Alexanderwohl 15

Wirtschaft 16 (cont.)

The last post ended with the three names listed for Alexanderwohl 16 in the 1835 census:

Benjamin Benjamin (b. ca.-)
Ratzlaff, Johann Peter (b. ca.1780)
Unrau, Benjamin Goerg (b. ca.1800)

The census itself (see below for the English translation) seems to indicate that Benjamin Unrau was not what we have been labeling an original founder of Alexanderwohl, since his name is preceded by an important note: “accepted into the household.” As a resident of someone else’s household, Unrau was presumably not an original settler of Alexanderwohl. Indeed, we do not even know when he emigrated to Molotschna, although it was likely at the same time as many of the other members of the Przechovka church.

But what does it meant that he was accepted into the household? We have seen this phrase before, for example, twice with Alexanderwohl 14. No sources thus far consulted explain it, so all we are left with are questions: Does the phrase mean that one family took in another, perhaps a landless family whom they knew or to whom they were related? If so, does the phrase signify an act of charity or the renting of quarters to boarders? Was being accepted into the household the same as living in the same house, or was it more a matter of association than cohabitation? To phrase the question differently, are we to assume that every family who emigrated from Prussia to Alexanderwohl in the early 1820s received a Wirtschaft? If not, how were the landless families counted in the census, since families are recorded according to their Wirtschaften? For now, these questions must remain unanswered.

But back to the business at hand: Who was the founding settler of Alexanderwohl 16? The evidence before us leads us to complicate the question a little. From a legal standpoint, that is, ownership, it seems highly likely that Johann Ratzlaff (the second male listed) was the founding settler. After all, he is the one who received a government loan “for building a house and establishing the household” (Rempel 2007, 176).

However, the listing of Johann’s father-in-law Benjamin Buller first, at the head of the household, might (might!) reflect a social reality of the elder being considered the founder of Alexanderwohl 16, even though he was not the legal owner of it. To my knowledge, there are no extant election records between 1821 and 1830, the year of Benjamin’s death. If we knew which of the two was authorized to cast the Wirtschaft’s vote, we would have our answer. In the absence of such evidence, it is safest to identify the landowner as the legal founder, thus Johann Peter Ratzlaff, son-in-law to our ancestor Benjamin Heinrich Buller.

Although Ratzlaff is not listed in the Przechovka church book, he was almost certainly a member of that church, given the association of the surname Ratzlaff with the church and the fact that he married a member of the church (Benjamin Buller’s daughter Katharina/Trincke). Consequently, we will count him as another Przechovka founding settler of Alexanderwohl.

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
16	Johann Peter Ratzlaff	60394	Przechovka; son-in-law to Benjamin Heinrich Buller

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.