Grandma’s line 1

During the next days we will work our way back, both photographically and genealogically, through Grandma’s family tree. We begin with her parents and siblings.

Grandma’s mother was Sarah Epp Franz. Sarah was born 21 May 1884 in York County, was baptized twenty years later on 28 May 1904, and married Isaac G. Franz the following year, on 7 December 1905. She passed away on 4 June 1957 and is buried in the Bethesda Cemetery one mile north and a half a mile east of Henderson.

Grandma’s father, Isaac G. (for his father Gerhard) Franz, was born 1 April 1882 and was baptized on the same day as his future wife Sarah. He passed away 17 July 1950 and is also buried in the Bethesda Cemetery, where he and Sarah share a headstone.

Born 20 October 1906, Grandma was the oldest child in her family; one sister and three brothers followed over the course of the next nineteen years:

• Lydia, 31 October 1910
• Albert A., 30 March 1914
• Eduard, 19 June 1917 (he died less than two months after birth)
• August, 1 December 1925

All are now gone, with August passing away in 2005 and Albert A. in 2006.

Church life in Molotschna

One would think that the Molotschna Mennonite colony, whose defining characteristic was the faith of its inhabitants, would have been known for its many churches. It would not be surprising that, just like the elementary schools, each village would have supported its own church. One would think all that, but one would also be wrong.

Remarkably, relatively few churches existed in the colony during the first one hundred years of its life. Specifically, the historical records mention only eleven villages with a church, out of the sixty-five villages that made up Molotschna. The distribution of the churches is highlighted by the use of red for the village names in the map below (for a larger version of the same map, see here): Ohrloff, Lichtenau, Halbstadt, Petershagen, Schönsee, Alexanderwohl, Rückenau, Margenau, Neukirch, Landskrone, and Pordenau. Of course, this raises the question of which of these churches, if any, our ancestors attended.

Before we explore that question further, we should first clarify our terms. In what follows I will use the term church for the overarching ecclesial organization and congregation for the body of believers in a particular village. This is an important distinction because it enables us to talk accurately about, for example, the Ohrloff-Petershagen Mennonite Church, which was shepherded by a single elder but had two congregations, one in Ohrloff and one in Petershagen.

The Ohrloff-Petershagen Mennonite Church was the oldest in the colony, having been founded in 1804, the first year of the Molotschna Mennonite colony. The church leadership was known for its progressive attitudes, which led to a church split twenty years later and the establishment of a more conservative church at Lichtenau. Less than two decades after that, in 1842, the Lichtenau church itself underwent a split that led to the existence of three separate churches: Lichtenau-Petershagen, Margenau-Schönsee, and Pordenau. During the same time the Ohrloff-Petershagen church added a Halbstadt church building to its organization. How many congregations resulted from all these divisions remains unclear.

It should already be evident that most of the creation of churches in Molotschna resulted from church splits. One exception, apparently, was Neukirch, which appears to have been a satellite congregation, to use a modern term, of the Ohrloff-Petershagen-Halbstadt church. The Neukirch Mennonite Church was organized in 1863 and began worshiping in its own building in 1865, that is, during the time of Peter D Buller’s residency in Kleefeld and Alexanderkrone, which lay only a few miles to the west of Neukirch.

A little more than five miles north of Kleefeld was the village of Rückenau, home of the Rückenau Mennonite Brethren Church. The Mennonite Brethren movement, which also arose during the 1860s, was consolidated in Rückenau, leading to the purchase and conversion of a tavern into a church for the MB congregation in 1874.

At some point a congregation was also established in Alexanderkrone, but since the church did not become independent from the Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone Mennonite Church until 1890, at which point it built its own facilities, we cannot know if this congregation has any significance for our family.

The relevance for us of Margenau-Alexanderwohl-Landskrone is itself unclear, although there are tantalizing hints from Alexanderwohl, including the presence of Bullers in that village and the fact that in July 1874 Elder Jakob Buller led nearly five hundred members of the Alexanderwohl congregation to the U.S. The one thing we can know with certainty is that our ancestors were not part of the Alexanderwohl congregation after 1874, since the entire church and village left for a new life in the U.S. five years before Johann, Peter D, and company followed in their steps.

In the end, there is little we can know about our family’s church life in Molotschna. Historically our family may have been associated with the Alexanderwohl congregation, but this is only a well-based hunch (more on that later). In fact, the greatest percentage of Mennonites in Molotschna were members of the Lichtenau-Petershagen church, but many remained with the Ohrloff-based church as well. The Pordenau church is also a possibility, as is, I guess, the Rückenau MB church. Maybe somewhere a church record book holds the answers to all these question, perhaps even the record of Peter D’s birth or Sarah Siebert’s baptism.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I was talking with a friend earlier today about the huge Thanksgiving celebrations our family used to have. One thought leading to another, I began reflecting on one gathering in particular, one that will be permanently inscribed in my memory, probably many of your memories as well.

Hard to believe, but it was forty-three years ago, Thanksgiving Day in 1971 (25 November that year). We all gathered mid-morning at Matilda’s house in Central City: Grandpa and Grandma and aunts and uncles and I don’t know how many of us cousins, plus two friends of Kenny’s, college girls, if my memory is correct, originally from Oklahoma.

Lyell Bremser, early 1970s

Ah, yes, this was the year of THE Nebraska–Oklahoma game, the Game of the Century. Memories being what they are I am not positive, but I think we all watched the game on the television with the sound turned down so we could listen to that Husker radio icon, Lyell Bremser. Man, woman, and child—what an announcer!

The house was loud and raucous (sorry, Grandma, I know it was insanely noisy), with emotions riding a wild roller coaster up and down and up and down and … up. Johnny Rodgers took us to the heights early on with a punt return for the ages (and no, Joe Blahak did not clip the OU player). OU’s Jack Mildren–Jon Harrison passing combination plunged us to the depths as the Huskers fell behind at halftime 17–14.

Several of us played catch during halftime (Dave, Stan, Dennis, and me, I think), all of us nervously hoping that Nebraska could retake the lead. True to form, NU stormed out of halftime and powered their way to a 28–17 lead after three quarters. OU was no patsy, however, and with a little more than seven minutes to go in the game the Huskers were behind 31–28.

Jeff Kinney, 1971 NU–OU game

But the Huskers would not be denied this day. Led by the clutch play of quarterback Jerry Tagge, a great catch and run by Johnny the Jet, and the bruising running of Jeff Kinney, Nebraska retook the lead on Kinney’s fourth rushing touchdown of the day.

With two minutes remaining, Oklahoma still had a chance, but the vaunted Blackshirts shut down Mildren and company, and OU’s last drive ended harmlessly in its own end of the field, as NU’s Larry Jacobson rushed Mildren into a hurried throw on 4th and 14, which Rich Glover then batted down. (Jacobson won the Outland Trophy as college football’s best interior lineman that year; Glover won the same award the following year.)

