© Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Last updated March 27, 2007)

  • Toews, Isaac, 1887-1976


    Retrieval numbers: Volume 2768-2770

    Title: Isaac Toews Fonds
    Dates: 1905-1974 , predominant 1925-1955
    Extent: 18 cm of textual material
    Repository: Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives

    Historical note

    Isaac W. Toews was born on August 7, 1887 to Peter (1841-1922) and Anna (Warkentin) (1843-1925) Toews, in Gruenthal, Manitoba. In 1907, he moved to Linden, Alberta, to begin homesteading. He was baptized into the Church of God in Christ in Stalwell (near Linden) in 1910. A year later, he returned to Gruenthal to find a wife, and was married to Helen Penner Bartel on December 20, 1911. They had nine children. Isaac was called and ordained as a minister to the Church of God in Christ in Stalwell in 1922. He served the church in various capacities for the remainder of his life, including as a traveling revivalist and evangelist, as a leader within the church conference, and as a pastor in the conscientious objector camps during World War II. Isaac and Helen moved to the Sunchild Mission near Rocky Mountain House in 1956, and then to Crooked Creek, Alberta in 1958. Helen died in 1961, and daughter Annie took over the housekeeping for her father. Annie died in 1963, after which Isaac moved to Mt. Lehman, British Columbia. He remarried to Florence Amoth of Bonner Ferry, Idaho, on January 10, 1968. On February 10, 1976, he died in Chilliwack, BC.

    Scope and content note

    This fonds contains both personal and pastoral materials. The personal materials consist of a financial ledger and various financial documents and correspondence relating to farming operations. The pastoral materials consist of correspondence, minutes, reports and other documents. A large portion of the correspondence relates to alternative military service, and some also relates to church discipline.

    Index terms

    Subject terms

  • Toews, Isaac, 1887-1976

    Creators

  • Toews, Isaac, 1887-1976

    Adjunct descriptive data

    Finding aids

    Inventory file list available

    Related material in this repository

    Peter Toews fonds

    Notes

    Language

    Mostly English with some German

    Arrangement

    Description completed by Joanne Moyer in March 2007.

    Restrictions on access

    None to access

    Immediate source of acquisition

    These materials were deposited in the Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives by Milton and Margaret Toews of Neilburg, Saskatchewan, along with some papers belonging to Peter Toews, Isaac's father.

    • Inventory File List

    Volume 2768
    1. Correspondence concerning pastoral and broader church work, community concerns, and refugees, in English and German, 1925-1954.
    2. Correspondence concerning pastoral and broader church work, community concerns, and refugees, in English and German, 1926-1955.
    3. Alternative Service during WWII: correspondence, lists of conscientious objectors, and related documents; also some correspondence concerning farm business during the war; in English, 1940-1949.
    Volume 2769
    1. Miscellaneous church materials including correspondence, articles about public service and freedom of conscience, and a notebook containing notes that appear to be from a church conference, in English and German, 193-?-1949.
    2. Church of God: financial statements, minutes, reports, and statements of faith, in English and German, 1940-1950.
    3. Reports and minutes from various church committees, including the Mennonite Central Committee, in English and German, 1926-1943.
    4. Reports and minutes from various church committees, including the Mennonite Central Committee, in English, 1941-1952.
    5. Reports and minutes from various church committees, including the Mennonite Central Committee, and Bible study guides, in English and German, 1939-1952.
    Volume 2770
    1. Church of God: correspondence, 1955-1961.
    2. Church of God: membership survey and regulations for deliberative assemblies, ca. 1940.
    3. Marriage regulations and forms for British Columbia, 1969-1974.
    4. Documents regarding farm business, 1941-1942.
    5. Ledger book, 1905-1917.
    6. Business records, including receipts, Department of Agriculture certificates, tax forms, and correspondence, in English and German, 1915-56.
    7. Correspondence and minutes regarding church work and community concerns, 1945-1950.