Heinrich Cornies and Alexander Cornies (father and son)

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

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

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)

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)

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

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

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.