As you can imagine, the stadium (Matilda’s house) went wild at that point. For all intents and purposes, the game was over, NU ahead 35–31, and Nebraska was on its way to meet Alabama’s Crimson Tide (whom it pounded) in the Orange Bowl.

It is difficult to imagine that my (our) memories of that amazing game would have been so potent, so powerful, so vivid had I (we) watched it alone. It was the sharing of the experience with family, with loved ones, that inscribed it on our brains. There is a lesson in there somewhere, but before I get too sentimental let me close by inviting you to share one more thing, one more memory: a highlights video—with Lyell Bremser audio!—of the great Thanksgiving game of 1971.

Egg-stra! Egg-stra! Read all about it!

Apologies for the hokey wordplay in the post title, but it seems appropriate for today’s topic, which is also the latest addition to the Buller archives.

The date of this news story is unknown, as is the source paper. What is known is that the Nebraska State Poultry Association held its first annual show in 1885 and continues to hold them today (see the website here). It seems that the location of the statewide show and contest varied from year to year, so if we could discover which year it was held in York we would know when the Bullers swept the first three places in the white eggs department.

Uncle Henry, Aunt Bea, and the Nazis

One of the more fascinating stories associated with our family involves Grandpa Chris’s brother Henry (pictured earlier here), his wife Beatrice, and the Nazi occupiers of France.

During the early days of World War II Henry went to Lyon, France, to participate in Mennonite Central Committee relief work. There he met and married Bea, a young Jewish woman whose family had fled Germany in the 1930s to escape the rising anti-Semitism. Unfortunately, before long the Germans overran France as well, and Henry, Bea (whom the Nazis apparently did not realize was Jewish, given her marriage to the Mennonite Henry), other MCC workers, and a variety of Americans were placed under house arrest for a year in a hotel in Baden-Baden, Germany.

The photograph above shows Bea, Henry, Peter P, and Margaretha looking at a map. One wonders if Henry is pointing to Baden-Baden, the site of his and Bea’s imprisonment.

Henry and Bea’s lives and stories are well known and amply recorded, as attested by each of their obituaries. Henry died first, in 1993. The Mennonite Weekly Review writes:

For Henry P. Buller, spending a year in a luxurious German hotel was hardly a vacation. Instead, it was a virtual prison. Buller was one of several Mennonite Central Committee workers interned by Germany during World War II. He died May 15 at the age of 77. Buller was doing relief work for MCC at Lyon, France, in 1943, when Germany occupied the area. He and his wife, Beatrice, plus about 175 American journalists, diplomats and their staff, were interned in a hotel in Baden-Baden, complete with Gestapo guards. “Once a day we were allowed to go on a walk.” Beatrice Buller recalled. To pass the time, and because most internees were well-educated, they held classes among themselves, including Shakespeare, medicine, music and languages. “Henry taught German literature and I taught German and French,” Beatrice said. Henry and Beatrice Rosenthal met at the MCC office in Lyon. The Rosenthals were Jewish refugees from Germany who went to the MCC office to try to immigrate to the United States. Henry and Beatrice were married Nov. 11, 1942. The Bullers were released in early 1944 in an exchange for Germans interned by the United States. Buller was born Dec. 20, 1915, in Lushton, Neb., the youngest of 12 children born to Peter P. and Margaretha Epp Buller. He received a bachelor’s degree from Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., in 1941. After completing his alternative service, the Bullers moved to Newton, Kan., in 1947, where Henry taught in area public schools. He later received his graduate degree in psychology and counseling from the University of Kansas in Lawrence. In 1961 he joined the faculty of the Lamar University psychology department, where he remained until his retirement in 1982. Buller was a member of Bethel College Mennonite Church, North Newton, He was preceded in death by his son, Rene Aldo, in 1969. (see here for the original)

Bea passed away fifteen years later:

Beatrice Rosenthal Buller died Oct. 12, 2008, in a Dallas, Texas, hospital. As in the 1930s, she again had become a refugee, this time not to escape the fury of the Nazis but that of Hurricane Ike, which threatened her home in Beaumont. She was born in 1920 in Duisburg, Germany, a child of a middle class Jewish family. Her father was a prominent lawyer in that city. The anti-Jewish policies of the Nazis forced the Rosenthal family to leave Germany in the early 1930s and to settle in Antwerp, Belgium. When the Germans invaded that country in May 1940, the Rosenthal family fled to unoccupied France, where they were able to find safe hiding places. She settled in Lyon, where she found employment at the Mennonite Central Committee office. There she met MCC worker Henry Buller, whom she would marry on Nov. 11, 1942, on the same day the Germans occupied the rest of France. They had hoped she would be baptized by Fritz Gerber, pastor of the Mennonite church in Langnau, Switzerland, but baptism would have to wait until they settled in the United States. Subsequently, she, Henry, other relief workers, American diplomats and journalists were interned for more than one year in Baden-Baden, Germany. Soon after their release in February 1944, Henry returned to war-stricken Europe. She would join him in France after the war to resume MCC relief work. Upon their return home, she graduated from and taught foreign languages at Bethel College in North Newton, Kan. Having no children of their own, they adopted Rene, a French orphan. Tragically, Rene was killed in Vietnam on March 27, 1969, where he served as a medic with the U.S. Army. For many years they lived in Beaumont, where Henry taught at Lamar University. He preceded her in death in 1993. She kept busy, in spite of some major health problems, teaching and doing local volunteer work. She will be missed by many friends in Beaumont and many Mennonites, who very much appreciated her for her kind and lively spirit. (Mennonite Weekly Review, October 27, 2008, p. 9)

The Beaumont Enterprise adds:

Beatrice R. Buller was born on September 25, 1920 in Duisberg, Germany, and passed away on October 12, 2008 in Dallas, Texas, at the age of 88 years and 17 days. Her husband of 51 years, Henry P. Buller, her son, René Aldo Buller, and her brother Kenneth Rosenthal and wife Anne preceded her in death. Her survivors are: brother Gerard Rosenthal and wife Marie of Aurora, Colorado, nieces Jeanne-Marie Neuroth and husband Richard of Wichita, Kansas and Carol Ann Rosenthal of Logan, Utah, nephews Roger Rosenthal of Arlington, Virginia, Robert Rosenthal and wife Kim of Denver, Richard Rosenthal and wife Felicity Thompson of Highlands Ranch, Colorado, Donald Rosenthal of Redwood City, California, nine great-nieces & nephews and one great-great niece. She is also survived by her daughter of the heart, Eileen Garrett. Bea was a Holocaust survivor who lived in Belgium and France before immigrating to the U.S. following her marriage to Henry Buller in 1942. They came to Beaumont in 1962 where Henry taught Psychology at Lamar and Bea began a 20 year career teaching French & German at South Park High School. At retirement, Bea & Henry pursued a long-held dream: they lived for a full year in Pezenas, in the south of France. Returning stateside, Bea rapidly became one of the busiest volunteers in Beaumont. Among the organizations that benefited from her involvement were the League of Women Voters, Beaumont Association of Retired Teachers, Lamar Women's Club, Some Other Place, Habitat for Humanity, Northwood Christian Church and the West End YMCA. She continued to teach: she introduced elementary school students in the Beaumont schools to foreign language, and she began an association with the Literacy Council that continued for the rest of her life. As she aged, she opened her home to Lamar graduate students, primarily International students. She was passionate about intercultural understanding as an avenue to world peace, and she never tired of learning about other countries. Yet she remained deeply grateful to this country and what it meant to her as a young immigrant. Bea literally never met a stranger, and because she had experienced discrimination herself, she was almost completely without bias. She accepted people as they were, and expected to be accepted in kind. In short, Beatrice Buller was unique. There will be a memorial service for Bea on Saturday, November 15, at 11:00 AM, at Northwood Christian Church, 5050 Eastex Freeway in Beaumont, TX 77708. Memorial gifts may be directed to Northwood Christian Church, Bethel College, 300 E. 27th Street, Newton, Kansas 67117, or Some Other Place, P.O. Box 843, Beaumont, TX 77704. The family would like to express special thanks to Pastor Melissa Roth and Nike Fagunwa, R.N. for their loving assistance to Bea at the end of her life. Further information about Bea can be found at: www.sybis.com/ beatrice_r_buller/. (see here)

