The Anhorn Family History-From My PerspectiveResearching family history opens doors to self-discovery, creates newly found relationships and a greater appreciation of each person’s unique place in history.

My Grandparents, John Anhorn and Lydia Anhorn (nee Weiss) were of German extraction but both were born in South Russia. The Anhorn German ancestral home, which dates back to the 1700’s, was in and around Wittenberg, which is now in Southern Germany. Wittenberg, (officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg) is a town in north-central Germany, which lies on the Elbe River, southwest of Berlin. The town is known for it’s close ties to Martin Luther, a religious leader, who lived and preached there. It was on October 31, 1517 that he nailed his “95 Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, which is historically credited as being the start of the Protestant Reformation and the establishment of “ Lutheranism” and the Lutheran Church. My great-great-great Grandfather, according to research conducted by dad’s brother, William Paul Anhorn, immigrated to Bessarabia, Russia via Poland in 1808.1 Despite my grandparent’s respective birthplaces, we always considered that we were of German ancestry. To understand this anomaly, a history lesson is required surrounding what was known then as “Bessarabia”.From Russia with Love

There is a long history of Germans and their descendants settling in Russia going back as early as 1763. Their story begins with Tsarina Catherine II (Catherine the Great) who was an empress of Russia, but a German princess by birth. In July 1763, she issued a manifesto to attract people from

1 Anhorn, William Paul, (my Dad’s brother) developed an early interest in genealogy, by researching and documenting the Anhorn Family history, in his self-published book, ”A Family History Review and Short Stories of My Life and Times”. I credit my Uncle Bill for creating my own interest in genealogy and inspiring me to pursue this project.

Western Europe to settle in Russia. The manifesto promised new settlers freedom of religion, freedom from taxes for a 5-30 year period, freedom from military service and free land to farmers. By the end of 1767, German settlers from central Germany had established more than 100 colonies along the Volga River, near Saratov, Russia.

A second wave of German settlement in Russia began in 1803 when Czar Alexander I, grandson of Catherine II, issued a similar decree designed to entice foreigners to settle in South Russia in the Black Sea region.2 In addition to the promises contained in the earlier manifesto, he promised interest-free loans for equipment, self-administration of the community and schools and free land equivalent to 80 to 216 acres. By 1812, pursuant to this decree, Germans had begun to colonize and establish settlements in the area known as “Bessarabia”.3

Bessarabia is a former region of Eastern Europe, comprising most the current-day Moldavian Republic and a small piece of southern Ukraine. The Dniester River bound it to the north and east, the Prut to the west, and the lower Danube and the Black Sea to the south.As noted, German colonization of Bessarabia began in 1803 when Russia acquired this territory from the Ottoman Empire. Tsar Alexander I. issued an invitation to Germans—mainly in the Duchy of Warsaw—to settle in this still comparatively empty region. These Germans had migrated there from several German states—especially Prussia, Wurttemberg and Baden—to colonize the Prussian districts after the first partition of Poland. When these regions became part of the Duchy of Warsaw and were suppressed 2 The earliest Black Sea colonies were established between 1787 and 1793. When Catherine the Great's grandson, Tsar Alexander I, issued a new manifesto in 1803 inviting Germans to colonize the newest acquisition of Russia around the Black Sea, many Germans took the Crown of Russia up on its offer. The Black Sea Colonies are made up of several colony groups from areas around the Black Sea3 Hundley, Elaine Hebling “The Germans in Russia” German-American Journal No. 4, (2005),p 13.

by the state and fell into misery and hunger, many of the German settlers were willing to follow the Tsar's call. Germans from southwest Germany, particularly Wurttemberg, also responded to the invitation. That region was seriously depressed because of the Napoleonic wars and suffered under the arbitrary rules of the Princes, high taxation, religious quarrels, and many failed harvests.

http://www.zum.de/whkmla/histatlas/balkans/mold1900s.g 

As indicated, the Tsar promised the settlers—as Catherine the Great had done before in 1763—free land (65 hectares), exemption from military service, and religious freedom.Between 1814 and 1842 about 9,000 Germans migrated to Bessarabia and founded 25 mother colonies on about 150,000 hectares of land given to them by the state.

Because of their high birth rate, the number of colonists increased to 25,000 by 1842, leading to a sharp increase in demand for new land. As it became available, daughter colonies were established. In this manner, more than 150 communities were set up in the 125 years of German settlement in Bessarabia. Between 1861 and 1919 the German population of Bessarabia rose from 33,000 to 79,000, accounting for three per cent of the total. The

highest concentration of Germans was Source: http://jethon.de/html/geografie_und_geschichte.html

found in the Akkerman Kreis area where they represented more than 16% of the population.4

But soon many colonists left Bessarabia seeking opportunity elsewhere. Large numbers emigrated in 1874, when the exemption from military service was lifted. (Until 1939, altogether 19,000 Bessarabians would emigrate, of whom 11,320 would go to North America—most of them in 1902 —and another 2,000 to South America).Although relationships between the Germans and Russians in Bessarabia were generally good, pressure from the nationalist and Pan-Slavic movements led to a continuous decline in the number of privileges that the German colonists had been granted. Their situation deteriorated even more with the outbreak of the First World War. German schools were closed, and German services and newspapers were prohibited. They lost much of their land and were threatened with mass evacuation to Siberia. However, the severe winter and the Revolution of 1917 kept them from this fate.After Bessarabia had become part of Rumania in 1918, the liquidation and expropriation laws were repealed. Although the colonists received their land back, the German schools were allowed to reopen, and church services could be offered in German, many of the concessions were soon once more withdrawn. The following two decades would, however, be characterized by considerable economic prosperity and cultural development as the Bessarabians tried to retain their German heritage and to be loyal Rumanian citizens at the same time. At the end of the 1930s they were even allowed to establish church schools again. In the 1930s, 2.8% of the population of Bessarabia was German. There was an active cultural life among the Bessarabian Germans: In 1940, 61 villages had German libraries, the teachers' organization and the Hochschulverband with its collection of books, and there were five German bookstores. 

