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

Jacob Fehr fonds. -- 1773-2000 ; predominant 1773-1850, 1942-1955. -- 3 cm of textual records.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

Jacob Fehr (1859-1952) emigrated to Canada in 1876 with his parents, Jacob Fehr (1837-1916) and Maria Wiens (1835-?) from Kronsthal, Chortitza and settled in the village of Reinland on the Manitoba Mennonite West Reserve. Jacob Sr. was the first mayor (Schulz) of Reinland. Jacob Fehr Jr. first married Susann Peters (1862-1890) and then Mathilda Henning (1869-?). In total he had 18 children. Later he moved to Swift Current, Saskatchewan.

Jacob Jr. came from a large family of thirteen children. One of his brothers, Isaak (1878-1924), married Katharina Driedger (1881-1979). A daughter Helena was born to them in 1921 and currently lives in Winkler, Manitoba (2000).

 SCOPE AND CONTENT

This collection consists of photocopies of letters from Jacob Fehr Jr., a journal of Jacob Fehr Jr. recounting the immigration to Canada, a brief account of the immigration by Helena Fehr, and a register of letters that includes authors such as Aeltester Gerhard Dyck of Chrotitza, South Russia. I also includes a notebook of sermons. In addition to these primary documents there are copies of published translation and transcription of the journal of Jacob Fehr.

 

CUSTODIAL HISTORY

Some of this material has been passed down through the Fehr line to Helena Fehr of Winkler, Manitoba. Delbert Plett obtained copies of the material and republished some of the translations, which Peter D. Zacharias published in Reinland: Experience in Community. Plett then donated the material to the archives. Der Bote also used some of the material before donating it to the archives. A notebook of sermons was collected by David and Trudy Schellenberg of Winkler for the Christian Heritage Library.

NOTES

Described by Conrad Stoesz, August 23, 2000. Updated by Sharon Brown Dec. 2002.

Accession nos. 2000-114; 97-150.

Finding aid consists of a file list.

Language: German and English.

Location: Volume 4891; 2106-8.

 

Jacob Fehr fonds file inventory list:

VOLUME 4891 Small archives

  1. 5 letters from Jacob Fehr (1859-1952). -- 1942,1951.
  2. 1875 Russia to Canada/ Helen Fehr (1921-). -- March 1998.
  3. Journal of Jacob Fehr. -- 1948,1951,1955. -- Note: There are 3 parts to this journal with someone else writing the 1955 (and possibly the 1948 piece) because Fehr died in 1952.
  4. Register of letters by Aeltester Gerhard Dyck, Chortitza Colony, Russia dating back to 1773. -- [ca.1773-1850]. -- Note: There is also a financial register from the early years in Manitoba.
  5. Jakob Fehr (1859-1952) Journal as translated and published in Peter Zacharias, Reinland: Expereince in Community, 1976. Reprinted in Preservings June 16, 2000, p.12-17.
  6. Jacob Fehr Journal transcribed in Der Bote, Sonderausgabe, June 14, 2000, p.17-22.