Today we continue our exploration of contemporary sources about David Buller with a second notice in the Rundschau about the death of David Buller. This much longer notice appeared on page 10 of the 22 March 1905 issue. (Thanks again to Glenn Penner, who supplied the scans of the Rundschau pages.)
As before, the section of interest appears under the Rußland heading. As a point of curiosity only, note that the writers of the second letter in the Russia section (bottom of column 2 through most of column 3) are the Peter and Anna Warkentin of Waldheim, who wrote the first announcement about David Buller.
The section that interests us most, however, is the first. This letter was also written from Waldheim, in this case on 6 February 1905, so somewhat less than two months after David’s passing. We will view the letter in two sections, in order to make the original text as large (and readable) as possible.
Dem Herrn über Leben und Tod gesiel es, uns unsern lieben Vater David Buller durch eine sechstägige Krankheit im Alter von 86 Janren und 10 Monaten den 12. November 1904 durch den Tod in sein Freudenreich zu versetzen. Und da ich in Amerika noch Geschwister habe, denn ich habe schon so manchen Brief an sie geschrieben, aber keine Antwort erhalten. Da aber die “Rundschau” ein so sicherer Bote ist, so bitte ich den werten Editor, meine Trauerbotschaft der “Rundschau” mit auf die Rundreise zu geben, damit die Geschwister es durch dieselbe erfahren. Es sind noch zwei Brüder am Leben, Benjamin Buller, früher Kansas und David Buller, Norddakota, Peter Buller, Nebraska, ist gestorben.
It pleased the Lord of life and death to move our dear father David Buller through an illness of six days’ length, at the age of 86 years and 10 months, on 12 November 1904, through death into the realm of his joy. And inasmuch as I still have siblings in America, I have written many a letter to them but have received no answer. But since the Rundschau is a more certain messenger, I ask the honorable editor to circulate my sad news, so that the siblings find out through the same. There are still two brothers alive, Benjamin Buller, formerly of Kansas, and David Buller of North Dakota; Peter Buller of Nebraska died. …
Dann sind noch Johann Wiensen und Abraham Brauns Kinder, welche meine Schwestern waren. Sollte aber keiner von ihnen die “Rundschau” lesen, so sind andere gebeten, es inhen kund zu thun. Auch bitte ich von allen Geschwistern und Geschwisterkinder Auskunst, sowie die richtigen Adressen. Ich habe noch mehrere Vetter und Richten in Amerika: Johann Ratzlaffs kinder, deren Mutter Vaters Schwester war und Jakob Ratzlaffs Kinder, welcher der Mutter Bruder was. Sollten sie die “Rundschau” lesen, so sind sie all von uns gegrüßt.
Then there are Johann Wiensen and Abraham Brauns children, who were my sisters’. But if none of them read the Rundschau, as others have asked, make it known to them. I also ask for any information about siblings and siblings’ children, as well as correct addresses. I have several cousins and direct relatives in America: Johann Ratzlaff’s children, whose mother was father’s sister, and Jacob Ratzlaff’s children, which the mother’s brother was. You should read the Rundschau so they are all of us greeted.
It pleased the Lord of life and death to move our dear father David Buller through an illness of six days’ length, at the age of 86 years and 10 months, on 12 November 1904, through death into the realm of his joy. And inasmuch as I still have siblings in America, I have written many a letter to them but have received no answer. But since the Rundschau is a more certain messenger, I ask the honorable editor to circulate my sad news, so that the siblings find out through the same. There are still two brothers alive, Benjamin Buller, formerly of Kansas, and David Buller of North Dakota; Peter Buller of Nebraska died. …
Dann sind noch Johann Wiensen und Abraham Brauns Kinder, welche meine Schwestern waren. Sollte aber keiner von ihnen die “Rundschau” lesen, so sind andere gebeten, es inhen kund zu thun. Auch bitte ich von allen Geschwistern und Geschwisterkinder Auskunst, sowie die richtigen Adressen. Ich habe noch mehrere Vetter und Richten in Amerika: Johann Ratzlaffs kinder, deren Mutter Vaters Schwester war und Jakob Ratzlaffs Kinder, welcher der Mutter Bruder was. Sollten sie die “Rundschau” lesen, so sind sie all von uns gegrüßt.
