Memorable Manitobans: Anna Prygrocki Wachna (1882-1980)

Farm wife.

Born in Western Ukraine in December 1882, her family immigrated to Canada and homesteaded in the Stuartburn area of Manitoba. In 1897, she married Theodosy Wachna who acted as an interpreter and aided in developing the community in the area. They had 15 children, including Maria Wachna (1899-?), Katherine Wachna (1901-?), Olena Wachna (1903-?), Zofia Wachna (1905-?), Elijah Wachna (1907-?), Johan Wachna (1908-?), Wolodimyr B. “Walter” Wachna, Antonia Wachna (1911-?), Kozrna Wachna (1913-?), Claudia Wachna (1915-?), Olga Wachna (c1918-?), and Wyronia Wachna (c1920-?). Wachna helped her father set up their homestead before marrying. As Theodosy’s role in the municipality grew so did her own responsibilities at home, and she often managed the farm and their family. The family opened a general store in Stuartburn and the couple continued to support the community, emotionally and financially, especially during the Great Depression in the 1930s. She died at Windsor, Ontario on 26 March 1980 and was buried in the St. Alphonsus Cemetery at Windsor. She was inducted posthumously into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame.

Sources:

Birth registrations, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

1901 & 1911 Canada census, Automated Genealogy.

1921 Canada census, Ancestry.

“Stuartburn,” Steinbach Carillon, 21 May 1980, page 2C.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 3 April 1980, page 42.

Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame.

We thank Nathan Kramer for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Angela Graham.

Page revised: 24 August 2018

Memorable Manitobans

Memorable Manitobans

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