Pries, Johann (1874-1945)
Johann Pries (also spelled Priess/Priesz/Priez) was a notable leader of the immigration effort to Paraguay among Canadian Mennonites from 1920 to 1928. While he was not officially affiliated with the coalition of Bergthal Mennonites who migrated to Paraguay, he inserted himself of his own accord as an influential promoter of Paraguay and as a guide to the Bergthal Mennonites investigating the Paraguayan option.
A businessman from Altona, Manitoba, Pries traveled to New York some time around June 1920, apparently on his initiative. There he met with Fred Engen and Samuel McRoberts, who had recently been engaged by Canadian Old Colony Mennonites looking for assistance in finding a new homeland. Pries had presumably heard of them from Old Colony Mennonites. McRoberts and Engen had just returned from South America, where they had determined that Paraguay represented the best option for Mennonite resettlement. They were rebuffed by the Old Colony Mennonites, who had already decided that they would move to Mexico. However, a coalition of Bergthal Mennonite groups in Manitoba and Saskatchewan was by this time also exploring emigration options in response to recent changes to the education policies of both provinces. It was Pries who brought back to these Bergthal Mennonites word of the possibility of immigration to Paraguay. It was also likely Pries who established contact between the Bergthal Mennonites and McRoberts and Engen, who would both prove critical to the success of the forthcoming Paraguayan venture.
Pries enthusiastically promoted Paraguay upon his return to Canada. In September 1920, he persuaded his friend Bernhard Toews, a leader and later delegate of the Sommerfeld Mennonites in western Manitoba, to investigate Paraguay. Toews in turn traveled to Saskatchewan and persuaded Aron Zacharias, Ältester of the Saskatchewan Bergthaler in Rosthern. Pries then traveled with the 1921 Bergthal delegation to Paraguay and Mexico, acting as its spokesman and advisor. According to Toews's diary, Pries volunteered to travel with the delegation without a wage, saying that his work "would be covered by the experience and by being able to see the sights."[1] Pries's enthusiasm for Paraguay was substantial and appears to have won over the other delegates even before they investigated other locations. On June 3, he sent a cable from Asunción stating that Mexico was "unattractive" in comparison to Paraguay, despite the fact that the delegation's visit to Mexico was still forthcoming.[2]
The Mennonite immigration to Paraguay began at the end of 1926, though they was a 16-month delay before they could begin settling their land in the interior of the Paraguayan Gran Chaco. The new arrivals called for Pries's assistance in 1927, and in September 1928, he successfully negotiated official title to the Mennonites' new land with the Paraguayan government.
Pries was born on 7 July 1874 in Russia (likely in either the Fürstenland Colony or the Chortitza Colony). In 1879, he moved with his parents to Manitoba. He died on 29 May 1945 in Paraguay, having remained single his entire life.
See Also
- Emigration from Canada to Mexico and Paraguay in the 1920s
- Canadian Mennonite Land-Seeking Delegations, 1919-1922
- McRoberts, Samuel (1868-1947)
- Engen, Fred (1863-1929)
Notes
Bibliography
Ens, Adolf. Subjects or Citizens? The Mennonite Experience in Canada, 1870-1925. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1994: 211.
Ens, Adolf and Ernest N. Braun. "Emigration to Paraguay 1926 to 1927." In Settlers of the East Reserve, edited by Adolf Ens, Ernest N. Braun, and Henry N. Fast. Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, 2009: 321.
Friesen, M. W. Canadian Mennonites Conquer a Wilderness: The Beginning and Development of the Menno Colony, First Mennonite Settlement in South America. Translated by Christel Wiebe. Historical Committee of the Menno Colony, 2009: 22, 32.
GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 5.00 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2006: #157879.
Stoesz, Edgar. Like a Mustard Seed: Mennonites in Paraguay. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 2008: 26-41.
Toews, Bernhard. "Life and Travel Remembrances of Bernhard Toews," translated by Delbert Plett. Preservings, no. 16 (June 2000): 33-37.
| Author(s) | Gerald Ens |
|---|---|
| Date Published | April 2025 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Ens, Gerald. "Pries, Johann (1874-1945)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. April 2025. Web. 26 Apr 2025. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pries,_Johann_(1874-1945)&oldid=180515.
APA style
Ens, Gerald. (April 2025). Pries, Johann (1874-1945). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 26 April 2025, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Pries,_Johann_(1874-1945)&oldid=180515.
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