Collection 00/MS.175 - Amy E. Greaves Sudermann Enss Papers

Amy E. Greaves Sudermann Enss (1878-1975) was a teacher, author, and mother of 10 children.  She was born on January 14, 1878 in Sheffield, England.  In 1899, she traveled to Russia with her uncle, John Greaves.  There, she met Jacob Sudermann, a Russian Mennonite whom she married in 1900.  She bore four children between 1901 and 1909.  Jacob Sudermann died of typhus in 1909 before the birth of their fourth child.

In 1910, she moved to Halbstadt to teach English.  Two years later, she married Gustav Heinrich Enns and moved to Berlin. Before World War I, two children were born of her second marriage before.  She and her family fled to England at the outbreak of World War I and immigrated to the United States in October 1914.

From 1915 to 1917, Sudermann Enss taught at Hesston College in Hesston, Kansas.  Two more children were born during these years.  Her husband accepted a pastorate at Hoffnungsfeld Mennonite Church in 1919, remaining in that position until 1928.  Two more children were born between 1919 and 1921.  Sudermann Enns returned to teaching at Hesston College in the mid 1920s.

In 1928, the Enss family moved to Goshen, Indiana, where Enss accepted a post as a professor at Goshen College.  Sudermann Enns taught German and French for several years at the college.

From 1934 to 1948, the Enss family made a series of geographical moves based on Gustav Enss's studies and positions in ministry and education.  In 1948. the Enss family settled in Bridgewater, Virginia, where Enss found a teaching position at Bridgewater College.

Amy Sudermann Enss and Gustav Enss retired to Florida in 1956.  Sudermann Enss died in 1975.

Born 13 Apr 1885, Samara, Russia. Parents: Heinrich Enss and Justina Claassen. Married Amy Greaves Sudermann in 1912. Moved to the United States in 1915. Taught at Bethel, Hesston, and Goshen Colleges. Held several pastorates, including Hopefield Mennonite Church, Moundridge, Kansas. Died 10 Nov 1965 in Columbia, Missouri.