GENEALOGY BOOK:

JACOB SIEMENS FAMILY SINCE 1685

Includes Early Mennonites: Sawatzky, Bergman, Enns, Andres, Dyck, Janzen, Martens, Kehler, Quiring, Neufeld, Friesen, Penner, Goertzen, and More

A lively, carefully researched book for families, history buffs, genealogists, Mennonites...professionally written!

Family history: why bother? Author Elma Schemenauer (Jacob Siemens' great-granddaughter) starts by answering that question. She then explains how she researched her family back to about 1685 and forward to today. The annotated bibliography lists useful sources.

Christian faith is vital to many in Jacob Siemens Family Since 1685. The book gives a bird's eye view of the Mennonite story in particular. It then explores the ancestry of Jacob Siemens, born 1862 in the Mennonite settlement of Chortitza, Ukraine.

A hard-working, talkative horseman, chauffeur, freighter, merchant, and farmer, Jacob married the wise, devout Aganetha Bergman. A mystery lady, Aganetha was of unknown origin. But the family stories are intriguing. One says she is from a certain Mennonite Bergman family. The book traces some of their ancestors back to about 1705.

It then describes Siemens family members' lives, first in pre- and post-revolutionary Russia, and later in Canada and the US, to the present. Besides names and dates, it includes pictures, family stories, oral history, and selections from never-before-published letters and life stories.

Descendants' names include Beaulieu, Branco, Coella, Dyck, Enns, Evans, Fligg, Forge, Goertzen, Janzen, Jeschke, Kehler, Klippenstein, Kricken, Martens, Mead, Monaghan, Morin, Neufeld, Nourse, Nurmi, O'Byrne, Peters, Sawatzky, Schmidt, Siemens (of course), Tuson, Warr, and more.

Recent descendants are the 12th generation from the earliest known ancestors. The book includes about 800 persons, and the name index makes them easy for genealogists and family historians to find.

Approx. 8 1/2 x 11 inches, 200 pages softcover, perfect bound, black and white illustrations including photos. ISBN 0-921718-04-7. LIST PRICE $28 Canadian, $21 US.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born near Elbow, Saskatchewan, Elma Schemenauer was educated at Briercrest Bible College and the Universities of Saskatchewan and Toronto. She has taught in Saskatchewan, Montana, and Nova Scotia. Now an editor and author in Kamloops, British Columbia, she has written about 75 books published in Canada and the US. Titles include Russia (history and geography), Ottawa: The Nation's Capital (history and geography), Special Canadian Communities (ethnic minorities), The Lost Lemon Mine (historical fiction), and Jacob Jacobs Gets Up Early (novel). Elma and her husband, Bob, have explored their family histories in Canada, Germany, and the US. For more information, please see Elma's website, www.elma03.com.

ORDERING INFORMATION

For each copy of Jacob Siemens Family Since 1685, please send $28 Canadian ($21 US) plus $14 each for postage. Make check or money order payable to Elma Schemenauer.

Include your name and address and mail to:

Elma Schemenauer

448 Monarch Place

Kamloops, British Columbia

Canada, V2E 2B2

We offer standard discounts to libraries, archives, wholesalers, and retailers. For more information, contact us at the above address or e-mail us at: elmams@shaw.ca or elma08@gmail.com.

Thank you.