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Hist. Mss. 1-731
Adalbert
Goertz, 1928-
Papers,
1835-1927, 1968-2001
2 Boxes (1 Green, 1 Long Green)
Series and Box Listing
Life Story, 1988
Box 1 (Green)
Genealogical Research, East & West Prussia,
1968-2001
Box 1 (Green)
Reformed Mennonite Church records,
1835-1927 Box 2 (Long Green)
Biographical Sketch
1928 Born December 3, in Langenau, Kreis Rosenberg,
West Prussia, Germany, son of Paul Gerhard Goertz (1887-1945),
Mennonite, and second wife, Margarete (Schukat) Goertz (1900-1996).
1933-1945 Early
years spent in Powarben, Kreis Samland, East Prussia, Germany, on
father's farm (Rittergut)
1943
Baptised at Elbing Mennonite church by Emil Händiges.
1944 Drafted to Heimat-FLAK (FLieger-Abwehr-Kanone:
anti-aircraft unit) at age 15. Witnessed
the total destruction of historic downtown
Königsberg by 2 British air raids in August
1944. Left Powarben estate for the last time on January 25, 1945.
1945 Was
evacuated by boat from Soviet-besieged Königsberg during the night
of February 28, by way of Pregei river for Pillau and Baltic sea, never
tosee East Prussia again. After a few days in March 1945 at
Gdynia-Gothenhafen went on by boat to Swinemünde and by rail and
foot to Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany, where he was at end of WWII
in May of 1945.
1948-1950 Finished high school at Oberschule St.
Peter-Ording, Schleswig-Holstein.
1950-51
MCC-sponsored exchange student at Upland College, Upland, CA
(studied ornithology and entomology at UC, math at Chaffee College,
missionary radio at Pacific Bible College)
1951-1958
Student of physics at Goethe-Frankfurt University.
1958, Aug. 8 Married in Neuwied to Bärbel
Kittler, born April 5, 1933 in Danzig; (Peter J. Dyck of MCC
conducted the wedding ceremony), daughter of Horst (1910-1946) and
Elfriede (Fast, 1910-2001) Kittler of Danzig.
1958-60
Employed as a physicist at Aachen and Eindhoven (Phillips
Research Lab)
1960
Emigrated with wife and children, to Boulder,
Colorado in November, to work at the National Bureau of Standards.
1968
Granted Ph.D. in physics from University of
Colorado in June.
1968-1975 Moved to Waynesboro, PA with family, wife,
Bärbel, and children to teach college physics at Penn State Univ.
1981-1982
Went with wife and son to Kingston, Jamaica and served as a
physics lecturer at the University of the West Indies.
1983-1998
Various teaching appointments, research, writings etc.
Retired from teaching in 1989.
Administrative Information
The
papers on Goertz research into Prussian Mennonites, and his own life
story, was deposited into the archives by Adalbert Goertz, Waynesboro,
Pennsylvania, in 1985-88 (Accessions #4439, 4487 and 5437). The
records on the Reformed Mennonite Church was deposited into the
archives by Goertz, Waynesboro, Pennsylvania, in 1988, via John D.
Roth, Goshen College (Accession #5525).
Inventory Listing
Box 1 (Green)
Life Story
1/1 Life Story (Folder 1). "Dates in My Life,"
[Autobiography, February 1988], by Adalbert Goertz.
1/2 Life
Story (Folder 2). "Chronicle of my Life 1928 - 1954, (Waynesboro,
PA) April 1988, by Adalbert Goertz. Contains maps, photos, diary
information etc.
1/3
Clippings (The Goertz family photo, 1969)
Genealogical
Research, East and West Prussia
1/4 Links to Internet, 2006, where Goertz posts much
of his research. http://www.cyberspace.org/~goertz
and http://www.foxvalley.net/~goertz
1/5 VITA
of Adalbert Goertz (2000), photos, includes Mennonite genealogy of East
and West Prussia prior to 1945 in German language.
1/6
Bibliography of Genealogical Publications by Adalbert Goertz
(September 2001)
1/7
Proposed genealogical pamphlet, 1968
1/8
Genealogical Research on Prussian Mennonites
1/9
"Ostdeutsche Familienkunde"
1/10
Cumberland Valley Mennonite Historical Association. Times and
places of Mennonite Worship Services in the Cumberland Valley, 1979 -
1985
1/11 North
Side Mennonite Church Directory, Hagerstown, MD (1985)
Reformed
Mennonite Church records, 1835-1927 (Photocopies)
Published church records for this church are available in two books:
1987 Resh, Mary E., Baptisms,
marriages and deaths of Reformed
Mennonites and family and friends of Mary E. Resh (1861-1940) / who
collected the information beginning with 1847 from old diaries of hers
and book of Maria Snively and some from newspaper articles on subjects
of general interest: record continued by her sister Susan Resh
(1865-1944) and after her death by Deacon Richard Remmel in Waynesboro,
Pennsylvania.
1987 Shoemaker, Mary C., Four books of baptisms, marriages, and
deaths of Reformed Mennonites and family and friends of Mary C.
Shoemaker (1883-1975) / who collected the information in addition to
her own records from earlier accounts, beginning 1847, and continued at
her death 1975 by Richard Remmel of Waynesboro until 1987.
Both books are found in the Mennonite Historical
Library, Goshen
College, 1700 South Main St. Goshen, Indiana 46526.
E-mail:
<mhl@goshen.edu>
Web: <http://www.goshen.edu/mhl/Home>
Box 2 (Long
Green)
2/1 Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, Reformed Mennonite
Church,
1835-1906, compiled by Maria Snively, Greencastle PA.
(photocopies)
2/2
Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, Reformed Mennonite Church,
1886-1921, compiled by Mary Lehman, Hagerstown, MD (photocopies)
2/3
Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths, Reformed Mennonite Church,
1843-1927, compiled by Maria Snively (photocopies)
2/4 Record of Bodies Re-interred from Ringold
Cemetery (MD) to Green Hill Cemetery (PA), 1919-1920. (photocopies)
2/5
Reformed Mennonite files (sources for published church records)
2/6
"Book of Travels" (1911-25) by Mary Lehman. Describes
visits
with members of Reformed Mennonite Church at various locations in
Canada and U.S.A. (49 pages) (photocopy)
Name and Subject Tracings
(Archives Card Catalog)
Goertz, Adalbert
Prussian Mennonites
Reformed Mennonite Church
November 15, 2006 / Inventory by Nelda Nussbaum
Supervised by Dennis Stoesz
File: “Hm1-731 Adalbert Goertz.doc”
Mennonite
Church USA Archives-Goshen,
1700 S. Main
St., Goshen, Indiana 46526
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