Hiebert, Maria Neufeld Harms (1865-1947)
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Maria Neufeld Harms Hiebert was a midwife and caregiver in the Hague-Osler Reserve in Saskatchewan, and in the 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 before moving to Hague-Osler in 1898. In 1926, she moved to Durgano, Mexico, along with about one quarter of the Hague-Osler 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 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 Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 5.00 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2006: #157879.
| Author(s) | Gerald Ens |
|---|---|
| Date Published | June 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Ens, Gerald. "Hiebert, Maria Neufeld Harms (1865-1947)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. June 2025. Web. 19 Jan 2026. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hiebert,_Maria_Neufeld_Harms_(1865-1947)&oldid=180917.
APA style
Ens, Gerald. (June 2025). Hiebert, Maria Neufeld Harms (1865-1947). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 January 2026, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Hiebert,_Maria_Neufeld_Harms_(1865-1947)&oldid=180917.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, {{{hp}}}. All rights reserved.
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