Sara Koop and Margarete Koop

Title: Sara Koop and Margarete (Koop) Neufeld fonds

Dates of creation: 1924, 1963

Physical description: 1 cm of textual records

Biographical sketch: Sara Koop (1896-1971) was born in Alexanderkrone, South Russia, one of five children of Heinrich and Sara (Klassen) Koop. After her mother's death, her father married Helena Ediger. Margarete (Koop) Neufeld (1903-1998) was one of five children born to Heinrich and Helena to live to adulthood. The family immigrated to Canada in 1924, settling first in Saskatchewan and then in Vineland, Ontario.

Custodial history: Donated to the Archives in 2023 by Martha Neufeld

Scope and content: The fonds consists of documents written by the step-sisters Sara and Margarete and translated by Margarete's daughter, Martha Neufeld.

Notes: Original archival description created 2023 by Laureen Harder-Gissing
See also: Neufeld Epp, Ruth and Martha Neufeld. The Story of Margarete Koop (Neufeld) as Told Through Her Letters (1924-1934) to Tina Dick (Janzen). A copy is located in the Milton Good Library.
 

File list:

1.  Life story of Sara Koop
   A two-page Lebensgeschichte written by Sara Koop in April 1963, and a translation with notes and photographs by Martha Neufeld in 2023.
   Sara trained as a deaconess and worked as a nurse in the hospital in Orloff, Molotschna and later at the Bethania mental hospital. After immigrating to Canada, she worked as a caregiver in Saskatchewan and then practiced as a midwife in Mennonite communities in southern Manitoba and trained as a nurse in Winnipeg. In the late 1930s, Sara and her sister Tina moved to Vineland, Ontario to join their parents. Her father helped the sisters set up a nursing and birthing home where 732 babies were born between 1941-1954. 
2. Journal of Margarete Koop
   A translation of the journal of Margarete Koop by her daughter Martha Neufeld. The journal covers the family's immigration journey to Canada from November 9-December 12, 1924.