Person:Mary Hennig (1)

Maria Magdalene Hennig was born in a log cabin just outside of Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada - this town being located about 25 miles west of Edmonton. She was the youngest of ten children and the only one born in Canada. Her parents, Henry and Barbara Hennig, and the others in her family formerly lived in Austria-Hungary. Mary's mother passed away when Mary was 8 years old and her father when she was 19.

Maria's name was spelled Marie at times and eventually became Mary. This change of spelling can be seen on various documents on hand.

Mary had no high school education yet was able to enter nurses training and graduate in 1923. On June 9, 1924 she married Rev. Henry Herman Kuehn who lived in Luseland, Saskatchewan, Canada, serving several parishes in and about Luseland. In July 1925 they moved to Centerville, South Dakota. Mary and her month old daughter were detained in Winnepeg, Alberta, Canada because Mary had no birth certificate; births were not registered in 1900. Her brother, Martin Hennig, Edmonton, Alta., witnessed to the fact that she was born, etc. Henry had gone on ahead because it took about a week in Winnepeg to clear up the paper work. Mary became a U.S. citizen in 1939 in Parker, South Dakota. However, she was always very proud of her Canadian connection.

The family grew quite fast. In 16 years ten children were born, two have gone on to heaven. Only the second child and the last two children were born in a hospital. The doctor would come to the house and a midwife who was a friend of the family would be present at the birth. Sometimes the baby would be born before the doctor would arrive. It was customary for the mother to stay in bed from 9 to 12 days which made recovery very slow.

Mary felt that being a minister's wife was a great honor. She took pride in the whiteness of her husband's shirts and the sharpness of the crease in his trousers. (When you consider home made soap, boiling clothes, scrubbing boards, the early washing machines, and the heavy irons, it is a miracle that clothes did look clean and neat.)

The older children often sat in the front pew where their dad could keep an eye on them. Mary would sit in back with the youngest ones. If her children did not behave in church she did not hesitate to provide some type of punishment after the services.

Mary was a social person and loved to be around people. She was always willing to extend a helping hand when it was needed. Her children and grandchildren and great grandchildren were like precious stones to her. Toward the end of her life her nearby grandchildren gave her much joy and perhaps helped to lengthen her life by giving some meaning to the day.

Mary and Henry were married nearly 50 years. At the time of Henry's death in Nov. 1973 they lived in Yuma, Arizona. She continued to live there for several more years before moving within a few blocks of her son in Lake In The Hills, Ill. Her health has not been good the last few years and God in His mercy called her home. All of her eight children were at the funeral to say goodbye to her. She looked very peaceful and lovely. Her wish to be with Jesus came true on April 27, 1990.

(The preceding text is derived from her obituary.)

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Arthur Hitzeman. Hitzeman and Kuehn Families.
2. ↑ Citizen papers: #4728636, Petition #499. Entered US at Emerson, Minnesota on 23 Jul 1925.