was 24. She married Peter P. Wiens on November 24, 1896, in Mountain Lake, Minnesota. They had eight children in 18 years. She died on July 24, 1946, in Mountain Lake, Minnesota, at the age of 69, and was buried there.

Why does everyone have the same name?

I have been adding more and more people to my family tree and I have noticed that every family has the same name for the children. So I decided to look up naming traditions. This is what I have found. Basically the first born sons were named after the father or grandfather and the first daughter was names after the mother or grandmother and the rest of the children were names after aunts and uncles.
Here is what I found of course it was from Wikipedia-like site: Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online

Given Names

Besides the patronymic system of names, the given names were primarily names taken from the Bible like those of the Puritans and other religious groups. Among the Russian Mennonites there were certain cycles and traditions according to which the same names would be repeated in the family. The oldest son would be named after the father or grandfather, and the oldest daughter after the mother or grandmother. The succeeding children would be named after uncles and aunts. The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church record, started in Germany during the 17th century and continued in Russia and Kansas, is an interesting source of information on this practice. During 1695-1799 (Prussia), 921 given names were checked. This list contained only 40 different names, all the others being repeated. Heading the list of male members in frequency was Peter (90), followed by Jakob (74). Among the female names, Ancke (Anna) ranked highest  (107) with Marike (Maria) following (79). The names still had a Dutch ending, indicating the cultural and linguistic adherence to their background. In 1860-1875 (Russia), among the 1,328 Alexanderwohl names checked there were only 54 different given names, which indicates the unbroken tradition of repeating the same names in the family. The names had become Germanized. Peter still ranked highest (118), followed by Heinrich (116) and Jakob (98). Maria (143) was now more frequent than Anna (101), after which Helena (95) followed. After the Alexanderwohl congregation had moved to Kansas in 1874 great adjustments were made to the new environment. How rapidly they were made is indicated by the change in given names. In 1919-1925, 175 names were checked, of which 109 were different. Entirely new German and English names had been added, very few of which are repeated. A complete adjustment was made by the time World War II ended. Of the 168 names checked of the children born 1945-1953 there appear 122 different names, most of which are typically American names rather than Bible names. Hardly any are repeated more than two or three times and most of them appear only once. Most popular was Clifford. At the end of the alphabet was Zyleene.

Although no other American Mennonite church has a record of over 200 years it can safely be assumed that the changes which have taken place in given names are very much the same. The Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church has always been one of the more conservative Mennonite congregations. It can be assumed that some others have made this adjustment much more rapidly. On the other hand, such groups as the Amish, the Hutterites, and the Old Colony Mennonites still perpetuate the tradition of giving their children only the biblical names commonly in use in their circle. In South America Spanish influences are noticeable in the choice of given names, while in Russia it had already become a practice in some circles before World War I to add Russian endings to the given names. After World Wars I and II Russian names became very frequent. Another Russian practice accepted by the Mennonites of Russia was the adding of the father's given name to the bearer's given name somewhat similar to the original Dutch practice. P. M. Friesen would be called Peter Martinovitch Friesen, Martin being the given name of his father.

This is why I have so many Johns, Henry, Jacobs, Anna, Sara, Helena's, ect. I thought that I had duplicate people in my tree because they had the same name and similar birth years.

I also noticed if a child dies in infancy the next child born has the same name, might have a different middle name. I'm still not sure if they were named after an other "Aunt or Uncle" or if this is a tradition as well. - ANY thoughts/ proof would be great to know.

Canadian Family Cont.

I was notified that one of my relatives pad passed away. Her name is Anges "Ginger" Peters Hicks and her daughter Bonnie Hicks Veen emailed me after seeing this blog.

Bonie's Grandfather is my Great Grand Uncle. Her Grandfather is Jacob Henry Peters and one of is his brothers is John Henry Peters (My Great Grandfathers Brother).

After receiving this email I decided to pass this info along to the other Canadian family I have contacted through my blog and have since been able to add more to my family tree and fill in some blanks.

I also was given a great amount of family history from a lovey story of Alice (Warren) and Jack Peters by:

History of Alice (Warren) and Jack Peters
       Jack (Jacob John) Peters (first name later changed to James) was born on May 29, 1921, on the farm they were renting eight miles north of Rush Lake (near Herbert),Sask. The Peters family moved from Rush Lake to the Lucky Lake area in 1925, where they had purchased unbroken land from the Hudson Bay Company. Their farmsite was located about 4.5 miles west of the current Peters farm which is 8 miles northwest of Lucky Lake.

