Cornies Genealogy

Cornies Grave Markers

2011-12-03T13:38:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, information about Alexander Cornies was provided. He and his brother Georg were both sons of Heinrich Cornies (No. 63 in Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313). Alexander was buried in Newton, Kansas, USA. His grave marker can be seen by clicking here. His brother Georg was buried in Fresno, California, USA. His grave marker can be seen by clicking here.

(Thanks to Pamela Stephenson for providing these links)

Корнис, Давыд Давыдович (Cornies, David Davidovich)

2011-11-22T15:45:00.000-08:00

Johann Cornies of Germany found the following image at a Russian internet site and we are both wondering how or if this person fits into the Cornies family tree. Information that accompanied the image is as follows:

David Davidovich Kornis

Date of Birth: __.__.1906,

Place of Birth: Ukrainian SSR, Stalin region., Selidovsky borough with Marinovka

Date and place of the call: 09/10/1941 RVC Salda, Sverdlovsk reg.

Military rank: soldier

The reason for retirement: missing

Date of departure: __.02.1942

Корнис Давыд Давыдович

Дата рождения: __.__.1906 ,

Место рождения : Украинская ССР, Сталинская обл., Селидовский

р-н, с. Мариновка

Дата и место призыва : 10.09.1941 Салдинский РВК, Свердловская

обл.

Воинское звание : красноармеец

Причина выбытия : пропал без вести

Дата выбытия : __.02.1942

If anyone can add further information, please send an email or feel free to leave a comment.

Funeral Procession

2011-11-20T13:46:00.000-08:00

Continuing with the life of Johann Cornies (No. 44 in Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313) , following are two photographs of his funeral procession. These photographs would have been taken in Schönfeld.

(click on the photograph for a larger image)

Schönfeld

2011-11-06T12:58:00.000-08:00

Johann Cornies (No. 44 in Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313) in the previous post was Mayor or "Oberschulze" of the Schönfeld colony for a period of time. Below is a detailed map of that colony in Ukraine prepared in 1912 by the teachers of the Schönfeld school. This map provides the places and names of the people living in the colony. One can see that Johann Cornies' farm was located at the far right of the map image below. (click on the map for a larger image)

Details of Cornies / Driedger Family 1912

2011-10-06T12:02:00.000-07:00

The above photograph is a larger image than the one in the previous post. This is a photograph of the Cornies / Driedger family taken circa 1912.

Johann Cornies (No. 44 in Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313) married a second time after the death of his first wife. The document shows that his second wife was Katharina Warkentin. Warkentin is likely her maiden name as her first husband was Driedger and so, at the time of second marriage, she would have been known as Katharina Driedger.

The above photograph shows the married couple in front and centre with his children and her children surrounding them. On the far left is David Cornies (No. 128) with his wife Sara in front of him. Next is Jacob Heidebrecht with his wife Maria (No. 127) sitting in front of him. Beside Jacob is Abram Driedger, then Marie Driedger and then, Nicolai Driedger (perhaps better known as Reverend N.N. Driedger). Next to Nicolai is Peter Cornies (he was killed by anarchists in Ukraine in 1919). Next to Peter is Johann J. Cornies (No. 126) with his wife, Justina, sitting in front of him. At the far right is Jacob Driedger and his wife Marianne Driedger sitting in front of him.

Johann Cornies died in 1915 but the rest of above family eventually emigrated to Canada except for Jacob and Maria Heidebrecht who decided to remain in Ukraine or Russia and Peter Cornies who was killed.

Cornies / Driedger Family 1912

2011-09-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Johann Cornies of Germany found the following photograph posted at Ancestry.com. If anyone has a membership at that site, they will likely be able to retrieve a larger image with better resolution than the one posted here. If possible, please forward that image to the email address shown on the sidebar.

I believe this image is that of Johann Cornies (No. 44 from Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313), his children and his step-children from his second wife. It is of particular interest to myself since this particular Johann Cornies is my great grandfather.

Artifacts

2011-05-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

Photographs of artifacts from the Cornies family archives have been provided by Tamara Kranz. Her great grandmother was Anna Cornies (No. 58 in Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313.pdf) who married Cornelius Toews (son of Johann Toews and Elizabeth Wieler).

