© Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Last updated March 27, 2007)

  • Neufeld, I. G., 1907-1991


    Retrieval numbers: Volumes 1044, 2898-2900; Photograph Collection 633:1; Maps # 1205-1207

    Title: I. G. Neufeld Fonds
    Dates: 1873-1988 , predominant 1931-1988
    Extent: 28 cm of textual material
    Extent: 3 maps
    Extent: 1 photograph
    Repository: Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives

    Historical note

    I. G. Neufeld was born on June 1, 1907, in Schönau, Molotschnaja, to Isaak Gerhard (1870-1907) and Katherine (Enns) Neufeld (1876-1964). He was originally named Isaac, but later changed his name to Irwin George, but mainly identified himself as "I.G." Neufeld. His father died shortly before I. G. was born, and his brother was later shot by the Red Army. He immigrated to Canada in 1925 with his grandmother, his mother and his sister. They lived in St. Anne, Manitoba, for a few years, then moved to Winnipeg, after which they settled in Greendale, British Columbia. I. G. attended the Winkler Bible School between 1927 and 1930, and taught at the Mennonite Collegiate Institute, at Gretna, Manitoba. He went to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, where he studied theology and philosophy, and also attended various schools in the United States, including the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and the University of Chicago. In 1935, while attending McMaster, he wrote an article for the school newspaper describing the German perspective of the political situation of the time with the intention of showing both sides of the situation. He was then branded as a Nazi sympathizer and was followed by the RCMP; he believed throughout his life that this ruined his opportunity to pursue a career in academia in Canada. During World War II, he worked as a journalist for the Toronto Star. During this period, he also met his wife, Frieda Louise Lehn, daughter of Isaak Lehn, from Herschel, Saskatchewan. They were married on November 20, 1943, and had three children, Rudy, Werner and Wanda. He also worked for the CNR and TransCanada Airlines as a news writer for the Public Relations department. In the summer of 1946, I. G. moved with his family to Kansas where he taught Mennonite history at Tabor College. He also served as the Director of the Mennonite Historical Library, and taught at Bethel College. In 1954, they moved to Arizona for the sake of I.G.'s health. He then moved to Fresno, California, in 1971, where he retired and began work as the archivist for the Mennonite Brethren Historical Commission. During the remaining years of his life, I. G. tried to pursue his interests in history, research and writing, but suffered from heart problems which limited these activities. Throughout his life, he collected material on numerous themes, particularly concerning Mennonites, and donated most of these materials to various archives before his death. He died on April 15, 1991.

    Scope and content note

    This fonds contains materials collected and created by I. G. Neufeld mostly pertaining to Mennonite history and issues relating to their experience in Canada in the first half of the 20th century. Materials consist primarily of correspondence and newspaper clippings on Mennonite themes such as settlement, participation in World War II, education, culture, and experience in Russia. There are also several maps and one photograph.

    Index terms

    Subject terms

  • Neufeld, I. G., 1907-1991

    Creators

  • Neufeld, I. G., 1907-1991

    Adjunct descriptive data

    Finding aids

    Inventory file list available

    Notes

    Language

    Mostly English, with some German and Russian

    Arrangement

    Description completed by Joanne Moyer in February 2007.

