More about David of Neu Dessau

Our initial explorations of the Bullers of Neumark (see here for the first post) have focused largely on David Buller, (perhaps David 346 in the Przechowka church book), who lived in the village of Neu Dessau in 1778 but then sold his holdings there (the village lot plus its farmland) in 1779 for 570 Reichsthalers and turned over possession of that property to Ludwig Malchus on 1 May of the following year.

As noted toward the end of the last post, although David’s future disposition remains a mystery, he does appear in another governmental record from the same time frame. As before, the record has been provided by Adalbert Goertz (1999; see here).

The record actually mentions David only in passing, within the context of Mennonite Johann Dirks’s purchase of Neu Dessau property from a widow by the name of Neander (born Meschen). As far as I can tell, the record consists of two parts: the first concerns the 1771 purchase of the property, while the second is dated to 1780 and seems to relate to Dirks taking on (or perhaps making good on) debt associated with the property.

The record contains at least one item of broad historical interest: the question whether Mennonites were permitted to buy property from non-Mennonites. In 1771, King Friedrich II of Prussia ruled that such was allowed, but only in Neu Dessau, nowhere else.

What is far more interesting to us is the mention of David Buller, which reads:

Looking south to the area where Neu Dessau formerly stood.

an den David Buller daselbst 39 rthlr, und an seine Töchter Anna und Sara 5 rt 7 gr proprius zu bezahlen

to pay to David Buller there [i.e., Neu Dessau], 39 Reichsthalers, and to his daughters Anna and Sara 5 Reichsthalers 7 Groschen each

What is noteworthy here is not that David is listed along with others who are owed money but that “seine Töchter,” his daughters, are also included. Whose daughters? The most natural reading takes “seine” as referring to David, the antecedent nearest to the possessive pronoun “his.” So, now we do know a little more about David Buller of Neu Dessau: he had at least two daughters, whose names were Anna and Sara.

Although there is nothing earth-shattering in this discovery, it is gratifying to know that two more Bullers have been reclaimed from the anonymity of history forgotten. Did Anna and Sara have other sisters or any brothers? Did they marry and have children of their own? Did they live out their days in the Neumark area, or were they among those who emigrated to Volhynia or even to Molotschna? At present, all we have are questions about these Bullers, just as we have for their father. In time maybe additional government archives or long-lost church records will help us put the pieces together. For now, the search for new pieces goes on.

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Ironically, the search turned up a possible new piece less than 15 minutes after the post above was finished. Checking the GRANDMA database to see if it offered any information on David 346 and any clues that he might have been David of Neu Dessau, I noticed that GRANDMA lists a wife for David 346. Although David’s Przechowka church book entry does not identify his wife, GRANDMA lists Trincke Dircksen (i.e., Dircks) as his wife and explains that David is listed as her husband in the same book (Trincke is entry 447).

Przechowka church book: Trincke Dircks 447 entry showing 346 (David Buller) as her husband.

So, if (if!) David 346 is David of Neu Dessau, we now know the names of his wife (Trincke) and of their daughters (Anna and Sara). We cannot prove these connections yet, but they seem to be in the realm of the likely. On what basis can we say this?

Consider again the name of the man who owed David and his daughters money on a debt: Johann Dirks. The fact that Trincke shared the same last name may be coincidence, but it may also explain why Johann owed payment to David, Anna, and Sara Buller. One can easily imagine that relatives would have loaned money or participated in some sort of partnership, which would explain why Bullers are listed as debt-holders for Johann Dirks. This is nothing more than a guess, of course, but it does seem to tilt the scale further in the direction of identifying David 346 with David of Neu Dessau. Until a better explanation comes along, it will do for a working hypothesis.

Work Cited

Goertz, Adalbert. 1999. Court Records from the Grund- and Hypotheken-Acten of Neu Dessau, Amt Driesen, Neumark: Erbzinsguth Neu-Dessau, Kreis Friedeberg, Brandenburg. Available online here.