Then there are Johann Wiensen and Abraham Brauns children, who were my sisters’. But if none of them read the Rundschau, as others have asked, make it known to them. I also ask for any information about siblings and siblings’ children, as well as correct addresses. I have several cousins and direct relatives in America: Johann Ratzlaff’s children, whose mother was father’s sister, and Jacob Ratzlaff’s children, which the mother’s brother was. You should read the Rundschau so they are all of us greeted.
The letter ends “Grüßend verbleiben wir Geschwister und Freunde,” that is, “sincerely, we remain siblings and friends,” and is signed by Heinrich and Aganetha Buller.
There is a lot here to digest, and not all of it is clear (i.e., the translation may be wrong in a few places). Still, we can know some things with certainty and other things with a high degree of probability.
1. David Buller passed away on 12 November 1904 and was buried, according to the first Rundschau notice, four days later, on 16 November. Whether the dates are Julian or Gregorian we do not know (for now).
2. He was ill for six days before passing away, although the nature of his illness is not indicated.
3. His length of life was 86 years and 10 months.
4. The author Heinrich (more on that below) says that two of his brothers were still living in the U.S.: Benjamin, who had been in Kansas (seemingly Heinrich is unsure of Benjamin’s current location); and David, was in North Dakota. A third brother, Peter (as in Peter D) had already died, which we know to be true, since our ancestor Peter D passed away in 1897.
5. With the help of the Buller Family Record, we can make sense of the reference to the children of Heinrich’s sisters. Heinrich’s sister (i.e., David’s daughter) Elisabeth married Abraham Braun, and his sister Maria married Johann Wiens. Elisabeth died in 1898, and Maria passed away even earlier, in 1894. Thus, both were dead when Heinrich wrote this letter, which explains why he asks readers to let the children of Johann Wiens and Abraham Braun know of the passing of David, who was their grandfather.
6. The reference to “Johann Ratzlaffs kinder, deren Mutter Vaters Schwester war und Jakob Ratzlaffs Kinder, welcher der Mutter Bruder was” is much more difficult to interpret, but it seems that Johann Ratzlaff married David Buller’s sister (Vaters Schwester) and had children with him. The fact that Heinrich refers to the children by way of the two parents and not to the parents in and of themselves might imply that only the children remain alive, that the parents have already passed away. Not to be lost in this uncertainty is the most important point of all: the statement that David Buller had at least one sister, which sister married a Johann Ratzlaff. This is another piece of evidence that may allow us, via the Grandma database, to fill in a blank or two in the David Buller family tree.
7. The mention of “Jacob Ratzlaff’s children, which the mother’s brother was,” remains a mystery, unless “brother” here means brother-in-law, which would then indicate that Heinrich wanted the children of Jacob Ratzlaff, who were nephews and nieces of David Buller’s sister, to know about the passing of their great-uncle David.
8. Finally, who was the Heinrich Buller who wrote this letter? Heinrich refers to David as his “lieben Vater,” his beloved father, and he names three brothers (Benjamin, David, and Peter) and refers to two sisters (Elisabeth and Maria). There can be little doubt, then, that Heinrich is none other than one of the sons of David who stayed behind in Molotschna, specifically in the village of Waldheim, from where this letter was written.
The big question about Heinrich (first mentioned here) was whether he was the oldest son of David and Helena Zielke Buller (so Grandma) or the child of David and his second wife (name unknown), as the Buller Family Record has it. This letter does not decide that question one way or another, but it does give us another datum to fill in for the life of Heinrich: the name of his wife. Neither the BFR nor the Grandma database lists a wife for Heinrich, but the signature on this letter seems to indicate beyond all reasonable doubt that Heinrich was married to a woman named Aganetha.
