4. Daniel Teichroeb,1 son of Peter Teichroeb 5 and Agatha Dyck,6 was born 20 April 1904 in Olgafeld, Fuerstenland, Ukraine, was baptized 23 May 1922 in Georgstal, Fuerstenland, Ukraine, and died 22 July 2005 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Olgafeld is a village in the Fuerstenland colony. This colony was established principally by inhabitants of Chortitza in the latter half of the nineteenth century. A proportionately large number came from Schoenhorst. This settlement, similar to Bergthal, was motivated somewhat by more conservative Mennonites trying to reduce the effects of societal integration. No doubt economics were also a factor. The burgeoning Mennonite community was constantly on the lookout for new land for expansion and there was a lot of farm land available in the new settlement.
Daniel immigrated to Canada in 1925 near the end of the Bolshevik Revolution. At the time he had been conscripted into the White Army and may have had some difficulty leaving the country. He did not ship out with his father. The passenger list for the ship carrying his father and other family members includes Daniel although his name is crossed out and stamped "Not On Board". However, he was able to get passage several months later and come over to Canada on his own. He had a passport and the details contained in it give us some sense of the journey out of Ukraine.
The passport was issued on 1 October 1925 and gives us the surname TEIHREB. Daniel's middle name on the passport was given as Pterovich; this is the standard Russian patronymic form of names and often leaves the impression that his middle name was Peter; Glenn Penner has written extensively on this topic and we know that generally Mennonites did not use middle names. He was a citizen of Ukraine and USSR. There were travel restrictions listed including Switzerland and Bulgaria. There was a Transit Visa issued on 14 October for Canada, valid until 28 October. I was under the impression that Daniel travelled with one of his brothers. However, the passenger list indicates he was travelling alone.
The passport contains no photograph although it appears there originally was one and it was later removed. The document indicates Daniel passed through Iebrauca (a town I have not been able to locate) on 16 October and arrived at Riga, Latvia on 20 October. There is a Government of Canada stamp at Riga dated 20 October. Authorization to go to the port city of Liepaja, Latvia, on the Baltic Sea, was granted at Riga on 21 October. He passed through Liepaja on 23 October, boarded a ship and arrived in London on 27 October. After remaining there for a mandatory quarantine period he finally landed in Quebec City on the S.S. Minnedosa on 15 November 1925 in third class accommodations. From there he made his way to western Canada.
Edward Krahn has told me that in the period when Daniel emmigrated a visa was not required. A passport was needed and apparently an organization referred to by Edward as the Mennonite Kommission fur Kirchenangelegenheiten (Commission for Church affairs) in Moscow was enlisted to assist people tyring to obtain one. The Kommission was a group representing Russian Mennonites formed to attempt to address the multitude of problems faced by Mennonites in the aftermath of the Revolution. When a person possessed a passport and enough money to travel to Riga they were on their way. Once in Riga, the CPR and the Mennnite Board of Colonization took over the management of the remainder of the trip. Extensive medical examinations were required en route, typically starting in the village of origin and continuing in each major location of transfer. This explains why Daniel was held up in London for an extensive period of time. Once in Canada it was necessary to find work and establish residency in order to stay.
Daniel's passport did not contain a photograph. I don't know if this was removed at some point or never existed at all. Edward Krahn posted a picture of his grandmother's passport and it contained a photo of her and two children.
I know only a few anecdotes about life in the Mennonite Colonies and they all relate to the revolutionary period.
One story relates to the anarchist bands, followers of Nestor Makhno, that roamed the countryside in southern Ukraine. These are well documented as Makhno attempted to establish an anarchist state there in the vacuum of the Bolshevik Revolution. These bands lived off the peasants and farming communities. It was necessary for farmers to take defensive measures to protect their property and to avoid the rape and murder that followed any anarchist attack. At the first sign of approaching banditry Daniel and his brothers would install themselves in the hayloft of the barn, overlooking the road leading to the homestead, and shoot the invading horsemen off their mounts as they rode into the valley toward the farmhouse. They managed to win the skirmishes and avoid the devastating outcomes recorded by families that were unprepared.
