Jacob Kirschenman was born November 29, 1846 in Bergdorf, Glueckstal, Telenesti, South Russia. He was the son of Maria Magdalena (Guthmiller) and Johannes Kirschenmann.
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He married Eva Bender on June 10, 1869 in South Russia. Eva (daughter of Eva Maria Magdalena (Schaible) and Johann Phillipp Bender) was born March 18, 1848 in Neudorf Pri Glueckstal Odessa, South Russia. They were blessed with 5 children: Ludwig, Christina, Jacob J, John, and Eva.

Jakob, Eva, and 3 children (Ludwig, Christina, and Jacob J) departed from Hamburg, Germany on the 'SS Schiller'. Other passengers on the ship included Jakob's brother Ludwig and his family, Jakob's sister Margaretha, Eva's parents, and Eva's brother Johann Bender. They arrived in New York on September 1, 1874. One week later Jakob filed his Declaration of Intent in Yankton County, South Dakota. They homesteaded in Jamesville Township, Yankton, County, South Dakota. There he settled and lived the rest of his life. Their other 2 children (John and Eva) were born in South Dakota. Eva died on September 12, 1879 giving birth to a daughter who was stillborn.

Jakob married Magdalena Schneider on June 6, 1880. Magdalena (daughter of Katherina (Landenberger) and Johann Georg Schneider) was born August 18, 1857 in Neudorf, South Russia. They were blessed with 13 children: twins Friedrich & Georg, Christian, Karl, Magdalena, Theobald "TH", Edward, Emma, August, twins Emil & Emanuel, Benjamin, and Eugene. Friedrich and Georg died in infancy.

Jakob became a citizen of the United States on December 27, 1882.

Jakob had to be one very organized person. They had to work the ground a lot to be able to farm it. There weren't many modern conveniences in those days. The fact that he installed a "light plant" and batteries in 1918 so they'd have 32-volt electricity is an indication of how interested he was in succeeding. That sure beat kerosene lamps but it had to be used carefully or the light plant would have to be in operation. This same plant was used for many years; the batteries lasted until 1950 when the Rural Electric Association came through the whole community. That was 110-volt and everyone could buy refrigerators and many other much-needed conveniences such as freezer, electric washing machines, water pumps, etc. After windchargers came about, the plant was used on an emergency basis. If you were to mention 32-volt electricity in a conversation today with people younger than sixty, more than likely they wouldn't know what you're talking about.

Jakob died November 23, 1922 just six days short of his 76th birthday. The cause of death was "dropsy" or edema. Dropsy is an old term for the swelling of soft tissues due to the accumulation of excess water. His remains were laid to rest at the Saron Cemetery located near the homestead southeast of Menno.

Compiled by: AJennett
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