The first artifact is a kettle. Of this kettle, Tamara's grandmother wrote:

"Diesen Kessel bekam ich von meiner Mutter Anna Cornies und Herrn Peter Cornies geschenkt bevor sie vor dem Kommunismus verschickt wurden im Jahre 1927. In Ohrloff Molochnaya Kasachstan geschmiedet von Herrn Düeck (Kopperdüeck - Kupferdüeck)"

Photographs of this kettle are shown below:

The family also has a Bible that was brought to South America from Russia when Anna Cornies immigrated to Paraguay. Photographs of this Bible are shown below:

The family would like to dispose of these artifacts. If someone is interested in these artifacts, please contact the writer at wcornies at (@) live.ca who will provide the email address to contact the owner of these artifacts through private email.

(Please note that the intent of this blog is not to solicit the purchase or sale of goods and services)

Heinrich Cornies 1931 - 1953

2011-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, Wilhelm Cornies was the subject as an individual who chose to serve his country in the armed forces. That choice was a diversion from his Anabaptist roots and the belief in non-violence.

Heinrich (Henry) Cornies (son of No. 152 in Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313.pdf) also chose to serve his country of the United States of America during the Korean War. He enlisted in the US Army on November 25, 1952 and was a member of the 663rd Engineer Combat Company, 1169 Engineer Combat Group. He married Doris Mae Eddy April 5 1953 in Wrightsville, PA (He was 21 and she was 18 at the time of their marriage). He died on July 24, 1953 in Korea. The military report read as follows:

"At approximately 1615 hours on 24 July 1953 Pvt Cornies, during the course of his normal duties, was walking South through the company Motor Pool. As he walked past the rear of a 5 Ton Cargo Truck the driver started to back the truck toward Cornies. A witness, standing approximately 100 feet from the scene of the accident, shouted to both the truck driver and the victim. Before either one could take preventive action the left rear corner of the truck struck Pvt Cornies' left side. The impact knocked him under the right rear wheel of the truck. Two company officers were immediately summoned to the scene of the accident, and could feel no pulse. At approximately 1625 hours the 1169th Engineer Group (Combat) surgeon arrived at the scene of the accident and pronounced Pvt Cornies dead. At approximately 1635 hours the victim was taken by company vehicle to the 49th SH (MA); he was officially pronounced dead on arrival. The probable cause of death was a fractured skull."

Heinrich was buried Oct 11 1953 in the Fairview Cemetery in Wrightsville, PA. He was awarded the following medals: Korean Service Medal, United Nations Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.

Thanks to D. Campbell for providing the detailed information above.

New Document

2011-03-13T12:18:00.000-07:00

A new version of the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf has been placed in the Documents Folder. Johann Cornies of Germany has made revisions and additional information has been provided in the new document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies version 20110313.pdf. References to numbers in the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf from previous posts on this blog may not translate correctly if using this new document.

Thank-you Johann for your efforts in continuing to keep this master document as current as possible. Wir danken Ihnen sehr für Ihre Hilfe.

Descendants of Heinrich Cornies (b. 1806)

2011-03-11T16:48:00.000-08:00

More pictures have been provided from the family archives of Joyce Cornies (no. 205* and no. 335* from the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf).

The father of Joyce was Peter Cornies (no. 75) who married Katharina Fast. Peter Cornies was the son of Aganetha Cornies (no. 21) and Johann Cornies (no. 55). It may be interesting to note that Aganetha married her cousin’s son Johann. Aganetha’s brother was Heinrich Cornies (no. 17). Photographs of this Heinrich Cornies can be found in the previous post. Joyce’s family archives included another photograph believed to be of this same Heinrich Cornies. The photograph is marked as Heinrich Cornies, Nov 21, 1830 – 1908. The front and back of this photograph are shown as it represents an identification card. The Cyrillic writing on the back reads “Italian Photography and Drawings Paolo Baker Nevsky Prospekt, house # 14 In St. Petersburg”.

Two additional photographs were provided. The people in these photographs can’t be identified. Perhaps there are other readers who may be able to identify these people. If so, please feel free to leave a comment.

It appears Peter Cornies (no. 75) and his cousin Heinrich Heinrich Cornies (son of no. 56) both married sisters being Katharina Fast and Justina Fast respectively. Furthermore, I've been informed that Heinrich's brother Johann (son of no. 56) also married a sister being Maria Fast. A photo of Heinrich Heinrich Cornies, his wife Justina and their daughter Maria are believed to be in the following photograph.

* Joyce Cornies is duplicated in the document since her paternal grandparents are both from the Cornies lineage.