4 Source: https://sites.ualberta.ca/~german/AlbertaHistory/Bessarabians.htm

My Uncle Bill’s report that my Great-great-great-great Grandfather, Joseph Anhorn migrated to Bessarabia via Poland in 1808, is completely consistent with the foregoing historical narrative.My grandfather was born on May 5th, 1896 and his birthplace was noted as in or near the Village of Beresina, Akkerman. My grandmother was born on February 8th, 1897 in or near the Village of Alt Postal.5 Both Alt Postal and Beresina are noted as being one of the many Black Sea colonies established in Bessarabia. 6 One of the interesting sidebars to the Black Sea colonies was their separation along religious lines. Many of the mother colonies were identified by the religion of their inhabitants, as either Catholic or Evangelical Lutheran villages, each keeping to their own. Both Beresina and Alt Postal, which were only a few miles from one another, were both identified as being Protestant (Lutheran).7

The historical background of the Anhorn family in the Black Sea colony of Beresina was one of reasonable economic success. My Great-great-great-great Grandfather Joseph Anhorn (1807-1866) was affectionately known in the Village of Beresina as “Joseph Fetter” or “Uncle Joseph” and was well know for his benevolence and leadership offering his administrative talents as the Village Clerk and at other times as the Village School teacher. My Great-great-Grandfather Johann George Anhorn (1833-1903) was the operator of a successful “Bed and Breakfast”. My Great Grandfather Jacob (1866-1929) was a local blacksmith by trade and as history will tell, had other talents as well.

5 Alt Postal was also know as II Malojarosslawetz6 Beresina was established in 1816 and currently is known as Berezyne, Odes’ka, Ukraine. Alt Postal was founded in 1823 and is currently know as Maloyarslavets’ Drhhyi, Odes’ka Ukraine.7 To view an interesting interactive map of the Black Sea Colonies, search “German From Russia Settlement Locations-Black Sea Colonies” from which this information was obtained or visit https://germans-from-russia-settlements-blogspot.com/.

As was the case in most families, they were landowner/farmers with additional trades or businesses to supplement their incomes.8

My Grandfather John Anhorn, recounted that early life in Bessarabia was very good with bountiful crops and a comfortable lifestyle. Both his father and Grandfather owned larger tracts of land and had hired men to work in the fields. Both households, it is reported, had domestic help.9 I personally recall my Grandfather talking about the farming conditions in the “Old Country” where the rich soil and mild climate was conducive to growing a variety of field crops and that there were fruit trees in abundance along with vineyards from which wine grapes were harvested. This was, as we will learn, a far cry from the conditions that met them on the prairies of Western Canada.

Bound for North America

In the 1870’s, the promises of the Russian government were gradually withdrawn, particularly in relation to the right for local self-government and the right to keep their own German-language schools. The military draft was reinstated and the government was less charitable in relation to granting free land. Combined with the rapid growth of the German population, expansion of the family farm, as a result, became extremely expensive, if not impossible.10

With the prospect of “free homestead land”, the Germans in Bessarabia looked to North America as a place to re-settle.

8 Anhorn, William Paul, p79 As a testament to my Uncle Bill’s interest in genealogy, he had the foresight in 1976 to sit down and interview and record my grandparent’s recollections of life in Bessarabia and their family’s life history and experiences in the New World.10 Handley, p 13

From the late 1800’s through the years just prior to the Great War of 1914/1918, thousands of Germans from Bessarabia sold off their possessions and set sail for North America, most ending up on the Prairies. The heaviest concentration of “Bessarabia Germans” was in North Dakota followed by South/Western Saskatchewan and South/Eastern Alberta. The Anhorn family, which had been firmly established in Bessarabia for more than a hundred years, was one of the many caught up in the frenzy for a fresh start in the New World. Beginning as early as 1898, a sizable number of German-Russian homesteaders, mostly from Bessarabia, settled southeast of Medicine Hat in farmland stretching towards the Cypress Hills and in southwest Saskatchewan, from Walsh situate on the Alberta/Saskatchewan border, northeast to Hatton and beyond, all of which was at the time part of District of Assiniboia.11

My Great-Grandfather, Jacob Anhorn and his wife and six children arrived in Canada at Quebec City on October 9th, 1910. Information retrieved from the Canadian National Archives provided the name of the ship, passenger list and departure/arrival date. The Ship Manifest indicated that the ship, The S.S. Willehad, had left Hamburg Germany on September 23rd 1910, with 167 passengers. The passenger manifest lists the Anhorn family as follows:

Jacob (father) aged 44 years old Ottillia (mother) aged 40 years oldFriedericka (daughter) aged 16 years oldJohannes (son) aged 14 years old12

11 Eberhardt, Elvira, The Bessarabian-German dialect in Medicine Hat, Alberta. A Ph.D dissertation (Edmonton: University of Alberta, 1973) p.23

12 This is my grandfather John Anhorn who at 14 years of age travelled across the Atlantic Ocean with his family and they were the first of my ancestors to set foot in North America.

Oskar (son) aged 10 years oldMartha (daughter) aged 8 years oldJacob Jr. (son) aged 4 years old Olga (daughter) 1 year old

From Quebec City, the family travelled by train to Winnipeg, where my Great-Grandmother and her six children stayed with relatives, while my Great-Grandfather carried on west to Medicine Hat. Here he applied and filed for an “Entry for a Homestead, Pre-emption for a Purchased Homestead” under the Dominion Lands Act (Canada). Pursuant to the Act, every landed immigrant could apply for and obtain possession for $10, a 160 acre homestead, to which a title would be issued, free and clear of any encumbrances after the expiration of 3 years, provided certain improvements had been made and other conditions had been met. The application was made on October 19th 1910, only 10 days after arriving in Canada. The application was for a quarter section of land (160 acres) legally described as the N.W. Quarter of Section 18, Township 15, Range 28, West of the 3rd Meridian.The file number of the document is 5013 and is registered under file #2279287. A certificate of title to the Land was subsequently issued on February 28, 1917.Once the application was completed, Jacob back tracked literally to the Town of Walsh, Alberta and established a temporary residence and working base, where he and his family spent the winter of 1910/11. The children attended school with modest success before taking up residence on the homestead. From this location, he was able to commute to the homestead where he began to build a permanent residence and outbuilding for occupancy by the family in the spring of 1911. Trips were made back and forth from the homestead to the Cypress Hills, with a wagon and a team of Oxen, hauling loads of timber and logs.