Another story I have heard is about Daniel hauling a load of military supplies on a wagon with a team of horses. At the time he was enlisted with the White Army as a military supply wagon driver. En route he was overtaken by bandits. They were happy to take his horses and what supplies they could carry and they left him alive on the road, alone with his wagon. He had to wait for passersby to help him get his wagon home.
The last story also refers to the anarchist bands. Makhno was recruiting troops, by force, for his army, referred to as the Black Army. At one point Dan and a number of other young fellows were rounded up at gunpoint by a couple of outlaws and sequestered in an outbuilding on an abandoned farm. The intent of the outlaws was to take each young man out, one by one so as to avoid a violent confrontation, and offer the choice of enlistment or death. The first friend was taken out and after some time a gunshot was heard. Assuming the worst, the detained group prepared to tackle the next bandit through the door. When the door was unlocked and opened, they hauled down the guard and took his gun. They were able to escape.
Language:
Daniel spoke some Russian because Russian instruction was compulsory in the school system. He spoke fluent Ukrainian because that was the language of the indigenous people with whom he interacted every day, including the workers on the family farm. When he came to Canada he learned English. But he also spoke Low German (Plautdietsch), as did his family and all the Dutch Mennonites who came to Canada. Low German originated in the low land countries of Holland, modern day Flemish Belgium and the northern Lower Rhine region of Germany. This low land area was where the Dutch Anabaptist movement took root during the Reformation and the language was widely used along with other native languages such as Dutch. When the Dutch Mennonites fled to Danzig and into Prussia they took their languages with them. Henry Schapansky says that Mennonite congregations continued to use Dutch until well into the 17th century. Low German remained a principal language thereafter.
Ben Fast points out that in Danzig most of the older people spoke Dutch even though their children, born and raised in Prussia, were exposed to German from birth and adopted it readily, as children do. For the older generations the language transition was difficult, particularly because they were accustomed to their church services being conducted in Dutch and Low German. Dutch fell out of practise after the 1770's, a result of the partitioning of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the absorption of many Mennonite communities in Prussia.
It is a common but incorrect belief that Low German was solely a spoken language. In fact it was a written language and widely used internationally well into the 16th century. Before the discovery of the Americas international trade was conducted along a North-South axis from Europe through the Middle East and Far East and the Hanseatic League was the dominant trading entity. Their principal language for business and record keeping was Low German. This only changed with the establishment of East-West trade routes and the emergence of new dominant trading organizations sponsored by countries such as England, Spain, Portugal and France. The Hanseatic League declined and with it the standard usage of Low German as the language of business.
The Migration of the 1920's:
There had been two waves of migration of Dutch Mennonites in the 1870's and 1890's bringing thousands to settle in Manitoba and eventually homesteads further west. However, by 1919 the doors to further migration were barred by Robert Borden's governing Unionist Party through an Order In Council, P.C. 1203.
Unionist MP John Wesley Edwards, caught up in the emotional bigotry that followed The Great War, said this in his speech supporting the Order In Council that banned Mennonites and others: "… whether they be called Mennonites, Hutterites or any other kind of "ites," we do not want them to come to Canada … We certainly do not want that kind of cattle in this country. Indeed not only do we not want that kind of cattle, but I would go further and support the view that we should deport from Canada others of the same class who were allowed to come in by mistake." His misguided and uninformed view was shaped by his belief that these people were ungrateful pacifists who had nothing to contribute. He knew nothing of the Canadian Mennonites who served in France and Belgium nor of the Dutch Mennonites defending themselves from bandits and communist armies.
In 1921-22 during the federal election an intense lobby of William Lyon Mackenzie King, leader of the Liberal Party, successfully convinced him to agree, upon being elected, to rescind the order. The Liberals won, the order was rescinded by P.C. 1204 and the next great wave of migrants began in 1923, following the domestic disaster in the Russian Empire brought on by World War I and the Bolshevik Revolution. Between 1923 and 1929 20,000 Mennonites migrated to Canada.