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A postscript in the form of a hunch: Is the 12 November date Julian or Gregorian? If the date given is Julian, then David Buller died on 25 November by our calendrical reckoning. Although numbers can become jumbled and dates confused, the fact that the Buller Family Record and Grandma place both his birth and his death on the 25th of the month seems to me an indication that that day of the month likely was significant in David’s life. Although it is impossible to be certain, that inclines me to think that the 12 November date provided from a village in Russia is the date in Julian terms and that the actual date of David’s death on our calendar was 25 November.
There is a lot here to digest, and not all of it is clear (i.e., the translation may be wrong in a few places). Still, we can know some things with certainty and other things with a high degree of probability.
1. David Buller passed away on 12 November 1904 and was buried, according to the first Rundschau notice, four days later, on 16 November. Whether the dates are Julian or Gregorian we do not know (for now).
2. He was ill for six days before passing away, although the nature of his illness is not indicated.
3. His length of life was 86 years and 10 months.
4. The author Heinrich (more on that below) says that two of his brothers were still living in the U.S.: Benjamin, who had been in Kansas (seemingly Heinrich is unsure of Benjamin’s current location); and David, was in North Dakota. A third brother, Peter (as in Peter D) had already died, which we know to be true, since our ancestor Peter D passed away in 1897.
5. With the help of the Buller Family Record, we can make sense of the reference to the children of Heinrich’s sisters. Heinrich’s sister (i.e., David’s daughter) Elisabeth married Abraham Braun, and his sister Maria married Johann Wiens. Elisabeth died in 1898, and Maria passed away even earlier, in 1894. Thus, both were dead when Heinrich wrote this letter, which explains why he asks readers to let the children of Johann Wiens and Abraham Braun know of the passing of David, who was their grandfather.
6. The reference to “Johann Ratzlaffs kinder, deren Mutter Vaters Schwester war und Jakob Ratzlaffs Kinder, welcher der Mutter Bruder was” is much more difficult to interpret, but it seems that Johann Ratzlaff married David Buller’s sister (Vaters Schwester) and had children with him. The fact that Heinrich refers to the children by way of the two parents and not to the parents in and of themselves might imply that only the children remain alive, that the parents have already passed away. Not to be lost in this uncertainty is the most important point of all: the statement that David Buller had at least one sister, which sister married a Johann Ratzlaff. This is another piece of evidence that may allow us, via the Grandma database, to fill in a blank or two in the David Buller family tree.
7. The mention of “Jacob Ratzlaff’s children, which the mother’s brother was,” remains a mystery, unless “brother” here means brother-in-law, which would then indicate that Heinrich wanted the children of Jacob Ratzlaff, who were nephews and nieces of David Buller’s sister, to know about the passing of their great-uncle David.
8. Finally, who was the Heinrich Buller who wrote this letter? Heinrich refers to David as his “lieben Vater,” his beloved father, and he names three brothers (Benjamin, David, and Peter) and refers to two sisters (Elisabeth and Maria). There can be little doubt, then, that Heinrich is none other than one of the sons of David who stayed behind in Molotschna, specifically in the village of Waldheim, from where this letter was written.
The big question about Heinrich (first mentioned here) was whether he was the oldest son of David and Helena Zielke Buller (so Grandma) or the child of David and his second wife (name unknown), as the Buller Family Record has it. This letter does not decide that question one way or another, but it does give us another datum to fill in for the life of Heinrich: the name of his wife. Neither the BFR nor the Grandma database lists a wife for Heinrich, but the signature on this letter seems to indicate beyond all reasonable doubt that Heinrich was married to a woman named Aganetha.
****
A postscript in the form of a hunch: Is the 12 November date Julian or Gregorian? If the date given is Julian, then David Buller died on 25 November by our calendrical reckoning. Although numbers can become jumbled and dates confused, the fact that the Buller Family Record and Grandma place both his birth and his death on the 25th of the month seems to me an indication that that day of the month likely was significant in David’s life. Although it is impossible to be certain, that inclines me to think that the 12 November date provided from a village in Russia is the date in Julian terms and that the actual date of David’s death on our calendar was 25 November.
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