This West Prussian Mennonite family name appeared in both the rural Flemish congregations and in the Frisian congregations of the Vistula delta as well. Evidently in the 19th century, it was sometimes contracted from the family name "van Riesen." It was first mentioned in 1547 at Reichenberg. Fifty-nine families of this name were counted in 1776. Abraham Friesen, a brother of Peter von Riesen, was an elder of the Kleine Gemeinde; Abraham Friesen was a missionary to India; Johann Friesen was an elder of the Kleine Gemeinde; Peter M. Friesen was an outstanding Mennonite historian.

Friesen families came to North America in the migration from Russia in the 1870s and also after World Wars I and II. Most Friesen families settled in Manitoba, where they have been large in number.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 403. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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