Heinrich Cornies and Alexander Cornies (father and son)

2011-02-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

Several photographs have been provided by Pamela Stephenson of Kansas, USA. Her late Uncle Elman Cornies left these photographs as part of his possessions.

The first photograph is that of Alexander Cornies in his Red Cross uniform (father of Elman). Many Mennonite men in Russia served as medics in the Russian army during the First World War. Alexander can be found in the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf as the son of Heinrich Cornies listed as no. 17 .

The next photograph was marked “Cornies great grandfather”. This could be a photograph of Heinrich Johann Cornies (no. 6) although that can’t be confirmed. Photographic technology likely reached Russia in the mid 1850’s so this is a possibility. This image could also be a photograph of Heinrich Heinrich Cornies (no.17).

The next photograph was marked “Cornies great grandmother”. Similarly, this is possibly the wife (nee Nickel) of Heinrich Cornies (no. 17).

The next photograph is marked Henry H. Cornies and is likely an image of Heinrich Cornies (no. 17). Is this person the same individual as the person in the photograph above?

Perhaps others have similar photographs in their family archives that can confirm the identity of these people? Please fee free to leave a comment.

Many thanks to Pamela Stephenson for providing these photographs.

David Cornies and Pauline Schäfer

2011-02-07T15:59:00.000-08:00

The photo below shows David and Pauline Cornies on their wedding day. David is the son of David Cornies (1856) and can be located in the document Nachkommen von David Cornies 1856.pdf (see the blog post immediately below). This photograph was provided by Johann Cornies of Germany.

Nachkommen von David Cornies 1856.pdf

2010-10-21T15:46:00.000-07:00

Another file has been added to the Genealogy Documents Folder. This file was provided by Johann Cornies of Germany and details the lineage of David Cornies (b. 1856) and Anna Dyck. This particular David Cornies is not listed in the master document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf.

At this time, it is assumed that this particular David Cornies was a son of David Cornies (b. 1794) and his second wife, Susanna Berg. We are seeking others who may have information that could confirm this assumption. Perhaps someone knows an individual who has records relating to the Berg lineage that could reference a child from this marriage.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you can provide helpful information.

Philip D. Cornies (1884 - 1962)

2010-10-14T15:09:00.000-07:00

According to the information in the file Cornies lineage by JC Toews. pdf and from information provided by Johann Cornies of Germany, Philip D. Cornies was the son of David Cornies and Anna Dueck. This particular David Cornies was a son of David Cornies (1794 - 1853) and his second wife, Susanna Berg. This is somewhat speculative as the documentation does not clearly present the name of his mother. Children from this second marriage are not listed in the file Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf.

Philip Cornies was a teacher in Rosenort, Molotschna from 1911 - 1922 and was one of the main Directors of the VMSR (Verband der Mennoniten Süd-Russlands or Union of Mennonites of South Russia). You can read more about this organization and Philip's role in the book "Lost Fatherland" by John B. Toews. It is available online as a Google book.

Philip was a brother to Anna Cornies who emigrated to Paraguay and is the subject of the post here.

The following photograph of Philip can be found in the book "Lost Fatherland" by John B. Toews.

Philip died in Doksehetow, Kazakstan. Please feel free to leave a comment if you have additional information particularly, concerning the name of Philip's paternal grandmother.

David D. Cornies (1900 - 1979)

2010-10-13T16:21:00.000-07:00

The following photograph was provided by Johann Cornies of Germany. This is a photograph of David D. Cornies who lived in Switzerland and is assumed to be the son of David Cornies (b. 1880). This particular David Cornies is not listed in the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf. JC Toews identifies David Cornies (b. 1880) as having studied and married in Switzerland (see page 20 in the document Cornies lineage by JC Toews.pdf). David D. Cornies (1900 - 1979) is assumed to be the son. Please feel free to add a comment if you can provide additional information.

The Move from Ohrloff

2010-05-21T06:52:00.000-07:00

One can trace the movement of the original Cornies family from Danzig, to the Chortitza colony in Ukraine and then to the Molotschna colony where the family eventually settled in the village of Ohrloff. Subsequent generations can be traced to the the village of Ohrloff as their place of birth as well as Juschanlee and Taschenak. However, the larger Cornies family eventually dispersed from Ohrloff settling in other communities.