Remarkably, the Mennonite Library and Archives at Bethel College hold three boxes of the Henry P. Buller and Beatrice Rosenthal Buller Papers, 1941–1968. Included in the boxes are correspondence, photographs, Civilian Public Service and peace-related ephemera, and an interview of Bea by James D. Yoder (audio cassettes and CD copies) (see here). Maybe someday one of us can explore that archive and add parts of it to our own online collection of names, dates, stories, and photos.

Grandpa’s clocks

All of us of a certain age no doubt remember well the clock rooms in the basement of Grandpa and Grandma’s second Friend home. Grandpa’s interest in clocks continued after they moved to York and eventually was noticed and featured in the Thursday, 29 May 1975, edition of the York News Times. Thanks to Dad for sending the initial scan and original photos and to Eric Eckert, Digital Director at the paper, for sending a digital photo of the complete article, which is both pictured and reproduced below.

Buller Keeps Track of His Time

By Dave Mettenbrink

News-Times Staff Writer

Chris Buller of York is having fun keeping track of his retirement time—by making all-wooden clocks.

The hobby is a natural one for Buller because he’s worked most of his life as a carpenter and, as he said, has always been handy with a jack-knife.

Buller, 69, got the idea for the clocks from some old issues of Popular Science and Work Bench. He said the clocks are so simple to make that almost anyone could make one However, he does admit to having had some problems with calibrating the wheels and cogs to keep perfect time.

After becoming familiar with the wooden clocks and how they function, Buller learned he could make a more accurate time piece by using some hand-made tools.

For example he cut some of the corner joints on a home-made miter guide which he designed for use on a table saw. He got the idea from Popular Science magazine.

The more difficult part of the clock construction is making and calibrating the various size wheels. Buller begins making a wheel by drilling a hole through a piece of wood. That wood then is attached to a drill-press chuck and then cut by a saw blade attached to an electric motor.

Buller said the combination of the two machines offers as near a perfectly round wheel as is possible.

He then calibrates the desired number of cogs on the wheel by using another home-made tool, called an equa-distance jig. He got the idea for that tool from Work Bench magazine.

After marking the cogs he cuts them out with a band saw and a jig saw and then applies the final touches with a belt sander.

Even though Buller spends a lot of time making and calibrating the wheels of the clock, he said the accuracy of the time piece is not the wheels or cogs, but rather the pendulum.

The pendulum is driven by the force created by a specific amount of weight attached to a string in the clock. And he said the speed of the pendulum depends on his length.

*****

Chris Buller of York shown in various steps of making his wooden clocks. At left he uses a drill press and an electric-powered saw to cut his round wheels. At center [below right], he calibrates the wheels’ cogs on his hand-made equa-distance jig. And at right [bottom right], he installs the final wheel necessary for the clock’s minute and second hands. The clock’s pendulum, including the croquet ball at lower right, is operated by the weights hanging below the clock.

*****

The stem of the pendulum is simply a dowl [sic]. And the end of one of Buller’s pendulums is a croquet ball.

The first clock Buller attempted is called a two-second swing. He said it was the more difficult of his two clocks thus far because the second-hand wheel had one larger cog which made a revolution once each minute to operate the minute hand.

Buller’s second clock, yet to receive all the finishing touches, is designed more on a principle of wheel size and cog ratios.

All of Buller’s personal attention to his work must be having an effect on his clocks. He said for a few days shortly after each full moon he can expect some problems with his clocks keeping good time.

And he said both of his wooden clocks were erratic and even stopped for a while the day of the recent tornadoes in Omaha. He said the clocks began working again the next morning.

He said he doesn’t know for sure what causes the problem other than possibly some atmospheric condition.

Buller uses mostly birch wood to make his clocks, usually from small pieces glued together.

Making clocks is not Buller’s only wood hobby. He does wood inlaying, has made tumbling block table tops and small chests and made a coffee table from wood scraps.

His handiwork began in Friend when Buller made two houses using the side wallks [sic] from a large chicken hen house.

The tools for such of Buller’s wood working were acquired through a bit of horse trading. A number of years ago Buller accepted a shop full of power tools as a down-payment for a house which he sold. Buller said that proved to be a lucky day for himself.

Those tools are now housed in a room in his basement which he converted into a shop. Although his goal is to someday make a miniature steam engine powered by air, he is satisfied with his wood working and simply asks, “How else would a carpenter retire?”

The California years

A post several days ago reminded us that Peter P and Margaretha left Nebraska in 1936 and relocated in California. This post picks up the story two years later, in the summer of 1938.

The first photograph was taken at Peter P and Margaretha’s house in Ontario, California. According to a note on the back of the photo, this shows the front of the house located at 426 East I Street (see here for an earlier mention of the address).

The photo includes Peter, Margaretha, and four of their eleven living children (their firstborn died at an age of eight days): Sara, Anna, Henry, and Maria (who is sitting on the lawn). Peter was sixty-nine, Margaretha sixty-seven, Sara thirty-eight, Anna, twenty-four, Henry twenty-two, and Maria thirty. The house appears to be modest but nice, the palm-tree setting perfect for retirement life.

The second photograph was taken the same day but includes one additional person (far left, next to Henry) who cannot be identified; it seems reasonable to imagine that she was a friend of Henry’s. We will return to Henry at some point in the future, to share what we can of his experience as a prisoner of the Nazis during World War II.

Since the first two photos were taken in front of the house, the third photograph was probably taken in the back yard, especially since the setting resembles the earlier photos (see here) from Peter P and Margaretha’s fiftieth wedding anniversary, which we know were taken in the back yard. One thing we do know (based on a note on the back of the photo) is that the photo below was taken February 27, 1944.

The problem with this photo is that we can identify only some of the people. Margaretha and Peter are easy to spot in front, and standing between and behind them is their daughter Sara. The woman on the far right may be Maria.

