We are nearing the halfway point in our reconstruction; we are also drawing closer to the Wirtschaft in which our own Benjamin Buller (father of Benjamin, father of David, father of Peter D, and so on) lived out the last years of his life.
Most significant, this post also marks a dramatic shift in our approach, since, thanks to the Mennonite Heritage Centre (see here), we now have access to an English translation of the full 1835 census. John Richert wrote previously that everything became clearer once he secured a copy of the census translation that the Centre distributes. I see what he means. Instead of guessing what the index to the census might represent, we can now see the actual census, which will reduce significantly the number of lingering questions that we have typically had. We see the difference with the very first Wirtschaft of this post.
Most significant, this post also marks a dramatic shift in our approach, since, thanks to the Mennonite Heritage Centre (see here), we now have access to an English translation of the full 1835 census. John Richert wrote previously that everything became clearer once he secured a copy of the census translation that the Centre distributes. I see what he means. Instead of guessing what the index to the census might represent, we can now see the actual census, which will reduce significantly the number of lingering questions that we have typically had. We see the difference with the very first Wirtschaft of this post.
Wirtschaft 14
The index to the 1835 census lists three names for Alexanderwohl 14:
Kirsch, Kornelius Kornelius (b. ca.1797)
Hiebert, Klaas Sacharij (b. ca.1802)
Unrau, Heinrich Peter (b. ca.1796)
Hiebert, Klaas Sacharij (b. ca.1802)
Unrau, Heinrich Peter (b. ca.1796)
The ages of the three men in 1821, ranging from nineteen to twenty-five, would permit any one of them to have been an original settler. Of the three surnames, however, only Unrau is associated with the Przechovka church (PCB: 1149). Nevertheless, we should work through the evidence before we jump to any conclusions.
Fortunately, the evidence of the census itself leaves little doubt as to which of the three is the most likely candidate for being an original Alexanderwohl settler. Heinrich Peter Unrau is not only listed as head of household for Alexanderwohl 14, but his year of emigration is also listed as 1819. This accords with what we find in the emigration records: the visa that gave Heinrich Unrau (GM: 86839) and his wife permission to emigrate was dated 20 July 1819 (Rempel 2007, 136), a full year before the presumed date of the main migration of Przechovka church members. What we know of the birth of the couple’s children (the first was born in 1820) is consistent with the facts of the visa, that is, that only husband and wife made the trek.
Although there is, unfortunately, no Russian record of where the couple settled, we can safely assume that it was Alexanderwohl, given not only the evidence of the 1835 census (they are located in Alexanderwohl and nowhere else) but also the listing of Heinrich and Anna Schmidt Unruh early in the Alexanderwohl church book (ACB: 45 and 46), which strongly suggests that they were associated with that village and church early on. Thus, we can reasonably conclude that Heinrich and Anna were the original settlers of Alexanderwohl 14.
Fortunately, the evidence of the census itself leaves little doubt as to which of the three is the most likely candidate for being an original Alexanderwohl settler. Heinrich Peter Unrau is not only listed as head of household for Alexanderwohl 14, but his year of emigration is also listed as 1819. This accords with what we find in the emigration records: the visa that gave Heinrich Unrau (GM: 86839) and his wife permission to emigrate was dated 20 July 1819 (Rempel 2007, 136), a full year before the presumed date of the main migration of Przechovka church members. What we know of the birth of the couple’s children (the first was born in 1820) is consistent with the facts of the visa, that is, that only husband and wife made the trek.
Although there is, unfortunately, no Russian record of where the couple settled, we can safely assume that it was Alexanderwohl, given not only the evidence of the 1835 census (they are located in Alexanderwohl and nowhere else) but also the listing of Heinrich and Anna Schmidt Unruh early in the Alexanderwohl church book (ACB: 45 and 46), which strongly suggests that they were associated with that village and church early on. Thus, we can reasonably conclude that Heinrich and Anna were the original settlers of Alexanderwohl 14.
