Accession 2017.007
Title and Physical Description
Kathy Peters fonds, – 12 cm of textual material. – 40 photographs
Administrative/Biographical Description
Kathy Peters was the daughter of David P. Goerzen and Susanna (Wiens) Goerzen. Kathy Peters parents had migrated from the Soviet Union to Canada in 1924 and settled in the Didsbury area of Alberta. Kathy was born in 1933 at Crossfield, Alberta, and married Edward William Peters.
In 1987 Kathy Peters received from her mother, Susanna (Wiens) Goerzen, a large collection of letters which various family members had received from relatives still living and enduring severe hardships in the Soviet Union. These letters were written in the cursive German Gothic script but have been carefully transcribed and then translated. Expanatory notes are also provided where the dates, places, or relationships are not clearly defined in the letters. Kathy Peters added detailed genealogical information about the families living in Canada and those living in the Soviet Union. Most of the letters were written between 1924 and 1933, but some are dated as late as 1936. The letters provide much detailed information about the lives and conditions of those who remained in the Soviet Union.
Custodial History
The letters were either received directly by David P. Goerzen and Susanna (Wiens) Goerzen, or collected by Susanna (Wiens) Goerzen from relatives in Canada who had received letters from mutual relatives living in the Soviet Union. Some items are only fragments of letters. They were donated by Kathy (Goerzen) Peters to the archives of the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta in 2017.
The photographs came from a Peters family photograph album. Most of the photos were taken in the Soviet Union and brought to Canada by the parents of Edward William Peters (Kathy Peters’ husband). They were donated by Kathy (Goerzen) Peters to the archives of the Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta in 2017.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of four different sets of original letters, together with transcripts and translations and 40 photographs. The letters in each file are arranged chronologically.
1. 62 letters written by Maria Dueckman Goerzen to her son and daughter-in-law, David P. Goerzen and Susanna (Wiens) Goerzen. They cover the period from 1924 to 1933, the year of Maria Dueckman’s death. Maria Dueckman was Kathy (Goerzen) Peters paternal grandmother.
2. 29 letters written by Anna (Goerzen) Fast to her brother and sister-in-law David P. Goerzen and Susanna (Wiens) Goerzen. They cover the period from 1924 to 1936. Anna (Goerzen) Fast was Kathy (Goerzen) Peters aunt.
3. 33 letters written by David P. Goerzen’s brothers, Heinrich and Peter, and his sister Maria (Goerzen) Regehr. They cover the period from 1924-1933. These were Kathy (Goerzen) Peters uncles and aunt.
4. 29 letters from members of the Johann Johann Wiens and Susanna (Dyck) Wiens family to the families of their daughters Susanna (David) Goerzen and Anna (Gerhard) Duerksen. They cover the period 1924-1933. Johann Wiens and Susanna (Dyck) Wiens were Kathy (Goerzen) Peters maternal grandparents.
40 Peters family photographs, filed separately. The 40 photographs come from a Peters family album. Edward William Peters (Kathy Peters husband) was the son of Gerhard Jacob Peters and Susanna Peters. The Gerhard and Susanna Peters family lived in the Yazykovo Mennonite colony before migrating to Canada in 1924. In Canada they settled on the Burns Ranch near Didsbury, Alberta. There is identifying information for some of the photographs, but many do not have any identifying information.
Notes
Katharine (Goerzen) Peters GM158100
Susanna (Wiens) Goerzen – Kathy (Goerzen) Peters mother GM413662
Maria (Duekman) Goerzen – Kathy (Goerzen) Peters paternal grandmother GM207137
Anna (Goerzen) Fast – Kathy (Goerzen) Peters aunt GM1400383
David P. Goerzen – Kathy (Goerzen) Peters father GM158098
Johann Johann Wiens and Susanna (Dyck) Wiens, Kathy (Goerzen) Peters maternal grandparents GM413660 and GM413661
Edward William Peters – Kathy Peters husband GM158097
Gerhard Jacob Peters – Kathy Peters father-in-law GM158095
Susanna Peters GM – Kathy Peters mother-in-law GM158096