Nicolaus Lichti

Title: Nicolaus Lichti fonds

Dates of creation: 1839-1852

Physical description: 2 cm of textual records

Biographical sketch: Nicolaus Lichti (1811-1907) was born in Alsace, the youngest surviving child of John and Magdalena (Yoder) Lichti. The family immigrated from Alsace to Wilmot Township in 1825, settling on Lot 8, south side of Erbs Road, just west of St. Agatha. Married siblings of Nicolaus settled nearby. After his father's death in 1839, Nicolaus took over management of the family farm and began keeping meticulous records. He married Anna Ernst (1806-1871) in 1832; the couple had six children. It is evident from his notebook that Nicolaus had significant financial assets, as shown by the extensive loans he made to other members of the community.

Custodial history: Donated to the Archives in 2021 by Esther (Roth) Good and received from Fred Lichti

Scope and content: The fonds consists mainly of a ledger book kept by Nicolaus Lichti from 1839-1852. The title page is written in precise calligraphy. Following this is an index of 209 names of people with whom Nicolaus had business dealings, primarily through loans. The majority of these are Mennonite clients in Wilmot Township. Pages 7-152 are records of individual accounts. Loans were repaid with cash or labour. The last two pages of the book list genealogical information about his parents, siblings, wife and children.

Notes: Original archival description created 2021 by Laureen Harder-Gissing with notes from Fred Lichti

File list:

1. Nicolaus Lichti notebook
2. Notes regarding the book by Fred Lichti, 2020
3. Transcription and translation of family history in the notebook by Fred Lichti