Bullers in Alexanderwohl

The listing of male Bullers who were heads of households in the 1835 census is worth a second look. In time we will likely explore further each individual listed, but for now it will suffice to examine all those who did not live in the village Alexanderwohl. I repeat the list of Bullers for easy reference. 

Buller, Abram Abram	(b. ca. –)	Prangenau	14
Buller, Benjamin Benjamin	(b. ca. –)	Alexanderwohl	16
Buller, David David	(b. ca.1812)	Alexanderwohl	1
Buller, Heinrich Jakob	(b. ca.1787)	Alexanderwohl	26
Buller, Heinrich Peter	(b. ca.1811)	Alexanderwohl	30
Buller, Jakob Jakob	(b. ca.1795)	Franztal	5
Buller, Jakob Jakob	(b. ca.1795)	Alexanderwohl	15
Buller, Jakob Peter	(b. ca.1758)	Alexanderwohl	9
Buller, Jakob Wilhelm	(b. ca.1809)	Lindenau	23
Buller, Peter David	(b. ca.1809)	Liebenau	3
Buller, Peter David	(b. ca.1809)	Alexanderwohl	1
Buller, Peter Peter	(b. ca.1807)	Alexanderwohl	30
Buller, Wilhelm Abram	(b. ca. 1766)	Lindenau	23

1. Abram Abram Buller was actually Abraham Abraham Buhler (GM 102468), who had moved to Molotschna from Chortitza, the Old Colony. His family was not related to ours and previously lived in Tiegenhof, which was 20 miles east of Gdansk (Danzig) in the Vistula Delta area.

2. The two Jakob Jakob Buller listings are apparently the same person (5587). According to the notes in GRANDMA, “In the 1835 census, he is listed at Alexanderwohl #15, and is said to have come from Franzthal, Molotschna in 1822. The entry for Franzthal #5 says he moved away from there in 1822.” Before that he was part of the Przechovka church, so he was no doubt part of our larger family. He was the son of Jacob Buller, who was the son of Peter Buller, who was the son of George Buller, who was the son of George Buller and Dina Thoms (see the Buller chart here).

3. The two persons from Lindenau are father and son, but their last name is more properly spelled Buhler: Wilhelm Abraham was the father (44021), Jakob Wilhelm the son (101065). Like Abraham Buhler, they came from the Tiegenhof area. They were not related to our family.

4. Peter David Buller (32781) is listed twice, for a reason similar to Jakob Jakob: he had moved from one Molotschna village (Alexanderwohl) to another (Liebenau). Peter David was actually Benjamin Heinrich Buller’s grandson. If you recall (see the David paragraph here), Benjamin’s son David died in 1813, and his widow remarried Martin David Cornelsen, and they moved to Alexanderwohl in 1820 with the rest of the Przechovka church. This explains Peter David appearing in Alexanderwohl in the 1835 census. GRANDMA explains further that “that he moved away from there in 1830. He is listed at Liebenau #3, where it says he came to Russia in 1820.” His move to Lindenau appears to have been related to his marriage to the widow Maria Schellenberg Regier, who lived in that village.

What do we learn from this simple exercise? First, the thirteen names listed represent eleven distinct persons; two sets of names are duplicates. Second, of the eleven individuals listed, three are not part of our family line; their names are more commonly spelled Buhler, and they emigrated to Russia from the northern part of Poland. 

This leaves eight Bullers listed who were part of our broader family: interestingly, all eight currently lived or had previously lived in Alexanderwohl. The connection between our family and the Przechovka church that established that village could not be clearer. Of course, the picture would soon change, as our own ancestor Benjamin Benjamin and his family, including son David, would move to Waldheim within a few years, and other Bullers would likewise move to Molotschna and settle in villages other than Alexanderwohl. Nevertheless, the concentration of Bullers around Alexanderwohl is a good reminder of our origins in the Przechovka church and thus our relationship to all of the Bullers who originated there.