So how do we explain the listing of the two other men? Here is where the census provides details that the index cannot. The entry for the Unrau household adds two comments after their family members are listed. The first states that Klaas Zacharias Hiebert (GM: 60369) was “accepted into the [Unrau] household,” then notes that he transferred in 1832 to Lichtfelde, another Molotschna village. Turning to the Lichtfelde census entries, we see him listed at Wirtschaft 19 with a note that he transferred there from Alexanderwohl in 1822 (the two dates do not match in the translation, which means that the scans of the original need to be consulted). The second comment adds that “also accepted into the household” were Kornelius Kirsch, his wife Elisabeth, and his three children.
In other words, Hiebert and Kirsch are located at Alexanderwohl 14 only as residents of the Unrau household; these two were not original settlers on their own. Interestingly, the Unraus lived in Alexanderwohl until the entire church emigrated to the United States in 1874. Both spent their final years in Kansas, where they lie in rest. Klaas Hiebert, on the other hand, seems to have been a bit of a wanderer, since, according to GRANDMA, his children were born in at least four different villages.
Wirtschaft 15
We return to the Bullers with Alexanderwohl 15, specifically:
Buller, Jakob Jakob (b. ca.1795)
The 1821 age is right (twenty-six), and the name is obviously appropriate for the Przechovka church, so it is not surprising that he is listed in the church book (PCB: 1139). Another sign pointing toward Jacob Buller being a founding settler is the fact that his father Jacob Peter was the original settler of Alexanderwohl 9 (see here). However, here the matter becomes complicated. The index to the 1835 census lists Jacob Jacob twice:
Buller, Jakob Jakob (b. ca.1795): Franztal 5
Buller, Jakob Jakob (b. ca.1795): Alexanderwohl 15
Buller, Jakob Jakob (b. ca.1795): Alexanderwohl 15
What, then, does the census itself report? With the Franztal 5 listing, the household is headed first by Peter Andreas Richert, then by Peter Peter Janzen below him; Jacob Buller is listed as “accepted into the household.” Several additional notations help us to propose a reasonable chain of events. First, the census indicates that Peter Richert (who was a member of the Przechovka group) emigrated to Russia in 1819 and died in 1821. Second, Peter Janzen is said to have moved from the village Rudnerweide to Franztal in 1822. Third, Jacob Buller is reported to have moved from Franztal to Alexanderwohl in 1822.
Putting all the pieces together, one may reasonably suggest that the two Przechovka church members Peter Richert and Jacob Buller were part of the same group emigrating to Russia in 1819 (for Richert, see Rempel 2007, 153). Peter Richert became owner of Franztal 5, and Jacob Buller joined Richert’s household, perhaps waiting to secure his own Wirtschaft. Richert died in 1821, while Buller was still living with him, and Franztal 5 was sold/transferred to Peter Janzen. Suddenly Jacob Buller needed a place to live. Fortunately, in the interim his father Jacob Peter Buller had settled in Alexanderwohl 9, and he presumably encouraged his son Jacob Jacob to join him and other members of the Przechovka church in Alexanderwohl.
The fact that no other resident is listed for Alexanderwohl 15 gives us warrant, I think, to consider Jacob Jacob the founding settler of that Wirtschaft. We are told that at least eight Wirtschaften in Alexanderwohl were left unoccupied in 1820, after the first wave of settlers; thus, Alexanderwohl 15 may well have been vacant when Jacob Jacob decided to move there in 1822. Consequently, we will list Jacob Jacob as the founding settler of Alexanderwohl 15, even though that was not the first Molotschna village in which he lived.
Before we end this post, however, we should briefly introduce the village in which Jacob Jacob first lived. Franztal, which was located on the far eastern side of Molotschna, was established in 1820, just like Alexanderwohl. The Franztal community report (see here for the German) contains several key facts: (1) the original fifteen families who settled Franztal came from the Schwetz region near Kulm in West Prussia (aus dem Kreise Schwez bei Kulm in Westpreussen), which includes the area in which the Przechovka church was located (modern Chełmno [Kulm] is less than 5 miles from the location of the Przechovka church); (2) Franztal’s original founders faced significant challenges with its location and moved all or part of the village twice in the first year just to have access to water; (3) the founders initially wished to name the village Pschuchowka (= Przechovka), but government officials objected to giving a Polish name to this Russian village. We will certainly want to revisit Franztal to discover who else from Przechovka settled or lived there, but we end with this interesting observation: the first Molotschna village in which a Mennonite Buller lived may well have been Franztal, not one of those villages that we have previously suspected.
