Jacob F. Guenter Family fonds. -- 1899-1995. -- 46 cm of textual records.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Jacob F. Guenter (1881-1964) was the second child born to Franz Guenter (1857-1946) and Katharina Heinrichs (1852-1911). He was about 14 years old when the family moved from Manitoba (Schoenwiese ?) to the Hague area of Saskatchewan. In 1904 he married Eva Bergen (? -1953) and they lived in the village of Hochstadt (south west of Hague). His father Franz Guenter (1857-1946) and siblings all moved to Mexico in the 1920s. The Jacob F. Guenther family was the only (?) family of the Franz and Katharina Guenter children who did not move to Mexico.
Jacob F. and Eva had eight sons and three daughters, of which one son and two daughters died in infancy.
For many years, Jacob F. Guenter was in charge of the Waisenamt, the institution which looked after the estate of orphans and settled their inheritance.
Jacob F. Guenter's daughter, Eva, born in 1908, took much responsibility in household and garden activities in the home because mother Eva (Bergen) Guenter often suffered from epileptic seizures. Eva Guenter remained single until 1968 when she married Jacob R. Schellenberg of Aberdeen, Saskatchewan. Jacob R. Schellenberg died in 1989. Eva (Guenter) Schellenberg died in 1995.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The fonds consists of Jacob F. Guenter correspondence until his death in 1964 and continues with his daughter's (Eva Guenter Schellenberg) correspondence until her death in 1995. The following series have been indentified: 1) Jacob F. Guenter family correspondence, 1900-1962 2) Eva Guenter correspondence, 1949, 1952 -1967 3) Jacob and Eva (Guenter) Schellenberg correspondence, 1922, 1948, 1949, 1968-1995 4) Guenter family records, 1907-1943, 1946, 1951, 1952, 1967, 1968, 1989. 5) Wedding and Funeral announcements and Waisenamt correspondence, 1899-1951, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1973.
CUSTODIAL HISTORY
This collection was in the possession of Eva Schellenberg (1908-1995) after the death of her father Jacob F. Guenter in 1964) After her death in 1995 it came into the possession of her nephew Cornie Guenther. Cornie and Elizabeth Guenther donated brought it to the Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives in June, 1998.
NOTES
Title based on contents of the fonds.
Arranged and described by Iris Hiebert in June 1998.
The material is written in both German and English -- predominantly in German.
Finding aid consists of a series description and an inventory file list.
Accession No. 98-148
Related material: Additional information about the Guenter family can be found in the book entitled, Hague-Osler Mennonite Reserve 1895-1995 and in the Jacob F. Guenter Family Tree - July 1996. The extended family can also be traced in the Old Colony Church records of Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Mexico, beginning with the Reinländer Gemeinde Buch.
SERIES DESCRIPTION
Jacob F. Guenter family correspondence. -- 1900-1962. -- 18 cm of textual records.
This series consists of correspondence received from friends and family in Canada and Mexico.
Title based on the contents.
Location: Volume 4652: 1-21
Eva Guenter correspondence. -- 1949, 1952-1967. -- 2 cm of textual records.
This series consists of correspondence Eva Guenter wrote to her family during a trip to Mexico in 1949, as well as correspondence she received after her father's (Jacob F. Guenter) death and before her marriage to Jacob R. Schellenberg.
Title based on the contents.
Location: Volume 4652: 22-27
Jacob and Eva (Guenter) Schellenberg correspondence. -- 1922, 1948, 1949, 1968-1995. -- 17 cm of textual records.
This series consists of correspondence received by Jacob and Eva Schellenberg from friends and family in Mexico, Bolivia, Belize, Paraguay, and Canada. Included among the correspondence are letters in regards to financial support the Schellenbergs offered to friends and relatives.
Title based on the contents.
Location: Volume 4652: 28-56
Guenter family records. -- 1907-1943, 1946, 1951, 1952, 1967, 1968, 1989. -- 4 cm of textual records.
This series consists of business correspondence, receipts, personal finance notes, vaccination document, registration, poetry, newspaper clippings, recipes, and correspondence not written to or by the Guenter family.
Title based on the contents.
Location: Volume 4652: 57-62
Wedding and Funeral announcements and Waisenamt correspondence. - predominant 1899-1951, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1973. - 5 cm of textual records.
This series consists of Wedding and Funeral announcements as well as some Waisenamt Correspondence which probably fell into the hands of Jacob F. Guenter, the head of the Waisenamt.
Title based on the contents.