The back of the photo identifies a few more people but skips most of them. On the front left is Jacob P Buller (Peter P’s younger brother); on the back left is Albert Friesen, while the curly-haired gent in the center-right back is John Peters. As always, please leave a comment if you can identify anyone else, and I will update the post accordingly.

Isaac and Sarah Epp Franz on their wedding day

Although photographs such as the one below help us to picture what our ancestors looked like (and perhaps even see where a particular physical trait originated), we really do need a program to keep all the names straight. With all the Peters, Margarethas, Johanns, and Sarahs, not to mention the mixing and intertwining of Bullers and Epps and Sieberts and Franzes or the fact that we have Peter as a first name and Peters as a last name, as well as Franz as a first name and as a last name, it is easy to become lost and confused in the genealogical maze that is our family.

Thus to put it as simply as possible, this is the wedding photograph of Grandma Malinda’s parents: Isaac G. and Sarah Epp Franz. They wed on 7 December 1905, and Grandma was born a little more than ten months later, on 20 October 1906.


Isaac was the third child and first son of Gerhard and Anna Peters Franz, who emigrated separately to the U.S. from Molotschna colony and married shortly after arriving. Remarkably, we can trace Isaac’s lineage back several generations further, to eighteenth-century Prussia, to a village named Ober Gruppe in the district Schwetz, West Prussia (i.e., Poland).

Thus Grandma’s Franz side would stretch back as follows: Malinda > Isaac G. > Gerhard > Peter > Gerhard (born 26 February 1783 in Ober Gruppe). When the village was established is uncertain, but it lives on even today (population 580). In fact, in 1935 twelve Mennonite families still lived in Ober Gruppe (modern Górna Grupa; pictured above), and one of them was named Franz.

The family of Isaac’s mother, Anna Peters Franz, can be traced back a generation further, as follows: Malinda Franz > Isaac Franz > Anna Peters > Jacob Abraham > Abraham Jacob > Jacob > Jacob. The latter two Jacobs lived in Lakendorf, a village in Gross Werder district in West Prussia. This village (now Solnica) likewise remains today (not too far inland from the Baltic Sea, southeast of Gdańsk [former Danzig]), although it is only about half the size of Górna Grupa.

We have already encountered the Epp side of Grandma’s family here, with the photograph of Jacob and Margaretha Siebert Epp, but we can also trace the Epp side back to the mid-eighteenth century: Malinda Franz > Sarah Epp > Jacob > Jacob > Franz (who was born 19 November 1752). The latter two men lived in the same general area as Lakendorf, in a village named Schönau.

Sarah Epp’s mother was, as we have already discussed, Margaretha Siebert, who was the sister of Sarah Siebert Buller, wife of Peter D Buller. For the sake of completeness, we can trace this branch of the family as well: Malinda Franz > Sarah Epp > Margaretha Siebert > Johann Siebert > Cornelius Peter > Peter. As one might expect, the latter two individuals in the line lived in West Prussia in the same general region as the others.

Even with all the names written out, it is difficult to keep everyone straight, but at least now we have a bit more detail and specificity on Grandma’s heritage. One thing that should be evident from all this is that our exploration of our family’s life in Molotschna is only the first step back. Before Molotschna our forebears lived and generally prospered in West Prussia, otherwise known as Poland. In time we will turn our attention to that period in our family’s history, with a goal of someday working further back to our earliest roots in the Netherlands, in broad strokes if nothing else.

Moving day

Frequently we lack basic information about the photographs posted here, often able to do little more than guess at the year when a photo might have been taken. This photograph is different, in that we know the exact day—although not the date—that it was taken.

But first the people: Grandpa and Grandma in back, Daniel, Matilda, and Esther standing in front of them, Carl and Darlene in the very front. The ages of the kids would allow us to venture a reasonable guess as to the year … if we didn’t already know when the photograph was taken.

The setting is the Peter P Buller (or Epp family) farm mentioned earlier here (the southeast quarter of section 11 in Henderson Township). As Aunts Sara and Maria note in the Buller Family Record, their mother Margaretha Epp lived on this farm her entire life until she and husband Peter left Nebraska for California.

Behind Grandpa, Grandma, and kids we see a barn and a silo; I am told that on the opposite side of the farmyard was another barn and a corn crib. With any luck, additional photographs of the farm will turn up, and we can see where the house and other buildings were located.

So what is it that makes this photograph special (other than the people in it)? How can we know the day it was taken but not the date? Simple: this photograph was taken on Peter P and Margaretha’s last Sunday in Nebraska, before they moved to California, where they would spend the rest of their lives. We do not know what date it was, but we do know that it was a Sunday in August 1936. Although the anal retentive among us might want to pin down the exact date (guilty), it really is enough to know that on this day Grandpa Chris said goodbye to his mom and dad, who would no longer live just up the road from Grandpa and Grandma’s Lushton farm.

More cousins

The post title refers not only to another photograph of a cousins get-together but also to more cousins in the photo. The earlier picture of six cousins was taken in 1954; a year later the group had grown to eight. The back row (from left to right) includes Mary Jane, Kenny, Duane, and Charlotte; the front row has Marcia, Sheryl, Darleen, and Steve.

To my knowledge, there are no other “cousins on the steps” photographs like this, probably because there was no more room for any of the cousins to come to fit on the steps.

A contemporary perspective (or two)

Some recent Saturday morning browsing uncovered the following Fernon’s Fortnightly article dated 1 June 1872 about the prospect of Russian Mennonites emigrating to the U.S. The initial part of the article first appeared in the New York Tribune on 19 April and was reprinted in Fernon’s Fortnightly. What is most interesting is how the reporter introduces the Russian Mennonites to the U.S. audience. The description is favorable to the point of exaggeration, but it does show how eager some were to have Mennonites contribute their agricultural talents and work ethic to the U.S. economy.

Prospective Emigration of Mennonites from Russia to America

St. Petersburg, April 19.—The United States seems likely to receive a large emigration from Russia during this or the ensuing year. The Mennonite colonies, which are situated in the south of Russia, near Bendiansk, numbering some 40,000 souls at least, and estimated at more than twice that, propose removing in a body either to the United Stares or to Canada, In order to escape from the obligations of military service, which is contrary to their conscience and religious belief. It is said that they have already presented petitions to the American and British Governments, asking on what conditions they will be received. As the emigration of such a large body of people, all connected together by religion, friendship and blood, and who would virtually desire to settle in one place, is a matter of considerable importance, it will be well to tell who these Mennonites are, and what are their character and circumstances.

