From Zofyovka to Ostrowka

We will return to the Benjamin Buller series shortly, but first a slight detour to examine the 1833 list as a whole in more detail. If you recall, Martin H. Schrag (1959) argues that the original inhabitants of the village Zofyovka (Rovno/Rivne region) moved in 1828 to a new locale and founded a village named Ostrova (or Ostrowa or Ostrowka):

The group left Zofyovka in 1828 and established “Ostrova” which is identical with Jozefin, 20 miles northeast of Luck, Volhynia. They also settled in the neigh­boring village that they again named Zofyovka. Here they were on the land of Count Michael Bichkovski.

If this is correct, then we should see some correspondence between the names of the 1819–1820 censuses for Zofyovka and the Ostrowka part of the 1833 list. Thanks to the Mennonite researchers who have made these documents available (see the 1819 Zofyovka census here [census 1], the 1819–1820 Zofyovka census here [census 2], and the 1833 Ostrowka list here), we can look for ourselves.

We begin with the latest document, a “List of Mennonites Wishing to Leave Volhynia and Settle with Their Brethren in the Tauridian Governorate, 1833” (translated by Glenn Penner). The first nineteen persons on the list all lived in Ostrowka.

	1833	list
1	Benjamin	Wedel
2	Heinrich	Wedel
3	Johann	Wedel
4	Cornelius	Wedel
5	Heinrich	Dirks
6	Michael	Teske
7	David	Dirks
8	David	Nachtigal
9	George	Nachtigal
10	Benjamin	Buller
11	David	Koehn
12	Peter	Schmidt
13	Peter	Becker
14	Benjamin	Ratzlaff
15	Cornelius	Balzer
16	Johann	Werbel
17	Jacob	Pankratz
18	Friedrich	Kunkel
19	Jacob	Wedel

As noted above, there were two censuses taken of the Zofyovka Mennonites: one in 1819 of families who had just arrived, and one in 1819 or 1820 of families who had been on the land anywhere from two to ten years. The table that follows uses labels to identify the census, family number, and person in the family. For example, Michael Teske is labeled 2.9c, which indicates that he appears on census 2, family 9, and is the third member (c) of his family listed.

Because all of the nineteen individuals listed above were male heads of household, only those males in the two censuses who would have been twenty years of age in 1833 have been considered possible matches. With that background, we offer the 1833 list (left) plus names that correspond from the two Zofyovka censuses (an asterisk indicates that an explanation follows):

	1833	list	Zofyovka	censuses	label
1	Benjamin	Wedel	*Dominik	Wedel	2.14i
2	Heinrich	Wedel	Heinrich	Wedel	*2.14e/g
3	Johann	Wedel
4	Cornelius	Wedel	*Karl	Wedel	2.14
5	Heinrich	Dirks	Heinrich	Dirks	2.1
6	Michael	Teske	Michael	Teske	2.9c
7	David	Dirks	David	Dirks	2.1c
8	David	Nachtigal	David	Nachtigal	2.4
9	George	Nachtigal
10	Benjamin	Buller	Benjamin	Buller	2.18
11	David	Koehn	David	Koehn	2.15
12	Peter	Schmidt	Peter	Schmidt	2.16
13	Peter	Becker	Peter	Becker	1.6
14	Benjamin	Ratzlaff	Benjamin	Ratzlaff	1.1
15	Cornelius	Balzer	*Karl	Baltzer	2.11
16	Johann	Werbel
17	Jacob	Pankratz	Jacob	Pankratz	2.17
18	Friedrich	Kunkel
19	Jacob	Wedel	Jacob	Wedel	2.14k

If all of the matches above are correct  (15 out of 19), then that is impressive evidence in support of the association between Zofyovka and Ostrowka. However, we need to discuss several of the names supplied.

