The Goertzen homestead, Part One
Last week I shared the story of how the last name of my ancestors was changed way back in the 1600s. I can understand that it may not mean much to you as a reader, but for me, it is fascinating, and so I was happy to share the story. That name change occurred in the family that I’ve only known as Wedel—that being my Grandmother Goertzen’s maiden name. This week I want to tell you the story of my Grandfather Goertzen, and eventually, I’ll get to the family farm where I grew up, which was in the Goertzen family for over 100 years.
First, some background information is necessary. The movement of Mennonite families coming to America from Europe actually began in the 1600s. Seeking religious freedom, Mennonite Francis Daniel Pastorious led a group from Krefeld, Germany, to Pennsylvania in 1683 and founded Germantown, the pioneer German settlement in America which is now part of the city of Philadelphia. Numerous other German groups followed, and by the American Revolution there were 100,000 Germans in William Penn’s former colony, more than a third of Pennsylvania’s total population at the time.
My family story begins in Russia. The part of Mennonite history that I know the most about starts in the 1870s when Mennonites continued to flee to North America, leaving their property and possessions behind as they set out in search of religious freedom. Heinrich Goertzen, his wife and three children came to the United States from Russia in 1874 when they were 41 years old. His family came with a group numbering about 600 (including children) from the Alexanderwohl Church in South Russia.
This would be my great-great-grandparents. They sailed on the S. S. Cimbria/Hamburg. Their names are listed on the ship list (which I can now view online!) as “Geertz, Hrch, age 41” and his wife, “Geertz, Sara, age 41.” Their three children are also listed: Peter, 14; Heinrich, 9; and Jacob, 5. (The little five-year-old was destined to become my great-grandfather; he just didn’t know it yet!).
On that same ship list is “Jacob Schmidt, age 44” and”Elisb. Schmidt, age 39.” Their children are also listed: Jacob, 17; Anna, 15; Marie, 5; Peter, 7; and Helene, age 4 (who would become the wife of Jacob, listed above, and consequently, my great-grandmother!). So at ages 4 and 5, my great-grandparents sailed from Russia to America on the same ship! As they were traveling together, their families were probably well acquainted, and the children would likely have played together on the ship!
The S. S. Cimbria docked in New York on the 27th of August, 1874. The group then boarded a train heading for Nebraska and Kansas, the land their “scouts” had found the year before. Most of the group came to Kansas, specifically near where the town of Goessel is now. The land was labeled as Section 13, which was land bought from the Santa Fe Railroad. Those in this area settled in a pattern of villages similar to their homes in Russia. The settlement now named Goessel, was first a village called Gnadenfeld, but that’s a whole other story.
These “villages” were to the north of the present day Alexanderwohl Mennonite Church, my home church, located on U.S. Highway 15, one mile north of Goessel. If you ever drive past the church heading north, you will see a sign designating the Gnadenfeld community.
This is where I’m going to leave you hanging until next week. What started out in my head for this column has now taken on a life of its own, and I must stop here and continue next week.
