Herman Sawadsky

Title: Herman A. Sawadsky fonds

Dates of creation: [Between 1985 and 2000]

Physical description: 1 cm of textual records (located in map case)

Biographical sketch: Herman Abram Sawadsky (1900-2003) was born in the village of Rosenhof, Alexandrovsk, South Russia. Rosenhof was considered to be part of the Schoenfeld Colony, a Mennonite settlement distinctive because it was spread over a wide area and interspersed with other German and Russian settlements. Herman was the child of Abram and Helena (Enns) Sawadsky, and the only member of his family to emigrate to Canada in the 1920s. He married Anna Berg (1903-2005) in 1929. The couple eventually settled in Vineland, Ontario where they farmed and had five children. Herman Sawadsky traveled back to Rosenhof in 1977.

Custodial history: Donated to the Archives in 2021 by Hedy Sawadsky

Scope and content: The fonds consists of three maps sketched by Herman Sawadsky of his childhood home: 1) Rosenhof, and the Abram Sawadsky estate in particular, with many personal notations; 2) South Russia, highlighting Rosenhof and Boragan, Crimea (Anna Berg's birthplace); 3) Rosenhof and surrounding districts, including non-Mennonite villages and notations on local Mennonite landholders.

Notes: See also: "Schoenfeld Colony" in Schroeder, William and Huebert, Helmut T. Mennonite Historical Atlas (2nd ed.). Winnipeg: Springfield Publishers,1996, 132.; "Herman Sawadsky." Der Bote, February 19, 2003.
Original archival description created 2021 by Laureen Harder-Gissing.