GERHARD REDDEKOPP
The years in Mexico were difficult. From the day the family arrived, Gerhard and his wife wanted only to find a way to return to Canada. They disagreed with the conservative philosophy of the Old Colony Church. Four years after their arrival in Mexico, they moved to the town of Patos to distance themselves from the Mennonite Community. Finally, in 1936, they had enough money to return to Canada.
Gerhard worked very hard to support his growing family. In Mexico, their eighth child, Peter, had been born. Once back in Canada, two more children, Marie and Sara, were born. Eventually he was to buy 80 acres of land near Horndean, Manitoba.
He was a good repairman who could fix anything. He was practical and built the furniture the family needed, such as a dining room table and kitchen cupboards. He was an optimistic, patient, hard-working, can-do person, traits he may have inherited from his father. He certainly needed many positive qualities to face a life filled with obstacles:his first young family had died; he had faced the disappointments of trading his 340-acre farm in Saskatchewan for an almost worthless farm in Mexico, he had the pressures of supporting a large extended family, his two brothers and his father had died while theyy lived in Mexico.
His wife Anna was often not well, already in Mexico, and then back in Manitoba as well. After a long, painful bout with stomach cancer, she died in 1945. Gerhard suffered his losses stoically and worked hard to be a supportive father to his ten now motherless children,
In 1952, he married his third wife, a Mrs Warkentin. The wedding took place in his home in Horndean, with Rev. David Schulz officiating. The marriage and the presence of the stepmother soon created an unhappy situation for the younger children still living at home.
In the year before his death, Gerhard was already aware of some health problems and had slowed down considerably. He was taking medication to control his blood pressure and had been told by his doctor to limit his intake of animal fats. On the morning of August 12, 1955 at the age of 57, he suffered a stroke. The next day, on August 13, 1955, he died in his home, surrounded by his family. Although physically he had been a man small in stature (his 1936 passport lists him as 5' 8") to his loving sons and daughters he had always seemed 10 ft. tall.
Tuesday 8 March 2011
Monday 7 March 2011
Reddekopp/Warkentin Family 1970
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| Upper: Elfe, Erwin, Mindy Lower: Martha Reddekopp Warkentin, David, John Warkentin |
Sunday 6 March 2011
From Erwin Warkentin
I have some records of the Mennonite emigration to Mexico that I collected at the National Archives (then still the PRO) in London. I used them in a previous article in the _Journal of Mennonite Studies_ (2008). The first deals with the Mennonites leaving for Mexico and their situation regarding the British Crown. Not directly of interest, but it sets the stage for what our people were to encounter and their later difficulty in returning to Canada. The second deals with their situation in Chihuahua Province as a group of them prepares to return to Canada. The third is perhaps of greatest interest to us in that it contains the names of our family members in the "lists." These were people that the British Government had to rule on in relation to their citizenship status. At special risk were children born to Mennonite families (Uncle Peter for example). The Mennonite marriages were not necessarily recognized by the various governments, because the Mennonites were still viewed as a cult of sorts and thus their marriages were often considered invalid or not having taken place at all. Children were thus often considered illegitimate and thus Mexican nationals. The Reddekopps left Saskatchewan relatively late. This was as much a result of being drawn to Mexico and family as it was the outright prejudiced attitudes of the the Provincial Government. When one looks through the cabinet documents and federal/provincial correspondences of 1929-1930, the Saskatchewan attitude toward the Mennonites bordered on xenophobic hatred. I'll provide the links under the links app.
The Mennonites and British protection in Mexico.
www.docwarkentin.caMennonites preparing to Leave Durango. Family entries can be found here.
