Benjamin Buller 14

The document that provides the focus of this post is different from all the others, more down-to-earth, one might say. The title given to the document, which was extracted and translated by Glenn Penner, describes exactly what it is: a “List of Mennonites in Waldheim Who Planted Potatoes and Flax in Spring 1839.” Like all the other primary records we have been examining, this one is posted on the Mennonite Genealogical Resources website (see here).

We will not reproduce the entire document here (that will come later), only the portion that pertains to our family. The record includes five columns: (1) a number for some of the farmers; (2) the name of the farmer; (3) the quantity of potatoes in chetwert and (4) chetwerik; and (5) the quantity of flax in chetwerik. Thus, for Benjamin Buller II and III we have the following entries:

Number	Name	Potatoes		Flax
		chetwert	chetwerik	chetwerik
13	Benjamin Buller	2	0	1
	Benjamin Buller Jr.	1	2	1

These two brief entries raise a host of questions. We will work our way logically through them all.

1. What is a chetwert? a chetwerik?
According to Glenn Penner’s note, 1 chetwert = 2.1 hectoliters = 5.95 bushels; 1 chetwerik = 1/8 chetwert. So, the amounts for Benjamin II were slightly less than 12 bushels of potatoes and a little less than 6 bushels of flax. For Benjamin III, the amounts were roughly 7.5 bushels of potatoes and a little less than 6 bushels of flax.

According to Small Farmer’s Journal (here), one bushel of potatoes weighs 60 pounds, so 12 bushels would be equal to 720 pounds of potatoes.

2. What is being recorded: the amount planted or the amount harvested?
Presumably these are the amounts planted. Although 720 pounds of potatoes seems like a significant amount, a family of eight relying on potatoes for a substantial amount of its diet would probably eat through that much in around 45 days (see here; 2 lbs of potatoes per day per person x 8 people x 45 days = 720). This supports the notion that this was the amount planted, not the amount harvested.

The question that remains (maybe a reader with more experience gardening or farming can answer this) is: How much space would one need to plant 720 pounds of potatoes?

Pulling flax, from Josh MacFayden’s Flax History (here)

3. Why were these the only items planted?
The potatoes were obviously for human consumption and apparently provided a significant part of the early Waldheim residents’ diet.

Flax was planted because, once harvested, it could be woven into linen, which was then used to make clothing. It is likely that each household was equipped to spin and weave the flax into linen, but we also know that some Mennonites were dedicated linen weavers (German Leinweber). We will return to several specific linen weavers in a future post.

4. Why does Benjamin II have a number but Benjamin III does not?
The date of the record offers a clue here: this is a record of Waldheim Mennonites who planted in spring 1839. Benjamin II received his land allotment in 1839 (hence the number); Benjamin III did not receive his allotment until the following year (hence no number).

5. What might the crops and quantities reveal about the extent of farming in view?
Benjamin II planted somewhat more than Benjamin III, but not by a large amount. Since Benjamin III did not yet have his land assignment, the rough equivalence between the amounts planted implies that these were not field crops, as it were. That is, it seems unlikely that Benjamin II filled his allotment of 65 dessiatines (ca. 175 acres) with 12 bushels of potatoes and 6 bushels of flax.

It seems more likely (at least at the moment) that these crops were part of the large garden that every Mennonite family maintained, whether on a land allotment or, more likely, community land that was available for all residents (not just landowners) to use. We do not know any of this for certain, but it seems a reasonable explanation of what we do know.

6. Why is David not listed alongside his father and brother?
This seems the clearest indication that David was still single and living at home. Benjamin was still living at home, according to the list of 1840 settlers (here), but it seems likely that he was married (just-married Mennonites often lived with one set of parents until the birth of a child) and ready to establish his own household. I would take this as evidence that David and Helena were probably not yet married. Who knows, Helena’s family may not have even been in Waldheim by then.

There is no further Buller-relevant information to be gleaned from this record, as far as I can tell. However, the list deserves much more attention, since in it one finds the information that permits us to clarify, expand, and eventually rewrite the early history of Waldheim. We will come back to that … in time. First, I believe we should interrupt the Benjamin Buller series to go back to a question raised earlier about when Mennonite tenants paid taxes and when they did not.