©Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Last updated April 4, 2003)
Jacob Goossen
Retrieval numbers: photograph
collection number 578
Title: Jacob Goossen Family fonds
Dates: 1900-1972 , predominant 1900-1930
Extent: 35 b&w photographs
Repository: Mennonite
Heritage Centre Archives
Historical note
Jacob Johann Goossen (1858-1920) was the owner of the large and
prosperous Wintergruen estate 30 verst (about 20 miles) from the village of
Schoensee, Molotschna Colony. He married Aganetha Kaethler (1861-1946) in
1884. She was the daughter of Johann Kaethler (1830-1889) from the village of
Grossweide, Molotschna. Jacob and Aganetha had thirteen children, seven of
which survived early childhood. In 1906 the family took a first class holiday
to Europe and the USA to avoid difficulties in Russia immediately after the
Russo-Japanese War. They visited family and friends in North America and
returned to Wintergruen in June 1907. The family continued to live at the
estate until October 1918 when they left for their own safety. On December 10,
1918 the estate was pillaged by Machno bandits. 1922 daughter Maria Goossen
left Russia to join her fiancé A.A. Friesen (Abraham A. Friesen) (1885-1948)
in Canada who was a prominent member on the Canadian Mennonite Board of
Colonization. This board was responsible for helping over 20,000 Mennonites
emigrate from Russia to Canada in the 1920s. On June 21, 1924 Aganetha and her
remaining children in Russia (with the exception of the oldest daughter
Aganetha (Friesen) Willms who was exiled to Siberia) sold their last cow, the
little furniture they had, and boarded a train in Lichtenau, Molotschna
immigrating to Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan. After Maria (Goossen) Friesen died
in 1934 A.A. Friesen married Maria's sister Helena in 1935. Friesen resigned
from the Canadian Mennonite Board of Colonization in 1926. In 1927 he began as
the business manager for the Meilicke Lumber Company. He died in 1948 in
Rabbit Lake, Saskatchewan and his second wife Helena (Goossen) died in 1985.
For more information on the Goossen family see Daydreams & Nightmares;
Life on the Wintergruen Estate, by Helena Goossen
Friesen.
Scope and content note
This fonds consists of 35 photographs, mostly taken in Russia, of
the Goossen family, extended family, and of the Wintergruen estate. The photos
are of high quality and show a wealthy Mennonite family in Russia. Included is
a rare photograph of the interior of the Schoensee Mennonite
Church.
Index terms
Subject terms
Goossen, Jacob, 1858-1920
Goossen, Aganetha (Kaethler), 1861-1946
Friesen, Abraham A., 1885-1948
Creators
Jacob Goossen
Adjunct descriptive data
Finding aids
Finding aid consists of a file list
Related material in this repository
Abraham A. Friesen fonds (A.A.
Friesen).
Notes
Custodial history
These photos were owned by Maria Goossen and Helena Goossen. After
Helena's death in 1985 they became the property of Maria's oldest daughter
Aganetha (Friesen) Enns (1923-1989). After her death Aganetha's husband, John
Enns of Lowe Farm, Manitoba donated them to the archives in November
2002.
Restrictions on access
No restrictions
Other notes
Accession numbers: 2002-155