www.docwarkentin.caMennonites preparing to leave Chihuahua
www.docwarkentin.ca
Saturday 5 March 2011
From Elfe
- Our GG Grandfather Gerhard Enns is listed as being born in Sparrau, Molotschna Colony, South Russia (now known as Ukraine) Birth Source: 1835 Molotschna Colony Census Notes: R92-1. He married a second time to a widow Fast who died 25 Oct 1908. The 1901 Canada Census says he was born 29 Jul 1828. Immigration Source: Quebec Passenger Lists of Mennonite Immigrants to Manitoba: 1874 - 1880 Gerhard with his wife and living children immigrated to Canada on 19 Jul 1875, S. S. Canadian; arrived Quebec City, Quebec Gerhard's father is listed as Johann Isaac Enz born about 1796 : Birth Source: 1835 Molotschna Colony Census Notes: He migrated from Zeyersvordercampen, Prussia to Sparrau, Molotschna, S. Russia in 1827 (P. Rempel, p. 203, 206). In the 1835 Molotschna Colony Census he is listed at Blumstein #21, where it says that he immigrated to Russia in 1827, transferred to Blumstein from Sparrau in 1833 and transferred to the Chortitza Colony in 1836. In the 1835 Molotschna Census entry for Sparrau #42, he is said to have transferred from there to Blumstein in 1833. He transferred to Rosenthal, Chortitza Colony in 1836 per Odessa Archive, Fonds 6, Inventory 1, File 4127. Passport from Danzig issued 29 Jun 1827, visa for this family was issued 7 Aug 1827. They settled in Sparrau, Molotschna in 1828. A document in the possession of Olga (Klassen) Thiessen #608648 says John Enns left Prussia Zeiersvorderkampe bei Tiegenhof 16 Sep 1827 to Chortitza, then to Molotschna. The lived in Ohrloff for 3 years and Blumenstein for 2 years. Source: p. 203 "Mennonite Migration to Russia 1788-1828. " Immigration Source: Mennonite Migration to Russia, 1788-1828, page 203, 206. Gerhard's mother is listed as Maria Klein: Notes: She is not listed in the household at the time of the 1835 census. Likely the same Maria Klein as #670372, the daughter of Johann Klein and Sara Ens ( Molotschna census) Gerhard's grandfather is listed as Issac Enz. **Note that the surname spelling changes. Apparently, people would change their surname spelling to suit themselves, the place they lived or others taking the census at times misspelt names.
Scans of copies of Official travel documents for Gerhard Reddekopp and Family
If you click on the picture and then click on it again when it comes up it will enlarge for you to read
Some history on Gerhard Reddekopp Grandfather
Gerhard Reddekopp was born on April 2, 1898, in Rosenhoff, Manitoba. His parents were Jakob Reddekopp and Katharina Enns Reddekopp. He was the third child in a family of twelve children four of whom died in infancy. His two older siblings were Jake and Tina and the six who followed him were Anna, Susan, Johann and Issac Nick and Abram. The family spent their first years in Manitoba, but when Gerhard was about six years of age, the family moved to Saskatchewan, where his parents farmed.
He married his first wife, Sara Wiebe, at an early age. It was the custom in his family to marry young. His brother Jake, for example, married at the age of 18 and had 12 children by the time he died at age 36. Tragedy struck early. Their first child, Sara was stillborn. Gerhard's wife Sara then became pregnant with twin girls, in 1922, his wife died giving birth to these two girls. Tina and Sara, they were born prematurely and they also died. They were so tiny they were buried inside shoe boxes.
That same year, on July 9, 1922, Gerhard married his second wife, Anna Klassen (our Grandmother). They were both 24. They farmed on their own along with the Reddekopp and Klassen families who all lived there. They attended the Bergthaler Church in Saskatchewan ( in Manitoba it was called the Sommerfelder church). The children followed quickly after the marriage-- first Ann, then Susan, George, the twins Martha and John, Katherine and Marge. In addition to this large family, they also had Anna's youngest sister, Margaretha, and her husband Johann, living with them for a few years.
In 1930 the family prepared to go to Mexico to follow the Mennonite migration there. Gerhard and Anna were not personally convinced this was the best move, but his parents and his older sister Tina (Reimer) were already there, so they gave into pressure. Marge was just a baby. Anna's sister and brother-in-law, Margaretha and Johann decided to stay in Saskatchewan.
Gerhard packed up his wife, and his seven young children, accompanied by his older brother Jake and his 12 children, his sister's family (Abe and Susanna Martens) and other family members. The only member of the Reddekopp family who did not move to Mexico was Gerhard's sister Anna (Goertzen). She could not persuade her husband to go.
Gerhard was the only available driver for the long gruelling trip to the Mennonite Colony of Greenfeld near Durango, Mexico.
copied from information compiled by Susan (Reddekopp) Schulz and Judy Schulz.
Further installments to come
Some History
This is from information compiled by Susan (Reddekopp) Schulz and Judy Schulz.