The family of Johann Cornies (1852-1906 and no. 45 in Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf) moved north to the new village of Schoenfeld where he served as Mayor of that settlement. The villages of this settlement were mostly destroyed during the Russian Revolution and his children moved back to Molotschna prior to emigrating to Canada.

Can anyone else trace their roots to a town or village in Ukraine outside of Ohrloff, Juschanlee or Taschenak? Please share your story.

Juschanlee and Taschenak

2010-05-01T13:07:00.000-07:00

These were two large farms or estates established by Johann Cornies (1789-1848), Thanks to Google Earth, we can see an aerial view of the location of these two estates. Juschanlee is presently called Kirove in Ukraine and in the image, one can see the Juschanlee river running through Kirove. Farther north, the Molotschna river winds through Orlove which was the village of Ohrloff.

Taschenak was located just south-west of Melitopol. The image shows that the name has not changed.

The Danzig Home

2010-04-24T15:47:00.000-07:00

The following picture shows the Cornies residence in Danzig (Gdansk), Poland prior to the family emigration to Ukraine.

(Image above provided by Johann Cornies of Germany)

Photographs - Family of Johann Cornies (1789-1848)

2010-04-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

Although there is no photograph of Johann Cornies (1789-1848) since he lived before photographic technology was developed, the following image has been used to represent his likeness. The source of the image is understood to be a charcoal drawing by a Tobias Voth in 1827. The same image has been used in David Epp's book "Johann Cornies".

His grandson, Johann Cornies (1843-1912) is shown below (No. 22 in the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf) and he lived on the Taschenak Estate.

The above man's son, also named Johann Cornies was born on the same estate and lived from 1868-1936. (No. 76 in the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf)

Johann Cornies (1868-1936) above, also had a son named Johann (or Hans) Cornies who lived from 1898-1919 also on the Taschenak estate. During the revolution, this young man was brutally murdered by bandits or anarchists as he represented one of the wealthy landowners in revolutionary Russia and a perceived source of oppression by the proletariat. He was the last male descendant of Johann Cornies (1789-1848).

(All images above provided by Johann Cornies of Germany)

Group Photograph from Orloff

2010-04-02T07:57:00.000-07:00

This photograph was taken in front of a school in Orloff in the Molotschna colony. As you can see from the names, there is a Peter Cornies and a Jakob Cornies (Kornies). The date of the photograph is unknown. Does anyone know these two individuals?

(Photograph originally published in the November 13, 1957 edition of Der Bote.)

David Cornies (1884 - 1938)

2010-03-13T09:25:00.000-08:00

During the First World War, young Mennonite men in Ukraine were required to serve their country. In keeping with their non-violent beliefs, many of these men chose to do alternate service in forestry or to serve in the Red Cross. Here is a picture of David Cornies in his Red Cross uniform. In the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf, David Cornies is number 133.

Heinrich Cornies b. 1908 - 1979

2010-03-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

Heinrich's wife Mary recently passed away as one can see from her obituary below. Although such public announcements are difficult for the immediate family members, these announcements are valuable for those who are researching their genealogical roots. Referring back to the document Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf, one can see that Heinrich and Mary are listed as Number 185 in that document.

Johann David Cornies b. 1891

2010-02-27T07:18:00.000-08:00

Johann David Cornies b. 1891 was the son of David Heinrich Cornies b. 1857 and the great-grandson of David Johann Cornies (1794-1853). Many members of the extended Cornies family emigrated to North America at the time of the Russian Revolution but Johann David Cornies stayed in Russia and his descendants eventually emigrated to Germany. A photograph of Johann David Cornies b. 1891 follows:

Thankfully submitted by Johann Cornies, grandson of Johann David Cornies b. 1891, in Germany.

Nachkommen von Martin Cornies.pdf

2010-02-19T16:31:00.000-08:00

This is a new document that has been added to the Documents Folder. This file was forwarded from Germany by Johann Cornies. Anyone who is interested can download this document and study it. This document appears to be quite accurate, fairly complete and very current. One can likely find the current generation of the Cornies extended family on this document. In fact, if anyone is interested, I am listed as a son of William Cornies (no. 280). The only question that remains is, who prepared this document? Perhaps Johann Cornies (no. 542) can provide us with an answer.

Vielen Dank Johann Cornies!!

