Heinrich Peters: an elder of the Schönsee congregation in the Molotschna Mennonite settlement of South Russia; born in 1855 at Gnadenheim, Mo­lotschna, the sixth of the twelve children of Bernhard Peters (1816-1912), elder of the Margenau-Schönsee con­gregation and his wife Agatha (Wiens) Peters (1824-1910). In 1879 Pe­ters married Maria Sawatzky; their family consisted of ten children. In 1885 Heinrich Peters was elected minister; in 1903, when the Schönsee congregation became independent, he was ordained its first elder. A great earnestness and devotion to his task charac­terized his personality and his work. He died in February 1921 during the typhoid epidemic.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 153. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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