Franztal in Neumark 5

In this fifth and final post about Franztal in Neumark, which covers the 1826 Praestations-Tabel (tax list), we will observe a similar phenonemon as we discovered in the 1826 Brenkenhoffswalde list discussed here.

To recap Franztal one last time. George Buller 350 and his wife, son, and daughter lived in Franztal by 1767. Twenty-six years later, in 1793, George disappeared from the register of lease-holders, but his son (presumably) Heinrich now farmed the same plot. In addition, two new Bullers—another man named Heinrich and an Andreas—held Franztal leases.

Twelve years after that, in 1805, Heinrich son of George had passed on, his place taken by his widow and two unmarried daughters: Maria and Anna. The “other” Heinrich still leased plot 3, while a George Buller also lived in the village but did not hold title to a lease. Finally, there were now two Andreas Bullers in Franztal, one named Jr. and no doubt the son of the other.

The tax list for the following year, 1806, once again included Heinrich of plot 3 and the two Andreas Bullers (plots 14 and 20). There is no mention of the George from 1805 nor of the widow or the two daughters of Heinrich son of George 350. Taking their place with plot 1 is Heinrich Jr., presumably the eldest son of the deceased Heinrich.

We will put this all together in a chart of sorts, along with the names and likely relationships from the other Neumark villages (Neu Dessau and Brenkenhoffswalde), but for now we should only note that the last three Praestations-Tabellen (1793, 1805, 1806) recorded at least ten different Bullers: George, Heinrich 1, Heinrich 2, Andreas, Heinrich 1’s widow, Maria daughter of Heinrich 1, Anna daughter of Heinrich 1, George (unknown origin), Andreas Jr., and Heinrich Jr. (son of Heinrich 1). The 1826 list paints an entirely different picture (see Goertz 2001, 51).

Lot 1

Johann Lange
Johann Preuss
Heinrich Hahn
Mart. Sommerfeld
Gottfried Glaser
Daniel Krüger
Mich. Dittmann aus [from] Vorbruch

Lot 2

Johann Karutz
Herrman Lentzmann
Johann Eichholz
Witwe [widow] Peter Voth geb. [born] Schmidt
Sam. Renutz aus Vorbruch
Andreas Hartmann

Lot 3

Carl Schmidt
Joh. Friedr. Dabbert
Joh. Püpke aus Netzbruch
Joh. Bremer

Looking east toward present-day Głęboczek, formerly known as Franztal.

Lot 4

Andreas Voth
Behrend Retzlaff
Renitz aus Vorbruch

Lot 5

Gottfried Ziebarth
Carl Ziebarth
Wilhelm Grahlmann

Lot 6

Carl Wiersch
Erdmann Vierus
Christ. Kühl aus Vorbruch

Lot 7

Carl Wiersch

Lot 8

Wittwe Wilh. Voth geb. Buller

Lot 9

Carl Kray

Lot 10

Ludwig Dietrich
Samuel Bensch

Lot 11

Carl Grahlmann
Carl Liermann
Behrendt Voth
Andreas Janetzky
Christian Sommerfeld

Lot 12

Peter Wedell
separ. Unruh geb.Voth
Wilh. Liermann
Abraham Becker
Peter Ganz

Lot 13

Martin Sommerfeld
Jacob Becker
Carl Schaede
Erdmann Nixdorf

Lot 14

Gottl. Bähr
Tobias Rettschlag
Gottlieb Zippel
Peter Gans
Mich. Blanck
Christ. Künzel
Fried. Sasse

Lot 15

Behrend Retzlaff
Peter Becker
Gottfr. Glaser
Friedr. Remitz aus Vorbruch

Lot 16

Wittwe Dircks geb. Voth

Lot 17

Peter Ganz
Mich. Kandt

Lot 18

Andreas Hartmann

Lot 19

Mich. Kant
Wilh. Gebhardt

Lot 20

Heinrich Dietrich
Martin Knispel
Christoph Draeger aus Rohrdorf

Lot 21

Die Mennonistengemeine zu Franthal aus Brenkenhoffswalde für die verlandete Netze
[The Mennonite church to Franztal from Brenenhoffswalde for the silted-up Netze (?)]

The list contains a lot of unfamiliar names, which makes for boring reading. But that is precisely the point: for the first time since 1767, no Bullers are listed as lease-holders in Franztal—just as with the 1826 list for Brenkenhoffswalde. In fact, the only known Buller remaining in the village is the widow Voth, who was born a Buller.*

There may have been other Bullers in the village, but the difference with the 1805 and 1806 lists is striking. Gone are both Andreas Bullers, Heinrich 2 (the “other” Heinrich), Heinrich 1’s widow, and Heinrich Jr. Neither is there mention of the George from 1805. The two daughters Anna and Marie may have still lived in the village with husbands and children, but we have no way of knowing that based on the present evidence.

This is exactly what we saw for the Neu Dessau and Brenenhoffwalde 1826 lists. Before 1826 there was an influx of non-Mennonites (to judge by the names) and a radical reduction in the number of known Mennonites in the villages. Granted, the villages still contain some Voths and Ratzlaffs and Dirkcs and Schmidts, but there are also Ziebarths and Zippels and Knispels and Kants. Clearly, the neighborhood has changed.

The question this raises is: Where did all the Bullers go? Beyond that, we descendants of Benjamin > David > Peter D > Peter P > Chris wonder if our ancestors lived in the Neumark during the latter part of the eighteenth and first part of the nineteenth centuries. Is this why it is so difficult to trace further back than Benjamin? Was he a part of the group that disappeared from the Neumark and then popped up again elsewhere?

I have no idea. But I do know that there is one more Neumark list to consult before we wander to a new locale. It is a list that reveals an apparent scandal that involves a Buller we thought we had left behind. Until then …

*****

* If this unknown Buller was Wilhelm Voth’s first wife, and if they were married when Voth first appeared on the tax list in 1793, then she probably was of the same generation as Heinrich son of George 350, perhaps even of the same family (i.e., George 350’s daughter and Heinrich 1’s sister). However, those are two very big ifs, so we should treat this idea as nothing more than an appealing possibility.

Work Cited

Goertz, Adalbert. 2001. Mennonites in Amt Driesen of the Neumark, Brandenburg, Prussia. Mennonite Family History 20:47–51.