Notes on the S.S. Minnedosa, cribbed from Wikipedia:
The S.S. Minnedosa was a 15,000 ton steam ocean liner, the hull of which was built in Glasgow on the River Clyde for the Canadian Pacific Shipping Line by Barclay Curle, under subcontract to Harland and Wolff, in Belfast. The ship had been ordered by the Hamburg America Line but when World War I broke out, the ship was purchased by Canadian Pacific. It was launched in Glasgow on 17 October 1917 and towed to Belfast for completion, being handed over to Canadian Pacific on 21 November 1918.
After initial voyages as a troop ship bringing home Canadian soldiers, she was used on the Liverpool to Saint John, New Brunswick run and called at all the major transatlantic ports. She carried numerous immigrants to Canada and the United States. The ship was refitted in 1925, which increased her overall tonnage.
In 1935 she was sold for scrap, but was purchased by Mussolini's Italian government and refitted as a troopship named Piedmonte. During World War II, she was torpedoed and damaged in the Mediterranean Sea north of Sicily by the Royal Navy submarine HMS Umbra on 17 November 1942. She put into Messina, Sicily, where she was withdrawn from service. She was scuttled when Axis forces evacuated Messina in August 1943. Her wreck was raised in 1949 and towed to La Spezia, Italy, for scrapping.
Daniel married Margaretha Schapansky,2 daughter of David Schapansky 7 and Maria Loewen,8 4 July 1926 in Warman, Saskatchewan. Margaretha was born 24 October 1908 in Clarks Crossing, Saskatchewan and died 21 April 1987 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Children:
i. Erna Teichroeb 2 was born 28 March 1927 in Canada and died 13 September 2018 in Regina, Saskatchewan. Erna married John Teichroeb,2 son of Peter Teichroeb and Katharina Vogt, 15 October 1950. John was born 17 March 1918 in Canada and died 23 September 1983 in Canada.
2 ii. Peter Teichroeb (born 3 August 1929 in Warman, Saskatchewan). Peter married Marjorie Fast, daughter of Albert Fast 3 and Helena Striemer,4 24 July 1954 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Marjorie was born 9 August 1935 in Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan.
iii. Louis Teichroeb 2 was born 25 March 1933. Louis married Sonja Dammert 2 20 June 1959. Sonja was born 2 October 1938.
iv. Rosella Teichroeb 2 was born 17 May 1936. Rosella married Abe Wall 2 23 April 1955. Abe was born 10 June 1931 and died 3 October 2021.
v. Elsie Teichroeb 2 was born 30 October 1938. Elsie married Edward Michayluk 2 16 November 1963 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Edward was born 23 June 1933 and died 4 February 2003 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
vi. Daniel Teichroeb 2 was born 20 January 1945 and died 22 January 1945.
vii. Esther Teichroeb 2 was born 19 November 1946. Esther married Darrell Evans 2 28 August 1965 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Darrell was born 22 June 1944.
5. Margaretha Schapansky,2 daughter of David Schapansky 7 and Maria Loewen,8 was born 24 October 1908 in Clarks Crossing, Saskatchewan and died 21 April 1987 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
In the 1916 Canadian Census she is listed as Maggie. I have also seen her referred to as Greta in a letter from Russia in 1972. She is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in Saskatoon.
Rosella Wall tells us that Margaret attended school at Clark's Crossing (later known as the Penner School). After Grade 8 the family believed she was sufficiently educated to take on a more domestic role cooking, sewing, babysitting and generally helping the farming family and community.
When Daniel Teichroeb, a new immigrant to Canada, arrived in Saskatchewan in 1925 he took a job working for David Schapansky. He met the farmer's daughter and before long they were married and starting a family.