Being somewhat ambitious, it is reported that in his haste to get established, he bought a small herd of cattle in the fall of 1910, unaware of the harsh winter conditions in Saskatchewan. With little winter feed and no fences, the investment was quickly lost. Undeterred and being industrious by nature, once firmly established on the farm, he purchased Power Engine with a Gang Plow, to break up the land for his own farm and to do custom work for other settlers in the area. He also did custom threshing in the district at harvest time.13

Imagine for the moment the cultural shock of moving from relatively refined lifestyle in Russia to a small three room shack on the bald-headed prairies of Saskatchewan with a sod built bunk house near by to accommodate by grandfather John and his brother, Oskar.

Such was the beginning of the Anhorn family legacy in Canada.

Winemaking 101

My grandfather and grandmother ultimately took up residence in Medicine Hat at 1144 Bridge Street around 1919, which was in an area known as the “Flats”. It was a small house with a kitchen and living room and two

13 Anhorn, William Paul, p11.

bedrooms on the main floor. There was a small bedroom in the attic upstairs, which was accessed through a stair well in one of the bedrooms. It had a dirt basement. My earliest recollection of visiting my grandparents on Bridge Street was going down into the basement, where there was a collection of odds and ends including many books, all of which were in German. Among the assortment of things downstairs, were crocks of home-brewed wine and wine equipment, all in various stages of fermentation. The harvest of wild chokecherries and the making of chokecherry wine was a perennial pastime. It was an acquired talent that apparently had been passed down from generation to generation. According to my Grandfather in his recorded interview, in addition to wine making, the manufacture of hard liquor or “home brew “ was also a family skill, which my Great-Grandfather Jacob Anhorn had perfected. This enterprise became more than just a hobby but a commercial venture as he supplied the district with this highly sought after merchandise and thereby adding additional cash flow to the farming operation. My Grandfather recounted as a young man accompanying his father in a horse drawn wagon full of wooden casks and travelling from the homestead to one of the hotels in the Town of Hatton. The illegal goods were wrapped in blood-soiled cloths in an attempt to disguise the cargo as fresh sides of pork. Upon arrival, the hotelier was quick to take delivery, with a payment of cash for the shipment at the ready.During the fall of 1919, the illegal still came to the attention of the authorities and the RCMP raided the homestead and seized all the equipment. Charges were laid and a Court hearing in Maple Creek was held, where the embarrassed entrepreneur pleaded guilty and was given a $300.00 fine, thus ending his profitable business venture.Grandmother Anhorn told the story that after they were married and while still homesteading in Saskatchewan, that they would often make frequent trips to Medicine Hat, where her parents resided. They would travel by train from

Hatton to Medicine Hat. Grandma Anhorn revealed that it was not uncommon to travel with a large suitcase into which two one gallon jugs would be conveniently concealed, filled with “home brew” destined to a waiting customer list of friends in the Hat, most of them being good old German Evangelical Lutherans!14

In more recent memory, I recall vividly taking my fiancée, Joan to meet my grandparents and to announce our engagement. It was around 10 or 11 0’clock in the morning but on hearing the news relating to their first grandson, Grandpa Anhorn went to the cupboard and pulled out a bottle of chokecherry wine, insisting that we celebrate the event. He carefully poured a small glass of wine for us. Joan, not wanting to offend anyone, drank it down. As she recalls, it hit her like a ton of bricks and I had to hold on to her as she staggered out the door. She was finished for the rest of the day, clearly attesting to the potency of the concoction. I am not sure to this day, what kind of impression she left with my grandparents!

Tragedy Strikes at Home

My Great-Grandfather’s life in Canada seemed filled with tragedy, some of which, no doubt, was self-inflicted. On October 10, 1912, almost two years to the day on arriving in Canada, my Great-Grandmother Ottillia Anhorn died at the age of 42 from a massive haemorrhage and loss of blood resulting from a miscarriage. It is reported that she was at home alone at the time and was trying to hang some curtains, when she slipped and fell, injuring herself and which resulted in her untimely death. She was buried along with her stillborn daughter in the Home Cemetery/Lutheran Church on the Adam Schmidt Sr. land, near the family homestead. After her death of his wife and mother of a very young family, Great-Grandfather Jacob entered into what was

14 Anhorn, William Paul, p11.

described as a “marriage of convenience” one year later. In 1913, he married a widow named Christina Hoffman (nee Widmer) who had four teenage children at the time, two boys and two girls. In the same year, Jacob together with his newly expanded family all became “British Subjects” by a certificate of Naturalization issued on September 25th, 1913 (file #2274644)The next oldest surviving child of Jacob Anhorn was his daughter Friedericka (1884-1913), who was 16 years of age when she arrived in Canada. Apparently during the family’s brief stay in Walsh during the winter of 1910, she met and later married sometime in late 1911 or early 1912, an individual named Fred Borth. He filed for and was granted a homestead, which was described as the SE-24-14-30-W3.Research reveals that Fred Borth had emigrated from North Dakota along with a number of individuals with the surname “Borth”, many settling in and around southwest Saskatchewan.Friedricka died suddenly on February 9th, 1913, almost 4 months to the day of her mother’s passing. The circumstances of her untimely death are somewhat vague, with a variety of oral versions. The uncontroverted facts are that that she became a mother shortly after her 17th birthday and had a son, only a little over a year old at the time of her death. The most plausible account was that she was home alone while her husband was on a day job. He returned home to find his wife slumped on the floor either in a coma or dead with the small child snuggled up to her lifeless body. The cause of death was not identified in the death certificate and remained subject to some speculation.One can only imagine the heartbreak that Jacob experienced with the death of his wife and daughter within a short span of four months of each other. He was left with a family of five, two teenaged sons, an eleven-year-old daughter, another son just 7 years old and the youngest child, a girl barely 4 years of age. It is not surprising that a marriage of convenience was entered into soon thereafter with his marriage to widow Hoffman.

There was suddenly, a blending of the two families, the four teenage Hoffman children (George, Mike, Katie and Christina) to which were added the five Anhorn offspring.The trial and tribulations of Jacob Anhorn would continue. In the early spring of 1914, a daughter Elsie (1914-1988) was born of the marriage and later in 1916, another daughter, Emma, (1916-1982) was born.

