During the writing of the previous post (here), I discovered that one of the earlier identifications of an 1819 emigrant, the first one on our list of thirty-two, was incorrect. This post returns to the person previously misidentified in order to correct that error.
1. Peter Becker is identified as a farmer from Przechovka with a wife, one son, and two daughters (Rempel 2007, 136). As noted earlier, two other individuals in this group shared the same name: numbers 19 and 30 in the 1819 list (Rempel 2007, 137). Rempel does not list any other Peter Beckers as emigrants in 1820 or later, so we have reason to think that only three Przechovka-area Mennonites emigrated during that time period.
Given the information provided, we can distinguish these three Peter Beckers as follows (the number is the persons’s position on our list):
- Peter Becker 1 had a wife, one son, and two daughters.
- Peter Becker 19 had a wife and five daughters.
- Peter Becker 30 had a wife and a daughter.
Peter Becker (Петр Бекер), whose family consists of 1 male and 2 females. Settled in Russia in the year 1819. They had with them 400 rubles cash, furniture valued at 170 rubles 60 kopeks, I wagon, 1 horse, 2 head of cattle; wagon, horse or head of cattle cost 207 rubles. The local administration suggested providing financial aid for the purchase of 1 horse at a sum of 50 rubles, and also for building a house and establishing the household, at a sum of 189 rubles. (Rempel 2007, 141)
Peter Becker (Петр Бекер), whose family consists of 2 males and 6 females. Settled in Russia in the year 1819. They had no cash. They brought possessions valued at 250 rubles 60 kopeks, no wagon, l horse and no cattle; wagon, horse or head of cattle cost 60 rubles. The local administration suggested providing financial aid for the purchase of 1 wagon, 1 horse, 2 head of cattle, at a sum of 220 rubles, and also for building a house and establishing the household, at a sum of 589 rubles. (Rempel 2007, 141)
Peter Becker (Петр Бекер), whose family consists of 2 males and 6 females. On their move to Russia they brought 50 rubles cash, horses valued at 80 rubles and possessions valued at 100 rubles. They arrived in Russia in 1819 and settled in Franztal, Molotschna. (Rempel 2007, 157)
Peter Becker (Петр Бекер), whose family consists of 2 males and 6 females. Settled in Russia in the year 1819. They had no cash. They brought possessions valued at 250 rubles 60 kopeks, no wagon, l horse and no cattle; wagon, horse or head of cattle cost 60 rubles. The local administration suggested providing financial aid for the purchase of 1 wagon, 1 horse, 2 head of cattle, at a sum of 220 rubles, and also for building a house and establishing the household, at a sum of 589 rubles. (Rempel 2007, 141)
Peter Becker (Петр Бекер), whose family consists of 2 males and 6 females. On their move to Russia they brought 50 rubles cash, horses valued at 80 rubles and possessions valued at 100 rubles. They arrived in Russia in 1819 and settled in Franztal, Molotschna. (Rempel 2007, 157)
Based on the numbers of males and females given, we can assign the first settlement report to Peter Becker 30: Peter + a wife + a daughter = one male and two females. We can assign the second and third to Peter Becker 19, whose son was apparently born after the visa issuance but before settlement: Peter + a son + a wife + five daughters = two males and six females. Peter Becker 1 lacks a settlement report, which could mean that he never settled or that he did settle but that the report was unavailable to Rempel.
In addition to the Rempel information, we should also consider evidence from the 1835 Molotschna census, which lists four Peter Beckers:
- Becker, Peter Peter (b. ca.1766): Franztal 17
- Becker, Peter Peter (b. ca.1791): Franztal 26
- Becker, Peter Jacob (b. ca.1804): Franztal 24
- Becker, Peter Johann (b. ca. —): Rudnerweide 25
Using GRANDMA, we can learn more about each of these Peter Beckers and match some of them with the list of three 1819 emigrants.
1. We already identified the first Peter Peter Becker listed (born circa 1766) as GM 32099 and number 19 on the 1819 list of emigrants (see here). This is the Peter Becker who had a wife, a son, and five daughters when he settled.
2. The second Peter Peter Becker listed (born circa 1791) is actually the son of the first Peter Peter Becker. We will encounter him later as the number 30 emigrant, so for now we note only that he lived at Franztal 26 (see GM 32122).
3. Peter Jacob Becker was born in 1804 and thus was too young to have a wife and children in 1819. However, according to the 1835 census, Peter Jacob Becker (GM 32012) was an 1819 emigrant: the fifteen-year-old son of Jacob Becker, the seventh emigrant whom we identified (see here). Peter’s father, as we learned, died, and Peter’s widowed mother married Tobias Schmidt, whom we will address as emigrant 28.
4. This leaves only Peter Johann Becker, whose birth year is not included above because no age is listed in the census. The reason for this is simple: this Peter Becker died before the census was taken, in 1831, to be exact. By searching for Peter Johann in the census and GRANDMA, we learn that he was born in 1802 (GM 32066); he was thus seventeen in 1819 and an unlikely candidate for having a wife, one son, and two daughters, as Peter Becker 1 is reported to have had.
Before leaving Peter Johann Becker, we should note that he, too, was an 1819 emigrant who settled in Franztal. Upon the death of Peter’s father, his mother Anna Richerts married Benjamin Ratzlaff, so this new blended family (whomever it included) was part of the 1819 emigrant group (see here).
