Arciechów
|
2
|
Deutsch Wymysle
|
92
|
Deutsch Zyck
|
29
|
Gut Wymysle
|
3
|
Korzykow
|
5
|
Lady
|
1
|
Leonow
|
6
|
Nowosiadło
|
3
|
Olszynki
|
11
|
Piaski
|
8
|
Polnisch Wionczemin
|
2
|
Sady
|
8
|
Swiniary
|
41
|
Szladow
|
3
|
Wionczemin
|
6
|
Wonsosz
|
7
|
1. Before we begin looking at specifics, we should remember that these numbers do not represent the number of Mennonites who lived in the village at any given time. The figures reflect a fifty-year time period, so some of the earlier inhabitants had no doubt passed on before those who came later resided in a given village.
2. Clearly, the majority of the congregation lived in the village that housed the church building: 92 of 227 (41 percent) in all. This high representation appears consistent with Deutsch Wymysle’s relative size in that locale. According to the Catalogue of Monuments of Dutch Colonization in Poland, “In ca. 1829, the village [Deutsch Wymysle] had approx. 50 Mennonite families, approx. 50 Evangelical [Lutheran] families, and 60 families of unknown denomination” (here, p. 122). Swiniary, the village with the second most congregants on the list, had only “11 houses and 108 residents” in 1827 (194).
3. Many of the villages can be identified today, as the map below makes clear.
 |
| Albert Breyer’s 1935 map of Central Poland |
The arrow left of center points to Deutsch Wymysle, and from there one can see Nowosiadło a bit to the northeast, Sady to the southeast and Swiniary just below; Deutsch Zyck is farther south (right of Gabin), and right above it is Leonow; just right of the map crease is Lade/Lady, and right of that village is Arciechów; southeast from there one spots Olszynki, and northeast of there is Szladow; finally, near the right edge of the map is Piaski.
4. The location of several villages remains uncertain. For example, one notes on the list two villages with the similar names Polnisch Wionczemin and Wionczemin. These are apparently two different villages, and it seems reasonable to think that Polnisch Wionczemin is today’s Wiączemin Polski (Polnisch = Polish), which is located approximately 2 miles northeast of Deutsch Wymysle. It is not shown above because it was not an Olędrzy village (the subject of this map); it was a primarily Polish village. If that is correct, then the church list’s Wionczemin is probably Deutsch Wionczemin, which is located northwest of Deutsch Wymysle (Deutsch is, of course, the German word for “German”).
What is meant by Gut Wymysle is a mystery. The word Gut does mean “good,” but it also can refer to “manor” or “estate” or even “farm.” Which one is in view here is anyone’s guess. Likewise, for the time being Korzykow and Wonsosz remain unidentified.
5. The density of villages on the south side of the river, as compared to the north, is striking. The reason for this is no doubt geographical in some way. Whether it involves the actual terrain, flood patterns, or some other agriculture-related phenomenon will require further research.
6. Finally, since this is Buller Time, we close by locating the Bullers of this church in their villages: eight of the sixteen Bullers lived in Deutsch Wymysle; two in Deutsch Zyck; two in Leonow, two in Wonsosz; and one in Sady (Heinrich Buller, we are told, went to Gnadenfeld in Molotschna, so he is not identified with a village in Poland).
Believe it or not, there is still much to be gleaned from this one list, such as life expectancy, average age at marriage, and so on. There is also a great deal about the Deutsch Wymysle area itself that we want to cover at some point. For example, what was grubbing, and why did the Mennonites of this area have to do it? All those questions will be explored in good time, even as we press forward to the next list containing Bullers, specifically, the Deutsch Wymysle members who left that church for some new home.
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