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David Wiens Friesen
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Farmer, businessman.
Born at Schoensee in the Mennonite East Reserve on 12 June 1879, stepson of Cornelius and Anna Bergmann, his schooling was limited although for a short time as a youth he had a tutor who spoke English. He began farming in 1901 and, after the death of his first wife Maria Kroeker (1882-1907), he quit farming and purchased a confectionary and general store in Altona. At that same time, he accepted the appointment of postmaster and became an agent for Manitoba Government Telephones.
In 1923, he purchased a retail bookstore from Gerhard G. Neufeld and the business expanded as his three sons joined it, becoming a distribution centre for textbooks and other school supplies. A print shop and wholesale stationary supply was added in 1930. He sold the business to his sons in 1948.
In addition to his business ventures, Friesen was active in his church. He was elected deacon of the Altona Bergthaler Mennonite Church in 1912 and ordained as such in 1914, serving in this capacity until 1949. He served as treasurer of the Manitoba Mennonite Insurance Organization (later the Red River Valley Mutual Insurance Company) from 1922 to 1949, and was the Canadian treasurer for the Foreign Mission Board and General Conference Mennonite Church from 1939 to 1950. He was also a founding member of the Mennonite Historical Society.
On 15 September 1907, he married widow Sara Klippenstein Striemer (1882-1963) at Altona and they had seven children: Margaretha “Margaret” Friesen (1908-1926), David Klippenstein “DK” Friesen, Johnny Friesen (1912-?), Anne Friesen (1914-2006, wife of ? Loewen), Arnold Theodore Friesen (1916-1917), Theodore Erwin “Ted” Friesen, and Raymond Christian “Ray” Friesen.
He died at Winkler on 19 May 1951.
See also:
Manitoba Business: D. W. Friesen and Sons / Friesens Corporation
1901 [David Friesen] and 1906 [David W. Friesen] Canada censuses, Automated Genealogy.
Marriage registration [Sara Klippenstein, Heinrich Striemer], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [David Friesen, Maria Kroker], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Death registrations [Heinrich Striemer, Maria Friesen, Arnold Theodore Friesen], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Marriage registration [David Friesen, Sarah Striemer], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Birth registrations [Margaretha Friesen, David Friesen, John Friesen, Anna Friesen, Arnold Theodore Friesen, Raymond Christian Friesen], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
1921 Canada census, Ancestry.
1926 Canada census, FamilySearch.
Death registration [David Wiens Friesen], Manitoba Vital Statistics.
Obituaries and burial transcriptions, Manitoba Genealogical Society.
This page was prepared by Holly Thorne and Gordon Goldsborough.
Page revised: 14 September 2023
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