Mennonite Baptisms in Thiensdorf-Markushof, West Prussia:
1758-1799

Extracted by Glenn H. Penner (gpenner@uoguelph.ca)

The following is an alphabetical list of baptisms from the Thiensdorf/Markushof region of West Prussia. This Frisian congregation was originally known as the Klein Werder Church as it was situated in the Kleine Marienburger Werder. The congregation, which was originally known as the Thiensdorf church, split in 1791 into the Thiensdorf and Markushof congregations. For details on the split see the articles on Thiensdorf and Markushof in the Mennonite Encyclopedia. The records of this congregation contain a number of family and given names that are not considered typically Mennonite in North America. An interesting article by Alan Peters discusses this in more detail (1).

These baptisms come from three sources: 1) baptisms carried out in Thiensdorf by the Aeltester of the Orlofferfelde church in 1758, 1759 and 1763, 2) two sets of baptisms, one for the years 1781, 1789, 1790-96 and 1799, another for the years 1787-99, and 3) a few baptisms gleaned by Adalbert Goertz from a later list of married members of the Thiensdorf church (2). The early baptisms were obtained from the original Orlofferfelde church book, which is found in the Mennonitische Forschungsstelle, Weierhof, Germany.

The later two sets of records were copied from microfilms #80 and #288, which are found in the Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Some of these baptisms can be found in LDS microfilms # 555795 and #1866002 (available through your local Mormon Family History Center).

The format I have employed is to list the father's last and first name, the relationship of the baptismal candidate, the name of the candidate, and the village of residence of the father. Occasionally there is a comment in the last column.

This data is also available in a PDF version, and Organized by Surname, along with a PDF version of that format.

(1) California Mennonite Historical Society Bulletin. No. 27 (November 1992): 2
(2) Mennonite Family History. (July 1994): 128

Page created 29 March 2001; PDF files added 31 March 2001; format revised 13 October 2003; html by Richard D. Thiessen

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