Peters (Pieters) Family
Peters, a Mennonite family name was first found in West Prussia, Germany, around 1580 and is probably of Dutch-Frisian descent. Many members of this family served as deacons and preachers in various West Prussian Mennonite congregations, especially those of Danzig, Montau, and Ladekopp. The Dutch [[Naamlijst der tegenwoordig in dienst zijnde predikanten der Mennoniten in de Vereenigde Nederlanden|Naamlijst]] names Hendrik Pieters (Peeters) as the elder of the Frisian (Waterlander) congregation in the Elbing Werder 1726-65, and Isaack Peters as preacher in Tiegenhagen 1746-93.
The Peters family name was also common among prominent leaders in the Molotschna Colony in South Russia. Among these were Abraham Peters a Mennonite Brethren (MB) leader who founded the MB settlement in the Kuban in 1863, Abraham Peters of Fürstenau, who led a group to Turkestan in 1880, Hermann Peters, who was the founder of the Peters group called "Brotbrecher," and Bernhard Peters (1855-1921), who was an elder at Schönsee.
In North America in 1957 there were 26 Mennonite ministers bearing the name Peters, distributed as follows: General Conference Mennonite Church-12: in Kansas 2, Montana 1, Mississippi 1, Manitoba 4, British Columbia 2, Ontario 1, Saskatchewan 1; MB-8: Manitoba 6, British Columbia 1, California 1; Old Colony in Mexico-3; Church of God in Christ-2: Michigan and Florida. Among these should be mentioned Frank C. Peters (MB), who was president of Tabor College, later a teacher in the MB Bible College in Winnipeg and later still president of Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario; G. W. Peters, was dean of the MB Biblical Seminary in Fresno, California; G. H. Peters, was principal of the Mennonite Collegiate Institute at Gretna, Manitoba.
Bibliography
Naamlijst der tegenwoordig in dienst zijnde predikanted der Mennonited in de vereenigde Nederlanden. Amsterdam, 1731, 1743, 1755, etc.
| Author(s) | N van der Zijpp |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
van der Zijpp, N. "Peters (Pieters) Family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 18 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Peters_(Pieters)_Family&oldid=100194.
APA style
van der Zijpp, N. (1959). Peters (Pieters) Family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 18 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Peters_(Pieters)_Family&oldid=100194.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 152. All rights reserved.
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