18. (D4)Dietrich Peter and Elizabeth (Born) Friesen

               Our ancestor (D4)Dietrich Peter and his twin sister (D5)Maria were born 17 Sept 1860 in Altonau.  Dietrich married Elizabeth Born, who was born 29 Jan 1862 in Waldheim, Molotschna. They probably married around 1885 and moved to Herzenberg, also called Alexanderthal, which was about 30 miles east of Altonau.  Because Dietrich was not the oldest son and came of age well after the remaining land in the Molotschna settlement had been distributed, he would not have had the much desired land ownership opportunities.
               According to Betty's notes Dietrich was a teacher in Alexanderthal.  I found a description of the school in the autobiography of J.B. Toews, whose father was the teacher in Alexanderthal after Dietrich and family left in the early 1900's.  Mr. Toews writes that the school was a large red brick building with a large classroom on one side and living quarters for the teacher and his family on the other.  There was a barn for farm livestock, an orchard with 2 very large walnut trees, and a large garden plot for vegetables.

               Elizabeth Born was the daughter of Gerhard (1862-1911) and Helena (Goosen) Born.  Gerhard's father was Wilhelm Peter Born (1783-1856).

The school build in Alexanderthal is still being used today. 

This picture was taken in 2018 by Rudy P. Friesen, author of 2 books on Mennonite buildings in the Ukraine.

(used by permission)