At the time when the Anabaptists and other mystical and protesting sects flourished most in the Low Countries, Menno Simonis, Catholic priest, abandoned Catholicism and united many of these errant sectarians into “Communes of God,” “poor and defenceless brotherhoods.” This teaching was very simple and in many respects resembled that of the Quakers. One great doctrine was, that war was unlawful and military service sinful. The effort of these communities was to restore the Apostolic Church to its primitive simplicity. Menno died in 1561, and about this time there was a large emigration of his flock, who had taken the name “Mennonites,” to East Prussia, in the regions of Dantzig, Marienburg and Elbing. Their Dutch neatness and Dutch industry soon made these desolate and swampy regions to flourish like a garden. In 1730 and 1732, the Mennonites were threatened with expatriation, on account of their refusal to serve in the army; but the storm passed by, and in 1740 King Frederick II gave them new privileges, which resulted in a new immigration from Holland. Still, many arbitrary measures were taken from time to time, and in 1789 they were forbidden to purchase landed property. Catharine the Second already in 1786 invited the Mennonites to Russia, along with other German colonies, and in 1789, 228 families arrived in Russia, and between 1793 and 1796 there was an immigration of 118 more families. These all settled on and near the island of Khortitz, on the lower Dnieper, below Tekaterinoslav. The conditions on which they came to Russia were: Protection from all attacks, freedom of worship, a gift of lands to the amount of 190 acres for each family, exemption from all taxes and imports for 10 years, money for their journey and money and wood with which to establish themselves, freedom of trade and manufactures, the administration oaths in their own way, and exemption forever from military service. These privileges were confirmed by the Emperor Paul, and extended to all Mennonites who should come thereafter. In spite, therefore, of the repeal and mitigation of the severe laws against them in Prussia, there was a continued and large immigration of Mennonites into Russia up to the year 1817. These colonists settled near their brethren in the Government of Taurid, in the region between the rivers Molotchna, Dneiper and Toknak, not far from the town of Berdiansk.

From that time the Mennonites have gone on increasing and prospering until they now number about 40,000 souls. They have been always protected and favored by the Government, so that they have almost entirely governed themselves, and have preserved their German character and institutions intact. This they in great part owe to the character and efforts of Johann Cornies, who, up to his death in 1848, exercised a very powerful influence over them, though he held no office and no rank. Titles and orders were, on several occasions, offered to him by the Imperial Government, which highly appreciated his services, but they were always refused. His advice was several times asked of the Minister of Domains, and the Governor General of New Russia rarely took an important measure without first consulting Cornies. These Mennonites settled in a waste steppe, where the land was rich enough, but suffered much from want of water. They began to irrigate and have raised agriculture to a higher point than anywhere else in Russia. They had no wood, and they began to plant trees. The introduction of tree culture on the steppes is entirely owing to them. They have not only large orchards of excellent fruit trees, but large and productive woods of forest trees, and also extensive plantations of mulberry trees, by means of which they produce a considerable quantity of silk. As they are not averse to improvements, their methods and implements are all good, and they use machinery largely in their agriculture. They are also large raisers of stock—horses, cattle and sheep. Though the Mennonites were originally agriculturists, they have endeavored to supply their own wants in manufactured articles, and, in 1854, they had in activity 350 mills and factories, including cloth mills, water and grist mills, dyeing and printing works, breweries, distilleries, silk spinneries, brick and tile works, potteries, etc., and among their villagers there were men exercising nearly every known trade.

That the Mennonites are thrifty, industrious and economical, their prosperity is sufficient proof. They are, beside this, very clean, neat and orderly (a lady could go into every peasant’s stable), and quiet, contented, honest, moral and deeply religious. There is no drunkenness or gambling among them. Crime is exceedingly rare. The latest statistics I can find are dated 1841, and those show that for 37 years there were only 68 crimes in the Mennonite Colonies on the Molotchna, including about 12,000 people. Of these crimes, 41 sprang from the sexual relation and nine were thefts; all the rest were minor offences, such as disobedience to the authorities. Beside all this, the Mennonites are educated. Every child knows how to read and write, and in every village there is a school. The Bible and other religious books are, of course, to be found in every house. These Mennonites were visited by Haxthausen in 1843, and by Petzholdt in 1855, and both travellers bear testimony to the worth and the prosperity of the colonists. Petzholdt says: “It is my firm conviction that Russia possesses no more industrious or more useful citizens than the Mennonites.” Up to this time the Mennonites have always been loyal subjects to Russia. They have never been remiss in their taxes, and during the Crimean war sent large voluntary gifts of grain and provender to the besieged army. It is only because the privileges granted to them are infringed, and they will be compelled to enter the army against their conscience, that they now wish to emigrate from Russia.

It can readily be seen that it will be of great importance for the United States to obtain the accession of so large and compact a body of educated and intelligent colonists, connected together by ties of blood and religion, and so thrifty, industrious and moral. Nowhere else in Europe can such immigrants be found. These 40,000 Mennonites would be worth 100,000 Germans from the Black Mountains or Wurtemberg, because their intelligence, morality and thrift stand so much higher. Their success in tree culture on an arid steppe points naturally to the Western prairies as their future home. Should they go to Utah, they would be a most valuable counterpoise to the Mormons, for they have all and more than all the good qualities of the “Saints” and none of their bad ones. What the Mennonites asked in their petitions to the American and British Governments was whether they could obtain land free or at low prices for their whole colony; whether they could have exemption for themselves and their descendants from military service of every kind; and whether the Government would advance them any money to defray their travelling expenses. Though the colony is prosperous and some of the members rich, yet then are there, as everywhere else, some poor who either have no land, being mere day-laborers, or have so little property that the forced sale which they would have to make on quitting their homes would leave them almost destitute. With the numerous emigrant aid societies which exist in America, it would seem that the path might be smoothed to the Mennonites, and everything well arranged to satisfy them.

The question now comes: What will the Russian Government do? It is forbidden to a Russian subject to emigrate without the consent of the authorities, and it is plainly impossible for such a large body of men to sell out their property and run away if such consent be withheld. The emigration of the Mennonites would be a greater loss to Russia than a gain to the United States. Immigrants flock readily and freely to the United States, while it is difficult to entice them to Russia. Yet it is evident that Russia cannot, for the sake of the Mennonites or any other colonists, make an exception to the general law. She has suffered enough from privileges and classes. As much as it is to be regretted, the present state of Europe seems to compel every nation to arm its entire population. The nobility, clergy and mercantile classes have been forced to give up their ancient privileges, by which they were exempt from compulsory military service, and their freedom from taxation will soon go too. It is impossible, then, for them to consent that any small body or sect of men shall have the privileges which they have been compelled to forego. The Russian World, the only paper which has mentioned the subject, speaks very strongly on this point, and says it would be far better for Russia to lose the Mennonites and many others, than to consent for a moment to any exception to the laws. Many will no doubt say that the privileges granted to the Mennonites by Catharine and Paul are no more sacred than those granted to the nobility, and that the power which changes the one may change the other. Whatever a law or a charter may say, no law or privilege can be eternal. Times change; the good of the State demands a different arrangement, and the rights of individuals must succumb. The difference is here that the rights granted to the nobility and other classes were rights granted by the crown at its pleasure and for its advantage, and are liable to be revoked by the same power. Those granted to the Mennonites were a condition precedent of their coming to Russia at all, and therefore should be maintained, or they should be allowed freely to leave the country. Their rights, however, were guaranteed by no treaty, and it rests with the Russian Government entirely whether to carry out the contract in good faith or keep them as subjects against their will. If the American Government is desirous of receiving these immigrants it will probably interest itself in their favor, and possibly they may be allowed to leave. Otherwise they may be compelled to stay. Should they be allowed to go, they will probably have to restore their lands to the State, and possibly repay the Government also for the advances made to them on their coming. There is no naturalization treaty between Russia and the United States, and consequently every Russian who has emigrated without permission, and has become naturalized in America, is for that crime eternally banished from the Empire, and should he chance to return would be immediately sent in exile to Siberia. — Correspondence of the New York Tribune