Jack’s mother was Elizabeth Petkau, born October 4, 1888 in Selo (Town of) Baburka, Ekaterinoslav Province, Russia, [died Edmonton, AB, November 18, 1973]. She immigrated to Canada with her son, David, and her father and step-mother (Jacob and Elizabeth Petkau) and siblings (Ike, Pete and Helen; one brother Jack stayed behind). After a long journey from her village in Russia to Rotterdam, Holland, they sailed to Halifax, Canada, landing in November, 1913, and traveling west by train. Her family settled in Herbert, SK. On January 23, 1917, she married Jacob Henry Peters, (born in Russia April 12, 1881; died in Edmonton, AB, on January 10, 1962), a widower who brought 5 children into the marriage. He had immigrated earlier to the USA from Russia (with his brothers Pete, Cornie and Dan), then moved up to Herbert, Saskatchewan. His previous wife was Helena Peters. Like many other immigrants, the Petkau and Peters families had left Russia in order to escape the terrible conditions there prior to the Russian revolution and to build a new life of freedom.
         Jack came from a very large family.  His brothers and sisters were:

1.      Irvin Peters (Helen) (b)June 12, 1906 USA (d) June 3, 1967, B.C.  

2.      Elizabeth (Beth) Pagan (Jim) (b)Sept.14, 1907 (d)April 17, 1985, Saskatoon, SK

3.      Dave Peters (May) (b)Feb. 26,1909  (d)October 11, 1996, Hamilton, ON

4.      Harry Peters (Joyce) (b)July 23, 1909 SK (d) 1970’s

5.      Annie Collins (Alex) (b)Rush Lake Feb.5,1911, (d) Feb. 16, 2003, Beechy, SK

6.      Peter Peters (b) March 8, 1913(d) died of diphtheria Feb 5,1926,  Hillpoint Graveyard.

7.      Helena Thurlow (Frank) (b) Dec. 12, 1917 Rush Lake, (d)Dec.2, 2002 Chilliwack, B

8.      Minnie Cone (Jim), Edmonton, AB (b) Nov. 30,1918 Rush Lake, SK.

9.      Olga Ippolito (Maurice) (b) Jan 1,1924-twin to Orlanda-Rush Lake,SK (d)Sept. 24,1983, Edmonton, AB

10.  Orlanda/Lindy Tokaryk(Stan)(b)Jan 1,1924-twin to Olga-Rush Lake, SK (d)Feb. 12,1983, Edmonton, AB.

11.  Ginger (Agnes) Hicks, Winnipeg, MN (b) May 9,1927

12.  Roy Peters (Cathy) Calgary, AB (b) April 26, 1929

13.  Margaret Carr, Ottawa, ON (b) Feb. 13/1931

14.  Luella Peters (b) April 1916 (d) Oct 1916

       Jack attended Sleepy Hollow School, (northwest of Lucky Lake) completing Grade 7 or 8 and then went to work to help support the family at the age of 13. Jack worked as a hired hand for the Grant family and there he met their neighbour, Alice “Babe” Warren.

       Alice Hazel Lavinia Warren (“Babe”) was born on July 10, 1917, on the Warren homestead (SE18-24-9-W3, 8 miles northwest of Lucky Lake).
       Her parents were John George Warren (born Feb 9, 1878, in Strabane, near Dundas, ON; died Fall, 1947) and Alice Lavinia (nee Gravett/ original surname Salter) Warren (born July 15, app.1885, Midland area, Ontario; died March, 1918, Regina SK.), and step-mother, Jessie (nee Dawson) (born Feb. 21, 1878, Hamilton, ON.; died 1970, Swift Current, SK). John Warren was one of the earliest homesteaders in the area, coming to the Crescent Valley area in 1905 from the Dundas, Ontario, area (where his family were), and from Welwyn (near Moosomin), SK, where he had been working earlier. He built his first 12’ x 14’ home out of sod, and the following year his brothers Reuben, Roy, Norman and Med (Metherill) followed (Med later returned to Ontario). By approx. 1910 to 1914 he had constructed a large two-storey house, barn and numerous other buildings. John Warren was a kind and industrious man with true Pioneer spirit. He was very involved in helping to establish the Crescent Valley community, from helping build the first school in the area and establishing the first church, to building sod homes for other settlers coming in, and serving on the R.M. of Coteau council as well as other boards and committees. He married Alice Gravette from Moosomin on August 16, 1910. After her death at an early age in 1918, his cousin, Jessie (Jenet) Dawson, came from Ontario to help with the children and he married her in 1920. It was she who nicknamed baby Alice, “Babe”, a name still used by family and friends.
       Alice’s siblings were:

1. Bertram George (Jean) (b) March 31, 1913 (d) August 24, 1943, Flight Sergeant for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
2. Marjorie Fenton (Jack), Calgary AB, (b) August 14, 1915.

