Agnes E. Fenenga (April 5, 1874 – April 4, 1949) was a Dutch-born American missionary and teacher based in Turkey and Syria for over forty years, from 1901 to 1944.

Early life and education

Aukje Fenenga was born in

Schiermonnikoog Schiermonnikoog (; ) is an island, a municipality and national park in the Northern Netherlands. Schiermonnikoog is one of the West Frisian Islands, and is part of the province of Friesland. It is situated between the islands of Ameland and Rot ...

Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...

, the Netherlands, one of the ten children of Jacob Oelsen Gerrit Ruurds Fenenga and Lollina Cornelis Visser Fenenga. She moved to the United States with her family in 1881, and settled in South Dakota. Her mother died in 1886. She graduated from

Yankton College Yankton College was a private liberal arts college in Yankton, South Dakota, United States, affiliated with the Congregational Christian Churches (later the United Church of Christ). Yankton College produced nine Rhodes Scholars, more than any ...

in 1901.

Career

Fenenga ran a Congregational girls' school at

Mardin Mardin (; ; romanized: ''Mārdīn''; ; ) is a city and seat of the Artuklu District of Mardin Province in Turkey. It is known for the Artuqids, Artuqid architecture of its old city, and for its strategic location on a rocky hill near the Tigris ...

in Turkey. Her students made lace, which Fenenga sent to the United States to raise funds for the school's work. In 1913, she was arrested and detained for eight months, along with two other missionaries. In 1916, she and other foreign missionaries were forced to leave Mardin. She gave lectures in the United States during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, sometimes wearing folk costumes from Eastern Turkey. "She knows all of the awfulness of the war in Turkey by having passed through the most terrible experiences that ever come to a man or woman," explained a Montana newspaper in 1918. "But she is not pessimistic nor bitter." Fenenga returned to Mardin, and was the city's only American resident during a period of martial law after the Kurdish revolt in 1925. In 1933 she left Mardin and began working in

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

. She retired from missionary work in 1944, but continued giving talks about her time in the Middle East until her death five years later.

Publications

* "Letter from Miss Agnes Fenenga" (1902)

Personal life

Fenenga adopted a daughter, Prisca Lois Fenenga, who was born in 1924. Fenenga died in 1949, in

Gregory, South Dakota Gregory is a city in western Gregory County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 1,221 at the 2020 census. History Gregory was laid out in 1904. The city took its name from its location in Gregory County. A post office called Greg ...

, at the age of 74.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenenga, Agnes 1874 births 1949 deaths American missionaries in Turkey American educators Yankton College alumni People from Schiermonnikoog American people of Dutch descent