©Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba. (Last updated July 6, 2023)
  • Klaassen, Jacob, 1867-1948

    • Retrieval numbers: Volume 3452, 5347 and 5556

    Title: Jacob Klaassen fonds
    Dates: 1913-1952 , predominant 1920-1947
    Extent: 16 cm of textual records
    Repository: Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives

    Historical note

    Jacob Klaassen (1867-1948) was born in Koeppenthal, Am Trakt Settlement, Russia to Martin and Maria (Hamm) Klaassen. In 1880 at age 13 he was part of the trek to Central Asia with the group of Mennonites under the leadership of Klaas Epp. In 1884 he immigrated to the USA with his widowed mother and other siblings, settling first in Beatrice, Nebraska and later homesteading in Oklahoma. In 1895 he married Katharina Toews, a sister of David Toews who later became the long-time bishop serving the Rosenorter Mennonite Church of Saskatchewan. Jacob Klaassen was ordained as a minister in 1904, serving the Herold Mennonite Church in Oklahoma until he immigrated to Canada where he served as a minister in the Rosenorter Mennonite Church at Eigenheim from 1919 till 1944. His wife died in Oklahoma in 1908. He retired from farming in 1928. He died at Eigenheim, Saskatchewan in 1948.

    Scope and content note

    This fonds consists of the personal writings of Jacob Klaassen. There is a detailed account of the 1880 Mennonite trek to Central Asia written in 1922, a few miscellaneous letters received, a notebook containing a 50-page autobiography, plus eight (8) notebooks containing diary entries from June 1, 1919 to May 23, 1947.

    Index terms

    Creators

  • Klaassen, Jacob, 1867-1948

    Adjunct descriptive data

    Finding aids

    Inventory file list available

    Notes

    Custodial history

    Some of the writing of Jacob Klaassen were passed on to his son John D. Klaassen of Laird, Saskatchewn, and subsequently donated to the Mennonite Heritage Centre by his sons Eric V. Klaassen and Dave Klaassen of Rosthern, Saskatchewan in 1987. A second section was donated in 2008 by a grandson Henry Klaassen of Oshawa, Ontario, son of Rev. Henry T. Klaassen, another son of Jacob Klaassen.

    Language

    Handwritten Gothic German script

    Arrangement

    Arranged and described by Alf Redekopp, Sept. 3, 2008; Aug. 2, 2011.

    Restrictions on access

    none to access

    Other notes

    Acc. No. 87-175; 2008-074; 2011-057;2011-058

    Inventory File List

    Volume 3452
    (Acc. No. 87-175)
    1. Various letters – 1913, 1926, 1933, 19??., 1952.
    2. Notebook (Description of trek to Central Asia): Beschreibung der Asienreise 1880-84. – 1922. – 169 pp. (Also, “Kurze Uebersicht der Reisen der ins Turkestanische Gebiet uebergesiedelten Mennoniten”. – undated. – 4 leaves.
    3. Notebook (autobiography): “Erinnerungen und Aufzeichnungen aus meinem Leben”. – undated and unpaginated (50 pages).
    4. Memories of a Journey / by Jacob Klaassen. (Acc. # 2011-057).
    5. Asienreise II: Jacob Klaassen 1880 to 1884 / translated by Henry Klaassen. -- 2010. (Acc. #2011-058)
    6. Memories and Notations about my life: Jacob Klaassen 1867 to 1848 / translated by Walter Klaassen; re-edited and re-issued by Henry Klaassen, Oshawa. -- 2010. -- 31 pp. (Acc. #2011-058)
    7. Tribute to Grandfather, Jacob Klaassen, as a Man of Faith [presented by Henry Klaassen at a family reunion in 2011. -- 8 pp. (Acc. #2011-058)
    8. Oklahoma: Meditations on Home and Homelessness [written by Roger Epp, Edmonton, AB]. -- 20--. -- 9 pp. (Acc. #2011-058)
    Volume 5347
    (Acc. No. 2008-074)
    1. Diary Book 1 (Jun. 1, 1919-Jan. 5, 1924)
    2. Diary Book 2 (Jan. 6, 1924-Sep. 13, 1927)
    3. Diary Book 3 (Sep. 14, 1927-Jun. 23, 1931)
    4. Diary Book 4 (Jun. 24, 1931-Oct. 26, 1935)
    5. Diary Book 5 (Oct. 27, 1935-Dec. 31, 1939)
    6. Diary Book 6 (Jan. 1, 1940-Mar. 18, 1944)
    7. Diary Book 7 (Mar. 19, 1944-Mar. 7, 1946)
    8. Diary Book 8 (Mar. 8, 1946-May 23, 1947)
    Volume 5556
    (Acc. No. 2011-058)
    1. Diary of Jacob Klaassen June 1, 1919-March 1934 / translated by Henry Klaassen; edited by Marie (Klaassen) Spencer; typeset by Lois Klaassen; re-edited and reissued by Henry Klaassen, Oshawa, Ontario, 2010. -- 1-622 pp. 1193 pp.
    2. Diary of Jacob Klaassen 2 April 1934 to May 26, 1947 / translated by Henry Klaassen; edited by Marie (Klaassen) Spencer; typeset by Lois Klaassen; re-edited and reissued by Henry Klaassen, Oshawa, Ontario, 2010. -- 623-1193 pp.
    Note: these diaries have been translated and published - consult library for access to:
    -  Henry Klaassen and Carole Jantzen, "Diary of Jacob Klaassen: June 1, 1919 to May 26, 1947, the Saskatchewan Years. Volume 1: New Beginnings 1919-1933, 3rd edition," 2020.
    - Henry Klaassen and Carole Jantzen, "Diary of Jacob Klaassen: June 1, 1919 to May 26, 1947, the Saskatchewan Years. Volume 2: The Latter Years 1934-1947, 3rd edition," 2020.