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Est. 1908 — A Legacy of Faith, Family & Resilience
The Herman & Boser
Family History
Preserving Our Legacy
Alexander Herman
Mary (Boser) Herman
From the windswept prairies of the Dakotas to the lush valleys of British Columbia — a story spanning generations, preserved in love and memory.
Our Roots
Germans from Russia
The Herman and Boser families are part of a remarkable chapter in world history — the Germans from Russia. In the late 18th century, Catherine the Great of Russia invited German settlers to cultivate the vast, undeveloped steppes of southern Russia and the Black Sea region. Promised free land, religious freedom, and exemption from military service, tens of thousands of German families answered the call and established thriving colonies.
For over a century, these communities preserved their German language, traditions, and faith while contributing to the agricultural transformation of the Russian Empire. However, by the late 1800s, the promises began to erode. Russification policies, the revocation of military exemptions, and increasing economic pressures compelled many families to seek new opportunities abroad.
Our ancestors were among those courageous families who left the only homes they had known in Russia to cross an ocean and begin again on the prairies of North America — carrying with them a deep faith, an unbreakable work ethic, and the rich cultural heritage that continues to define our family today.
The Boser Family
Joseph Boser & Anna Thalheimer
Joseph Boser
1883–1965
Anna Thalheimer
1887–1977
Joseph Boser (1883–1965) and Anna Thalheimer (1887–1977) were among the courageous German-Russian families who left the colonies of southern Russia to build new lives on the Canadian prairies. Joseph was born in the German-Russian settlement regions and brought with him the farming traditions that had sustained his people for generations.
Together, Joseph and Anna settled near Reward, Saskatchewan, where they raised an extraordinary family of seventeen children. In an era of harsh prairie winters, limited medical care, and back-breaking farm labor, raising seventeen children was a testament to their resilience, faith, and devotion to family. As Anna wrote in her memoirs: "The joys and love I clung to, and gave my children through the years, to replace and drown the ache in my heart. How I wrapped my whole self and life around them."
Their children, born between 1908 and 1939, grew up working the land alongside their parents. The Boser homestead became a center of community life, where neighbors gathered for harvest, celebrations, and mutual support — embodying the tight-knit spirit of the German-Russian prairie communities.
The 17 Children of Joseph & Anna Boser
died in infancy
married Alexander A. Herman
The Herman Family
Alexander Herman & Mary Boser
Alexander A. Herman (1925–2003) was born in St. Walburg, Saskatchewan, into a family rooted in the same German-Russian heritage as the Bosers. Alexander — known to the family as Alex — was a hardworking man of quiet strength and deep conviction.
Mary C. Boser (1921–2014), the eighth of Joseph and Anna's seventeen children, grew up on the family homestead near Reward, Saskatchewan. Her early life was marked by both hardship and resilience — from working as a young girl far from home to the circumstances that led to her marriage.
Alexander and Mary raised six children with fierce devotion. Anna Thalheimer Boser — known lovingly as Granny Boser — captured the spirit of this family in her memoirs:
The Herman family eventually moved from Saskatchewan to British Columbia, seeking new opportunities. Through every move and every challenge, the bonds of family remained unbreakable.
Our Journey
Family Timeline
OUR FAMILY
Interactive Family Tree
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Stories & Memories
Family Memoirs
Anna Thalheimer Boser
Author of the Family Memoirs
Read Granny Boser's Memoirs
Explore the written memoirs chapter by chapter
Explore the written memoirs of Anna Thalheimer Boser chapter by chapter — stories of the old country, the journey to Canada, and building a new life on the prairies.
Listen to Granny Boser's Memoirs
Full memoir narration — ElevenLabs AI voice
Hear Granny Boser's memoirs narrated aloud — a treasured audio recording preserved for the family.
Full narration — produced with ElevenLabs AI
Now Playing: Granny Boser's Memoirs
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Audio narration produced with ElevenLabs AI voice. Streamed from Google Drive.
Family Birthdays
Herman & Boser Family — A Cherished Record
Family Album
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WHERE WE ARE
Family Across Canada
From the Saskatchewan prairies to coast and north — click any pin to see who's there