View source for Wedel (Wedell, Weedel, Wedler, Wiedel, Wadel) family

Wedel, a family name that was originally found among the Mennonites of [[Prussia|Prussia]], was particularly common at [[Schönsee (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)|Schönsee]], [[Przechovka (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)|Przechovka]], and [[Deutsch Konopath (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)|Konopat]], but also occurred in [[Thiensdorf and Preußisch Rosengart Mennonite Church (Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland)|Thiensdorf]] and [[Montau (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)|Montau-Gruppe]]. H. H. Schroeder assumes in the book <em>Russlanddeutsche Friesen </em>that the ancestors of this family came from [[East Friesland (Niedersachsen, Germany)|East Friesland]]. According to the [[Alexanderwohl (Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Alexanderwohl]] church record the first representative of the [[Przechovka (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)|Przechovka]] or Alexanderwohl church in Prussia was Frantz Wedel, who was present when the village was leased in 1640. Benjamin Wedel (1766-1813) and Peter Wedel (1792-1871) were some of the early members of the group. Jacob Wedel (1754-1791) was elected elder in 1785. He started the [[Alexanderwohl (Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Alexanderwohl]] Mennonite Church record entitled <em>Die Erste stamm Nahmen Unserer Bisher so genante Oude Vlamingen oder Groningersche Mennonisten Sozietaets alhier in Preusen </em>and traced it back to 1669. It's one of the oldest Mennonite [[Church Records|church records]].

From Prussia the name Wedel was transplanted to [[Russia|Russia]] where it was found primarily in the [[Alexanderwohl (Molotschna Mennonite Settlement, Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine)|Alexanderwohl]] church. From there it moved again to the [[Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church (Goessel, Kansas, USA)|Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church]] at [[Goessel (Kansas, USA)|Goessel]], [[Kansas (USA)|Kansas]]. [[Wedel, Cornelius Heinrich (1860-1910)|C. H. Wedel]] (1860-1910), the first president of [[Bethel College (North Newton, Kansas, USA)|Bethel College]], was raised in this community, as was his brother, [[Wedel, Peter H. (1865-1897)|Peter H. Wedel]] (1865-1897), a [[Mennonite Brethren Church|Mennonite Brethren]] evangelist and missionary in Cameroon. C. H. Wedel's son was Theodore O. Wedel (1892-1970), a canon of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC and one-time President of the House of Deputies of The Episcopal Church. Also in this family branch is Cornelius C. Wedel, minister of the Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church (1898-1957). His son, [[Wedel, David C. (1908-2010)|David C. Wedel]], was president of [[Bethel College (North Newton, Kansas, USA)|Bethel College]] starting in 1952. Frank F. Wedel, was manager of [[Salem Deaconess Home and Hospital (Salem, Oregon, USA)|Salem Deaconess Hospital]].

A Low-German-speaking Wedel of the [[Przechovka (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland)|Przechovka]] group married into the Swiss Volhynian group that later settled near [[Moundridge (Kansas, USA)|Moundridge, Kansas]]. From this family line came a number of well-known [[General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM)|General Conference Mennonite Church]] members: Peter J. Wedel (1871-1951), a professor at Bethel College; his son Waldo Rudolph Wedel (1908-1996), an archaeologist; Philip Arnold Wedel, a minister of the Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church; Edward B. Wedel, a professor at the University of Wichita; his son, Arnold Wedel, a professor at Bethel College. Members of the Wedel family who served as ministers in the [[Mennonite Brethren Church|Mennonite Brethren Church]] include Herbert Wedel of Fresno, California; J. Wedel of Abbotsford, British Columbia; and Ruben Wedel of Premont, Texas.
= Bibliography =
Diocesan Press Service. "Rev. Canon Theodore O. Wedel Dies at 78." The Archives of the Episcopal Church: Episcopal Press and News 1962-2006. 23 July 1970. Web. 26 September 2013. http://www.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_number=89-3.

Duerksen, J. A. "Przechowka and Alexanderwohl." <em>Mennonite Life</em> 10 (April 1955): 76-82.

Reimer, Gustav E. <em>Die Familiennamen der westpreussischen Mennoniten</em>. Weierhof, 1940: 120.

Schroeder, H. H. <em>Russlanddeutsche Friesen</em>. Döllstädt, 1936: 99.

Wikipedia. "Waldo Rudolph Wedel." Web. 26 September 2013. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldo_Rudolph_Wedel.

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[[Category:Family Names]]