       Alice attended Crescent Valley School and took high school by correspondence up to Grade 10, also working alongside her parents on the farm. She married Jack Peters in June, 1943.

       Jack volunteered for the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II, serving 3 ½ years in Sicily, Italy, Holland, France and England. He returned home from the war in April, 1946. John and Jessie Warren retired to Lucky Lake and Jack and Alice took over the Warren homestead in 1946, where they built their life with their six children (Hazel, Dennis, Diane, Donna, John and Dean). In 1948 they also started renting and eventually purchased the Peters’ homestead in October, 1948, when Jack’s parents retired to Edmonton, Alberta.

       Jack and Alice, like their pioneer parents before them, were both incredibly hard workers, and life centered around raising their six children and expanding and improving the farm. While they originally lived in the house built by John Warren, in 1956 they built a new home overlooking the large coulee that ran through their land and named the farm “Crescent Coulee Farm”. The family farm (now named “Peters Farms”) has received a “Heritage Farm Award” (at 75 years) and, in 2005, a “Century Family Farm Award”, having now been farmed by the family for 100 years.   

       Jack loved collecting and listening to music (some of his favourites were Billy Vaughn Orchestra, Glenn Miller and Nana Mouskouri), reading, horses, and fishing. He was very much a self-educated person, a good businessman and farmer, a good neighbour, and was talented in singing and drawing, as well. Jack’s two older sons, Dennis and John, began farming with him in the 1970’s, eventually taking over as his health declined.  In 1979, tragedy struck the family with the drowning death of their youngest child, Dean. Jack died in Saskatoon on June 30, 1987, and is buried in Saskatoon Memorial Gardens.

       Alice was a strong and resourceful farming wife who managed to do it all with good humour to boot. She milked cows, shipping cream and making butter, raised chickens and turkeys, grew a huge garden to feed her large family, and helped the men with the farm work. She often canned up to 500 jars of preserves in summer.  She was an excellent seamstress, making much of the family’s clothing, and some of her children recall her staying up all night after the other work was done, to sew Halloween costumes or dresses, which magically appeared in the morning. Her baking and cooking were beyond compare. She and the kids liked entering the Agricultural Fairs and she won many prizes for her sewing and baking—one year we won a chicken brooder as a prize. In later years, she has thoroughly enjoyed being “Grandma” to 13 grandchildren and 11 (so far) great grandchilden, quilting and reading. She has two “green thumbs” and enjoyed growing a huge garden up until her mid 80’s, always eager to share its bounty with her family and friends. She is 89 and still resides on the family farm.

       Grandma Jessie Warren (Alice’s step-mother), affectionately known by most as “Aunt Jessie”, also lived with the family for many years after John Warren died.  She was a wonderful story-teller, entertaining the children with stories from the depression and earlier days. She passed away in 1970 at the age of 92.  

CHILDREN OF ALICE (WARREN) AND JACK PETERS, LUCKY LAKE:

1. Hazel Mildred b. June 7, 1943 m. Myron Barton Sept, 1961
2. Dennis Bertram b. April 17, 1947 m. Connie Ayers Nov, 1969
3. Diane Barbara Peters b. August 23, 1948 m. John Wedley, 1990
4. Donna Lynn b. August 24, 1951 m. Clarence Procknow, Aug 1971
5. John Byron b. February 15, 1953 m. Linda Redstone May, 1973
6. Dean Ward b. February 28, 1963 and d. July 29, 1979 (Vera Cemetery)

Memories of Farm Life by the Peters Children:

-Walking the half mile to Edith and Clifford Grant’s house to play and have tea parties. Edith was a kid’s best friend.

-Having ball games in the pasture with the McIntosh kids after school.  With their family and ours, we had enough for a team.  We used cow patties as bases.  Sometimes the bus driver would stop on his way home and play with us for a while.