    Restrictions on access

    None to access

    Immediate source of acquisition

    I. G. Neufeld

    • Inventory File List

    Volume 1044
    1. Mennonite settlements in Canada: miscellaneous materials including clippings from The Winkler Progress, Der Bote, and the Mennonitische Rundschau, correspondence, and a list of preachers in Russia, in German and English, 1944-1978.
    2. British Columbia geography: pamphlets and newspaper clippings, 1931-1953. Maps removed to map collection, #1205-1207.
    3. John Bergen correspondence: includes correspondence with I. G. Neufeld while serving in the Dental Corps during World War II, and with various officials regarding his conscientious objector status, 1942-1975.
    4. Manuscripts of Mennonite history from the time of the czars through the revolution to the USSR, mostly handwritten, in German, after 1953.
    Volume 2898
    1. Correspondence in German and English, 1937-1946.
    2. Mennonites and military participation/exemption in World War II: correspondence, newspaper clippings, House of Commons debates, and documents from the War Services Committee of the Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec, in English and German, 1941-1947, 1975, 1984.
    3. Mennonites and military participation/exemption in World War II: correspondence, newspaper clippings, minutes, MCC reports, and minutes of a committee of the Privy Council (1873, 1898), in English and German, 1934-1945.
    4. University attendance among Mennonites: correspondence, research notes, newspaper clippings, article manuscripts and explanatory notes from Neufeld, in English and German, 1937-1954, 1980, 1984.
    5. Mennonite migrations: newspaper clippings in German and English, 1946-1948.
    6. Mennonite co-operatives in Canada: newspaper clippings, correspondence, and notes, probably gathered for work at the Toronto Star, in English and German, 1943-1949, 1981. Photograph removed to photo collection 633: Johann P. Bergmann at the Mennonite Coop, Virgil, Ontario, 1944.
    7. Literature on Mennonites: research notes, correspondence and newspaper clippings, in German and English, 1938-1951, 1969.
    8. Mennonites: bibliography of resources about Mennonites, clippings and correspondence, in German and English, 1937-1947.
    Volume 2899
    1. Correspondence from P. P. Dyck and newspaper clippings, in German, 1946-1947.
    2. Mennonite Charities: correspondence and newspaper clippings in German and English, 1931-1954.
    3. Mennonite Art: explanatory note from I. G. (1983), article by William Huebert, list of artwork at Conference in Vineland, and newspaper clippings, in English and German, 1944-1946.
    4. Mennonite biographies: newspaper clippings in German and English, 1946-1947.
    5. Family history: family records of Hermann Enns including both a photocopy of handwritten original and a bound compilation by I. G., correspondence including a detailed description of I. G.’s experience at McMaster University, and newspaper clippings regarding Yarrow, B. C., in English and German, 1913-1984.
    6. Booklet: “Place-Names of Manitoba,” published by the Geographic Board of Canada, 1933.
    7. Forestry service in Russia: explanatory note in English, notebooks and lists of names, in German and Russian, 1890-1903.
    8. Mennonite Culture: correspondence, lists of discussion topics for Mennonite conferences, and newspaper clippings, in German and English, 1941-1948.
    9. Mennonite schools: correspondence, pamphlets and newspaper clippings, in German and English, 1937-1948.
    10. Mennonites in business and industry: newspaper clippings in English and German, 1946-1950.
    11. Jacob “Communist” Penner’s recollections: photocopied excerpt from a book and a letter from David G. Rempel, 1974-1979.
    12. Mennonites in Alberta: newspaper clippings containing minutes from “der 13 Bertreterversammlung der mennonitischen Siedler Albertas,” in German, 1945.
    13. Mennonites in British Columbia: newspaper clippings, and document containing minutes from “der Provinzialversammlung der mennonitischer Siedler in Britisch Columbien,” in German and English, 1938-1955.
    Volume 2900
    1. Bethel College: issues of The Bethel College Bulletin (edited by I. G. Neufeld), and articles written by him about the college, 1948.
    2. Mennonites: newspaper clippings and correspondence on various topics, in German and English, 1937-1959.
    3. Dorfkarte: Schönau Molotschna: German army report from evacuating Mennonite villages with explanatory note in English, 1942.
    4. Booklets from Mennonites in Russia: minutes in German from church conferences and projects, and an information booklet in Russian, ca. 1914-1918.
    5. Evangelische Predigerschule, Hamburg: lists relating to Russian Mennonite involvement with the seminary, 1978, 1988.
    6. Schönau, Molotschna: correspondence and newspaper clippings in German, 1978.
    7. Mennonite conscientious objectors: newspaper clippings and letters to men in the service, English and German, 1941-1947.
    8. Mennonites in Russia: various documents in Russian, German and English, ca. 1941.
    9. Captured German documents: files copied from the Bundesarchiv, in German, 1937-1942.
    10. Neufeld genealogical material: a certificate and documents with translations and explanatory notes, and a set of questions about Mennonites, in Russian, German and English, 1888, 1954, 1988.
    11. Mennonites in Canada and Russia: newspaper clippings and correspondence in German, 1931-1987.