Great Great (GG) parents
Gerhard Enns DOB July 4, 1829 married Maria Heide DOB May 18th,1836
Children
Maria Enns DOB July 3, 1854 DOD July 27, 1854
Maria Enns DOB Oct. 21, 1855 DOD Dec. 14, 1855
Anna Enns DOB Dec. 2, 1856 DOD Nov. 28, 1906
Maria Enns DOB Jun. 25, 1859 DOD Jun 8, 1878
Gerhard Enns DOB Jun. 5, 1862 DOD Jun. 21,1879
Johann Enns DOB May 17, 1866 DOD Aug. 5, 1918
Klaus Enns DOB Jan. 19, 1869 DOD Feb. 12, 1936
Isaac Enns DOB Mar. 7, 1871 DOD Feb. 1938
Frans Enns DOB Dec. 24, 1874 DOD Aug. 26,1875
Our Great Grandmother
Katharina Enns DOB Jan. 24, 1877 Manitoba DOD Sept. 22 1974Winkler Manitoba
Married Jakob Reddekopp Nov. 12, 1893 at the age of 16.
Jakob Reddekopp DOB Mar. 7, 1870 DOD Dec. 1935
Their off spring
Jakob Reddekopp DOB Sept. 24, 1894 DOD Jul. 24, 1931
Katherina Reddekopp DOB Nov 16, 1896 DOD Aug. 22, 1952
Our Grandfather- Gerhard Reddekopp DOB April 2, 1898 Rosenhof, Manitoba
DOD Aug 13, 1955 Horndean, Manitoba
Married Anna Klassen Jul 9, 1922 Saskatchewan
Johann Reddekopp DOBApril 24, 1901 DOD Feb 4, 1902
Johann Reddekopp DOB Feb 11, 1903 DOD Nov. 4, 1908
Anna Reddekopp DOB Jul. 22, 1905 DOD ?
Isaac Reddekopp DOB Apr. 3, 1908 DOD Nov. 14 1908
Susanna Reddekopp DOB Oct. 24, 1909 DOD ?
Isaac Reddekopp DOB Oct. 30, 1911 DOD Mar. 7, 1931 Mexico
Johann Reddekopp DOB Apr. 17, 1914 DOD Dec. 2, 1919
Klaus (Nick) Reddekopp Aug 29, 1916 DOD ? 2010
Abram Reddekopp DOB Apr. 20, 1920 DOD ?
Friday 4 March 2011
Memories
I am hoping that those of you who have memories of the grandparents would share them as many of us never knew them. I do have some memories of Great Grandma Reddekopp from when she was in the nursing home in Winkler. She always said she couldn't remember our english names so she always would address Esther, Dennis and myself by our second names which she could pronounce. So Esther was little (kliene) Anne, Dennis was little (kliene) George and I was little (kliene) Marie. Of course these names were pronounced in the low german language. Because she had bad eyesite, she would touch our arms and faces so she knew who we were and then for good measure would give us a little pinch. She was quite a large woman and so to me she looked huge, and she would sit in this double wide chair. But she recognized us almost till the end. She lived almost to her 98th birthday. Going to visit her when my Dad was alive was a regular Sunday outing.
Grandparents, Great Grand parents
Great Grandpa Jakob Reddekopp
Grandpa and Grandma Gerhard Reddekopp and their family
back row- Anne, Susan Grandpa, George, John
second row- Martha, Marjorie, Grandma holding Sara, Katherine, Peter
Marie standing to the right of Grandma
Grandpa Gerhard Reddekopp and his third wife Helena nee Nickel Warkentin Reddekopp
Great Grandma Reddekopp
I believe this is Great Grandma Reddekopp and ?
Reddekopp Sisters and their off spring
sitting are Martha, Susan, Marjorie
standing are Sara, Katherine, Marie
standing are Judy, Michelle Darlene, sitting Carol Heather, Rosella
sitting are Sara, Susan and Martha
Standing Marie and Katherine
Great Grandpa Reddekopp
sitting Judy, Katherine, Susan
Standing Sara, Marie and a cousin
Ray and Sara standing
Jake and Marie sitting
Ray and Sara
Sitting Katherine, Susan
Standing Sara, Marie and cousin
Ray and Sara and Michelle
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