-Dad would hitch a stoneboat to the team of horses and give us a ride in winter. He would clean off the ice on the coulee that circled our farm, using a front-end loader, and we would skate after school every day until supper.  We would follow it along half a mile or so, as long as there was still ice, often walking over dirt and rocks with our skates, till we found the next patch of ice.

-Hazel started school at Crescent Valley country school up to Grade 3, but later all of us were bussed to Lucky Lake. When the roads were too snowy, we often traveled to school by bombardier (which made us all feel sick). Some of us went back to old Crescent Valley to “play school”. Sometimes there was the joy of  being snowed in so we couldn’t get to school, or being “storm stayed” and having to stay with someone in town overnight—such excitement. 

-Having Edith and Clifford Grant over for Christmas every year and playing cards. Sitting around the table doing a huge puzzle and eating all night, during the Christmas holidays.

-Clifford taking us to the hospital in winter, when the roads were snowed in, by way of a heated closed-in horse-drawn buggy (we called a“cutter”).

-Learning to dance at the Saturday dances at the Lucky Lake Legion and Rob Roy Halls. 

-Wonderful Sunday and holiday suppers, with three or four choices of pie/dessert, and having family ball games or races out in the yard afterward.

-Hired men, Matt Stadnyk, from Foxwarren, MB; Jimmy Boon; Mom’s cousin, Billy Jones; Sheldon Scholtz and others.

-Dad hanging a skunk on the Grant’s gatepost as a Halloween prank.

-Huge snowstorm on New Year’s Eve, 1959—snowbanks up to the clothesline and building caves in the snow all winter.

-Dad’s April Fool’s jokes.

-Swimming lessons at Spring Lake given by Bev Kimble and Joy Smith.

-Mom driving supper and lunches to the men in the field so they could work all night and get the harvest done. When old enough to drive ourselves, taking coffee and meals out and trying not to wreck the swath!

-Delivering cream cans to the train station in the early morning hours.

-Going with Mom to pick up baby chicks off the train and seeing and hearing thousands of them.

-Conversations with girlfriends and boyfriends had to take place on the party line (with the potential of people “rubbering”, or listening to you, not to mention everyone else on the line was waiting to use the phone). No private phones, cell phones, e-mail, chat-mail, or text messaging.

-Before our first flush toilet in about 1957, we had chemical toilets or a commode in winter, and the old outhouse in summer.  Many an old Eaton’s catalogue was recycled out there, as well as all the saved papers from Christmas oranges. Now that’s recycling!

(Sources: Grandma Elizabeth Peters’ diary, “Echoes of Coteau” publication, “A Tree Grows on the Prairie” publication, Alice Warren Peters and Marjory Warren Fenton, Maxine Thurlow Lepine, Elaine Fenton Cooper and all the Peters children.)

More Canadian Connection Jacob H Peters

To introduce... Veda Peters b.1949, daughter of Henry J Peters b.1909 d.1978, son of Jacob H b.1880 d. 1962

I am so pleased to find another branch of the family. It seems no one kept decent records nor really talked about family they’d left behind. Or if they did I certainly wasn’t listening, though now I wish I had been. Where’s a family Bible when you need one?

 

The picture of Jacob, Dan and two others I also recognize, and am told by Peter H’s granddaughter that they are Peter H and Peter P Wiens, husband of Elizabeth H. Just which seated, dark-haired bearded man is a Peters or Wiens I don’t know. Supposedly it’s Elizabeth’s wedding day.

 

The picture of Heinrich S and Anna Wall is wonderful to see. He looks very different from the photo of him and Dan. Any chance it could be Heinrich H and Sara? - (This could be- we don't have name son the photo- it came from Vance Molder, Grandson of Dan Peters and the caption that was give to me was: Daniel Peters father and mother in law )

 

Apparently Peter, Jacob and Dan went to N Dakota for work c 1905. Peter met and married Margaret Dalke, stayed. Peter’s daughter insists he married just once.

 Jacob met and married Helena Block.

 Dan came to Canada  (I think) with Jacob & Lena, Irvin b.1906, and Beth b.1907.

 

The 1916 Canada Census lists Jacob, recently widowed, with Luella 2m (not 42 because the 2/12 is badly written), Irvin, Lisbeth, Henry, Anna, and Peter. I assume they arrived in 1908 because there’s 2 years between Beth and Henry. Also, Lena’s father’s account supports this assumption. Lena died in childbirth or shortly after from complications, Luella died in Oct 1916.