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Immediately following the New York Tribune article the editor of Fernon’s Fortnightly, Thomas Sargen Fernon, added his two cents. He was somewhat less enthused and tolerant, one might say, than the article writer, believing that all U.S. citizens should follow the same law. He argues as follows: 

[There are a large number of Mennonites in Pennsylvania—in Lancaster county particularly—and during the rebellion the Mennonites contributed to the ranks of the Union army. So, too, did the Quakers, some by self-service, some by paying for substitutes.

In truth, not one of the religious orders that plead conscience in justification of non-compliance with law, came into conflict with the authorities in Pennsylvania during the rebellion. True, there was in spots opposition to the draft, but that opposition was from political not religious origin, and was, moreover, so insignificant that it was crushed, reed-like, by the power of the State.

Perhaps the Mennonites of Russia are less practical than their brethren in Pennsylvania; but whithersoever they may go, they will realize that religious toleration is not exemption from military service, for war is a combat against the body, sometimes the life of the State, and hence the call to arms to be impartial must be general, bearing alike on all creeds and sects, classes and conditions, between ages prescribed.

Both the Quakers and Mennonites of Pennsylvania, as we have said, did their duty to the State and to the nation in the rebellion; and if the Mennonites of Russia resolve to depart that land, trusting to promises received from some other nationality, they will be doomed to disappointment.

The French-German war of 1870–71, with its experiences, developments and lessons, left Russia no alternative but a reorganization of her military system, approximated to that of Prussia.

Besides, religious sects remarkable for eccentricity of costume or service, must take the risks of citizenship in common with their universal brethren within and without the churches. Educational establishments, learned ministers, commodious edifices, and a formula unrestricted by statute law, have stimulated the Christian churches in the United States to a higher standard of devotional intelligence; and every year seems to bring the evangelical churches nearer to one common bond of Christian brotherhood. All the churches in the U.S. stand on a single plank in the platform of the civil law. —Ed. F.]

*****

Interestingly, Fernon’s perspective won the day, and the U.S. government refused to promise that the Mennonite immigrants would be excused from military service. The story behind those deliberations is a post for another day. Suffice it to say for now that many Mennonites, our family included, came in spite of the possibility of military service, which casts their reasons for emigrating, I think, in an entirely new light.

Name that Buller!

The photograph is from sometime in the early 1940s, I would guess. Recognize this smiling chap?

Select the space after the colon ( : ) to see who this is (the name is in white font and will show up when you drag your cursor across it to select it): Carl Buller.

Cousins … and a house

These photographs, which were taken in 1954, show Grandma with her six oldest grandkids. How many can you identify? (Answer below the second photo.)

In the back from left to right are Mary Jane, Duane, and Kenny; in the front are Sheryl, Charlotte, and Darleen. The memory of time spent with cousins—whether Easter or July 4 or Thanksgiving (and the Nebraska–Oklahoma game) or Christmas or New Year’s Day—always brings a smile. I hope that these photos of one of the earliest cousin get-togethers do the same.

Before we leave these photos, note that this is the same Lushton farmhouse pictured here and here.* Gone is the wood siding, now replaced by slate. The concrete steps with brick sides is new as well. If I understand correctly, the white picket fence matched the fence on each side of the trellis next to the driveway. Amazing to see the transformation that the farmhouse underwent through the years.

* Update: Thanks to Dad for clarifying that this is the south end of the house, not the west side shown in the earlier photographs. The steps went up into a porch with a wash area, then on into the kitchen. As mentioned earlier, the original kitchen on the north end of the house was turned into Grandpa and Grandma’s bedroom after Grandpa moved the kitchen to the southern end of the house.

Photo of the day

The photograph below was probably taken sometime in the mid- to late 1940s. If anyone has insight into whether Grandpa and Grandma are younger than, the same age as, or older than they are in the photo here, which is provisionally dated to 1946, please speak up.

Several things catch my eye in the background of this photograph.

1. The Lushton farmhouse still has wood siding, so this picture was taken before the slate siding was installed.


2. This photograph offers a great view of the trellis that Grandpa built, a testimony to his gift and skill as a carpenter and woodworker. Not only did he curve the arch perfectly over the top, but he cut the slats in the gate so that they continue the bottom half of the curve.

It would be nice to collect and share photographs of some of the things that Grandpa made, such as the inlaid chess set or one of his clocks. We could create our own Chris Buller Virtual Museum, where photographs of his handiwork are kept on permanent display. Anyone interested?

***

One final question: Can anyone say how tall Grandpa was? A kid’s perspective is not that accurate, and I find myself wondering as I look at these old pictures just how tall he was.

Mennonites can’t dunk

(except when baptism in an MB church is involved)

The 1950–1951 Grafton High Gophers did not have the best of records, but we remember them just the same as a part of our family history.

Carl (43) was a senior and Wayne (25) a freshman on that season’s eight-man squad. They played home games in the gym located in the basement of the high school building pictured below. The court was small, and some of the walls were dangerously close to the out-of-bounds lines. The tight playing quarters were matched nicely by tight uniforms, which were the sporting style of the day—and that’s all I got to say about that!

Citizen Buller

With another U.S. election day upon us, it seems an appropriate time to explore the broader issues of citizenship and voting rights that lie in our family background, especially since so much of what we take as commonplace was an entirely new experience for our forebears.

The political structure and situation in nineteenth-century Nebraska differed from that in Molotschna colony in various ways, but two deserve special attention. First, as mentioned in passing earlier, only landowners had the right to vote in Molotschna colony. Of the entire Siebert-Buller group of twenty-five people who emigrated to the U.S. in 1879, then, only Johann Siebert ever had—or probably ever would—cast a vote within the Russian political system.

Second, by definition one does not vote on who will rule as tsar or tsarina; Russia was no democracy! The only votes cast were local in nature. Thus, a landowner such as Johann would have voted for the village Schulze (mayor) and two Besitzer (assistants); each village also had a clerk, but that individual was hired, not elected. On a broader scale, Johann could also vote for the Halbstadt Oberschulze (district mayor; Molotschna was divided into two volosts, or districts, by the 1870s, and Kleefeld was in the Halbstadt volost). Such was the political reality in New Russia.