1. The equation of Benjamin Wedel and Dominik Wedel depends on the likely but unproven notion that the compiler of census 2 sometimes substituted Russian Dominik for Benjamin. Glenn Penner explains that such substitutions are seen with other Mennonite names in government records, where Theresa is used for Sarah. For reasons that will become clear later on, I believe that is what happened in this case, and Dominik Wedel in census 2 is Benjamin Wedel in the 1833 list.

2. Another proposed equation is between Cornelius in the 1833 list and Karl in census 2. This affects both Cornelius/Karl Wedel and Cornelius/Karl Balzer/Baltzer. I know of no clear evidence for such an equation of Cornelius and Karl, but it strikes me as entirely plausible, especially because it seems to have taken place twice.

3. The final explanation is merely that census 2 had two Heinrich Wedels listed, so we cannot know which one was on the 1833 list.

At worst, we have matches on twelve out of nineteen names; at best, fifteen out of nineteen. In either case we have strong evidence for the association of Zofyovka and Ostrowka.

Worth noting is that two of the four persons on the 1833 list who are not on the earlier censuses have family names that appear nowhere on the Zofyovka documents: Johann Werbel and Friedrich Kunkel. In fact, Werbel is otherwise unknown as a Mennonite name, so one wonders if he was a convert from another church.

If Friedrich Kunkel is Grandma 31763, then he was married to Wilhelmina Sperling, and their first children were born in Volhynia. They lived in Hierschau (next to Waldheim) in Molotschna colony in 1858 and emigrated to the U.S. in 1877 on the same voyage that brought Margaretha Epp (Peter P’s wife) and family to the U.S.

Those are interesting side notes, but we should not lose sight of the fact that Martin Schrag’s association of Zofyovka and Ostrowka is in the main correct. That being said, we should be careful not to assume a direct correspondence between the two villages.

1. Although up to fifteen out of the nineteen heads of household identified on the 1833 list did move there from Zofyovka, four, or 21 percent, apparently did not. Thus Ostrowka included Mennonites from other locations and other family groups (e.g., Werbel and Kunkel).

2. On the other hand, not all of the former residents of Zofyovka relocated to Ostrowka. The earlier (1819 and 1820) censuses list more people who did not move to Ostrowka than those who did. That list potentially includes (all heads of households or males who would have been at least twenty years of age in 1833):

1. Heinrich Unruh
2. Andreas Schmidt
3. David Schmidt
4. Jacob Schmidt
5. Heinrich Schmidt
6. Benjamin Becker
7. George Tzeevka
8. Maria Schmidt
9. Andreas Buller
10. Jacob Richert
11. Jacob Richert
12. Jacob Nachtigal
13. Jacob Zielke
14. Johan Zielke
15. David Foth
16. Martin Beyer
17. Heinrich Sperling
18. Christian Teske
19. Samuel Teske
20. Philip Beyer
21. Karl Baltzer
22. Johan Nickel
23. Andrew Nickel
24. Erdman Nickel
25. Samuel Nickel
26. Peter Nickel
27. Karl Wedel
28. Peter Wedel
29. Dominik Wedel
30. David Buller (nephew of Benjamin)

Granting that some of these persons probably died in the interim and that some were no doubt still living with their parents, there still remains a large number of Zofyovka residents who did not move to Ostrowka.

Combining this additional evidence with what we have learned from other posts, one might justifiably revise Schrag’s statement: 

Schrag: The group left Zofyovka in 1828 and established “Ostrova” [or Ostrowka] which is identical with Jozefin, 20 miles northeast of Luck, Volhynia. They also settled in the neigh­boring village that they again named Zofyovka. Here they were on the land of Count Michael Bichkovski.

Buller Time: Members of the group left Zofyovka in 1828, with some relocating in Ostrowka (which may have been identical with Jozefin, 20 miles northeast of Luck, Volhynia) and a village nearby that they renamed after their former home: Zofyovka. Both villages were on the land of Count Michael Bichkovski. Other Zofyovka residents apparently moved elsewhere; at present we do not know where.

Work Cited

Schrag, Martin H. 1959. Volhynia (Ukraine). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Available online here.