Location: Volume 4652: 63-65
Jacob F. Guenter Family fonds inventory file list:
Volume 4652
Series 1: Jacob F. Guenter Family Correspondence
1 Correspondence written by Jacob F. Guenter. - 1953.
2 Correspondence from Johann and Katarina Guenter (brother). - 1900.
3 Correspondence from Abraham Enns. - 1900-1905.
4 Correspondence from Alex Schmidt. - 1921, 1931.
5 Correspondence from Jacob Bergen. - 1925-1927.
6 Correspondence from Katharina Wiebe. - 1925-1928.
7 Correspondence from Isaak and Sarah Wiebe. - 1925-1936.
8 Correspondence from Sarah Guenter. - 1926-1936.
9 Correspondence from Franz and Maria Guenter (brother). - 1926-1955.
10 Correspondence from Heinrich and Helena Bergen. - 1927-1939.
11 Correspondence from Heinrich and Helena Bergen. - 1940-1954.
12 Correspondence from Magareta (Guenter) and Jacob F. Peters (sister). 1928-1951.
13 Correspondence from Isaak and Magareta Guenter (brother). - 1932-1965.
14 Correspondence from Jacob Peters. - 1933.
15 Correspondence from Katharina (Guenter) and Heinrich Penner (sister). - 1937-1962.
16 Correspondence from Isaak and Sarah Wiebe. - 1943-1960.
17 Correspondence from Johann Guenter (son). - 1949-1964.
18 Correspondence from Peter and Anna Wiebe. - 1960-1962.
19 Correspondence to Jacob F. Guenter. - 1903-1962.
20 Jacob Guenter correspondence (authors unknown). - 1918-1933, 1950, 1962.
Series 2: Eva Guenter Correspondence
21 Correspondence and journal entries (?) of Eva Guenter's trip to Mexico. - 1949.
22 Correspondence from Isaak and Sarah Wiebe. - 1963-1968.
23 Correspondence from Peter and Anna Wiebe. - 1966-1967.
24 Correspondence from Eva Guenter's parents and siblings. - [1949?], 1967.
25 Correspondence to Eva Guenter. - 1952-1967.
Series 3: Jacob and Eva (Guenter) Schellenberg Correspondence
26 Jacob R. Schellenberg correspondence. - 1922, 1948, 1949.
27 Correspondence by Jacob and Eva Schellenberg. - 1953, 1988, 1990, 1991.
28 Correspondence from Isaak and Sarah Wiebe. - 1968-1970.
29 Correspondence from P.J. Redecop. - 1971-1993.
30 Correspondence from Johann and Mary Fehr. - 1975-1989.
31 Correspondence from Jakob and Maria Bueckert. - 1975-1994.
32 Correspondence from Johann and Anna Ham. - 1976-1986.
33 Correspondence from Johann and Anna Ham. - 1987-1994.
34 Correspondence from Wilhelm and Maria Peters. - 1978-1993.
35 Correspondence from Tina Zacharias. - 1980-1988.
36 Correspondence from Peter and Anna Wolfe. - 1980-1989.
37 Correspondence from Peter and Anna Wolfe. - 1990-1993.
38 Correspondence from Vangi Guenter. - 1982.
39 Correspondence from Katharina and Heinrich Penner. - 1982.
40 Correspondence from Johann and Anna Guenter (brother). - 1982-1986.
41 Correspondence from Aaron and Maria Guenther. - 1982-1990.
42 Correspondence from Diedrich and Anne Groening. - 1984-1987.
43 Correspondence from Nick and Ida Friesen. - 1984-1989.
44 Correspondence from Henry and Martha Neufeld. - 1984-1989.
45 Correspondence from George and Tina Klassen. - 1985-1989.
46 Correspondence from David Zacharias. - 1985-1991.
47 Correspondence from Gerhard and Sarah Klassen. - 1985-1995.
48 Correspondence from Maria and Joseph Bueckert. - 1988, 1989.
49 Correspondence from Peter Gerbrandt. - 1988-1990.
50 Correspondence from Peter and Magaret Derksen. - 1988-1992.
51 Correspondence from Peter and Anna Wiebe. - 1972, 1989.
52 Correspondence from Isaak and Maria Reimer. - 1989.
53 Correspondence from John and Tina Neufeld. - 1990-1993.
54 Correspondence to Jacob and Eva Schellenberg. - 1968-1992.
55 Jacob and Eva Schellenberg correspondence (authors unknown). - 1967, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1981, 1984.
Series 4: Guenter Family Records
56 Jacob F. Guenter business correspondence, receipts, and finances. - 1907, 1908, 1913-1915, 1919, 1923, 1926, 1931.
57 Guenter documents (vaccination, registration). 1918, 1953, 1967.
58 Poetry items. - [ca. 1920s-1950s].
59 Diary, finances, and other papers. - [ca.1920s-1950s].
60 Recipes. - [ca. 1950s +].
61 Newspaper clippings. - [1920s?], 1969, 1989.
62 Correspondence not written to or by the Guenter Family. - 1911, 1925, 1937, 1946, 1951, 1952.
Series 5: Wedding and Funeral announcements and Waisenamt correspondence.
63 Wedding/Engagement announcements and invitations. - 1899-1951, 1961, 1967.
64 Funeral announcements/invitations, Lebensverzeichnis and Telegram notices of deaths. - 1909-1947, 1962, 1973.
65 Waisenamt correspondence. - 1905, 1913, 1939, 1943, 1955.