Toews, Abraham W. (1869-1915)

Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 1938 Apr 6 p. 6

Birth date: 1869 Dec 27

text of obituary:

Abraham W. Toews

A Memorial Biography

(Below is a short life story of a Mennonite pioneer and father in whose memory his son, Mr. C. M. Toews of Inman, Kansas, a former student of Bethel, has made a memorial contribution to Bethel college. it is the second of a series of such biographies prepared by the college and to be published in the Review.)

It was into an agricultural area of grass covered, sloping sand hills and powdery, fertile loam — that ages ago may have been an ocean bed — to which Aaron Toews came from South Russia in 1874 with his wife and family of three sons and two daughters.

Near the present site of Inman, Kansas, the Toews family settled. Here young Abe, born in South Russia on December 27, 1869, and the oldest of the children, spent his youth. the pioneer years had few school days for the lad and Abe Toews spent altogether only twenty-four months in a humble country grade school.

When twelve years of age his father passed away and since Abraham was the oldest in the family, the burden of providing for the family fell upon the young shoulders of the young boy and his widowed mother.

Education in the country schoolhouse was now at an end. But as the years went on he quietly made up for his lack of schooling by study and reading at home.

The little town of Inman, Kansas, was growing up a few miles east of the Toews' homestead. Telephones were introduced as a means of communication for the German neighbors, and Mr. Toews, farmer, stockman, and business man, is today remembered as having been instrumental in building the first local telephone system at Inman. he also helped organize the first Farmers gain company at this town and was the concern's president when he died on march 12, 1915.

He married Maria Friesen, who also was born in South Russia. Devoting her life to the Christian raising of her family and for seventeen years taking place of both father and mother of her children, Mrs. Toews passed away in January 1932.

Whereas Mr. Toews in his youth had been able to get but a scanty formal education, he was interested in schools and served regularly on school boards. For many years and at the time of his death this early Mennonite pioneer was Sunday school superintendent of the Krimmer Mennonite Brethren church located near Inman, Kansas.