On October 19th, 1921 Oscar, Jacob’s second oldest son married Johanna Kempf and soon thereafter, negotiations took place that resulted in this newly established family unit taking over the operation of the original homestead established by my Great Grandfather Jacob Anhorn. Oscar continued to farm the family homestead, and this parcel of land remained in the family in recent history as the third generation owner was Herbert Anhorn, who was Oscar’s son and Jacob’s grandson.The difficult farming operation, successive crop failures and harsh climate had taken its toll and Jacob longed for land and conditions more akin to the “Old Country”.

A New York Connection

In 1921, he and his family along with two other neighbouring families including members of the Kempf family pulled up “roots” and moved to Seneca Falls, New York.This was to be the beginning of a new life in New York. The land was described as being similar to the land in Bessarabia, where the milder climate was conducive to growing all kinds of fruit crops, including wine grapes.Unfortunately, tragedies of life continued to plague Great Grandfather Jacob Anhorn in New York. His farming operation was unsuccessful as the farming requirements in New York were much different than his previous experience elsewhere. It was also reported that his

drinking habits might also have contributed to his downfall.15

A New York State census was obtained by Uncle Bill dated June 1st, 1925 showing that the Anhorn family was residing in the Town of Varick, New York and that the family unit at the time consisted of Jacob, aged 58, Christina aged 50, Jacob aged 19, Elsie aged 11 and Emma aged 8. Missing from the family that had left Saskatchewan in 1921 was the daughter Olga. Subsequent research conducted by Uncle Bill revealed that Olga had married a fellow named Thomas E Palmer, on April 11,1925 in Rochester, New York, when she was barely 16 years of age. She shortly gave birth to a daughter named Betty. But that this child was raised, for the most part, by her father’s side of the family, contributing to the conclusion that the family in New York was somewhat dysfunctional. Betty visited the Anhorn family relatives in Medicine Hat in the early 1950’s. Olga died in Seneca Falls, New York on March 7th, 1935.Great-Grandfather’s second wife, Christina died at the age of 51 years on January 1st, 1926. This left again the Anhorn household without a mother with two relatively young children-Elsie aged 12 and Emma aged 10. Oral reports indicated that the two children were taken in by the Kempf family and cared for after the death of their mother.During this time, the second oldest son, Oscar continued to farm the Saskatchewan homestead that he had acquired from his father with intermittent success with bumper crops in1923, 1927 and 1928. As Uncle Bill reported,” the irony of these experiences is that Jacob considered Oscar a “sharecropper” son and extracted a landlord’s ransom share from all the successful years and even those in between.”16

It was later learned that these payments, given his propensity to drink and failure at farming, were necessary in order to sustain Great-Grandfather’s lifestyle in New York.15 Anhorn, William Paul, p18.16 Anhorn, William Paul, p20.

Following the death of his second wife, tragedy continued to follow him. Reports indicated that within a year or two, Jacob was operating a motor vehicle and was involved in a serious accident when he collided with a train at a railway crossing. A female passenger in the car, a woman he apparently was intending to marry, was killed in the accident and he was badly injured. He never fully recovered from the accident and by all accounts this was a major contributing factor to his untimely death. He died on May 29, 1929 in Seneca Falls, New York at the age of 62.

But I Love New York!

On December 2oth, 1917 my grandfather, the eldest son of Jacob married Lydia Weiss. Prior to getting married, he applied for and was granted homesteader rights to a quarter section of land described as the N.W. Quarter of Section 33, Township 15, Range 28, West of the 3rd Meridian.Title to the Land in due course was issued by the Crown on October 22nd 1919. He however, abandoned his farming operation shortly thereafter and moved to Medicine Hat, where he was first employed utilizing his blacksmithing skills with Medicine Hat Brick and Tile. Later, he became employed at Maple Leaf Milling Company, and remained in their employ for 38 years.Following the death of his father Jacob in 1929, my grandfather, being the eldest son, hastened to travel to New York to settle his father’s estate and to ensure that the welfare of his two half sisters, Elsie and Emma were taken of. He travelled from Medicine Hat to New York City by train, a journey that lasted several days. One can only imagine the culture shock associated with travelling from Medicine Hat to New York City, just months before the stock market crash of October 1929. To this day, I marvel at the courage and fortitude that my grandfather must have had to make this trek.

Upon his arrival in New York, he quickly learned that there was no estate to be settled and that in fact, his father had died destitute. Furthermore, it was discovered that his two half-sisters, Elsie and Emma, were by now under the care and custody of the New York child welfare system, which were reluctant to release them into the care of their half-brother. Quite a hassle took place in endeavouring to establish my grandfather’s legal authority to act as executor of his father’s estate and legal guardian of the infant children. This was compounded by the fact that there was no money in New York to be had, not even enough to purchase train tickets for the children back to Canada. Through a hasty exchange of telegraph messages including messages with a law firm in Maple Creek, my grandfather’s authority was confirmed and after much persistence, he was given permission to take charge of the children. The issue of train tickets was resolved when my grandmother borrowed money from her brother, my Great Uncle Fred Weiss and wired sufficient funds to New York to purchase the train tickets.After much effort and persistence, my grandfather took charge and brought the children back to Canada. But not only did he bring them back to Canada, he demonstrated remarkable kindness and caring by taking them in his own home and raising them along with his own children, until they became young adults and were self-sufficient. Both went to school and later married. Elsie married Henry Miller on September 29th, 1933 and had two children. Emma married Oscar Frey in 1935 and had one son. She later divorced and married a second time on December 3rd 1948 to Frank Dataeye. I mentioned earlier that my Grandfather was employed with Maple Leaf Milling Company for over 38 years. He was fiercely independent and continued to reside in his home on Bridge Street, even after my Grandmother had passed away. He was mentally and physically well, despite his advancing years. He proudly boasted of never being

sick a day in his life. He passed away on October 25th, 1987 at the age of 91.This is a date, which is firmly etched in my mind. On that day, in the early evening, I received a phone call from a lady friend of Grandpa’s, Mrs Noga, indicating that there had been a pedestrian accident in front of her home on Bridge Street and that she was fearful that it might be my grandfather. I raced down to Bridge Street from my home, arriving just as the ambulance was leaving the area.A small crowd had gathered and the area had been barricaded with yellow police tape. I approached a police officer who I knew personally and enquired about the victim. He indicated that they were not sure who he was but invited me past the barricade and showed me a pair of glasses and a set of keys. It was dark and he shone his flashlight on the set of keys. On the key ring was a small rectangular metal tag on which had been imprinted or stamped with the words “Maple Leaf Milling Company.” I knew immediately that the victim in the accident was my grandfather. We took the keys to his house and opened the back door, which only confirmed our suspicions. I attended the hospital and as circumstances would have it, I was able to contact my parents and found out that they were out with my Uncle Bill and his wife for supper. They were visiting from out of town. They attended the emergency room and after some brief consultation, I was invited by the attending physician to see my grandfather. He had suffered a serious neck and head injury and had no hope of survival. I found it ironic that as the oldest grandchild, I was now tasked with the decision to take him off of life support. For the longest time, I kept the Maple Leaf Milling Company metal tag on my own key ring as a personal reminder of a great man, my Grandfather John Anhorn. Some Missing Links

