Wiebe, Jakob Abram (1853-1907)
Jakob Abram Wiebe (1853-1907): elder of the Kronsweide Mennonite Church near Chortitza, South Russia (now Ukraine); born 14 August 1853, at Einlage, Chortitza Mennonite settlement, the oldest of the six children of Abram Heinrich Wiebe (1830-1865) and Margarete (Epp) Wiebe (1831-1904). In 1877 he married Elizabeth Janzen (25 February 1858 – 20 February 1912), daughter of Franz Janzen (b. 1808) and Maria (Peters) Janzen (1830-1907). They had 12 children but only six reach maturity. One of his sons, Abram Jakob Wiebe (1890-1967), was a teacher in the Nikolai Zentralschule at Yazykovo, and another, Herman Jacob Wiebe (1892-1975), was a Mennonite minister. Wiebe died 5 January 1907 at Einlage in the Chortitza settlement, where he was buried.
Jakob received his education at the Zentralschule and Teacher's Seminary at Chortitza, and then taught school for 28 years. He was ordained a minister of the Kronsweide Mennonite Church in 1881, and elected elder on 12 May 1902 to serve alongside Elder Peter A. Klassen. Wiebe lived in Kronsweide 1875-1880, Bergmannsthal 1880-1905, and Einlage 1905-1907. He was succeeded as elder by Johann P. Klassen, the son of Wiebe's predecessor.
Like all Mennonite Ältesters and pastors in Russia, Wiebe was unpaid. However, as an Ältester he received an annual stipend of 200 rubles -- ostensibly to keep the Church books. He was poor because his church duties often interrupted his ability to work. Some in the community recognized his needs and from time to time the more wealthy church members would anonymously put money in his bank account which was held in the Mennonite owned Niebuhr Bank in the village of Chortitza.
Bibliography
GRANDMA (The Genealogical Registry and Database of Mennonite Ancestry) Database, 5.00 ed. Fresno, CA: California Mennonite Historical Society, 2006: #710977.
Klassen, Is. P. The Kronweide Mennonite Church in Russia: Its Villages and Elders. Translated by Edward Enns. Winnipeg, MB: Mennonite Heritage Centre, 1993.
Mennonitisches Jahrbach. Berdyansk, 1908.
| Author(s) | Herman J. Wiebe |
|---|---|
| Richard D. Thiessen | |
| Victor G. Wiebe | |
| Date Published | September 2016 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wiebe, Herman J., Richard D. Thiessen and Victor G. Wiebe. "Wiebe, Jakob Abram (1853-1907)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. September 2016. Web. 24 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wiebe,_Jakob_Abram_(1853-1907)&oldid=136028.
APA style
Wiebe, Herman J., Richard D. Thiessen and Victor G. Wiebe. (September 2016). Wiebe, Jakob Abram (1853-1907). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Wiebe,_Jakob_Abram_(1853-1907)&oldid=136028.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 945. All rights reserved.
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