A week ago, a long-lost cousin on the Dirks side, J.S., visited this site and e-mailed me. It turns out that we are fifth cousins. Our common ancestor is Heinrich Dirks, born 1779 in Prussia (now Poland). It is always exciting to me when I find out that my site is actually helping others with their genealogical research.
His forebears in the Mennonite colonies in the Ukraine (which were established around 1800 by Prussian and Dutch emigrants) did not join either the large 1870s group that immigrated to the U.S. and Canada and settled in the Midwest then-frontier or the small 1920s group that immigrated here post-Russian Revolution that included my great-grandfather Heinrich Dirks (born 1879) and his daughter, my Oma Mary (born 1905). The family of my newfound cousin stayed in the U.S.S.R. until after its breakup, then emigrated as “Aussiedler” to Germany in the 1990s (as did some of my Dad’s Janzen cousins).
So far, J.S. and his genealogist cousin have not been able to find out about any generations farther back than I had already discovered. However, he was able to fill in some dates, number of children, and an occupation for several generations of Dirks…um, Dirkses?
The new information I learned has been incorporated into the Dirks-Dueck page of this site.
Here’s a short version of what now I understand of this Dirks line:
- Mary Dirks Janzen: b. July 16, 1905 in Gnadenfeld, Ukraine; d. Apr. 16, 1995, North Newton, Kansas
- Heinrich D. Dirks: b. Sept. 8, 1879 in Gnadenfeld, Ukraine; d. 1938; married Agatha Dueck
- David Dirks (or Dircks): b. Sept. 9, 1831 in Alexanderwohl, Ukraine; d. 1907; married Maria Klatt
- Wilhelm Dirks: b. July 8, 1801 in Franzthal, Neumark, Prussia; d. Sept. 20, 1866; married Maria Voth
- Heinrich Dirks: b. Dec. 6, 1779 in Prussia; d. Apr. 9, 1812; married Katharina Ratzlaff
- Heinrich Dircks: b. Oct. 7, 1750, Jeziorka, Schwetz, Prussia; d. Apr. 3, 1812; married Eva Ratzlaff
- Hans (or Johann) Dircks: b. 1725, Klein Konopat, Prussia; d. ?, Jeziorka, Prussia; married Ancke Schmidt; 2 children
- David Dircks: b. circa 1699 (acc. to my previous source) or 1700 (according to J.S.); shoemaker; married Sarcke Schmidt; 1 child
Now, in our correspondence, J.S. also briefly mentioned that we also share the ancestor Peter van Dycke, b. 1632 in Stavoren, Friesland, Netherlands. Confirming my theory that my people are all inbred, that ancestor is the forebear of my great-grandfather Heinrich Dirks’s *wife* Agatha Dueck–a different branch than the Dirks branch!
family janzen 