 

I met Dan and Tina just once in 1957, perhaps shortly before his death. Nice to find that Jack was not an only child, but he was the only one my parents ever mentioned. 

 

Jacob and Elizabeth Petkau had 8 children: Helen Peters Thurlow b 12 Dec 1917 d 12 Jun 2002; Minnie Peters Cone b. 30 Nov 1918 deceased I think; Jack Jacob b 29 May 1921 d 1987; Olga Peters Ippolito & Orlanda (Lindy) Peters Tokaryk b 1 Jan 1924 d 1983 in Sep and Feb respectively; Agnes (Ginger) Peters Hicks b.1927(perhaps living but lost); and Roy Peter b 26 Apr 1929 d 14 Aug 2009. Margaret Peters Kimmons b 13 Feb 1931 lives in Ottawa.

 

Jacob had 52 grandchildren, but 10 (I think) have passed. Names and DOB I know; marriages and children no, except for my brother Dale b.1943. Great and great great grandchildren in numbers I do not know, probably ggg grandchildren. We have not been a close family and are spread across Canada from coast to coast and elsewhere.

 

So. Way more of us than you thought? Confused? I look forward to exchanging bits of info.


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All this info is so amazing!  I called my grandmother yesterday to tell her that family from Canada has contacted me. She was thrilled! She and my grandfather find it so interesting that no one new of each other. But we are all happy that the later generations have found each other!

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Hi Casondra, my name is Colleen Peters (daughter of Roy P Peters).   My husband and I have also been interested in family history for a long time and we have been working on his side of the family and my mother’s for many years.  The Peters side was always a little harder to nail down.  This is a wealth of information so thank you!

 

I have not read all of the info yet so not sure if the info I found is in there but I saw in one of the census documents that the Peters brothers (certainly Cornelius, Jacob and Daniel from what I recall) were working on farms in the Minnesota area and were noted as part of the farm occupants.  I called and looked for marriage certificates and I couldn’t locate them but I did also find out that my Uncle Irvine and Aunt Beth were born in Nebraska as Jacob made his way to Canada.

 

 In Veda’s note she mentions Minnie Cone and Ginger (Agnes) Hicks.  Both are still alive and I have contact information for Ginger and contact information for Minnie’s son, Rodney Cone (he came to my dad’s funeral).  Minnie was/is living in Edmonton and is in a home. Ginger is in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

 

Between Veda, Olive, Diane and myself I am sure we can provide you with a pretty good picture of Jacob’s descendants if you are interested.

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I hope more family keeps on emailing me . This is just overwhelming to see all the family in Canada.
 

The Canadian Connection

Email from New Relative Vance Molder:

Hi I am a descendant of Daniel Peters ( the Canadian connection)  He was my Grandfather. My mother was Sadie Peters wife of William Molder.  Mel my cousin on my fathers side sent me information that you passed on to him.  I have been working on the Peters Family Tree with Mel for a year or two.  The info that you sent was largely new to us.  We are gratefull.  I would like to keep in touch from time to time.  I have passed this info on to the other Canadian brother's family ( Jacob )

Their comments were that they were thrilled to receive the info and really enjoyed reading the stories.

I am so glad you carried out your search for Family.  We have been trying to get more info.  My grandfather never spoke of family. Those who might have known more have passed on.  I am the only one who seems to have put together some info.  Others are very interested.  I am doing this for future generations so that they know something of their roots.  Perhaps we can chat on the phone.  We travel to USA from time to time and pass through your part of the world. Mainly in the winter time however we may not this year until perhaps in March.  We are farmers in Saskatchewan. and live near the USA border.  My children live across western Canada.  I have 4 children and 10 grandchildren.   Daniel's other grand children live in Winnipeg Manitoba, Alberta and British Columbia in Western Canada I have never met any of Jacobs descendants however I have E mail addresses and one or two phone #s. Please maintain our contact.  Vance

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Let me tell you how exciting this is!
My grand father (Raymond Peters) who would be Daniels nephew. Never new he had more extended family till I went to the MN historical library. And found his death certificate, and listed his parents. Ann Wall and Henry peters. I then found out how many uncles/aunts my grand father had.