In contrast, by the latter part of the nineteenth century every male citizen in Nebraska eighteen or older had the right to vote for all government offices. (Women did not receive the right to vote in Nebraska until 1917, and then only in municipal elections.) So, what do we know about when our ancestors became U.S. citizens, and how did this determine their ability to vote?

The first member of the Peter D Buller family to become a citizen was, of course, Peter P’s younger brother Jacob P, who was born in the U.S. on 2 August 1879. (Remember that Sarah Siebert Buller was six months pregnant when the family emigrated.) But who was likely next?

The U.S. National Archives offers a helpful explanation of the process by which immigrants such as Peter D or Sarah might become citizens:

As a general rule, naturalization was a two-step process that took a minimum of 5 years. After residing in the United States for 2 years, an alien could file a “declaration of intent” … to become a citizen. After 3 additional years, the alien could “petition for naturalization.” After the petition was granted, a certificate of citizenship was issued to the alien. (see further here)

The National Archives explains further that citizenship was also granted to a man’s wife and minor children (under the age of twenty-one) when it was granted to him. One declaration of intent and one petition for naturalization sufficed for the entire nuclear family.

Remarkably, a foreign-born resident could file the declaration of intent in any court of law (not just those within the federal system), and most immigrants filed their papers in their county courts. So, one might imagine Peter D filing a declaration of intent in the Hamilton County court sometime after June 1881 (two years after setting up residence in the U.S.) and becoming a citizen via petition three years after that, sometime in 1884 or later.

One might imagine that, but we really do not know when, or even if, Peter D became a U.S. citizen before he passed away in 1897. Perhaps the answer lies buried somewhere in the boxes or shelves of the Hamilton County archives. (Peter D was a resident of Hamilton County, just far west enough of Henderson to be out of York County.) For now, all we can do is speculate.

Courtesy of the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management.
See the original scan here.

If Peter D was the person who filed for and received the grant of land via the Homestead Act on 21 January 1893 (see right), then he had at least filed a declaration of intent before then, since land grants were available only to citizens or those who intended to become citizens.

If, however, the grant was made to Peter P, then we cannot know with certainty whether or not, let alone when, Peter D might have become a U.S. citizen. Several scenarios are thus possible.

(1) Peter D became a citizen within a reasonable amount of time after he was eligible to do so, so that by 1885–1888 both he, Sarah, and all their children (who were all under the age of twenty-one until late 1888) were naturalized citizens. In this case the land grant could have been made to Peter D or Peter P, both of whom would have been eligible.

(2) Peter D did not become a citizen at all and died a foreign-born resident in 1897. This would not be at all unusual, since the National Archives reports that 25 percent of the foreign-born residents in the 1890–1930 U.S. censuses had not taken even the first step toward citizenship. If Peter D was among that group, then Peter P must have filed for citizenship himself sometime after turning twenty-one (April 1890) and before applying for the land grant under the Homestead Act (presumably sometime in 1892).

Of the two scenarios, the first seems more likely, even though it leaves unresolved the question of which Peter received the land grant. Further, neither scenario tells us a thing about whether or when our earliest U.S. ancestors exercised their right to vote. The important thing is that within a decade or thereabouts at least some of our forebears did hold that right, something that they would not have enjoyed in nineteenth-century Russia.

******

As a related postscript, I note that York County posts online all declarations of intent to naturalize between the years 1870 and 1929 (sadly, Hamilton County does not). Searching for the last names Buller, Franz, Epp, and Siebert at the website here returns twenty-one individuals.

Name	Application Date	Age at Time of  Application
Buller, David	29 September 1882	27
Buller, David P.	20 January 1893	32
Buller, Henry J.	31 January 1893	24
Buller, Jacob	12 October 1886	47
Buller, Peter	6 October 1900	46
Franz, David	17 May 1889	50
Franz, Gerhart	26 September 1906	53
Epp, Cornelius	23 February 1891	27
Epp, Cornelius	17 October 1885	26
Epp, Cornelius	25 January 1886	60
Epp, Heinrich	28 April 1881	60
Epp, Heinrich	30 April 1881	24
Epp, Heinrich C.	10 May 1882	31
Epp, Heinrich G.	23 October 1901	38
Epp, Heinrich P.	23 February 1891	33
Epp, Jacob	23 May 1890	32
Epp, Johann	28 April 1881	50
Epp, Johann P.	26 September 1906	52
Epp, Klaus	24 December 1890	25
Epp, Peter	5 February 1887	24
Siebert, Cornelius	5 July 1887	21

1. Using the ages and application dates to calculate dates of birth rules out some of the Bullers listed from being members of our family. The Peter listed, for example, was born in 1854, which matches neither Peter D nor Peter P. He is apparently GRANDMA 28873 (no relation).

2. The first David Buller may well be Peter D’s younger brother who came over at the same time. He was born 14 February 1855, which would match the age given and application date.

3. Henry (Heinrich) J. and Jacob Buller are son and father (GRANDMA 236934 and 29059) but no relation to us.

4. Gerhart Franz might well be the same as Gerhard Franz, father of Isaac, father of Malinda. Gerhard was born 7 July 1853, so he would have been fifty-three on the application date—just as it says. (As someone born in the U.S. in 1882, Isaac was a natural-born citizen even though his father and mother were not citizens at the time.)

5. Jacob Epp, father of Sarah, mother of Malinda, was born 31 October 1856, so he would have been thirty-four in 1890; thus, the Jacob Epp listed is probably someone else with the same name.

5. None of the other Epp names and dates seem to match the Epps in our family line.

6. Cornelius Siebert is probably Kornelius Siebert, the youngest child in the Johann Siebert family. He was born 23 June 1866, so the ages match perfectly. He would have been thirteen when Johann and extended family arrived in the U.S. Since Kornelius was not a citizen in 1887, eight years later, we know that Johann Siebert had not become a U.S. citizen by that time (Johann’s status would have transferred automatically to Kornelius). Whether of not he ever did so will have to remain a mystery for the time being.

7. Assuming that most of these individuals emigrated during the 1870s, it is interesting to note that over half (eleven) had already initiated the citizenship process by the end of the 1880s. Others were in no hurry. Johann P. Epp, for example, arrived in the U.S. in 1875 but did not petition to become a citizen until 1906, thirty-one years later. He died just eleven years after that.

8. The majority were in their twenties (eight) or thirties (five). The rest of the applicants are spread out across their forties (two), fifties (four), and sixties (two). It would be interesting to explore if the youngish slant corresponds to a desire to secure land via the Homestead Act (which required one to be a citizen or intending to become one).

Another day, another house

The house pictured below may not be as outwardly impressive as the one shown here, but it has its own stories and its own special value. First a few words about the people depicted, then a little more about the house.

The two adults on the right side of the photograph are, of course, Grandpa and Grandma. The others in the group are completely unknown. Dad tells me that the Franz men always wore hats like this, so it seems logical to conclude that these are members of Grandma’s family. If anyone knows who they might be, please speak up!

Two final questions related to the people pictured: (1) Is it possible that any of the girls not wearing coats are Grandpa and Grandma’a kids? (I cannot tell, but the taller girl on the far left sure looks a lot like Matilda.) (2) Why does the photograph not include all (or any) of Grandpa and Grandma’s kids?

