Fred Engen played an important role in 1919-29 in the original settlement of the Manitoba Old Colony Mennonites in Paraguay. Having been a millionaire, but having lost his fortune, he entered the service of Gen. Samuel McRoberts of New York (Corporacion Paraguaya) in connection with the latter’s land interests in South America, about the same time that the Manitoba Mennonites made contacts with McRoberts. It was he who called McRoberts’ attention to the Chaco, making explorations there in 1919, and thus he is probably chiefly responsible for the selection of this area for Mennonite settlement. He worked for the Corporacion Paraguaya, mostly in the Chaco, until his death in 1929. In his memory the Chaco station at Km. 145 on the Casado railway was named Fred Engen.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, p. 215. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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