My grand father new of Daniel because he had a photo of his dad and Daniel together in Canada.

My grandfather will be so happy to hear that I have found more family.

Canada family

Over the weekend I received a few emails from family in Canada. So excited to update all the info in the next few weeks. 

New documentation found at MN Historical Society

Start of the extended family

I have come to the conclusion that my grandfather just didn't know of his fathers family because he died relatively early "56" and my grandfather was only "22" and they just didn't talk about the extended family. Or didn't ask these questions. According to my new "link" Mel my great great grandfather Heinrich Peters was married twice. But my great grandfather John Henry Peters was the youngest so maybe he didn't interact with them. Hence he didn't know much about them. Also the age difference between him and the oldest sibling is 23 years.

My next step is to fill in the people from Mel's tree and then make another trip to the Mn Historical Society Library and search Heinrich and Ann's death certificates and naturalization forms to confirm names and dates. Then search the church records and census. 

Here are some screen shots of ancestry.com 

 

 

Heinrich H "Henry" Peters - b. 1836, d. 1916

& Maria K Konracht Peters - b. 1836, d. 1869

 

• Herman Peters - b. 1861, d. 1921
     Spouse - Sarah Hiebert - b. 1861, m. 1882, d. 1950
   Hermann P. Peters - b. 1885, d. 1967
   Sarah Peters - b. 1887
   Margaret Peters - b. 1890, d. 1968
   Maria Peters - b. 1892, d. 1892
   Mary Peters - b. 1893
   Heinrich Bruno Peters - b. 1895, d. 1980
   Johann Peters - b. 1897
   Anna Peters - b. 1901, d. 1948
   Marie Peters - b. 1902, d. 1976
   Jacob Peters - b. 1904, d. 1973
   Malvina Peters - b. 1908
   Louis Peters - b. 1909

 

• Anna Peters Hiebert - b. 1866, d. 1950
     Spouse - Peter A Hiebert - b. 1868, m. 1888, d. 1912
   Cornelius Hiebert - b. 1890
   Anna Hiebert - b. 1890, d. 1917
   Henry P Hiebert - b. 1893
   Maria Hiebert - b. 1894, d. 1912
   Helena Hiebert - b. 1895, d. 1995
   Elizabeth Hiebert - b. 1897, d. 1990
   Sarah Hiebert - b. 1899, d. 1990
   Katie Hiebert - b. 1901, d. 1981
   Hermann Hiebert - b. 1902, d. 1902
   Tina Hiebert - b. 1903
   Martha Hiebert - b. 1904, d. 1995
   Peter Hiebert - b. 1908, d. 1995

 • Heinrich K Henry Peters - b. 1868, d. 1946
     Spouse - Maria Hiebert Peters - b. 1866, m. 1891, d. 1930
   Henry Peters - b. 1892
   Abraham Peters - b. 1893
   Herman Peters - b. 1894
   Peter Peters - b. 1897
   Mary Peters - b. 1903
   Herbert Peters - b. 1905
   Cornelius Peters - b. 1906
   Annie S. Peters - b. 1909, d. 1978

_____________________________________________________

Heinrich H "Henry" Peters - b. 1836, d. 1916
 & Anna Wall Peters - b. 1852, m. 1872, d. 1923

 

 • Peter H Peters - b. 1873, d. 1937
     Spouse - Elizabeth Margie Toews - b. 1881, m. 1900, d. 1908
   Elizabeth Peters - b. 1902
   Anna Peters - b. 1904, d. 1978
   Peter G Peters - b. 1906, d. 1990
   Mary Peters - b. 1908, d. 1915
   Heinrich Peters - b. 1915, d. 1915

     Spouse - Margaret R Dahlke Peters - b. 1880, m. 1908, d. 1944
   Susie Harriet Peters - b. 1910, d. 1979
   Clara M Peters - b. 1912
   Elma Peters - b. 1916, d. 1917
   Justina Toots Peters - b. 1918, d. 1994
   Alfred Peters - b. 1920, d. 1925
   Joseph R Peters - b. 1922, d. 1986

 • Elizabeth H Peters Wiens - b. 1877, d. 1946
     Spouse - Peter P. Wiens - b. 1875, m. 1896, d. 1943
   Lizzie Wiens - b. 1899
   Anna Wiens - b. 1900, d. 1986
   Bertha Wiens - b. 1902, d. 1991
   Hilda Wiens - b. 1904, d. 1948
   Henry Wiens - b. 1905
   Peter Wiens - b. 1908, d. 2002
   Herman Wiens - b. 1912, d. 2001
   Arnold Wiens - b. 1918