Around 1927 Daniel and Margaret moved from the Schapansky's to their own farm, renting land of their own in communities including Malden, Clark's Crossing and Rose Leaf. By 1944 they had raised $4,000 to purchase a half section in a few miles north of Saskatoon in the School District of Virtue. They farmed until 1951 and then sold the farm to move to Saskatoon. Their growing family needed more formal education than a small farm community could provide.
In Saskatoon Daniel worked at many jobs but ended his working life in construction, retiring at the age of 68. In Saskatoon Margaret managed a large garden with an array of fruit trees.
Margaretha married Daniel Teichroeb,1 son of Peter Teichroeb 5 and Agatha Dyck,6 4 July 1926 in Warman, Saskatchewan. Daniel was born 20 April 1904 in Olgafeld, Fuerstenland, Ukraine, was baptized 23 May 1922 in Georgstal, Fuerstenland, Ukraine, and died 22 July 2005 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
6. Albert Fast,3 son of Jacob Fast 9 and Helena Epp,10 was born 12 August 1907 in Laird, Saskatchewan and died 5 July 1977 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Albert was a young man when the Great Depression hit western Canada in the late 1920's. In Saskatchewan the double impact of a severe drought in the naturally arid prairies and the economic meltdown of the world's financial systems rendered cropland useless and threw people out of work. Along with many other young men he hopped aboard west bound freight trains hoping to find work.
There was no work and he returned to Saskatchewan where he married and for a living did anything he could to make ends meet. He lived in the Rabbit Lake area until late 1935, working as a farm hand in the Sandwith area. His first daughter, Marjorie, was born there in August 1935 and the family moved home to Laird where he worked as a farm hand for a short time. They moved to Waldheim next. As the family grew Albert worked as a farm hand and in grain elevator construction while Helena did laundry for local people. Rural life as a landless labourer has no future so the family moved to Saskatoon in 1953. He worked for General Motors as a plant maintenance manager.
Albert married Helena Striemer,4 daughter of Wilhelm Striemer 11 and Anna Dyck,12 21 October 1934 in Laird, Saskatchewan. Helena was born 9 December 1915 in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan and died 12 February 2000 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Children:
3 i. Marjorie Fast (born 9 August 1935 in Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan). Marjorie married Peter Teichroeb, son of Daniel Teichroeb 1 and Margaretha Schapansky,2 24 July 1954 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Peter was born 3 August 1929 in Warman, Saskatchewan.
ii. Helen Fast was born 4 August 1939 and died 8 February 2016.
iii. Richard Fast was born 25 September 1943 and died 31 May 2021.
iv. Roger Fast was born 10 February 1948.
7. Helena Striemer,4 daughter of Wilhelm Striemer 11 and Anna Dyck,12 was born 9 December 1915 in Aberdeen, Saskatchewan and died 12 February 2000 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Helena's family was very poor. The family made do with very little.
Helena's grandfather, Johann, came to Canada at the age of 15 in 1874. His family settled in Manitoba and Johann farmed there until some time after 1901 when the family moved to the Sandwith area of Saskatchewan. He continued to farm for years. In addition at one point he was the minister of the Reinland Bergthal Mennonite Church in Saskatchewan. Johann and his wife Helena Giesbrecht were old Mennonites in the Bergthaler tradition carried from Ukraine to Canada.
Wilhelm, Helena's father, was born in Plum Coulee, Manitoba and by 1906 was living in Vonda, Saskatchewan. My mother, Marjorie Fast, recalls her grandparents Wilhelm and Anna Dyck as very nice, gentle people. However, they were exceedingly poor farmers living in the Sandwith area of Saskatchewan. My father, Peter Teichroeb, recalls once going out to Sandwith to visit the grandparents and finding that Sandwith consisted of a single building - the Post Office - and it was closed.
Helena married Albert Fast,3 son of Jacob Fast 9 and Helena Epp,10 21 October 1934 in Laird, Saskatchewan. Albert was born 12 August 1907 in Laird, Saskatchewan and died 5 July 1977 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
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