That was actually a trick question, as those who examined the entire document carefully discovered. But before we jump too far ahead, let us revew at least a part of the list. The first page is displayed below:
The column to the far left (Item No.) assigns a number to each entry in the three sections of the list, with the numbering starting over at 1 with each section. The next column (Census No.) records the family’s entry number on unnamed census. As far as I can tell, these census numbers correspond to the Waldheim “farm numbers” where these settlers first resided in Waldheim (not the same as the later Wirtschaft numbers). Thus, according to the list of 1840 settlers (here) Jacob Gregor Buller (= Jacober Buller above) lived at number 3 in Waldheim.
The first wide column is obviously the name of the head of the household being recorded. After his or her name we find two sets of two columns. The first set lists the number of males and females from the census referenced in the census number column; the second lists the number of males and females in 1845, taking into account births and, one imagines, deaths. The final column documents “whether [the family members] have written visa.” Within Tsarist Russia, Mennonite settlers could not simply decide to move from one area to another; they needed permission to move back to Volhynia, just as they had needed approval to move from Volhynia to Molotschna in the first place.
The first two entries give us a flavor of the types of comments one finds in the last column: Cornelius Funk was able to leave with a “two-month passport,” while Peter Schmidt “left at night, secretly without passport.” The last person entered on this page had a “visa for two months for commercial matters,” so we should probably understand the regular two-month visa as granting different rights, presumably permission to leave within the next two months (before the visa expired) and then to stay in Volhynia.
Enough general introduction. What about the Bullers on the list? It is worth noticing that there are four Bullers listed on this first page: Jacob, Jacober, his son Heinrich, and Peter. These are probably only far distant relatives, not members of our particular line.
The next Buller entry is ours, however, entry 24 on the list, number 45 on the census.
M
|
F
|
M
|
F
| |
Benjamin Buller the elder
|
||||
| His sons David Buller and Heinrich Buller |
4
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
| Benjamin Buller the younger remained in the colony |
There is a great deal to learn from this short entry. We begin with the answer to our earlier question: Benjamin Buller the elder (Benjamin 2 in our system) appears on the list of individuals returning to Volhynia; however, his son Benjamin 3 also makes an appearance—on the list of those remaining in Waldheim (both here and in the third section, page 5 of the document). A mere six years after moving from Volhynia to Waldeim, Benjamin 2 moved back to Volhynia; his son Benjamin 3 chose to stay in Waldheim instead.
Of course, we dare not gloss over the more obviously relevant point: Benjamin 2 was accompanied by his two other sons: Heinrich and David—the father of Peter D, grandfather of Peter P, and great-grandfather of Grandpa Chris. Our ancestor David left Molotschna and returned to Volynia with his father Benjamin 2 and the rest of the Buller clan (except for Benjamin 3 and family). Now you know why I warned in the last post that our family story was about to become a little complicated.
We will return to this document in the next post, but for now we end with an updated Buller family timeline, which has interesting new information to add.
Year
|
Person(s)
|
Event
|
1765–1770
|
Benjamin 1/X
|
birth (X signifies unknown middle name)
|
ca. 1789
|
Benjamin Benjamin 2
|
born to Benjamin X
|
1817
|
Benjamin 2 and family (4)
|
emigrated from Prussia to Volhynia
|
1818
|
David Benjamin
|
birth on 25 January to Benjamin B
|
1819/1820
|
Benjamin 2, Helena, David,
Benjamin 3, nephew David |
listed on census living at Zofyovka, Rovno, Volhynia
|
1828
|
Benjamin 2 and family (?)
|
moved from Zofyovka to Ostrowka, Lutsk, Volhynia
|
1833
|
Benjamin 2 and family (11)
|
expressed desire to emigrate from Ostrowka to Molotschna colony
|
1839
|
Benjamin 2 and family
|
relocated to Waldheim, Molotschna colony; assigned a Wirtschaft
|
1839
|
Benjamin 2 and Benjamin 3
|
planted potatoes and flax
|
1840
|
Benjamin 3
|
assigned a Wirtschaft
|
1845
|
Benjamin 2, David, Heinrich
|
moved from Waldheim back to Volhynia
|
1845
|
Benjamin 3
|
remained in Waldheim
|
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