 

 • Jacob Henry Peters - b. 1881, d. 1962
     Spouse - Helena (Lena) Block Peters - b. 1888, m. 1905, d. 1916
   Irvin Jacob Peters - b. 1906, d. 1967
   Lisbeth Peters - b. 1907, d. 1991
   Henry Jacob Peters - b. 1909, d. 1978
   Anna Elizabeth Peters - b. 1911, d. 2003
   Peter Jacob Peters - b. 1912, d. 1926
   Helen Peters - b. 1913, d. 1914
   Luella Peters - b. 1916, d. 1916

     Spouse - Elizabeth Petkau Peters - b. 1888, m. 1917, d. 1971

 • Daniel H Peters - b. 1883, d. 1937
     Spouse - Katharina Tiena Wiens Peters - b. 1890, d. 1950
   Jacob D Jack Peters - b. 1908, d. 1991
   Spouse - Edna May Lilly Peters - b. 1906, m. 1940, d. 1996
   Anne Peters Dewar - b. 1910, d. 2001
   Spouse - Bill Dewar - b. 1914, d. 1959
   Sadie Peters - b. 1911, d. 1987
   Spouse - William Molder - b. 1906, m. 1933, d. 1982

 • Cornelius H Nels Peters - b. 1887, d. 1943
     Spouse - Justina L Baer Peters - b. 1889, m. 1911, d. 1924
   Hulda May Peters - b. 1912, d. 2007
   Orlando Clarence Peters - b. 1915, d. 1985
   Albert R Peters - b. 1919, d. 1981
   Bernard Benny Carl Peters - b. 1923, d. 1985

     Spouse - Sarah E Reimer Peters - b. 1900, m. 1925, d. 1976

 • Johannes "John" Henry Peters - b. 1891, d. 1948
     Spouse - Helen M Wannow Peters Plush - b. 1900, m. 1920, d. 1974
   Rosella Peters-Basom - b. 1921
   Spouse - Peter P Schroeder - b. 1915, m. 1937, d. 2006
   Spouse - Otha Dale Honeycutt - b. 1918, m. 1946, d. 1999
   Spouse - Albert William Bell - b. 1915, m. 1963, d. 1993
   Spouse - Charles Richard Basom - b. 1916, m. 2001, d. 2007
   Harold John or James "Pete" Peters - b. 1923, d. 1988
   Spouse - Virginia M Powell Peters King - b. 1926, m. 1942
   Raymond Paul Peters - b. 1926
   Spouse - Rosella Weber Peters - b. 1927, m. 1946

 

 

 

More Family

I did some random searching on Ancestry.com last night. and messages a few people that I thought could have the same Daniel Peters as my great uncle. And I had 2 responses back I was so excited once I did because it means I'm learning more info out that I ever thought possible.

1st Email:

Good afternoon,

All of the members of my family are German Mennonites who came directly to the United States from Russia.  Most of my grandparents were born in what is now the Ukraine.  None of my family members ever lived in Canada.

 

Let me know if that helps narrow your search.

 

Are you aware of the grandma’s online website for people of Mennonite heritage?  It is located in Fresno, California.  This might be very helpful to you.  There are so few Mennonite surnames that names like Wall and Peters are very common and this makes determining relationships difficult unless you have actual birthdates to go by and other documentation regarding family connections.

Sorry I can’t be more helpful.

 

It sounds like this is not the same family but its hard to be sure! However My grandfather was Mennonite and did grow up Mennonite and changes to Lutheran when he married my Grandmother( He said he liked to drink too much) I through that was funny. But I think the church records will be my saving grace and ill be able to find all the info in church records.

2nd Email:

Hi.

My cousin's grandfather is Daniel Peters, who died in Calgary, Alberta in 1960. He did have a brother John Henry Peters & their parents were Henry Peters & Anna Wall. This would confirm your findings. Can you tell me any details for the descendants of John Henry Peters, as all we know is that he was born in Oct 1892, and arrived in USA in 1894, and lived in Minnesota. His father died in 1916, and he lived with his mother in 1917. Anna died in 1923 in Mountain Lake, Minnesota.

Thanks. Mel.

