Regier (Regehr, Regeer) family
Regier, a widespread Mennonite family, historically has been found in large numbers in West Prussia, Germany, Russia, and North America. The spelling was often interchangeable in earlier times, with Regehr being probably the older form. There were two lines in West Prussia, one going back to Peter Regier (b. 1669) and one to Cornelius Regier (b. 1743). The Regiers were found in large numbers in the Heubuden congregation, and furnished a large number of ministers and elders here and elsewhere. Cornelius Regier (1743-1794), an elder at Heubuden from 1771, was an outstanding leader; he died on 30 May 1794 in the Chortitza Mennonite Settlement, Ukraine, where he had been called to assist in solving church problems which had arisen. Other Regiers who served the church were Peter Regier, a brother of Cornelius; Abraham Regier (1774-1851), a son of Cornelius and Heubuden elder from 1804; Peter Regier (1776-1814), a brother of Abraham, elder 1809-1814; Peter Regier (1798-1856), a son of Abraham, elder of the Gross-Werder congregation 1833-1856. Three of the four sons of the above Peter Regier were active in the ministry of the Gross-Werder congregation: Peter Regier (1825-1897) was elder at Fürstenwerder, Abraham Regier (1831-1909), elder at Tiegenhagen 1885-1909, and Cornelius Regier (1835-1916) was a preacher at Tiegenhagen.
Peter Regier (1851-1925) of Rückenau, elder of the Rosenort congregation from 1888, immigrated to the Rosthern, Saskatchewan, community in 1893, where he founded and became the first elder of the Rosenort congregation there, dying at Tiefengrund in 1925. His son Johannes Regier became assistant elder to David Toews at Rosenort in 1929, then moved to British Columbia, where he served as elder of the Bethel congregation at Aldergrove starting in 1947. Bernhard Regier (1810-1892), a preacher in the Heubuden congregation from 1838, left his homeland in 1880 because of his strong convictions for nonresistance and settled in Newton, Kansas, where he joined in the General Conference Mennonite Church (GCM), founding the First Mennonite Church and serving as preacher until his death. A son of his, Bernhard Regier (1855-1940), served as minister of the First Mennonite Church of Newton 1903-1940, and a nephew of his, Jacob W. Regier, served as pastor of the Zion Mennonite Church at Elbing 1919-1939. Ernst Regehr was chosen elder of the Rosenort congregation in West Prussia in 1934, and then immigrated to Uruguay in 1948, where he became elder of the El Ombu congregation, and moderator of the Uruguay Mennonite Conference.
The following is a partial list of several notable Regier leaders and teachers in North America: J. M. Regier (b. 1885) served pastorates in Reedley, California and Hillsboro, Kansas; P. K. Regier (b. 1891) was executive secretary of the GCM Church starting in 1952; A. J. Regier (1884-1947) was president of Freeman Junior College 1916-1927, and professor at Bethel College 1927-1946; D. A. Regier (1887-1956) was a long-serving minister in the Evangelical Mennonite Brethern Church at Mountain Lake, Minnesota, and a leader in the Evangelical Mennonite Brethren Conference; C. C. Regier (1884-1950) was a professor of history, teaching at Bethel College and at several other colleges as well.
Bibliography
Hege, Christian and Christian Neff. Mennonitisches Lexikon, 4 vols. Frankfurt & Weierhof: Hege; Karlsruhe: Schneider, 1913-1967: v. III, 445 f.
| Author(s) | Otto Regier |
|---|---|
| Harold S. Bender | |
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Regier, Otto and Harold S. Bender. "Regier (Regehr, Regeer) family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 22 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Regier_(Regehr,_Regeer)_family&oldid=146115.
APA style
Regier, Otto and Harold S. Bender. (1959). Regier (Regehr, Regeer) family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 22 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Regier_(Regehr,_Regeer)_family&oldid=146115.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 272-273. All rights reserved.
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