In the end, the information from the census does not match the situation of Peter Becker 1. Our only hope of identifying Peter Becker 1 is to find someone whose family in 1819 matches what the visa describes: a husband and wife with one son and two daughters. Searching GRANDMA for any Peter Becker born between 1760 and 1800 reveals twelve candidates:
This leaves us with six possibilities. According to GRANDMA, number 1 (2519) had no children in 1819. Unfortunately, there is almost no information beyond date of birth and parents for four of these individuals: 3 (31996), 4 (32107), 6 (32115), and 10 (32117). We cannot exclude these four, to be sure, but we have no evidence in their favor.
Only one Peter Becker remains: number 5, the Peter Becker who was born 1 January 1786 and whose GRANDMA number is 32061. This Peter Becker deserves careful consideration, not only because GRANDMA offers full information about him, but also because a Buller is involved, a Buller whom we briefly discussed some time ago. We will pick up the story here in the next post, where we will discover how GRANDMA, Google, and another Mennonite genealogy resource help us to solve the question of the identity of Peter Becker 1.
Work Cited
Rempel. Peter. 2007. Mennonite Migration to Russia, 1788–1828. Edited by Alfred H. Redekopp and Richard D. Thiessen. Winnepeg: Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society.
1. We already identified the first Peter Peter Becker listed (born circa 1766) as GM 32099 and number 19 on the 1819 list of emigrants (see here). This is the Peter Becker who had a wife, a son, and five daughters when he settled.
2. The second Peter Peter Becker listed (born circa 1791) is actually the son of the first Peter Peter Becker. We will encounter him later as the number 30 emigrant, so for now we note only that he lived at Franztal 26 (see GM 32122).
3. Peter Jacob Becker was born in 1804 and thus was too young to have a wife and children in 1819. However, according to the 1835 census, Peter Jacob Becker (GM 32012) was an 1819 emigrant: the fifteen-year-old son of Jacob Becker, the seventh emigrant whom we identified (see here). Peter’s father, as we learned, died, and Peter’s widowed mother married Tobias Schmidt, whom we will address as emigrant 28.
4. This leaves only Peter Johann Becker, whose birth year is not included above because no age is listed in the census. The reason for this is simple: this Peter Becker died before the census was taken, in 1831, to be exact. By searching for Peter Johann in the census and GRANDMA, we learn that he was born in 1802 (GM 32066); he was thus seventeen in 1819 and an unlikely candidate for having a wife, one son, and two daughters, as Peter Becker 1 is reported to have had.
Before leaving Peter Johann Becker, we should note that he, too, was an 1819 emigrant who settled in Franztal. Upon the death of Peter’s father, his mother Anna Richerts married Benjamin Ratzlaff, so this new blended family (whomever it included) was part of the 1819 emigrant group (see here).
In the end, the information from the census does not match the situation of Peter Becker 1. Our only hope of identifying Peter Becker 1 is to find someone whose family in 1819 matches what the visa describes: a husband and wife with one son and two daughters. Searching GRANDMA for any Peter Becker born between 1760 and 1800 reveals twelve candidates:
1. 13 Sep 1764 to 1 Mar 1842 — Peter Becker, GM 2519
2. 13 Sep 1765 to 1842 — Peter Becker, GM 32099
3. 18 Nov 1771 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 31996
4. 26 Jan 1774 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32107
5. 1 Jan 1786 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32061
6. 11 Aug 1787 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32115
7. 1 Nov 1787 to 21 Dec 1787 — Peter Becker, GM 32120
8. 26 Aug 1792 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32122
9. 28 Jan 1793 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32002
10. 24 Aug 1793 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32117
11. Abt 1798 to ? — Peter Peter Becker, GM 809665
12. Abt 1800 to 1874 — Peter Becker, GM 103878
2. 13 Sep 1765 to 1842 — Peter Becker, GM 32099
3. 18 Nov 1771 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 31996
4. 26 Jan 1774 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32107
5. 1 Jan 1786 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32061
6. 11 Aug 1787 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32115
7. 1 Nov 1787 to 21 Dec 1787 — Peter Becker, GM 32120
8. 26 Aug 1792 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32122
9. 28 Jan 1793 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32002
10. 24 Aug 1793 to ? — Peter Becker, GM 32117
11. Abt 1798 to ? — Peter Peter Becker, GM 809665
12. Abt 1800 to 1874 — Peter Becker, GM 103878
We can trim the list by excluding candidates whom we know or strongly suspect were not Peter Becker 1. For example, we already identified numbers 2 (32099) and 8 (32122) as different Peter Beckers. Further, number 7 (32120) died as an infant. Number 12 (103878) was nineteen in 1819 and thus probably too young to have three children. Numbers 9 (32002) and 11 (809665) apparently lived in Volhynia in 1819 so were not part of this group.
This leaves us with six possibilities. According to GRANDMA, number 1 (2519) had no children in 1819. Unfortunately, there is almost no information beyond date of birth and parents for four of these individuals: 3 (31996), 4 (32107), 6 (32115), and 10 (32117). We cannot exclude these four, to be sure, but we have no evidence in their favor.
Only one Peter Becker remains: number 5, the Peter Becker who was born 1 January 1786 and whose GRANDMA number is 32061. This Peter Becker deserves careful consideration, not only because GRANDMA offers full information about him, but also because a Buller is involved, a Buller whom we briefly discussed some time ago. We will pick up the story here in the next post, where we will discover how GRANDMA, Google, and another Mennonite genealogy resource help us to solve the question of the identity of Peter Becker 1.
Work Cited
Rempel. Peter. 2007. Mennonite Migration to Russia, 1788–1828. Edited by Alfred H. Redekopp and Richard D. Thiessen. Winnepeg: Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society.
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