The foregoing chronicles for the most part, the Anhorn family history from their origins in Germany and

Bessarabia, to the life and times of my Great-Grandfather Jacob Anhorn and his family from his arrival in Canada to his death in New York. Two of his children who arrived in Canada have not been mentioned-Jacob Jr. and Martha.In 1926, Jacob Jr. married Anna Eckland in Seneca Falls, New York and the union produced two children, a daughter Shirley in 1929 and a son Karl in 1930. Tragedy struck the family again, as Karl was killed in a farming accident in 1938, at 8 years of age.Martha left home abruptly in 1918 at not quite the age of 16 years, in circumstances, that would suggest strongly that she was leaving an abusive environment. It was only years later that she reconnected with her brother and the Anhorn family, which resulted in a road trip from Medicine Hat to Portland Oregon, where she was residing at the time. The year was 1933 and Uncle Bill recounts the harrowing trip which included 4 adults (my grandfather and grandmother and family friends, Mr and Mrs Nitz) and 4 children, (my Dad Ted, Uncle Bill, my Aunt Irene and my Aunt Viola, who would have been barely been a year old at the time) all squeezed into a 1927 two-door Wippet car, travelling along dangerously narrow unpaved roads through the Rocky Mountains. This trip is further testament to my grandfather’s adventuresome spirit and his continuing obsession with connecting with family.Martha went through several relationships and marriages. One of the earlier relationships resulted in the birth of a daughter, Eileen Fleming, who was born on February 7th 1923 either in Calgary Alberta or Vancouver British Columbia. Martha Anhorn in the end was known as Martha McNair and died on January 17, 1994 at Clear Lake, California.

The first child born to Jacob (1866-1929) and Ottillia Anhorn (nee Knoeller) was a daughter Karolina (1887-1916). She had married Samuel Kempf (1882-1936) in Bessarabia and did not accompany the family on their voyage to North America. The Kempf’s had 5 children, the

first two children Alvina (1905-1966) and Oscar (1907-1985) were born in Beresina, Bessarabia, South Russia.The third child John (1908-1942) was born August 23 1908 while enroute to North America. The fourth child, Emma was born in Hatton, Saskatchewan on April 10th 1913. The fifth child Arthur was born April 7th 1916 in Laredo, Montana.Sadly, Karolina died as a result of complications from the birth of the last child, Arthur. For reasons unknown, this child was adopted by the Belke family and raised as their own. Uncle Bill reports that on a trip to Havre, Montana in 1996 he had occasion to visit with Arthur Belke’s widow, Maria and discovered that the Laredo town site was located 12 miles south of Havre and that on a farm site somewhere in the area is the burial site of my Great Aunt Karolina.17

The chronology of the Samuel Kempf family history clearly suggests that this family arrived in southeast Saskatchewan in 1908, a full two years before Jacob Anhorn (his father-in-law) and his family arrived. One wonders what possessed a young man and his wife and three children under the age of 12, to undertake a long and arduous trip across the Atlantic to North America, to a strange land and an uncertain future, when his wife and young mother was in the late stages of her third pregnancy. This perhaps provides further testimony to the hardships and prejudice that the Germans in Russia faced at that time, which compelled them to embark on such a treacherous journey.

The Weiss Family Connection-Some unfinished business

My Grandmother Lydia Weiss (1898-1978) arrived on North American soil with her family as an 18 month-old 17 Anhorn, William Paul, p13.

infant in 1898. The Weiss family left Europe from Bremerhaven, Germany on April 26th, 1898 aboard the S.S. The Kaiser Wilhelm II and arrived in Ellis Island, New York on May 4th, 1898. From there they travelled by train to the District of Assiniboia, which at the time was part of the North West Territories. My great-great great grandfather on my mother’s side was Johann Gottfried Weiss (1886-1838) and his wife was Barbara Sept (1793). They had two sons Christian Weiss (1815-1880)18 and Friedrich Weiss (1817-1882). Friedrich Weiss married Anna Katherina Schneider (1821-1860) and they had a son named Konrad.Konrad Weiss (1847-1926) was my great grandfather and father of Lydia. He married twice. His first marriage was to Jacobina Nittel (1869-1881) had two children, Friedrick (Christina Reiser) and Regina (John Bohnet). Konrad Weiss following the death of his first wife married Katherina Sackman and from this marriage four children were born-Katherine (John Hagel), Konrad (Emma Schaufele), Johannes (Rosie Jeske/1910) and Lydia (John Anhorn/1917).

The passenger list on the arrival on May 4th, 1898, although somewhat illegible, indicated that their destination was Medicine ? Canada and that a relative Joseph ?, was awaiting for their arrival. The ship manifest confirmed that the Weiss family travelling together were as follows:Konrad Weiss aged 50 farmerKatherina Weiss aged 46 spouseFriedrich Weiss aged 22 farmerRegina Weiss aged 20Christa/Christina aged 19 married spouse of Friedrich18 Christian Weiss established another branch of the Weiss family tree, which if you follow the descendants of this line, the name John Pahl (1905-1989) appears. He is the father of Phyllis Corrine Pahl, who married William Paul Anhorn.

Johannes Weiss aged 13Konrad Weiss aged 6Lydia Weiss aged 1 year 6 monthsThe available evidence indicates that true to the statement of their destination as shown on the passenger manifest, the Weiss family did travel by train to Medicine Hat, following their arrival in New York. According to Uncle Bill in a recent conversation, my Great-great grandfather was a skilled leather harness craftsman and shoemaker and was able to ply his trade easily as these types of goods were in high demand. It does not appear from any of the research that he immediately applied for any kind of homestead. It appears that the oldest son, Freidrich (known later as Uncle Fred) Weiss and his wife Christina obtained a homestead in an area north of the Cypress Hills, near Medicine Hat, but that his farming effort was short-lived. Reports indicate that he was a skilled carpenter and that he began house building in Medicine Hat and became a successful developer/entrepreneur. Aunt Viola reports that he was involved in the construction of the Banff Springs Hotel. They had no children.

