By Alan Warkentin
Information is requested from anyone who may be acquainted with or has ties to the former residents of the village of Kronsfeld in southern Manitoba.
The legal land description of Kronsfeld is NW 7-1-4 W. It is presently the farm home of John and Anne Peters, and is located near the village of Haskett which is near the US border south of Winkler.
The book 1880 Village Census of the West Reserve lists the following 13 homeowners of Kronsfeld: Peter Martens, Johann Martens, Johann Warkentin, Jacob Warkentin, Peter Warkentin, Jacob Wolf, Heinrich Goertzen, Jacob Peters, Peter Giesbrecht, Jacob Braun, Helena (Peter) Krahn, Wilhelm Siemens, and Bernhard Krahn.
Kronsfeld probably had thirty good years where it maintained its size, or probably even grew, but by 1920 there were only two or three households left, many residents having gone with the Mexican migration or having settled on their own homesteads.
In the course of time, deaths and burials also occurred at Kronsfeld, and records show the burials noted elsewhere on this site as having occurred there.
It is quite likely more burials occurred there from residents of the surrounding area. The nearby village of Haskett did not have a cemetery until 1933. The cemetery at Kronsfeld is unmarked at present, and there is interest in marking it in respect of the people buried there. These were real people with hopes and dreams just as all of us have.
If anyone has information on the village of Kronsfeld, and its former residents, we would appreciate hearing from you. The intent is to collect information and set up a plaque in the near future. Contact as soon as possible would be appreciated. At present there is nothing marking the site of the cemetery, but in respect of the people who are buried there, it would be good to have the site marked in some way. Thank you.
Contact: Alan Warkentin 204-325-8453, RR2 Box 284, Morden MB R6M 2A1; Art Warkentine 204-325-7260, 104 Poplar Bay, Winkler MB R6W 1Z8; or Ernest Unrau 204-822-9655, 261 Tulip Street, Morden MB R6M 1H9.