Przechovka Emigration 13

With this post we will complete the task of identifying, as best as we can, the thirty-two Przechovka-area Mennonite families who emigrated from West Prussia/Poland in 1819. The following post(s) will then take a step back and develop broader conclusions from the details uncovered along the way.

29. Adam Ratzlaff was a Mennonite from Przechovka whose family included only his wife and his “step-daughter (daughter-in-law)” (Rempel 2007, 137). The two options are correctly given because the French phrase “belle fille” (see original below) refers both to a step-daughter and a daughter-in-law.

Rempel offers additional hints by cross-referencing this Adam Ratzlaff to two settlement reports; the latter of the two is the most instructive.

Adam Ratzlaff (Адам Рацлав), whose family consists of 1 male and 2 females. On their move to Russia they brought 200 rubles cash, horses valued at 50 rubles and possessions valued at 50 rubles. They arrived in Russia in 1819 and settled in Franztal, Molotschna. (Rempel 2007, 158)

According to the 1835 Molotschna census, two men named Adam Ratzlaff lived in Franztal: Adam Adam (age fifty-two) lived at Franztal 19, and Adam Peter (age fifty-three) lived at Franztal 27. Both entered Russia in 1819, which means we should look for another Adam Ratzlaff among our group of thirty-two. In fact, number 8 on our list (see here) was the first Adam Ratzlaff, and we located him at Wirtschaft 19. 

Assuming we were correct to do so, we can identify this Adam Ratzlaff as the resident of Wirtschaft 27. Only Adam and his wife Anna are listed as living at Franztal 27, which offers additional evidence that he is the one listed on this visa. It is important to note also that Benjamin Peter Ratzlaff is listed at Franztal 27 as well, along with the note that Benjamin moved to Rudnerweide in 1827. This is none other than number 14 on our list (see here). 

The presence of brother, presumably, Benjamin is important because it enables us to identify Adam further. Benjamin, in fact, had an older brother named Adam who would have been fifty-one in 1835, so close enough to the age given in the census. This Adam Peter Ratzlaff (the only other one known to us would have been eighty-five in 1835) was, I conclude, number 99 in the Przechovka church book (GM 47882; see the end of this post for a peculiarity with the GRANDMA entry for this person). Thus once again the pattern holds: an 1819 emigrant was a member of the Przechovka church and settled in Franztal. 

30. Peter Becker, a Mennonite from Przechovka, was accompanied on the journey by his wife and one daughter. Rempel cross-references to two settlement reports (2007, 141, 157), but only the first is correct (the second is a different Peter Becker). Nevertheless, the first report confirms that Peter Becker and family settled in Russia in 1819.

This is the third Peter Becker in our list. We were unable to identify the first one (number 1) but were able to locate the second one (number 19) at Franztal 17. According to the 1835 census, four Peter Beckers lived in Molotschna:

• Peter Jakob (b. ca. 1804): Franztal 24
• Peter Johann (b. ca. —): Rudnerweide 25
• Peter Peter (b. ca. 1791): Franztal 26
• Peter Peter (b. ca. 1766): Franztal 17

The first was obviously too young to be married and head of a household in 1819, and the last has already been identified as emigrant 19 (here). This leaves the two middle ones.

There is no need to drag this out: it seems clear that the third Peter Becker listed is this emigrant. In fact, this Peter Peter Becker (PCB 1331/GM 32122) is the son of the fourth Peter Becker listed above. His wife was Maria Wedel (GM 61718), and their daughter was Eva. Still once again the pattern of an 1819 emigration from the Przechovka church to Franztal holds.

31. Peter Abrahams was a Mennonite from Deutsch Konopath who had a wife, two sons, and one daughter. Abrahams is not a surname we typically associate with the Przechovka church, but there are four Abraham or Abrahams listed in the church book, including two named Peter Abraham (both born in 1813; a duplicate entry, according to GRANDMA), one named Maria Abrahams (born and died 1811) and one named Maria Abrahamen (born 1815). In fact, Maria Abrahams (PCB 1556) is identified as the daughter of P. Abrahams. One wonders if this might be the Peter Abrahams in view here.

Rempel also cross-references to two settlement reports (the first is incorrect, it appears), the second of which reads as follows:

Peter Abrahams (Петр Абрамс), whose family consists of 2 males and 3 females. On their move to Russia they brought 60 rubles cash, horses valued at 20 rubles and possessions valued at 100 rubles. They arrived in Russia in 1819 and settled in Franztal, Molotschna. (Rempel 2007, 157).

Although the totals of each gender do not match (it should be three males and two females), no other Peter Abrahams family seems possible, since another one had four males and five females, and the third Peter Abrahams had no family accompanying him.

