Peter Jansen (1852–1923) was a

Beatrice, Nebraska Beatrice () is a city in and the county seat of Gage County, Nebraska, United States. Its population was 12,459 at the 2010 census. Beatrice is located approximately 25 miles south of Lincoln on the Big Blue River and is surrounded by agricultu ...

sheep rancher and Nebraska state representative and senator.

Russia

Jansen was born on 21 March 1852 in

Berdiansk Berdiansk or Berdyansk ( uk, Бердя́нськ, translit=Berdiansk, ; russian: Бердя́нск, translit=Berdyansk ) is a port city in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (Oblast, province) in south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the ...

, a port city on the northern coast of the

Sea of Azov The Sea of Azov ( Crimean Tatar: ''Azaq deñizi''; russian: Азовское море, Azovskoye more; uk, Азовське море, Azovs'ke more) is a sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow (about ) Strait of Kerch, ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

where his family had a grain exporting business. On a large ranch the family leased north of the city, Jansen learned cattle and sheep ranching skills. Cornelius Jansen, Peter's father, was a consul, representing in Berdyansk interests of Prussia and Mecklembourg-Schwerin. The Jansen family was part of the

Mennonite Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...

settlement in south Russia. When the government began withdrawing special privileges granted to colonists such as freedom from conscription, Jansen's father advised concerned Mennonites to emigrate to North America. Because of the elder Jansen's position as a prominent citizen and community leader, Russian officials ordered the family out of the country.

Immigration

The family arrived in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

on 21 August 1873 and traveled on to

Berlin, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

. From there Jansen and his father traveled to the United States, visiting New York and Philadelphia. Quaker contacts brought them to Washington, D.C., where Jansen had a chance meeting with

George Armstrong Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...

along with a delegation of "stoic aboriginies" and was introduced to President GrantKaufman, Edmund G. (1973), ''General Conference Mennonite Pioneers'', pp. 93-97, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. who was interested in encouraging immigration of Mennonites from Russia. The contrast between the pomp and glitter of Russian officialdom and the practicality he found in Washington impressed Jansen. Together with another group of Mennonites who had just arrived in New York, the Jansens choose to settle on a 20,000 acre (81 km²) tract of land in Nebraska. Jansen purchased 1280 acres (5 km²) eighteen miles west of Beatrice where he begin building a

merino The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...

sheep flock. Jansen married Gertrude Penner, a Mennonite from Prussia, on 4 May 1877. Together they had seven children, Helen, John, Anna, Katerine, Gertrude, Cornelius and Margaret.

Ranching

Jansen enlarged the ranch by purchasing nearby property, erecting and improving barns and homes for workers and planting trees for shelter and fruit. Besides sheep, Jansen raised wheat and corn. As more settlers filled the Nebraska prairie, Jansen shifted his sheep operation to feeding up to 30,000 western sheep in feedlots. In 1886 the

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called ''Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway'') was an American Class I railroad. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock. At the end ...

surveyed for a new line running west from

Saint Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which inclu ...

near Jansen's property. Through his influence, the railroad town four miles west of the Jansen ranch was named

Jansen, Nebraska Jansen is a village in Jefferson County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 100 at the 2020 census. History Jansen was platted in 1886 when the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific Railroad was extended to that point. The village was named ...

. The ranch was now 20,000 acres (81 km²) and a show place with a well kept yard featuring an artificial lake.

Political involvement

Jansen took an interest in politics and supported causes he felt would better his adopted country. He participated in county and state Republican conventions. Jansen did not seek political office for himself, but in 1880 his neighbors elected him

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

. Later he served as Nebraska state representative and then state senator. He turned down nomination for

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

because of the position's requirement to enforce the death penalty. Jansen was elected alternate delegate to the

1884 Republican National Convention The 1884 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Exposition Hall in Chicago, Illinois, on June 3–6, 1884. It resulted in the nomination of former House Speaker James G. Blaine from Maine for presiden ...

and was a delegate-at-large to the 1896 convention that nominated

William McKinley William McKinley (January 29, 1843September 14, 1901) was the 25th president of the United States, serving from 1897 until his assassination in 1901. As a politician he led a realignment that made his Republican Party largely dominant in ...

. In 1900 President McKinley appointed Jansen as one of twelve commissioners to the

Paris World's Fair The Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) sanctions world expositions. Some have been recognised retrospectively because they took place before the BIE came into existence. The designation "World Exposition" refers to a class of the largest ...

. In 1901 he represented Nebraska at the

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

of McKinley.

Retirement

In 1909 Jansen sold his ranch and moved to Beatrice. He donated land and funds for construction of the Mennonite Deaconess Home and Hospital in Beatrice. He continued to be active in the community and

General Conference Mennonite Church The General Conference Mennonite Church (GCMC) was a mainline association of Mennonite congregations based in North America from 1860 to 2002. The conference was formed in 1860 when congregations in Iowa invited North American Mennonites to join ...

until his death on 6 June 1923.

Works

*Jansen, Peter (1921), ''Memoirs of Peter Jansen'', self-published, Beatrice, NE.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jansen, Peter American Mennonites Republican Party members of the Nebraska House of Representatives Republican Party Nebraska state senators People from Beatrice, Nebraska People from Jefferson County, Nebraska American people of German-Russian descent Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States 1923 deaths 1852 births