Johann Martin Cornies (1741-1814)

2010-02-12T16:57:00.000-08:00

Johann Cornies moved from the Danzig area with his family to Ukraine and eventually settled in the village of Ohrloff (or Orloff) in the Molotschna colony. The 1835 Molotschna census shows Johann Martin Cornies (b. 1741) in Orloff along with his four sons. Since his year of death is recorded as 1814, the reason for including him in the 1835 census is unknown.

One can see from the genealogical records of that time, the tradition was to use the father's given name as the son's middle name. Given this tradition, one might assume that Johann Martin Cornies father's name would have been Martin Cornies.

Early population lists of the Dutch West Indies shows a Martin Cornies as a resident of St. Maarten in 1715. Since Johann Martin Cornies sailed from Danzig to ports in different parts of the world, is it possible that there is a link between this Johann Martin Cornies in Danzig and the Martin Cornies in St. Maarten?

Juschanlee

2010-02-07T13:21:00.000-08:00

Juschanlee was one of the large estates and agricultural research facilities founded by Johann Cornies (1789-1848). Some photos of this estate can be found at Michael Penner's site here. The map below shows the layout of the Juschanlee estate.

(Map image courtesy of Mennonite Heritage Centre in Winnipeg and William Schroeder's map collection.)

Origins of the Cornies Surname

2010-01-29T16:05:00.000-08:00

In a previous post, I suggested that the Cornies surname was a derivation of the eastern European name Kornis. The following articles suggest that the name really originated in the area of Friesland in present day Holland or Netherlands.

Johann Cornies (1789-1848) - Part II

2010-01-22T15:41:00.000-08:00

This photograph was taken in Ohrloff and shows part of the business premises or estate once belonging to Johann Cornies.

Johann Cornies (1789-1848) - Part I

2010-01-15T16:15:00.000-08:00

Much has been written about this one individual and his contributions to the Mennonite settlements in the Ukraine. His contributions ranged from improving agricultural practices to introduction of silkworm farming to reformation of the educational system. More can be read about his life story here.
His great, great-grandson Johann Cornies (1898-1919) was killed by bandits during the Russian Revolution. This was the last male descendant of Johann Cornies (1789-1848) so his remaining descendants to this day do not carry the Cornies surname.
In 2004, bicentennial celebrations were held in Molotschna and the contributions of this Johann Cornies were recognized. The following newspaper article describes some of the planned celebrations at that time:

Plans were also made to unveil a monument in memory of Johann Cornies. The monument was planned to look like this:

Perhaps a reader of this post has been on one of the Mennonite Heritage Cruises to the old Molotschna settlement of Ukraine or knows of someone who has visited these sites and has taken photographs. It would be greatly appreciated if photographs of these sites were forwarded to wcornies@live.ca

Modern Ukraine

2010-01-08T15:32:00.000-08:00

It appears that most of the second and third generation children after the original four Cornies brothers (Johann 1789-1848, Peter 1791-1847, David 1794-1853, Heinrich 1806-??) were born in the village of Ohrloff in the Molotschna colony. This is where the Cornies family settled after arriving from the Chortitza colony.

Today, many of the Germanic names of those villages in Molotschna have been changed to Russian/Ukrainian names. The map below shows that the village of Halbstadt is now called Molochansk, the village of Ohrloff is now called Orlove and Yuschanlee is called Kirove. The map still shows the river running through the area as the Molochna.

Heinrich Cornies (dates unknown), grandson of Heinrich Cornies (1806 - ??)

2010-01-04T15:05:00.000-08:00

Heinrich Cornies married Sara Nickel in Melitopol, Ukraine. They emigrated to Canada at some point between 1924 and 1926 and lived in British Columbia. This couple had five children being Agatha, Heinrich, Georg, Wilhelm and Alexander. Their son Wilhelm also had a son Wilhelm who is the subject of the post here. Their son Alexander had a son Elman (1929-1986) who lived in Newton, Kansas.

Thanks to information provided by N. Nickel and P. Stephenson.

Heinrich Cornies (1870-1944) Collected Photographs

2010-01-02T16:30:00.000-08:00

Heinrich Cornies, grandson of David Cornies (1794-1853), arrived in Canada with memories of Molotschna in the form of photographs. There are six photographs of men shown below. The photograph in the bottom right corner was marked "Cousin D Cornies" on the back. We are trying to identify these individuals. Perhaps there are others who have old photographs passed down from previous generations who can identify these men.

Other photographs in Heinrich's possession were those shown below. Again, any assistance in identifying these people would be greatly appreciated.

