Franztal in Neumark 4

Although the 1806 tax list, the subject of this post, was compiled only a year later than the one from the previous post, it is not simply a repeat of the 1805 information, at least as far as the Bullers were concerned.

Thus far we have discovered in this series that George Buller (Przechowka 350) settled in Franztal at least by 1767, probably in 1765 with the rest of the original residents. At that time George had a wife, a son, and a daughter. Twenty-six years later, in 1793, the tax list does not mention George except in terms of him formerly holding a lease, but that list does introduce us to additional Bullers: a Heinrich who was apparently George’s son, another Heinrich whose origin is not known, and Andreas, also of unknown origin.

Twelve years after that, in 1805, the tax list revealed that Heinrich son of George was dead and had left behind a widow and two unmarried daughters: Maria and Anna. The “other” Heinrich Buller was still on the scene and inhabiting the same plot. The Andreas from 1793 had been joined by another Andreas, identified as Jr. in the list, so presumably the eldest son of the original Andreas Buller.

That brings us to 1806, the list for which is reproduced below (see Goertz 2001, 50).

Lot 1

Hein Buller Jr.

Heinrich Hahn

der v. Sachs zu Dolgen
Michel Kniese
Isaac Sperling

Lot 2

Hein Voot
Peter Voot
Joh. Sam. Renetz olim Schmidt

Lot 3

Hein. Buller
Johann Pappe olim Cornel. Voot
Jacob Richert

Lot 4

Tens Voot
Johann Samuel Renitz

Lot 5

David Dircks
Heinrich Dircks

Lot 6

Berend Retzlaff

Carl Ludwig Hintze

Lot 7

Berend Retzlaff

Lot 8

Wilh. Voot
Heinrich Voth
nunc: Carl Hintz from Netzbruch 17

Lot 9

Tens Voot Jr.

Lot 10

Heinrich Dircks olim Schmidt

Lot 11

Berend Voot olim Schmidt
Heinrich Dircks

Lot 12

Peter Jans Sr.
Peter Jans Jr.

Lot 13

David Voot
Jacob Becker

Lot 14

Andreas Buller
Heinrich Voot
Tobias Sperling
Peter Jans Jr.

Lot 15

Jacob Becker
Benjamin Karenke
Friedr. Renitz

Lot 16

Johann Becker

Lot 17

Peter Jans Jr.
Hein Voot

Lot 18

Tobias Voot

Lot 19

Jacob Voot
Johann Becker

Lot 20

Andreas Buller

The “other” Heinrich Buller (i.e., the one who definitely was not son of George 350) still inhabited plot 3, and the two Andreas Bullers still leased plots 14 and 20, just as they did a year earlier.

However, a big change took place with plot 1. In 1805 the lease-holders included Heinrich’s widow and two daughters. Now all three females have vanished from the list, their place taken by Heinrich Buller Jr. How do we explain the sudden appearance of Heinrich Jr.?

Presumably Heinrich Jr. was not yet an adult when his father died, so the rights to the land passed to his mother and his (presumably older) sisters. By 1806, however, Heinrich Jr. was ready to assume the responsibilities of an adult, which in that context meant taking over the lease and all of its rights and obligations. (An alternate explanation might be that Heinrich Jr. lived somewhere else in 1805 but returned by 1806 to take over the family plot. This is possible but highly speculative.)

One would think that Heinrich Jr. provided for his mother from the food and revenue generated by the family property, but it is also possible that she remarried. It is also likely that Jr.’s sisters Maria and Anna married at some point and raised their own families on their husbands’ plots. Even though we do not know happened to Jr.’s mother and sisters, we can say with certainty that Heinrich Jr. did follow in his father’s footsteps in farming Franztal plot 1. How long he did so will be answered, in part, in the fifth and final post on the Bullers of Franztal—after which we will be ready for a family scandal.

Work Cited

Goertz, Adalbert. 2001. Mennonites in Amt Driesen of the Neumark, Brandenburg, Prussia. Mennonite Family History 20:47–51.