 

After a few Emails back and forth I'm sure that we are talking about the same family. So ill soon be adding a lot more info.

 

I called my grandmother Rosella Webber Peters today and asked her to talk to my grandfather. I wanted to know if he had remembered his father or mother talking about his paternal grandparents(Heinrich and Anna Wall Peters).  I would of thought he would of, because his death certificate names them. But they did die 10 years before my grandfather Raymond Paul Peters was born. So maybe not. According the Mel. Heinrich "Henry" Peters my great-great grandfather was married twice.  And that might be why he has siblings that I didn't know about. But still its all fresh and confusing till I have all the info.

 

 

Danial Peters

I have to admit that I'm not 100% sure that this information is correct. I'm guessing based on the min information I have.

The only Factual information I have is that his name is Daniel, he immigrated over with John, he about 8 years older than John, he lived in Canada.

But I have found some info on Ancestry.com that might be his information.

1. Possible Birth: Nov 1882 (According to 1900 United States Federal Census for John F Toews)
2. Immigration Date: June 29th 1894
3. Possible Employer:  John F Toews as a farm laborer (According to 1900 United States Federal Census for John F Toews)
4. Possible Marriage:
5. Possible Child Name: Corney Peters
6.Possible Death: Jan 19 1937
7.Possible Burial date: Jan 28 1937 @ Prospect Cemetery

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                      

 

 

Recap of John Henry Peters

John Henry Peters
DOB: 10/16/1891
Place of Birth: Tinivbula Russia
Eyes: Blue
Mothers Name: Anna Wall
Fathers Name: Henrich Peters
Brothers Name: Daniel Peters 8 years older
Sisters Name: Unknown
Immigration Departure: Bremen Germany
Ellis Island Arrival: 6/29/1894
Ships Name: Trave
Education Completed: 4th Grade
DOM: 1/1/1920 Hellen Wannow
Occupation: Cement Mason
1920 Census: Mtn. Lake Rented Home
1930 Census: Mtn. Lake Owned Home $1000.00 Value
1940 Census: Mtn. Lake Owned Home $1000.00 Value, $700 annual income
Naturalization: 6/14/1941
(Date of Oath @ Windom)
Petition of Citizen: 4/11/1942
(Petition # 384)
DOD: 7/31/1948 Cerebral Hemorrhage @work
(Death Certificate # 1948-mn-003020)

Bremen Passenger Lists

I recently went to the MN historically society  library and looked at microfilms of my great grand father John Henry Peters. And was able to find his death certificate, petition of citizenship and petition for naturalization. Whith this information I was able to confirm what his parents names were, his date of immigration, the ship he was on, the age of his brother, and where he departed from and where he arrived.

I then was able to look on http://www.ellisisland.org  and search for passenger list for the ship he was on. However the ship manifest is really hard to read and I cant make out any names. I searched for the town he was from an I don't think it exist any longer. When I search for Tinivbula Russia. But nothing comes up, its either called something else or has been merged into another city. So I searched for the Port he departed from and found info that the passenger lists were destroyed.

COPING WITH DESTRUCTION of Bremen Passenger Lists
The port of Bremen, Germany, was a major point of embarkation for emigrants during the 19th and 20th centuries. This was true not only for German nationals but also for millions of inhabitants of Austria, Hungary, and other Central European nations seeking opportunities or refuge in the New World. Moreover, twice as many passengers departed from Bremen as from Germany's second busiest port for emigration, Hamburg.
One of the great losses in genealogical history, therefore, is the nearly complete destruction of the Bremen passenger records. From 1832, Bremen port officials kept meticulous records on their ships' passengers. Then, in 1874, the authorities, citing a lack of space, destroyed all Bremen passenger records except for those of the current year and the two previous years. This practice was followed until 1909, when customs officials resumed the earlier pattern of preserving the original copies of all emigration lists. Unfortunately, the original lists for 1909 and beyond were destroyed in an Allied bombing raid on October 6, 1944. Except for the discovery of transcripts of Bremen lists for the years 1907-1908 and 1913-1914 at the German State Archives in Koblentz, no copies of the Bremen passenger lists have ever come to light.
Given the loss of the Bremen departure lists, researchers in search of embarkees from that port must fall back on arrival lists. In the case of emigrants to the U.S., that next-best source is the U.S. Customs Passenger Lists.
 http://wiki-en.genealogy.net/Bremen_Passenger_Lists