Thankfully submitted by Rose Sirman, granddaughter of Heinrich Cornies.

Russian Revolution and Exodus from Ukraine

2010-01-02T14:07:00.000-08:00

The Russian Revolution of 1917 marked the beginning of the end of the Cornies' family roots in the Mennonite settlements of the Ukraine. Since their arrival in Ukraine in 1804, the Cornies family had become wealthy and prosperous as part of the Mennonite communal estates and were regarded as "Kulaks" (wealthy landowners) by the surrounding Ukrainian peasants. The anarchy that followed forced the dispersion of the Cornies family from their Ukrainian land to Canada, United States, Paraguay, Germany and Russia.
One anarchist of that time who operated in the area of Schoenfeld and Molotschna was Nestor Makhno. This name was well known to those who survived the Revolution and emigrated to other countries. A short clip of the infamous Nestor Makhno can be seen here:

Johann Cornies (1852-1915) - grandson of Peter Cornies (1791-1847)

2009-12-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

Johann Cornies (1852-1915) was born in Ohrloff but eventually moved north to the Schoenfeld colony where he served as Mayor for twelve years. The picture below shows him with with first wife, Margaretha Klassen.

The picture behind the Cornies genealogy title above shows a portion of the roof of his home in Schoenfeld. It reads "1907 Ivan Petrovich Cornies" or "1907 Johann Peter Cornies". Two of his sons (shown below) emigrated to Canada with their families originally settling in Manitoba. Subsequently, son Johann moved his family to British Columbia while son David moved his family to Southern Ontario.

Wilhelm Cornies - great great grandson of Heinrich Cornies (1806 - ??)

2009-12-25T17:20:00.000-08:00

Even though many of the Cornies clan adhered to their Anabaptist Mennonite roots and chose to express their belief in non-violence through the status of a conscientious-objector during the Second World War, Wilhelm decided he would serve his country and enlist in the Canadian armed forces. You can read more about his story here.

Thanks to Larry Cornies for his research and the written story.

Heinrich Cornies - grandson of David Cornies (1794-1853)

2009-12-16T15:42:00.000-08:00

Heinrich Cornies (1870 - 1944)was born in Ohrloff in the Molotschna colony and married Gertrude Epp. Interestingly, he was a first cousin to Anna Cornies . Part of his handwritten notes pertaining to the Cornies family tree is shown as follows:

His complete notes can be found in the Genealogy Documents Folder. The detail provided can be confirmed in the document Cornies lineage by JC Toews.pdf also located in the Genealogy Documents Folder.

Thankfully submitted by Rose Sirman, granddaughter of Heinrich Cornies.

Anna Cornies - granddaughter of David Cornies (1794-1853)

2009-12-11T18:34:00.000-08:00

Anna Cornies married Kornelius Toews and the couple emigrated to Paraguay. Anna was the granddaughter of David Cornies (1794-1853) (see Cornies lineage by JC Toews.pdf and page 20). Elvira Toews, their daughter, wrote the following:

Übersetzung aus der Gotischen Schrift in die Lateinische Schrift von Elvira Toews de Plilpenko am 03.03.2005.
Liebe Soledad Tamara Kranz
David Cornies: Im Jahre 1805 kam David, mein Grossvater, darunter auch Johan Cornies, sein Bruder, mit seinen Eltern und Geschwistern, aus Preussen nach Russland. In der Kolonie Ohrloff, die eben in dem Jahre angelegt wurde, gründeten seine Eltern einige Jahre später eine Heimstätte. David Kornies war Vorsitzender des “Landwirtschaftlichen Vereins”.
Anna Töws geborene Cornies. Deutschland, Marburg (Lahn) Juli 1946.

Der Sohn von David Cornies (auf diesem Bild) hies auch David Cornies. Er hatte eine Schwester, Frau Dück, Grossgrundbesitzerin, und wohnte auf der Halbinsel Krim (spatter Altenau-Molotschna).
David Cornies hatte in Spat (Krim) eine sehr bekannte Weintraubenpflanzung. Da in Spat ist deine Urgrussmutter Anna Cornies geboren und aufgewachsen.
David Cornies (Spat) war ein grosser Weintraubenkenner und Liebhaber. Im Sommer (zum Urlaub) kammen viele Gäste auf Moskau und Petersburg in die Krim (Yalta und Efpatorien). Die Adligen besuchten dann auch diese bekannten Weintraubengärten.
Deine Uhrgrussmutter Anna Cornies, ihre Geschwister waren: David, Philip, Johann, Gertrude Warkentin und Heinrich Cornies, der als kleines Kind starb.
David Cornies (der Bruder von deiner Uhrgrossmutter hatte zwei Kinder: David und Olga (verheiratet mit einer Tochter vom Prädiger Tjart). David (Davidka), Wegbauingenieur wurde vom Dneprostroj in die Verbannung geschickt. Kinder?