Aunt Regina (1876-1952) also appears to have remained in Canada. She married John Bohnet and they had a number of children who, for the most part, stayed in the Medicine Hat area. They included:Ottilia (1900-1978)-married name HeckenliableHenry (1902-1969)Lydia (1904-1994)-married name MoserOlinda (1906-1994)-married SchneiderVictor (1908-1988)Ernest Fred (1911-1977)Benjamin (1915-1986)The historical data indicates that in 1901, the Weiss family for reasons not yet identified moved from the District of

Assiniboia NWT (Alberta did not become a province until 1905) to Billington, Washington in the United States of America. As mentioned, Uncle Fred and Aunt Christina and Aunt Regina had all established themselves in the Medicine Hat area.The 1910 U.S. census identifies the family unit in the State of Washington USA, with their respective ages as follows:Conrad age 62Catherina age 58John K age 24Conrad Jr age 17Lydia age 13

The historical data throughout this period shows the first names of family members with a “C” as opposed to a “K”’ which is reflective of a more traditional English spelling.The 1910 census provides some interesting data. Conrad Sr.’s self-described occupation is as a “wheat farmer” and that he owned his own land free and clear of encumbrances. John K (24) and Conrad Jr. (17) each described their occupation as “farmer/farm labourer on the home farm”. The date of his immigration to the U.S. is identified as 1898, which is slightly inconsistent considering the brief time spent in Canada prior to going to the States.The 1916 Canada census shows that the Weiss family moved back to Canada in 1912 with Conrad and Catherina residing in Medicine Hat, AB. Based upon this information Grandmother Lydia would have been 15 years old on her return to Canada. Of course, as history tells, Lydia married John Anhorn on December 20th, 1917. The 5 years between 1912 and 1917 are unaccounted for. There is some suggestion that she attended school in a one-room schoolhouse in the Tothill district north of the Cypress

Hills, (the Gros Ventre School)19 which might suggest that she living with her brother, Uncle Fred or some other extended relative. In recent discussion with my Aunt Viola, she noted that the marriage was “arranged” and that there was a limited courtship. Such were the times! My Great grandfather’s first child from the second marriage was Catherina, who was born on March 31st, 1883 in Bessarabia, Russia. She died on June 8th, 1951 in Moscow, Idaho. Her marriage and life’s journey is quite interesting.Firstly, she is not shown as being on the passenger list of the Weiss family when they arrived at Ellis Island in 1898, even though she would have 15 years old at the time.She married John Hager (1859-1946) who would have been 24 years older than her. John Hager was born in Switzerland. They had seven sons who were born in various locations throughout North America, which speaks to a somewhat of nomadic lifestyle. The 1910 U.S. census shows that Catherina (27) and her husband, John (51) resided in Spokane, Washington. They were identified as being “boarders” in the household. They had by this time 2 children: Samuel aged 5 and John F aged 7. Her date of immigration was shown as 1897, which is one year earlier than the Weiss family.The 1930 U.S. census gives us a further picture of this family unit and their travels by identifying the age and birthplace of the 7 children. They are as follows:John F 1903 AlbertaSamuel 1905 AlbertaDavid Richard 1906 AlbertaBenjamin G 1908 OregonDan G 1911 WashingtonReuben 1913 Idaho19 By coincidence my Aunt Phyllis attended the same school as a child when her father John Pahl rented some land from a relative in the area prior to re-establishing himself in the Finn’s Lake area

Philip C 1915 Idaho

Logically, the two would have likely married sometime between 1900 and 1903, which would have made her 17 or 18 years of age at the time, while her husband would have been around 4o. John Hagar would have been 56 years of age and Catherina 34 years old at the time of the birth of their last son, Phillip C. Interestingly, the birthplace of the boys in Alberta is given as a land/legal description in Strathcona County, Alberta- near a Town called Josephburg.John K Weiss was the oldest son of Konrad Weiss’s marriage to Katherina Sackman and accompanied them on their arrival at Ellis Island, New York and their sojourn to the United States. John K Weiss married Rosie Jeske in 1910, presumably in Washington and shortly thereafter, moved and farmed at Josephburg, Alberta for a year. They then moved to Hilda/Schuler area near Medicine Hat (1912) where they farmed for over 34 years. They retired in Medicine Hat in 1948 and he passed away on July 10th, 1953.20

There is an interesting sidebar to the Weiss family history and the Josephburg area. In 1888, a number of families of German descent settled in the Dunmore area near Medicine Hat-north of the Cypress Hills. But two successive crop failures resulted in a mass exodus from the area. In 1890, 53 families totalling approximately 250 people, men, women and children pulled up their roots in southern Alberta and headed north by a wagon train and settled in an area 8 kilometres east of Fort Saskatchewan in Strathcona County, and established a town called Josefburg named after a similar town in Germany. The name was later changed to Josephburg. By 1893, a school had been established and by 1901 a Lutheran Church built-St Peter’s Lutheran Church. Coincidence or not, it appears

20 A July 15th 1953 obituary that appeared in the Medicine Hat News shows among others, my Dad Ted and his cousin Herb Weiss as pallbearers.

that both Catherine and John K at different times spent time in Josephburg- a strong German Lutheran community.Josephburg in the County of Strathcona, outside Edmonton should not be confused with another “Josephsberg”. In my research another similarly named area, near Medicine Hat/Dunmore/Cypress Hills came to light as evidenced from the following excerpts from The Medicine Hat Times and the Edmonton Bulletin, which regularly reported on the immigrants' arrival with obvious interest:

April 1889: German-speaking immigrants arrived in the Medicine Hat /Josephsberg area in April 1889 and September 1889. A total of about 400 families arrived that year.

September 1989: Another batch of German emigrants from Russia arrived a few days ago in Medicine Hat and went to a settlement about 15 miles from Dunmore. It is understood that this is just the advance guard, with a large body to follow in the summer of 1890.

