View source for Hiebert, Maria Neufeld Harms (1865-1947)

[[File:Johan and Maria (Neufeld) Harms.jpg|thumb|''Maria Neufeld Harms Hiebert with her first husband, Johan Harms. Source: ''Preservings'', no. 38, p. 20.'']]
Maria Neufeld Harms Hiebert was a [[Midwives|midwife]] and caregiver in the [[Hague and Osler (Saskatchewan, Canada)|Hague-Osler Reserve]] in [[Saskatchewan (Canada)|Saskatchewan]], and in the [[Durango (Nuevo Ideál) Colony (Durango, Mexico)|Durango Colony]], [[Mexico]]. She was born on 22 February 1865 to Herman and Maria (Dyck) Neufeld in Imperial [[Russia]]. Maria married Johan Harms on 27 December 1883 and had twelve children with him; after Johan's death, on 24 November 1929, she married Jacob Hiebert. Maria died on 23 July 1947 in the Durango Colony.

Maria moved with her family to [[Canada]] in 1875, settling initially in the [[West Reserve (Manitoba, Canada)|West Reserve]] before moving to Hague-Osler in 1898. In 1926, she [[Emigration from Canada to Mexico and Paraguay in the 1920s|moved]] to [[Durango (Mexico)|Durgano]], Mexico, along with about one quarter of the Hague-Osler [[Old Colony Mennonites|Old Colony Mennonite]] church.

In Hague-Osler, Maria's household was a notable refuge for the needy, a pillar in the community. Together with her husband Johan Harms, she welcomed orphans, the old and infirm, and people with intellectual disabilities into her home, where she cared for them. Maria's family also took in for one year a family of [[Rußländer|Russländer]] immigrants from the [[Soviet Union]] who had no family with whom to billet. Maria was much sought after as a midwife in both Saskatchewan and Mexico and also often prepared bodies for burials. She was therefore often the first and last person to encounter a member of the community as they came into and left the world.

Maria underwent significant privation upon moving to Mexico and lived in severe poverty for the rest of her life. She also experienced the emotional difficulty of leaving behind many beloved family members in Saskatchewan. Her struggles are representative of the experiences of many of the first generation of colonists in Mexico.

=Bibliography=
Doell, Leonard. "Family Stories: From the lives of Johan and Maria (Neufeld) Harms." ''Preservings'', no. 38 (2018): 19-22.

GRANDMA (The <strong>G</strong>enealogical <strong>R</strong>egistry <strong>an</strong>d <strong>D</strong>atabase of <strong>M</strong>ennonite <strong>A</strong>ncestry) Database, 5.00 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2006: #157879.
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[[Category:Persons]]