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Generally 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Monday to Friday. An appointment in advance is recommended.
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Mennonite Archives of OntarioConrad Grebel University College
140 Westmount Road North
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G6
Phone: 519-885-0220 x24238
Title: Franz and Anna (Toews) Tiessen family fonds
Dates of creation: 1905-1991
Physical description: 17 cm of textual records; 13 photographs
Biographical sketch: Franz Peter Tiessen (1906-1991) was born in Schoenfeld, South Russia to Peter J. and Elizabeth (Fast) Tiessen. Peter and his first wife Anna (Enns) had six children, four of whom survived infancy. Peter and his second wife Elizabeth (Fast) had eight children, (seven of whom survived infancy) including Franz. The children grew up on the family’s prosperous 700 acre farm. In 1919, the family left for Blumstein to avoid frequent raids by bandits. On June 23, 1924, the family began their immigration journey to Canada. After a brief stay in Heidelberg, Ontario as billets of a local Mennonite family, they moved to Ruthven, Ontario. In 1927, they were able to buy a farm.
Anna (Toews) Tiessen (1909-1996) was also born in Schoenfeld. Her parents were Jacob J. and Susanna (Dick) Toews. The family later moved to Kleefeld, and immigrated to Canada in 1924. In 1925, they moved to the Leamington area. Anna Toews married Franz Tiessen in 1932; the couple had three children. The Tiessens farmed in Essex County. Franz's name was sometimes Anglicised as “Frank.”
Custodial history: Donated to the Mennonite Archives of Ontario by son Bob Tiessen in 2015
Scope and content:The fonds consists of: diaries and account books kept by Franz Tiessen; autobiographical writings by Franz Tiessen, Anna Tiessen and others predominantly recounting stories of the Russian Revolution and Mennonite emigration; family correspondence and genealogy; photographs; and collected poems.
Notes: For photographs related to the Tiessen family search the Mennonite Archival Image Database.
Further materials related to the Tiessen family may be found by searching the Archives.
Original archival description created 2016 by Laureen Harder-Gissing.
File list:
Generally 9:00 am - 4:00 pm Monday to Friday. An appointment in advance is recommended.
Phone: 519-885-0220 x24238
Conrad Grebel University College
140 Westmount Road North
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G6
519-885-0220
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