[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] GRs in Mexico

gloriah4 at juno.com gloriah4 at juno.com
Sat Apr 29 07:15:12 PDT 2006 

Yes, my husband's parents (as well as at least one uncle and family) were
Lutheran Volhynian Germans, so there were definitely some who migrated to
Mexico. This was in 1926. In the early 1920s other family members went to
Canada and remained there. If there were any Mennonites within the HOPPE
family in either Mexico or Canada we are unaware of it since (so far as
we know) they were every one Lutheran Volhynian Germans.  

Mr. Sonnenburg raises an interesting question. Wonder if it were the
heavy population of GRs already in Mexico (whether they were Mennonite or
not) that attracted the Lutherans GRs there?  

I too would be interested in knowing 
        < how 6,000 people went from Canada to Mexico without cars >
We haven't even been able to find out how our family went from Mexico to
northern U.S. and Canada without cars.

Gloria Hoppe


On Fri, 28 Apr 2006 09:51:51 -0600 Jerry Frank <FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca>
writes:
> In addition to the Mennonites, I have heard of some Lutheran 
> Volhynian Germans who migrated to Mexico.  Unfortunately I know 
> little about them or their migration.
> 
> Would like to hear more about them from anyone who has any info.
> 
> 
> Jerry Frank
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Ed Sonnenburg <esonnenburg at sympatico.ca>
> Date: Friday, April 28, 2006 8:58 am
> Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] GRs in Mexico
> 
> > The following web pages give you some history as to how the 
> > Mennonites ended
> > up in Mexico.
> > Since they first came to Canada there would not be ships 
> > mentioned.  It
> > would be interesting
> > to find out how 6,000 people went from Canada to Mexico without 
> cars.
> > Pictures anyone?
> > 
> > When I visited northern Mexico in 1979 everything was very 
> > primitive.  Even
> > though the people
> > lived very simple lives they were still better off than the native 
> 
> > Mexicans.The GRs were always
> > friendly, not to provoke anger or jealousy from the Mexicans.
> > 
> > One thing about the Mexicans was they bred like jack rabbits.  
> > Families had
> > between 10 - 15
> > children.  They nominated a person that wasn't too bright to be 
> > the teacher
> > for the children.
> > They only got taught enough so they could do the farming.  What 
> > the elder
> > said was followed.
> > When the German Church of God did some evangelizing the elders 
> > tried to stop
> > it.  They
> > sure didn't want anyone taking away theiir people.  A school was 
> > built in
> > Cuahctemoc and
> > about 200 children have been attending every year.
> > 
> > There are hundreds of GR villages in the northern plains, south of 
> 
> > Chihuhua.It was very
> > picturesque to drive down the only road from north to south and 
> > see the
> > mountains when
> > you looked either east or west.  Every few miles there was a dirt 
> > road that
> > went to
> > the villages.  Each village had a number but also a German name 
> like
> > Gruenthal etc.
> > 
> > Now the area has been built up more since industries have come to 
> 
> > Mexicofrom Canada
> > and the USA so there's more money and work for everyone.
> > 
> > 
> > http://www.mcc.org/themes/mennonites/
> > 
> > In 1922, approximately 6,000 Mennonites left Manitoba and 
> > Saskatchewan,destined for Mexico. They left in response to gradual 
> 
> > erosion of the
> > educational freedoms they had been promised by the federal 
> > government when
> > they first immigrated to Canada from Eastern Europe.
> > 
> > 
> > http://collections.ic.gc.ca/humboldt/journal/setl303a.htm
> > 
> > http://collections.ic.gc.ca/prairie/ethchpt5.htm
> > 
> > http://grebel.uwaterloo.ca/mao/Oral%20History/Hist.Mss.22.3.htm
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ----- Original Message ----- 
> > From: <gloriah4 at juno.com>
> > To: <esonnenburg at sympatico.ca>
> > Cc: <ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>
> > Sent: Friday, April 28, 2006 4:11 AM
> > Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] -Political "Standardized" 
> > Language-
> > 
> > 
> > > Ed,
> > >
> > > Your mention of "GRs from Mexico" really perked my interest. Do 
> 
> > you have
> > > other information about them in addition to "language"?
> > >
> > > I ask because my husband's family immigrated into the U. S. via 
> 
> > Mexico> and yet we can locate nothing that links them back to the 
> 
> > Ukraine. Their
> > > passports show that they left the Ukraine by way of LeHavre and 
> 
> > the next
> > > (and last) stamp shows their disembarking in Vera Cruz Mexico. 
> > This was
> > > in 1926.
> > >
> > > One of our main research questions is, how did they get from the 
> 
> > Ukraine> (and from where in the Ukraine) to LeHavre? Also, we have 
> 
> > been unable to
> > > locate a ship manifest since we have been unable to find that 
> > their ship
> > > ever sailed to Mexico. It did indeed sail from LeHavre that year 
> 
> > but only
> > > landing in New York it seems.
> > >
> > > Were there many GRs in Mexico? Somehow I've always pictured our 
> 
> > family as
> > > being exceptions and we can't figure why they went to Mexico of 
> all
> > > places.
> > >
> > > Any scrap of help is appreciated.  Thanks.
> > >
> > > Gloria Hoppe (wife of Al HOPPE)
> > > East Texas, USA
> > > Researching: HOPPE, TOBER, SAWATZKI, Neudorf Volhynia, Novograd 
> 
> > Walinsk>
> > >
> > > On Wed, 26 Apr 2006 11:16:53 -0400 "Ed  Sonnenburg"
> > > <esonnenburg at sympatico.ca> writes:
> > > > When translating old letters I always found it a challenge 
> > when the
> > > > writer
> > > > threw in words or phrases from another language.  When people 
> live
> > > > in a certain place for a generation or two they pick up local
> > > > words.
> > > > My GR relatives and friends would flawlessly speak German but
> > > > then curse in either Russian or Polish.
> > > >
> > > > I always found it a challenge to understand the low German
> > > > but when the GRs from Mexico spoke low German and
> > > > threw in Spanish words it was almost impossible to 
> understand.
> > > >
> > > > It is pretty hard for me to speak German today without 
> throwing
> > > > in an English word -  Ich geh und leere aus den Garbage.
> > > > I'm going to empty the garbage can.  It was too hard
> > > > to say Muell Eimer.
> > > >
> > > > _______________________________________________
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> 
> 
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