October 1890: 200 Russian-German immigrants left Russia about a week ago for the Medicine Hat district. They will take up homesteads south of Dunmore near the German colonies.

November 1889: The Times reports on a visit to the German colony near Dunmore. The district organized will be known as Josephsberg school district. This colony has 350 inhabitants. Wonderful progress has been made, and there are no grumblers there.

April 1890: A man from the German colony tells the Times that late-sown grain is a complete failure on the colony; fall-sown and spring-sown grain yields a far better crop. He denies reports that all the settlers will be leaving. The majority will put in at least another crop.

Dunmore Station of the Alberta Railway and Coal Company, Dunmore, Alberta. Glenbow Archives, na-17-4.jpg

October 1890: The German settlement to the south of Medicine Hat does not appear to be a success because large numbers of them are leaving. Two bad seasons have appeared to discourage them. Representatives of the German colony near Dunmore have come to Edmonton to see what the district has to offer. Some 75 families want to leave Dunmore because of poor farming conditions. Most are from Galicia, but there are some of North German descent as well. They will likely settle in the Stony Plain and Horse Hill area.

April 1891: 180 Germans leave Dunmore and head to Spruce Grove and Stony Plain.

May 1891: 53 families (ca. 225 to 250 people) who came from Galicia two years ago have reached Edmonton with their belongings and their livestock and have left for their land on the Horse Hill plain. Ca. 25 families are still left at Dunmore. They are expected here soon. The German families who had arrived the previous week divided: Five Catholic families from Hungary will go to homesteads north of St. Albert. 25 families of Reformed Lutherans will homestead on the Horse Hill plain, and about 25 families of Old Lutherans are going to Stony Plain.

The trial and tribulations of the German-Russian immigrants appear to have continued even in North America.

In 1911-12, Germans from Bessarabia and the United States settled a block of 30 Townships south of Medicine Hat, which included Irvine, Walsh, Newburg, (previously known as Josephsburg), Elkwater Thelma, Growan, Gros Ventre, Little Plume and Wisdom.21

My grandmother’s brother Conrad Weiss Jr. (1892) came back to Canada around this time and settled and farmed in

21 Becker, A. The Germans In Western Canada, A Vanishing People, CCHA Study Sessions 42 (1975), pp.29-49

the Medicine Hat/Hilda/Schuler area. He married Emma Schaufele (1889-1990) and they had four children as follows:Adele (1916-2001)-married Edward FairhurstElsie (1918-2008)-married George AitkensOscar (1920-2007)-married Laura MoenchHerbert (1927-2014)-married Matilda Kircheman

Herb Weiss would be my second cousin and I note some interesting facts. Herb and his sons, Gerald and Keith operated and continue to operate, a large dairy farm on the southern outskirts of Medicine Hat. As a young man, I spent many days hunting on the Weiss land, with permission, of course. As lawyer with Pritchard and Company in my later years, the Weiss family farm was a significant client of the office and I provided legal services to them, primarily in relation to the sale of land adjacent to the City of Medicine Hat to a major land developer and I got to know them quite well. Gerald (Dallas) and I were also in Kinsmen together.Secondly, Herb and Matilda were involved in square dancing as a recreational pastime and spent many years square dancing with Jo and Emil Schlenker-prominent dance instructors. My wife’s parents, Normand and Rose Medlicott were also in the same square dance group and they became very good friends, dancing and travelling throughout the world with them. To quote the Disney ride, “It’s A Small World After All”! My Aunt Viola who lived in Redcliff would always talk about “Della”, who also lived in Redcliff. It was only recently that I made the connection going about this project. “Della” is her cousin, Adele Fairhurst and a sister to Herb Weiss. Go figure!Oscar was a tall handsome gentleman and was very prominent in the business community in Medicine Hat and

I knew him well also. Oscar and my Dad were good friends, in addition to being first cousins.

Thus ends the Anhorn/Weiss family connection and in retrospect, there may not be much unfinished business after all.

The Anhorn Family Legacy Continues

My Grandfather and Grandmother, John and Lydia Anhorn were married on December 20th 1917 and after a brief attempt at farming moved to Medicine Hat in 1919, where they lived for the rest of their lives. They had five children as follows:Irene- born July 25th, 1925-May 21 2016Theodore John -born September 1st 1927-March 16, 201222

William Paul-born March 28, 1930Viola Lydia-born July, 15th 1932-Shirley Ottillia-born October 14, 1934-

John and Lydia Anhorn were not without there own heartache. Grandpa and Grandma Anhorn had three children, who either died at birth or in early infancy. The first was Jacob Conrad, who passed away at birth in 1918, which was within a year of their marriage. The second child was Richard Henry Oskar, who was born in 1920 but who passed away a year later in 1921. Aunt Viola’s first child was named after him. A third child, Vera Ruby was born in 1925/26 after the birth of my Aunt Irene but she also passed away within a year.One can only imagine, the emotional toll that these unfortunate events had on both my grandparents, and one 22 This is my father who was born in Medicine Hat, Alberta and lived there all of his life.

wonders to what extent these circumstances affected my grandmother in her later years as her mental and physical health deteriorated. She passed away on October 16,1978 at the age of 82 years.In the years prior to the Second World War (1939-1945), the language in the Anhorn household was the Swabian dialect of German, which is still the language currently spoken in Southern Germany. Both my Dad and my Uncle Bill attended Elm Street School, which was less than a block from the family home on Bridge Street. It continues even today to be a school in the Medicine Hat Public School system. Both my Dad and Uncle reported that when they first attended Grade one at Elm Street School in the early 1930’s, neither one of them could barely speak a word of English.The family regularly attended German Church services at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church. My grandfather John was the church organist, church treasurer and at times the Church minister, when a pastor for the Church was not available. I recall as a child the large foot pump organ sitting in the veranda on the home on Bridge Street, being played regularly by my grandfather.The children were required not only to attend church on Sunday but also attend German Saturday School where the curriculum was German reading and writing. In addition, they were taught Bible history and the teachings of Martin Luther catechism, all in German, of course.As a result both my Dad and Uncle became fluent in both English and German. I recall as a child attending the house on Bridge Street with my parents and all my aunts and uncles in attendance in the small living room. I listened intently to the conversations all in German, not understanding a word, but found it fascinating when someone would say something in German and everyone would roar with laughter. When I asked my Dad, later what was so funny, he would tell me in English what had been said but pointed out quickly that it was not the same in English. How true! I had such fond memories of those

occasions when the family would all get together and my one regret in life was not learning the language of my forefathers, despite having had the opportunity to do so in school. My Dad married Margaret Mary McIvor (20/12/1929) on April 14th 1950 and they had 4 children as follows:William John-December 18th, 195023

