Welcome to a new blog series, “19 Kirsch Children.” I have been researching those of Martha’s siblings that immigrated to Canada for NaNoWriMo (20,734 words!) and I hope to find the more elusive records that hopefully reveal the life trajectories of those who remained in Volhynia or migrated elsewhere. I am also hoping to one day breathe more life into these profiles with details beyond the dates and facts. If you have and are willing to contribute more information or corrections, you can leave a comment here or email me at sarika.l.kelm@gmail.com.

19 Kirsch Children: Daniel Kirsch

Daniel Kirsch was born August 22, 1874, in Konstanynow, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia. The youngest of his siblings to immigrate to Canada, Daniel was seventeen years old when he sailed away from Europe aboard the SS Numidian in 1892. He was also the second Kirsch sibling to leave Volhynia, his sister Julia Kirsch having emigrated in 1891. The ship, which carried 866 passengers, left Liverpool on April 28 and, after a stop in Londonberry, Ireland, sailed to the Port of Quebec, arriving on May 9.^[1] The trip took eleven days. Although the ship manifest did not include Daniel’s destination, he probably stayed with his sister, Julia, and her husband, August Rempel, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, before setting out to find work. He was said to have lived with the Rempel family at 808 Bannatyne Street, but he would have already been living in Saskatchewan at this time.

_{“[Daniel Kirsch birth record, 1874]” from VKP Databases, accessed through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe}

Daniel married Wanda Schindler (also Vanda Schendler) in around 1903. Wanda came from a Baptist family who also emigrated from Ludwischin-Scheppel, Volhynia, in 1890 and 1891.^[2] Daniel’s family had moved from Konstantynow to nearby Ludwischin-Scheppel when he was around two years old. Although Wanda was eight years younger than Daniel, it is possible they knew one another in Russia. Their families likely knew one another.

Daniel applied for a homestead on July 28, 1903, and he and Wanda moved to the Rural Municipality of Good Lake, twelve kilometers from Ebenezer, Saskatchewan. Ebenezer, originally called Anoka, was a predominantly German Baptist community settled by Volga and Volhynian Baptists in 1887.^[3] Daniel and Wanda had eight children, all “born on the family farm near Ebenezer”:^[4] Daniel, Albert, Edwin, Violet, Elsie Vina, Laura May, Roman Walter, and Alvin Herman. Their daughter, Violet, died two weeks before her first birthday, on August 29, 1913.

The 1921 Census of Canada records the Kirsch family as living in a five-room home on the farm–a farm that now belonged to them after several years of hard work.^[5] In around 1935, the Kirsch family moved to a farm near Leduc, Alberta, which is near Edmonton, Alberta.[6]

Daniel died in Camrose, Alberta, on May 21, 1961. Wanda died later that year, on December 28, in Edmonton. Most of their children remained in the Edmonton area.

Children of Daniel Kirsch and Wanda Schindler

Daniel Kirsch (b. 22 Aug 1874 in Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia, Russia; d. 21 May 1961 in Camrose, Alberta, Canada) m. Wanda Schindler (b. 11 Nov 1882 in Volhynia, Russia; d. 28 Dec 1961 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)

1. Daniel Kirsch (b. 25 May 1905 in Ebenezer, Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 30 Jul 1980 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) m. Martha Arndt (b. 09 Oct 1904 in Volhynia, Russia; d. 22 Dec 1990 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
2. Albert Kirsch (b. 23 Mar 1907 in Ebenezer, Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 1994 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) m. Florence Elsie Heffner (b. 08 Jul 1911 in Bruderheim, Alberta, Canada; d. 12 Jul 1997 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
3. Edwin Kirsch (b. 21 Mar 1910 in Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 25 Oct 1984 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) m. Elsie Brown (b. 23 Feb 1909 in Leduc, Alberta, Canada; d. 01 Oct 1959 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
4. Violet Kirsch (b. 13 Sep 1912 in Ebenezer, Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 29 Aug 1913 in Saskatchewan, Canada)
5. Elsie Vina Kirsch (b. 12 Feb 1915 in Ebenezer, Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 11 Sep 1986 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) m. Joseph George Hutch (b. 07 Mar 1907 in Gimli, Manitoba, Canada; d. 17 Jul 1967 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
6. Laura May Kirsch (b. 01 Feb 1919 in Ebenezer, Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 30 Oct 2006 in Alberta, Canada) m. Melvin John Jeffries (d. 1975 in Cobourg, Ontario, Canada)
7. Roman Walter Kirsch (b. 25 Jul 1922 in Ebenezer, Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 23 Dec 2005 in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada) m. Rose Anna McNaught (b. 08 Jun 1914 in Shelby, Montana, USA; d. 12 Feb 1992 in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada) m. Muriel Brown (b. 17 Nov 1918 in Amule, Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 03 Aug 2007 in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada)
8. Alvin Herman Kirsch (b. 1925 in Saskatchewan, Canada; d. 19 Aug 1989 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada) m. Dorothy Walters (b. 28 Dec 1919; d. 2006)

_{Note: The birth information for Violet, Elsie, and Laura Kirsch is from eHealth Saskatchewan Vital Statistics Genealogical Search. The place of birth is “6 28 4 2,” which corresponds with the location of the Kirsch homestead near Ebenezer.}

---

[1] “Danie [sic] Kirsch” from Canadian Passenger Lists, 1865-1935, accessed 16 Nov 2020 through Ancestry

[2] “Wanda Schindler” from Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934, accessed 16 Nov 2020 through Ancestry

[3] “Ebenezer, Saskatchewan,” University of North Florida, undated, accessed 16 Nov 2020, http://volga.domains.unf.edu/immigration/ca/sk/ebenezer-saskatchewan

[4] “[Obituary of Roman Walter Kirsch]” from The Red Deer Advocate, 28 Dec 2005 [published], accessed 20 Nov 2020 through Newspapers.com

[5] 1921 Census of Canada Ancestry, accessed 16 Nov 2020 through Ancestry

[6] “[Obituary of Roman Walter Kirsch]” from The Red Deer Advocate, 28 Dec 2005 [published], accessed 20 Nov 2020 through Newspapers.com