View source for Friesen (Friese, Friessen, Fresen) family

This [[West Prussia|West Prussian]] Mennonite family name appeared in both the rural [[Flemish Mennonites|Flemish]] congregations and in the [[Frisian Mennonites|Frisian]] congregations of the Vistula delta as well. Evidently in the 19th century, it was sometimes contracted from the family name "van Riesen." It was first mentioned in 1547 at Reichenberg. Fifty-nine families of this name were counted in 1776. [[Friesen, Abraham (1782-1849)|Abraham Friesen]], a brother of Peter von Riesen, was an elder of the [[Kleine Gemeinde|Kleine Gemeinde]]; [[Friesen, Abraham (1859-1919)|Abraham Friesen]] was a missionary to [[India|India]]; [[Friesen, Gerhard Johann (Fritz Senn) (1894-1983)|Johann Friesen]] was an elder of the Kleine Gemeinde; [[Friesen, Peter Martin (1849-1914)|Peter M. Friesen]] was an outstanding Mennonite historian.

Friesen families came to [[North America|North America]] in the migration from [[Russia|Russia]] in the 1870s and also after World Wars I and II. Most Friesen families settled in [[Manitoba (Canada)|Manitoba]], where they have been large in number.
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[[Category:Family Names]]