Wedel, Peter (1792-1871)
Peter Wedel was born at Przechovka, Prussia, on 26 May 1792, to Benjamin Wedel (1766-1813) (see additional information for further information regarding Peter's family). He was chosen minister in his home congregation in 1813 and elder in 1814. On 21 September 1817, he married Elscke Buller. In 1820 Wedel led his congregation from Prussia to the Molotschna settlement, where they established the village and congregation of Alexanderwohl in 1821. On 24 January 1833, he married Anna Richert (b. 1811). Six children were born of the first marriage and eleven of the second. In 1832 he made a trip to Poland to visit Mennonite congregations and serve as minister. Peter Wedel preached his last sermon on 22 June 1871 (John 3:16), and died 8 July 1871. He was succeeded by Jakob Buller, who led the Alexanderwohl church to America.
The letters of elder Wilhelm Lange of Brenckenhoffswalde, Prussia, to Peter Wedel in 1817-20 (preserved in Mennonite Library and Archives, North Newton, Kansas) are of great significance regarding the spiritual and social conditions of the Mennonites of that time, the contacts of the group with pietistic circles, as well as their migration to Russia. Wedel was the leader of a moderately progressive group during the days of the Klaas Reimer and Bible society controversies, the revival and the founding of various Mennonite groups. He was in contact with Moravians and promoted missions.
Bibliography
Brandt, Jakob. "Kurze Notizen aus dem Lebenslauf des verstorbenen Aeltesten Peter Wedel" (Mennonite Library and Archives (North Newton, KS) ).
Duerksen, J. A. "Przechowka and Alexanderwohl," Mennonite Life X (April 1955): 76.
Friesen, Peter M. Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte. Halbstadt: Verlagsgesellschaft "Raduga", 1911: 75, 108 ff., 117, 167, 305.
GRANDMA = GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 5.03 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2007: #32275.
Additional Information
The parents of Peter were Benjamin Wedel (7 August 1766 - 14 April 1813) and Sarcke (Ratzlaff) Wedel (23 October 1764 - 3 January 1848).
The first wife of Peter was Elscke Buller (23 September 1792, Przechovka, Prussia - 22 September 1832), daughter of Jacob Buller (1760-1836) and Elscke (Wedels) Buller (1757-1809). Peter and Elscke married on 21 September 1817 in Przechovka, Prussia, and they had six children: Peter (died young), Peter, Eva, Helena, Benjamin, and Heinrich.
The second wife of Peter was Anna Richert (11 June 1811, Franztal bei Driessen, Prussia - 1 August 1890), daughter of Cornelius Richert (1787-1861) and Lehncke (Pankratz) Richert (1793-1839). Peter and Anna married on 5 February 1833 in Alexanderwohl, Molotschna, South Russia. They had eleven children: Anna, Cornelius (died young), Cornelius, Maria, Johann (died young), Elisabeth (died young), Sara, Eva, Elisabeth, Susanna, and Jakob (died young).
| Author(s) | Cornelius Krahn |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Date Published | August 2007 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius and Richard D. Thiessen. "Wedel, Peter (1792-1871)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. August 2007. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wedel,_Peter_(1792-1871)&oldid=78704.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius and Richard D. Thiessen. (August 2007). Wedel, Peter (1792-1871). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wedel,_Peter_(1792-1871)&oldid=78704.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 908. All rights reserved.
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