According to the 1835 census, only two men named Peter Abrahams lived in Molotschna: Peter Johann (b. ca. 1769) lived at Alexanderthal 23; and Peter Kornelius (b. ca. 1779) lived at Franztal 10. The Peter Abrahams with the larger family is reported to have settled in Alexanderthal (Rempel 2007, 155), which further confirms that our Peter Abrahams was yet another 1819 emigrant who settled in Franztal. We cannot document that this Peter Abrahams (GM ) was associated with the Przechovka church, but it seems more likely than not that his family was.

32. The widow Ratzlaff (“la veuve Ratzlaff”) a Mennonite from Przechovka, had two daughters.

As we have discovered previously, identifying a widow whose first name is unknown presents special challenges. Once again, Rempel provides a cross-reference to a settlement report:

Widow Maria Ratzlaff (Мария Роцлав), whose family consists of 3 males and 3 females. On their move to Russia they brought 1000 rubles cash, horses valued at 90 rubles and possessions valued at 200 rubles. They arrived in Russia in 1819 and settled in Franztal, Molotschna. (Rempel 2007, 158)

The number of females agrees with the visa, but the number of males does not. As tempting as it is to identify widow Maria Ratzlaff as number 32 on our list, we should regard that as only a possibility awaiting further evidence confirming or contradicting that identification.

***

Once again three of the four families examined can be positively identified, and all three correspond to the pattern observed earlier: 1819 emigrants from the Przechovka church who settled in Franztal. 

***

Note: Notice anything unusual about this entry?

Look carefully at the date of baptism and the date of death. Obviously, something is wrong here. In truth, I think the explanation is relatively simple. As is evident in the first scan from the PCB below, the name Evke Ratzlaffen (XXIX) is entered between numbers 99 (Adam Ratzlaff) and 100 (Maricke Ratzlaffen). Note also that Adam was baptized, as indicated above, in 1803 (although the month is given incorrectly; it should be April).

The facing page, where second and third marriages and deaths are recorded, is less clear.

It appears that the dotted line connecting to the comment “drowned” and the date of death  (4 August 1796) begins at the 99, the number for Adam Ratzlaff. However, it must be meant for the person who appears between 99 and 100, Evke Ratzlaffen, number XXIX in the Przechovka church book. This is the best explanation of all the evidence, including the mention of Adam Peter Ratzlaff, brother of Benjamin Peter Ratzlaff, as still alive in 1835.

In short, Adam Peter Ratzlaff’s GRANDMA entry should be corrected to provide no date of death and even to locate him at Franztal. I should note that the same 1796 date is given for Evke Ratzlaff (GM 47714), which proves that this is not the first time that the date of death was linked to Evke. 

	Name	PCB/GM	Comment
1	Peter Becker	??	originally misidentified
2	Jacob Wedel	276/106688	based on association with Glugowko
3	Heinrich Unrau	1149/86839	settled at Alexanderwohl 14
4	Peter Wedel	??	perhaps PCB 262/GM 81631, a Przechovka elder
5	Heinrich Ratzlaff	141/47821	settled at Franztal 25
6	Anna Pankratz	140/43100	widow and sister to number 5 above
7	Jacob Becker	334/32008	Jacob passed away; his widow married Tobias Schmidt (number 28)
8	Adam Ratzlaff	192/4327	settled at Franztal 19
9	George Nachtigal	662/42260	settled at Franztal 3
10	Peter Unrau	1322/61701	settled at  Franztal 22
11	Martin Cornelsen	1250/33801	emigrated in 1820; settled at Alexanderwohl 1
12	Martin Köhn	??	probably from Przechovka
13	Maria Schmidt	??	probably from Przechovka
14	Benjamin Ratzlaff	1320/47884	settled first in Franztal
15	Peter Pankratz	??	destination unknown
16	Andreas Schmidt	1272/43155	settled at Alexanderwohl 14
17	Peter Frey	1351/35807	settled first in Franztal; moved to Alexanderwohl in 1821
18	Jacob Ratzlaff	??	Mennonite from Przechovka
19	Peter Becker	321/32099	settled at Franztal 17
20	Kornelius Richert	1251/48300	settled at Franztal 11
21	Peter Ratzlaff	111/47815	settled at Franztal 6
22	Daniel Unrau	??	identification uncertain; possibly 1000/106834
23	Jacob Schmidt	1302/32895	settled at Alexanderwohl 18
24	Heinrich Schmidt	1345/32966	settled at Alexanderwohl 5
25	Peter Wedel	??	identification unknown
26	Peter Block	Montau/32253	settled at Franztal 14
27	Benjamin Ratzlaff	??	remained in Volhynia
28	Tobias Schmidt	833/61594	settled at Franztal 8
29	Adam Ratzlaff	99/47882	settled at Franztal 27
30	Peter Becker	1331/32122	settled at Franztal 26
31	Peter Abrahams	NA/46631	settled at Franztal 10
32	widow Ratzlaff	??	possibly settled in Franztal

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.