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

Heinrich H. Ewert fonds. - 1880-1977; predominant 1882-1934. -- 28 cm of textual records.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Heinrich H. Ewert was born on April 12, 1855 at Nessau near Thorn, West Prussia as the oldest of eleven children of Wilhelm (1829-1887) and Anna (Janz) Ewert. Heinirch received his elementary and intermediate education at Thorn Prussia. Father Wilhelm Ewert served as one of the Prussian delegates who came to explore the possible opportunities in North America. The family immigrated to Hillsboro, Kansas in 1874 and took up farming.

In America Heinrich continued his education at the normal school at Emporia from 1878-1879. Later he studied at the Des Moines Institute in Iowa and took a two-year theology course at Marthasville, Missouri. In 1882 he began his teaching career at the Mennonite parochial school at Alexanderwohl, Kansas. On August 20, of the same year, he married Elizabeth (Lizzie) Baer of Summerfield, Illinois. They had five children together, Paul (1883-1940), Carl (1886), Albert (1891), Wilhelm (1894) and Elma (1903). In 1883 the school was moved to Halstead, Kansas and the name changed to Mennonite Seminary. In 1884 his gifts as a spiritual leader were confirmed with ordination.

Heinrich continued his roles as a teacher and principal at the school in Halstead until 1891 when he received an invitation to come to Manitoba and help establish a Mennonite school. He became a teacher and principal of the Gretna Normal School, later changed to Mennonite Educational Institute, and eventually known as the Mennonite Collegiate Institute (MCI). He was also appointed by the provincial government to be school inspector, a position he held in addition to his responsibilities in Gretna. In 1925 his wife Lizzie died. Later he later married Katie Krehbiel Kruse.

Ewert was a torchbearer in the areas of church and education. His influence in the school and church settings should not be under estimated. He continued his worked in this capacity as principal for 43 years until his death in 1934.

He was the editor of the church publication Der Mitarbeiter for 28 years and wrote numerous articles. Of special interest was an address he gave under the auspices of the Historical and Scientific Society of Manitoba in Winnipeg in 1932, on the topic, "The Mennonites", which was published in German and English.

CUSTODIAL HISTORY

Some of the materials in this collection have been collected by the archives over a number of years. Some material was deposited before 1974. Other material came later as photocopied material. Volume 554, file # 1 includes photocopies of the S.F. Coffman and H.H. Ewert correspondence originally at Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. These papers covering the years 1918-1919 were found in 1969 by Frank H. Epp and passed on to Henry J. Gerbrandt who was writing the history of the Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Manitoba. In the same folder is an account of H.H. Ewert by friend Peter Brown. Bernie Klassen passed this account on to Professor John J. Friesen of Canadian Mennonite Bible College in 1974 deposited it in the archives to be placed in the Ewert collection. Other documents were collected by David and Trudy Schellenberg of Winkler for the Christian Heritage Library.

H.H. Ewert correspondence was also found in the H.P. Krehbiel collection at Bethel College. Pertinent material was photocopied and then deposited into the Ewert collection by Dennis Stoesz in 1977. The dates included in this file are 1892, 1894, 1895, 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1913, 1914, 1916, 1919, 1920, 1925-1927. Currently this material is in volume 969, file # 3. It appears that Krehbiel was Ewert's brother-in-law from his second marriage.

A third group of materials that originated from Bethel College can be found in volume 969, file #4. This material was located in the C.H. Friesen collection. It was photocopied and deposited in the H.H. Ewert collection [197-?], by possibly Dennis Stoesz.

The last portion of the H.H. Ewert collection that has come from Bethel College are letters written by H.H. Ewert most likely to his brother Benjamin. The correspondence continues from 1925-1934. Heinrich only had two adult brothers, Benjamin (1870-1958) and Wilhelm, who died in 1928). These letters were found in the Wilhelm Ewert collection, photocopied in the 1970s and deposited here.

Ben Sawatzky of Winnipeg, Manitoba donated the fourth donation that can be found in this collection. Inside a used book which he purchased from the Aylmer Bible School in Ontario he found a letter by H.H. Ewert to the "Heinrichs" dated Jan. 28, 1913. The letter was given to Lawrence Klippenstein who added it to the H.H. Ewert collection in April of 1980.

In 1987 the Paul J. Schaefer collection was donated to the archives (accession no. 87-153). Sermons written by H.H. Ewert were found in the collection, removed and placed in volume 969 of the Ewert collection. Schaefer was a student of Ewert's at the MCI, and later principal of the school. He wrote a biography of Ewert.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

This collection consists of three series: 1) School-related material 2) Correspondence 3) Sermons. These series contain mostly original material that was created while Ewert was principal at the Mennonite Collegiate Institute (Gretna, Manitoba), a Manitoba school inspector and ordained minister.

NOTES

Description updated by Sharon H.H. Brown, December, 2002.

Bergthaler Mennonite Church of Manitoba fonds.

Mennonite Collegiate Institute (MCI) fonds.

Benjamin Ewert fonds.

Heinrich H. Hamm fonds. Photo collection # 360:1-2.

Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization fonds. Volume 1167, file # 26.

David D. Klassen fonds,Volume 3220.

Vertical file at MHC under Biographies - H.H. Ewert / by Hugo Peters and John Thiessen

SERIES DESCRIPTION

School-related material. -- 1880,[188-],1895,1896,1904,1916,1929,1930,1935. -- 10 cm of textual records.

This series contains notes, lesson plans, pamphlets on various education-related topics from religion, dogmatics, ethics to theories and purposes of education in the Mennonite context. Most of the material is hand written in the gothic German script. Of special interest is a set of religious books published in Dutch in 1895-1896.

Location: Volume 554, File # 1,3-5; 969:1,2.

Correspondence. - 1882-1927. -- 7 cm of textual records.

This series contains photocopies of correspondence between Heinrich Ewert his brother Benjamin Ewert, H.P. Krehbiel, C.H. Friesen, S.F. Coffman and A.N. Harms. The correspondence deals with school related issues, controversies and personal matters. Most of the material is in German, much in handwritten gothic.

Location: Volume 554, File # 7; 969:3-7.

Photocopied in 1969,1974,1977.

Sermons. -- 1882,1893-1934. -- 11 cm of textual records.

This series consists of a large collection of sermons written by Heinrich Ewert. Some of the sermons may have been used his brother Benjamin Ewert.

Language: Handwritten gothic German and one in Greek.

Location: Volume 554, File # 2,6; 969:8; 3368.

Christian Heritage Library -- 1901-1925. -- 6 p.

Language: Hand-written Gothic German

Location: Volume 2106-4

Acc. No.: 97-150