So much to say, so little time to post

Recently every article or book chapter on Mennonite history that I read sheds some new light on the things we know—but perhaps do not fully understand or appreciate—about our family. The latest source of enlightenment is Royden Loewen’s Hidden Worlds: Revisiting the Mennonite Migrants of the 1870s. More about that book later; for now let me simply tease you with the promise that what Loewen writes about Mennonite inheritance customs (they were biliteral and partible) and marriage practices (matrilocality was common) sheds light on several things that we have observed with Peter D and Peter P. For now, I beg your patience.

Tonight’s post is much lighter fare, courtesy of Kristi Buller (more about her below). She graciously provided Buller Time with a number of photographs, three of which are the main attraction of this post.

We begin with the question of provenance. The clock pictured to the right began its existence in New Russia, probably in the Molotschna colony. To my knowledge, we do not know who built the clock, only that it turned up in Molotschna, eventually in the village of Kleefeld, where Johann and Katharina Siebert and their family (including Peter D and Sarah Siebert Buller plus their children) lived.

Like its owners, it traveled from the Old Country to the New on the S.S. Switzerland. It seems that the clock was the possession of Peter D and Sarah when it traveled to the U.S., but all we know for certain is that, whether before emigration or after, it came into their possession.

Dale and Joanne Buller purchased the clock at a Buller auction a number of years ago, and it now hangs proudly on the wall of their home. Dale is of the line Peter D > Abraham P > Albert Abraham > Dale. Kristi Buller, to whom we owe thanks for these photos, is Dale’s daughter-in-law and an avid supporter of all things related to Buller history.

The age of the clock is evident in several aspects, not least of which is the use of rope to hang the weight.

The close-up to the left offers a better view of the ornate patterns painted (?) on the background to the clock face.

However, what is really interesting is what we can see in the photo below: the year 1868.

This was no doubt the year the clock was made. Because there are no known noteworthy events associated with Peter D and Sarah for that year—they married in 1866, had their first child in 1867 and their second (Peter P) in 1869—the simplest explanation is that the clock was made in 1868. (Several Mennonites were quite well known as clockmakers, but we do not know if this clock was made by any of them or by a local artisan.)

If the clock was purchased shortly after its manufacture by Peter D and Sarah, they bought it when they lived in Alexanderkrone, two to three years before they moved back to Kleefeld. Wherever the clock originated, we can say with certainty that it came from Molotschna colony and therefore is a concrete link with family members who lived nearly 150 years ago.

If anyone has further information about or memories of this clock, please send them to Buller Time via email or by leaving a comment. The more we pool our knowledge, the more informed we all are about our family’s rich and interesting history.