HOME
JACOB'S PAGE
SURNAME LIST
NAME INDEX
EMAIL US
 WARKENTIN
Jacob (1906-1996)
Johann (1760-1825)
Jacob (1857-1885)
Jacob (1836-1899)
Abraham (1880-1949)
Abraham (1832)
Abraham (1792)
BRAUN
Bishop Jacob(1791-1868)
Susanna(b:1828)
DOERKSEN
Helen (1858-1891)
Bishop Abraham
Bishop David
Abraham (1827- 1916)
Reverend Heinrich
FRIESEN
Reverend Abraham
Abraham (1839-1909)
Sarah (1881-1943)
HIEBERT
Heinrich(1791-1851)
Maria(1844-1934)
THIESSEN
Margaretha(b:1767)
|
Warkentin and Draper Family History
Jacob Warkentin 1906-1996
Jacob Warkentin's ancestors were of the Mennonite religion. They moved from Prussia in 1804
to settle in southern Russia. His grandfather emigrated to Canada
in 1875.
Search this site
Ancestors of Jacob Warkentin
- Pedigree chart
Surname List - All surnames in the pedigree chart
Index of Names -
All names
in the pedigree chart
Warkentin & Draper Family History - Main page
Individual Pages - Surname list
More Family Links
The WARKENTIN family were of the Mennonite faith.
About the 16th
century they moved to the Vistula delta, in Western Prussia, where Johann Warkentin
was born in the village of
Blumenort in 1760. In 1804 while Napoleon's Armies were rampaging
across Europe, Johann and his family started the long trek to their
new home in the Ukraine.
In 1763, Catherine II (Catherine the Great, German born empress of Russia) had sent agents into the
German states for the purpose of recruiting settlers. These colonists were to develop the fertile,
uncultivated agricultural lands southeast of Moscow, specifically along the VOLGA River.
There were several promises that made this offer attractive to the Germans: freedom from
various forms of taxes and customs duties, self government for the towns, freedom of religion,
and freedom from military service, to name a few. A few years later she turned to the Mennonites of West
Prussia. She needed settlers for the newly acquired lands of the southern Ukraine.
Frederick William II of Prussia was demanding payment of heavy fines in lieu of
military service and forced the Mennonites, who were pacifists, to pay tithes to the established Lutheran Church on
earlier land purchases from Lutherans. The Mennonites were particularly attracted to Russia by the offer of
freedom from military service. In 1789, 228 Mennonite families arrived at Chortitza,
Ukraine on the Dneiper River. Many ancestors were part of this original group
including the Friesen, Doerksen and Braun families. A few years later in 1803/1804 another group including
Johann Warkentin and his family arrived to settle the Molotschna colony.
Johann named his village after his birthplace, Blumenort.
Russian politics changed dramatically over the next 100 years and it wasn't long before the Germans
starting losing the freedoms and privileges extended to them. The Mennonites were first to
leave in large numbers. They were being forced to provide military service to the Russians, so in
the 1870s thousands of them moved on to both North and
South America.
The governments of Canada and the United States were encouraging immigration to
newly opened lands in their Midwest. In 1874 Mennonites from three colonies Molotschna, Bergthal and Chortitza began an exodus from Russia to their new home in Manitoba,
Canada.
On July 1, 1875, Jacob Warkentin, Johann's
great grandson along his foster parents arrived in Canada.
Thousands of other
Mennonites migrated to North America and settled in Manitoba,
Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska. The
migration saved thousands of families from the horrors of the
Russian revolution and its aftermath forty two years later.
The
Name
Warkentin (Warkentine,Warckentien,
Warckentyn, Workentyn)
Warkentin is a common
Mennonite name of Prussian background which, as early as 1667, was found in
Tiegenhagen, Ladekopp, Rosenort, Furstenwerder, Heubuden, Danzig, and Konigsberg.
From Prussia the name spread to Russia and later to North America.
The first recorded history of our
branch of the family is related to the emigration from Prussia to Southern
Russia. Following are links to some of the people in our family or search
below for your family.
Mennonite Links
PEDIGREE CHARTS
Jacob Warkentin
Ari Draper
many more families
Created 20 Nov 2000 with Family Origins
9.0 |