Arlene Catherine-November 14th, 1952Theodore Robert- November 6th, 1954James Conrad-September 4st, 1959

On April 14th, 1943, my Dad left school and joined the ranks of the gainfully employed by being hired by The Canadian Pacific Railway in the Medicine Hat Yard office as a “call boy”, working the midnight shift. His duties were to literally call upon the train crews to come to work. As more and more adult men in the Yard office went to war, my Dad quickly assumed more responsible duties from Car checker to Train clerk and by all accounts performed the tasks with great efficiency. But as the war ended, many of the former employees returned and rightfully claimed seniority to the jobs they had left behind. Suddenly, my Dad was “bumped” to call boy and then, with the development of the telephone, no job at all. However, with some administrative restructuring, my Dad was offered the position of Station Baggage Handler with an awkward shift of 8:00 pm to 4:00 am, six days a week. Dad worked for CP Rail for 43 years, the majority of which was on night shift. He survived numerous administrative purges and restructuring within the Medicine Hat office, slowly moving up the ranks. He took early retirement and at the time held the position of Chief Accountant, which in his final few years was a coveted day job. Despite a lack of a formal education, he was well read and was a self-taught accountant. He supplemented the family income by 23 I was their first child and the first grandchild of John and LydiaAnhorn.

working as a bookkeeper at the Cantalini chain of hotels in Medicine Hat. I recall him having a small office under the staircase of the Assiniboia Hotel in Medicine Hat, where I would visit him from time to time. His arduous routine for many years was to work the night shift, getting home at 4:30 am, sleep for 5 or 6 hours and then work from noon until 5 pm at the hotel. Such was his life! I remain truly grateful for his dedication and commitment to his family.I married Joan Elaine Medlicott on June 3rd 1972. Joan was born in Medicine Hat (06/12/1950). I find it quite remarkable that not only were Joan and I were born in Medicine Hat but her father Norman and my Dad were also both born and raised in Medicine Hat and that we lived here all of our respective lives. Another interesting and quite amazing coincidence is this that Joan’s mom and my mother attended pre-natal classes together. As circumstances would have it, she graduated 12 days earlier than me! We never formally met until first year of college.Joan and I have two children, Brett William and Nicole Lynn Anhorn.Brett married Sara Mueller and they have two children-Eli William and Nora Lydia Rose. Nicole has three girls, Taylor, Morgan and Rayne.My sister Arlene married Lee Scheibner and they have 4 children-3 girls and one boy.My brother Ted married Barbara Johnstone and they have 2 girls.My brother James married Karen Jones and they have 2 girls and a boy named Christopher.My Uncle Bill married Phyllis Pahl, (1930-2009) whose own lineage contains a Weiss connection, which is a story in and of its self, and one which is well documented with great care in his book. They have three children, 2 girls and a boy, John Curtis Anhorn. My cousin John married and has a son, Daniel Everett.

I specifically mention the first names of my grandson, Eli and my nephew Christopher and my cousin John’s son, Daniel Everett for a painfully pathetic and obvious reason.

They are the ones that will carry on the Anhorn family name and continue the Anhorn family legacy.

There is No Perfect Ending

Genealogy drives its name from the Greek words “generation” and “knowledge” and is the study of families and the tracing of their lineages and history. The results are often displayed in charts or in written narratives. The pursuit of family history and origins tends to be shaped by several motives, including the desire to carve out a place in one’s family in the larger historical picture and a sense of responsibility to preserve the past for future generations.24 This has been my motivation.The difficulty with a project such as this is not where to start but where to end. The hope of any tree that is planted is that it will grow straight and tall, with a root system that will remain healthy and firm and that it will endure the strongest of storms. The same is true with the family tree.Like any family tree, the limbs can be multiple and the branches and leaves elongated. The purpose of genealogy, in its purest form, is to document the lineage from a patriarchal standpoint. To that end, I have placed emphasis on the male lineage-those that have and will continue to carry on the Anhorn family name. This is not done with any disrespect to the female members of our family. My hope is that this writing will encourage the continuation of the tradition started by my Uncle Bill and those both behind and ahead of me will find some comfort in knowing their

24 Search Wikipedia, Genealogy.

heritage and perhaps, at some point, they too will be inspired to take up a similar cause.

With that in mind and following a similar template that my Uncle Bill adopted, in his self-published book, I wish to identify in descending order my male ancestors that carried the Anhorn name and those descendants who will currently succeed me, together with their year of birth and place of origin/destination:

1. Andreas 1700 Wittenberg Germany

2. Joseph 1718 Wittenberg Germany3. Johannes George 1764 Wittenberg Germany4. Johannes 1789 Wittenberg Germany5. Joseph 1808

Poland/Bessarabia Russia 6. Johann George 1883 Bessarabia Russia7. Jacob 1866 Bessarabia Russia Canada/New York8. John 1896 Bessarabia Russia/Canada

9. Theodore John 1927 Canada-1st Generation10. William John 1950 Canada-2nd Generation11. Brett William 1977 Canada-3rd Generation

12. Eli William Peter 2011 Canada-4th Generation

Concurrent with this exercise, I have created an Anhorn Family tree using the resources of Ancestry.ca and I will endeavour to replicate the family tree as part of this project as an Addendum or arrange to share its access for anyone that might be interested.

Epilogue-The Challenge

If you could see your ancestors standing in a row,Would you be proud of them, or don’t you really know?Some strange discoveries are made in climbing the family tree;And some of them, you well know,Do not particularly please.If you could see you’re ancestors standing in a row,There might be some that you wouldn’t care to know.But there is another question, which may require a different view,If you could meet your ancestors,Would they be proud of you?25

William John Anhorn, QC ICD.DNovember 2016Medicine Hat, Alberta26

25 Anhorn, William Paul p1 author unknown.26 A special thank you to William Paul Anhorn, “My Uncle Bill” for his foresight and tenacity in doing the research and documenting much of the Anhorn family history, most of which I have borrowed. But for his efforts, this information would have been lost forever.