1. The Peter D. Friesen Family

This is the story of my grandparents, Peter and Anna Friesen, and their ancestors going back to our earliest records in about 1740.  I had the great privilege of knowing my grandparents and my aunts and uncles pictured below.  I am the baby in the picture taken in 1943.  I spent many happy times in my childhood in the company of these dear people. 

Back Row: Betty's husband Jake Enns, Anne, Peter, Katherine, and John (my dad)

Middle Row: Peter, Betty, Caroline Enns, John (my brother), Annie Enns, Mary, baby Eleanor, Anna

Seated: Agatha, Jack, and Helen.

I only wish I had taken the opportunity to ask my grandparents some specific questions about their childhoods, and especially about their harrowing escape from Communist Russia in 1929.  Below is the last picture taken at their home in Ebenthal, Memrik Colony, South Russia, September 1929.

Peter and Anna with Elizabeth, Mary, Anna, Katherine and Peter

This history is written for our children, grandchildren, and all future generations of our family.  I took on this project thinking I knew most of my history, but quickly discovered there was a lot more to our story than I previously thought.  I am privileged to have the collection of Mennonite history books that my father John V. Friesen had collected before he passed away in 2000.  I also attended a Mennonite high school and college where I studied our Mennonite history, and have text books from courses I took.  Much of my general research was done on the internet and I hope that posting my family history will help others in their research.

The personal history from about 1900 to 1940 is taken from the hand written notes of Betty, Mary and Anne pictured above and from Marie Friesen Isaak, sister of Peter.  I also regret that I didn't talk to Betty and Anne while they were living, because they would have been able to embellish the stories with more color than I could give them just from notes.   

I have tried to be as accurate as possible given the fact that several records I used had varying dates and some conflicting information. There are 'old calendar' dates and 'new calendar' dates based on the Julian or Gregorian calendars that were used in Russia. 

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Researched and edited by 

Eleanor Friesen Zweigle, Olympia WA

January 2014

(My mother, Mary Friesen, married John Friesen, so I am a 'double' Friesen, but my research shows that these two Friesen families come from completely different ancestors.)