Now on to the house in the background: the house on Grandpa and Grandma’s Lushton farm. We are looking at the west side of the house, so the left side of the photograph is to the north. The trellis that Grandpa built is clearly visible behind the man with the plaid-looking jacket. Behind that, with the chimney, is an extension where the original kitchen was located. I am told that at some point (1940s?) Grandpa either tore down and rebuilt or remodeled that section to include several bedrooms. The kitchen (I think) was moved into the main part of the house.

If this photograph was taken slightly before the one here, then we might date it to 1940 or so. At that time the house did not have electricity (that came in 1946) or running water (that was later supplied from the windmill [or a well?] to the north, but I do not know when). All water needed for cooking or washing or bathing was hauled in by bucket every day of every week.

The siding in this photo is clearly wood. Within five to ten years after this that wood was replaced (or covered) with slate siding, which lasts much longer and does not need to be painted (if I remember correctly) but is a pain to work with during installation.

At the time of this picture there was no more than a crawl space under the house, but sometime after Grandpa and helpers excavated a full basement by hand and built in four rooms, including a shower. Grandpa also replaced the sandstone “foundation” with concrete foundation walls and worked on the inside of the house, completely rebuilding the stairway to the second floor.

If anyone who lived in this house remembers enough to sketch out a floor plan of one or both stories of the original with kitchen or the remodeled version with bedrooms added or even the basement, I will be happy to convert the sketches to a form that can be displayed online.

This house may look a little rough in this photo, maybe like it belongs in the Grapes of Wrath (a great movie), but its value cannot be questioned: this is the house where our family was born and grew and became, in large part, who we are today. Thankfully, the house still stands in Lushton; a house this valuable needs to be preserved for a long, long time.

Peter P and Margaretha’s farm(s)

I wonder how often plat maps of the York County townships were updated for country records or even for wider distribution. I also wonder if the York County Courthouse or the York Public Library maintains those historical plat maps, so one might be able to see who owned which pieces of land at various times. If anyone knows or is able to find out, please let me know. Now on to the real point of this post.

Earlier (here) we looked at a 1911 plat map for Henderson Township, where Grandpa and Grandma’s Lushton farm was later located. We did not mention that the same plat map shows where Peter P and family lived at that time. Follow the road 2 miles north of Lushton’s northwest corner, and you will see that P P Buller owned the southeast quarter and the west half of the northeast quarter of section 11 in Henderson Township. (Across the road to the east, in section 12, is a 240-acre farm owned by a Peter Siebert; we will return to him at some point in the future.)

This is the former Epp farm about which Maria and Sara commented that their mother (Margaretha Epp) had lived there her entire life before Peter and Margaretha moved to California in 1936. If you recall, when Peter P and Margaretha married in 1890, they took over the Epp farm, presumably from Margaretha’s father Cornelius Epp (who died in 1894) and mother Katharina Tieszen Epp (who died in 1896). It seems reasonable that the original Epp farm was the southeast quarter only and that Peter P purchased the 80 acres to the north of that farm—as well as an additional 80 acres in section 13 (the west half of the northeast quarter), but only an earlier plat map can confirm or correct that guess.

Not to be forgotten in all this is Peter P’s ownership of the original Buller farm west of Henderson: 160 acres in the northeast quarter of section 12 of Farmers Valley Township, Hamilton County (see here). Peter P’s father Peter D died in 1897, so the 1916 plat map shown in the earlier post must refer to Peter P as owner.

As owners of 480 acres in 1911 (320 acres in York County and 160 in Hamilton County), Peter P and Margaretha likely were well-positioned financially, perhaps not rich but certainly not impoverished. If nothing else, they farmed their own land, something that probably never would have happened back in Russia.

What is interesting to note is that Peter P and Margaretha did not rest on their accomplishments but consolidated their land holdings further over the next thirteen years. The evidence for this includes a 1923 plat map of Farmers Valley Township (Hamilton) and a 1924 plat map and Farmers’ Directory for Henderson Township (York), the latter two of which are pictured below.

The Farmers Valley plat map (which can be viewed here) shows that by 1923 the original Buller farm was now owned mostly by H. B. Alger, with 40 acres held by Mrs. J. Penner. Obviously, sometime between 1916 and 1923 Peter P and Margaretha sold the farm, presumably to finance the acquisition of farmland closer to their home in Henderson Township.

The plat map shows that Peter P now owned the entire east half of section 11. Sometime between 1911 and 1924 he purchased the 80 acres formerly held by G. Rempel. That was not all, however. The 80 acres of section 13 that he owned in 1911 had now grown to 120 acres, as he had added 40 acres to the south. The Farmers’ Directory that accompanies this plat map offers even further information.

The entry for Peter P reads as follows:

Buller, P. P. Wf. Margarita; ch. Margarita, Kathrina, Benjamin, Sarah, Klaas, Elizabeth, Cornelius, Maria, Peter, Anna and Henrich. P.O. York. O. 320 ac., sec. 11; O. 120 ac., sec. 13, and in Hays Twp., O. 80 ac., sec. 6; O. 40 ac., sec. 5.

What this says is that Peter P and Margaretha owned several pieces of land: 320 acres in section 11 and 120 acres in section 13 of Henderson Township—plus two pieces of land in Hays Township, which was immediately to the east of Henderson Township. As confirmed on the plat map of Hays Township below, Peter P owned 80 acres in section 6 (the north half of the southeast quarter) and another 40 acres in section 5 (the southwest quarter of the southwest quarter). This land was about two miles from his primary farm, which is a relatively close area in which to hold so much land.

All told, then, by 1924 Peter P and Margaretha farmed 560 acres of their own land, just 80 acres shy of a full square mile. What a change from Molotschna! There a full land allotment was roughly 175 acres in size. Peter P and Margaretha had more than three times that much land, and they could sell or divide it (or buy more) however and whenever they wanted. Both the amount of land and the freedom to dispose of the land however they wished far exceeded anything that would have been available to them in New Russia (where a land allotment had to be kept intact). The wisdom of their (and our) forebears’ coming to the U.S. truly is a source of both amazement and appreciation.

*****

Curious is the Farmers’ Directory listing for David S. Buller, Peter P’s younger brother who came to the U.S. on the S.S. Switzerland at the same time, when one compares it with the corresponding plat map. The entry reads:

Buller, David S. Wf. Margaretha; ch. Kathrina, Sarah, Maria, David, Margaretha, Anna, Martha and Emma. P.O. Box Henderson, Rt. 1. O. 160 ac., sec. 3 (26 [years in the county].) Breeder of White Wyandotte Chickens.

What is interesting is that the plat map lists Margaretha Buller as the owner of the southwest quarter of section 3. The most reasonable explanation is that in this instance the wife owned the land, not the husband. Perhaps she inherited it from her parents Gerhard and Katharina Dueck Epp? Now we really need to find an earlier plat map!