File 21 - Cornelius L. Plett

Cornelius L. Plett was born on October 29, 1846, in Lindenau, Molotschna, Russia, and passed away on January 3, 1935, in Satanta, Kansas, U.S.A. On September 21, 1869, he married Sara Enns (1849 – 1872). Three years later Sarah passed away in September of 1872, leaving behind her husband and two children (Heinrich, 1870 – 1953, and Sarah, 1871 – 1948). In March of 1873, Cornelius married Helena Rempel (1843 – 1913). Three children were born in this marriage (Helena, 1874 – 1874, Helena, 1875 – 1967, and Cornelius, 1879 – 1909). In May of 1875, Cornelius and Helena Plett and Cornelius’ parents Cornelius and Sarah (Loewen) Plett migrated to Manitoba, Canada, together with many others of the Kleine Gemeinde congregation. They settled in the Blumenhof village on the East Reserve. In 1891, Cornelius was elected minister in the Kleine Gemeinde. In November of 1913, his wife Helena passed away. On one of his travels as a minister and widower, he went to Meade, Kansas area. There he met his third wife, Katharina Heidebrecht (1845 – 1929). They married in December of 1915, and in the same month moved to Satanta, Kansas. In Satanta, Cornelius continued to be a minister for the local Kleine Gemeinde church. Despite of moving to a new country, Cornelius L. Plett stayed in contact with his friends and relatives in Manitoba, as well as with those that moved to Mexico in the early 1920s; there are about 300 letters in his collection. After his wife Katharina passed away in October of 1929, Cornelius Plett sold all of their belongings in an auction and lived with his children, Bernhard D. Doerksens, for his remaining years. He served as a minister in the Kleine Gemeinde of Satanta until his death in January of 1935.