Putting all the pieces together, one may reasonably suggest that the two Przechovka church members Peter Richert and Jacob Buller were part of the same group emigrating to Russia in 1819 (for Richert, see Rempel 2007, 153). Peter Richert became owner of Franztal 5, and Jacob Buller joined Richert’s household, perhaps waiting to secure his own Wirtschaft. Richert died in 1821, while Buller was still living with him, and Franztal 5 was sold/transferred to Peter Janzen. Suddenly Jacob Buller needed a place to live. Fortunately, in the interim his father Jacob Peter Buller had settled in Alexanderwohl 9, and he presumably encouraged his son Jacob Jacob to join him and other members of the Przechovka church in Alexanderwohl.
The fact that no other resident is listed for Alexanderwohl 15 gives us warrant, I think, to consider Jacob Jacob the founding settler of that Wirtschaft. We are told that at least eight Wirtschaften in Alexanderwohl were left unoccupied in 1820, after the first wave of settlers; thus, Alexanderwohl 15 may well have been vacant when Jacob Jacob decided to move there in 1822. Consequently, we will list Jacob Jacob as the founding settler of Alexanderwohl 15, even though that was not the first Molotschna village in which he lived.
Before we end this post, however, we should briefly introduce the village in which Jacob Jacob first lived. Franztal, which was located on the far eastern side of Molotschna, was established in 1820, just like Alexanderwohl. The Franztal community report (see here for the German) contains several key facts: (1) the original fifteen families who settled Franztal came from the Schwetz region near Kulm in West Prussia (aus dem Kreise Schwez bei Kulm in Westpreussen), which includes the area in which the Przechovka church was located (modern Chełmno [Kulm] is less than 5 miles from the location of the Przechovka church); (2) Franztal’s original founders faced significant challenges with its location and moved all or part of the village twice in the first year just to have access to water; (3) the founders initially wished to name the village Pschuchowka (= Przechovka), but government officials objected to giving a Polish name to this Russian village. We will certainly want to revisit Franztal to discover who else from Przechovka settled or lived there, but we end with this interesting observation: the first Molotschna village in which a Mennonite Buller lived may well have been Franztal, not one of those villages that we have previously suspected.
Alexanderwohl’s Original Settlers
Wirtschaft
|
Settler
|
GM Number
|
Notes
|
1
|
Martin Jacob Kornelsen
|
33801
|
PCB: 1250; emigrated 1820
|
Anna Unrau
|
32780
|
first husband: David Buller
| |
2
|
Heinrich Peter Block
|
29475
|
settlement year: 1823
|
3
|
?????
| ||
4
|
Peter Jacob Voth
|
268847
|
PCB ???; emigrated 1820
|
5
|
Heinrich David Schmidt
|
32966
|
PCB 1345; emigrated 1819
|
Maricke Buller
|
32967
|
PCB 1355
| |
6
| Peter Johann Unrau | 60318 | PCB 1229; emigrated 1819 |
7
| David Bernhard Voth | 60325 | Przechovka; emigrated 1820 |
8
| ?? Peter Franz Goerz | 819683 | to Alexanderwohl in 1826 |
9
| Jacob Peter Buller | 318737 | PCB 377; emigrated 1820 |
10
| David Johann Unrau | 87011 | PCB 987; emigrated 1820 |
11
| Heinrich Isaak Schroeder | 14829 | Schönsee church; emigrated 1820 |
12
| Jacob Jacob Pankratz | 43123 | PCB 727; emigrated 1820 |
13
| ????? | ||
14
| Heinrich Peter Unrau | 86839 | PCB 1149; emigrated 1819 |
15
| Jacob Jacob Buller | 5587 | PCB 1139; emigrated 1819; settled 1822 |
Work Cited
Rempel. Peter. 2007. Mennonite Migration to Russia, 1788–1828. Edited by Alfred H. Redekopp and Richard D. Thiessen. Winnepeg: Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society.
No comments:
Post a Comment