Fehr, Kornelius A. (1846-1920)
Kornelius A. Fehr was an elder of the Mennonite Brethren Church, born 24 September 1846 in Alt-Kronsweide, Molotschna settlement, Ukraine, the oldest son of Abram Fehr. He received only elementary school training, but through diligent study, wide reading, and participation in courses for ministers he acquired a good knowledge of the Scriptures as well as of life in general. His marriage to Margaretha Koslowsky was childless, but they adopted an orphan girl. As a young man Fehr joined the Mennonite Brethren Church, in which he soon began to serve in various capacities: choir leader, Sunday-school superintendent, and deacon. Up to 1901 the Fehr family remained in the Ukraine (Morozovo), where he was also known as a progressive and prosperous farmer. In the spring of 1901 Fehr and his family moved to Orenburg, in northeast Russia. Here he was ordained as elder of the Mennonite Brethren Church for the Orenburg district on 17 July 1901 by Abram Martens of Neu-Samara. His charge included the Kamenka, Klubnikovo, and Karaguy congregations. With great faithfulness and self-denial he served his church from 1901 to 1917. He was also a member of the school board for the Pretoria Zentralschule, which served the Orenburg settlement, and of the Foreign Mission Board. He was a man of vision and determination, and did much for the material and spiritual progress of the Orenburg colony in its pioneer years. In the last days of December 1919 both Fehr and his wife became the victims of a postwar epidemic only 28 hours apart. Margaretha died on 30 December 1919, and Kornelius died on 1 January 1920. Fehr willed one third of his estate to foreign missions.
| Author(s) | Isaak J Toews |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1956 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Toews, Isaak J. "Fehr, Kornelius A. (1846-1920)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1956. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fehr,_Kornelius_A._(1846-1920)&oldid=132059.
APA style
Toews, Isaak J. (1956). Fehr, Kornelius A. (1846-1920). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Fehr,_Kornelius_A._(1846-1920)&oldid=132059.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 320. All rights reserved.
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