Der Bruder von deiner Uhrgrussmutter hat auch in der Schweiz studiert, wo er seine Frau Pauline kennenlernte. Er war Bergauingenieur.

Johann Cornies war verheiratet mit Manja Janzen. Ihre Kinder waren: Johann, Philip und Alexander. Philip (Filipuschka) ist in den Wirren ddes 2te. Weltkriegs verschollen.

Gertrude Warkentin (Grossgrundbesitzerin) hatte 2 Kinder: Johann und Mica.

Philip Cornies hatte Adoputivkinder: Heinrich Cornies und Justa Epp (in Canada). Seine Frau hiess Lisette.
Der Adoptivsohn Heinz (Heinrich) war sehr musikalisch, war in Canada Dirigent von einem grossen menonitischen Männerchor und dessen Tochter – eine bekannte Sängerin.
Anna – deine Uhrgrossmutter hatte drei Kinder: Johann (Ivan-Wanja), Elvira und Maria Teresia.

In Liebe Deine Grosstante

Elvira Toews de Pilipenko

Buenos Aires, Argentinien
03.03.2005

Inna Toews, granddaughter of Anna Toews Cornies, wrote the following:

"im jahre 1956, drei Jahre nach dem Tod von meinem Grossvater, Cornelius Toews, erzählte mir meine Grossmutter, Ana Toews, volgendes:
Während der Revolutionszeit in Russland, besassen meine Grosseltern ein Buch im roten Samt gebunden und mit 2 Metalspangen und 2 Schlösser. Das was eine Chronik der Familie Cornies. Aus Angst vor Verfolgung und Verbannung hat mein Grossvater in einer Nacht im Jahre 1928 bis 1929 (muss im Neujahr gewesen sein) in Ohrloff dieses Buch vergraben. Es wurde auf dem Grundstück der Kanzlei am Ende vergraben. Rechts von der Kanzlei war das Haus von Peter Cornies. Meine Grosseltern hatten dieses Geheimnis nicht einmal ihren 3 Kindern anvertraut (Wanja, Elvira und Maria Theresa). Erst als wir kurz davor waren Paraguay zu verlassen um nach Argentinien zu gehen (1957) hat meine Grossmutter dieses Geheimnis, über viele Jahre von ihr geheimgehalten, ihrer Enkelin Inna Toews weitergegeben"

Thankfully submitted by Soledad Tamara Kranz, great granddaughter of Anna Toews Cornies

Family Patriarch

2009-12-09T14:23:00.000-08:00

It appears that everyone who currently carries the Cornies surname or has roots to the Cornies family can trace their ancestry back to the family patriarch and one of his four sons.

Cornies family

2009-12-09T13:54:00.001-08:00

In 1804, Johann Cornies (1741-1814) moved with his wife (Maria Klassen) and his four sons from the Danzig area of West Prussia to present day Ukraine. Prior to his emigration from Danzig, Johann was a sailor in the merchant marine and sailed as far away as Africa and India. In 1755, he was in Lisbon at the time the tsunami devastated the city. Over the years, he learned about medicinal herbs and plants and took the medical books he acquired over the years with him to Ukraine. The family eventually settled in the Mennonite Molotschna colony where Johann became referred to as "Ljekar" or doctor.
His son Johann Cornies (1789-1848) was ambitious as a farmer, entrpreneur and philanthropist. He established two large estates known as Juschanlee and Taschenak. Much has been written about the accomplishments of this individual.

The Cornies surname is unusual as it doesn't appear to exist prior to Johann Cornies (1741-1814). It appears that everyone who has Cornies lineage could trace their roots back to this one individual. There has been a lot of speculation about the origins of the surname Cornies. The original name was probably lost in translation between the latin alphabet and the cyrillic alphabet. Some believe it is a derivation of the English or Welsh Cornish but it's likely a derivation of the eastern European Kornis. Census documents from the Molotschna colony often showed the spelling of the name as Kornies.