The last post in this series concluded that a child born to Benjamin Heinrch and Maricke Cornelsen Buller after their first seven children—all of whom are recorded in the church book—might have been omitted from the church records. This would explain Benjamin Benjamin’s absence from the Przechovka church book. Of course, the explanation is rather hollow if we cannot point to evidence that Benjamin Benjamin was alive in that area at the appropriate time.
Glenn Penner believes that such evidence exists. He writes: “I also believe that Benjamin 2 [Benjamin Benjamin] was the 19-year-old Benjamin Buller found in Przechowko in 1810 (here). Again I see no other possibility.” The census that Glenn references is one that he and Esther Patkau transcribed. The webpage linked explains the background to the census:
The following is a transcription and partial translation of a census of Mennonites in the Schwetz region of West Prussia for the year 1810. The Mennonite families covered in this census are almost exclusively from the Przechovka congregation. The majority of this group moved to the Molotschna Colony in Russia, forming the Alexanderwohl congregation. This census is particularly important in that it complements the Alexanderwohl church records and provides information that is not found in the church records. It also contains a considerable amount of information not in the current version of the Grandma database.
Before looking at the details of the census, we should highlight several statements in this description. First, the census was taken in 1810; if Benjamin Benjamin was born around 1789 (currently our best guess), he would have been twenty-one or so. Second, the Mennonite families in this census are “almost exclusively from the Przechovka congregation.” In other words, there is a high probability that anyone listed on this census was a member of that congregation. Third, the census provides some information that is not included in the church book. This reinforces our impression from the previous post, namely, that absence from the church book cannot be used as proof of absence from the church itself.
The census lists fourteen Bullers, grouped into two families and one single Buller living with another family. The first family was headed by Jacob Buller, who was married at that time to Anna Pankratz (his second wife). In addition to her two children by her first marriage, the family included Anna, Heinrich, Elisabeth, Maria, Jacob, and Sara. The second family was headed by another Jacob Buller, who was married to Maria Schmiten; they had three daughters living at that time: Maria, Anna, and Helena. The two families totaled thirteen Bullers; only one Buller remains.
The remaining Buller is listed as a nineteen-year-old servant in the family of Benjamin Wedel, who at that time was an elder, the highest leadership position in the congregation. This Buller’s name was, of course, also Benjamin. An age of nineteen would place his year of birth in 1791 or thereabouts, close enough to our current estimate of 1789 for Benjamin Benjamin to be considered a reasonable match.
To be clear, the census does not identify Benjamin’s father’s name, so we cannot know with certainty that this is Benjamin Benjamin. However, between 1769 and 1808, a forty-year period, we have documentary evidence for only three Benjamin Bullers: one born circa 1789 (our Benjamin Benjamin), one born in 1804, and one born in 1806 in Brenkenhoffswalde, in the Neumark region (see here). There may have been still other Benjamin Bullers during that time, but we have no evidence that there were, and it thus seems more than reasonable to think that the Benjamin Buller listed in the 1810 census was, in fact, Benjamin Benjamin Buller, our earliest known ancestor—at least for now.
The series is not yet over, since we need to take the time to put all the pieces of this puzzle together into a coherent picture. But first we will reflect a little on Benjamin’s status as a servant in another family’s home. How common was this in the 1810 Schwetz area, and what, if anything, does it reveal about Benjamin Buller’s life?
To be clear, the census does not identify Benjamin’s father’s name, so we cannot know with certainty that this is Benjamin Benjamin. However, between 1769 and 1808, a forty-year period, we have documentary evidence for only three Benjamin Bullers: one born circa 1789 (our Benjamin Benjamin), one born in 1804, and one born in 1806 in Brenkenhoffswalde, in the Neumark region (see here). There may have been still other Benjamin Bullers during that time, but we have no evidence that there were, and it thus seems more than reasonable to think that the Benjamin Buller listed in the 1810 census was, in fact, Benjamin Benjamin Buller, our earliest known ancestor—at least for now.
The series is not yet over, since we need to take the time to put all the pieces of this puzzle together into a coherent picture. But first we will reflect a little on Benjamin’s status as a servant in another family’s home. How common was this in the 1810 Schwetz area, and what, if anything, does it reveal about Benjamin Buller’s life?
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