With this post we will be halfway through our list of thirty-two 1819 emigrants. For background to and the rationale for this entire series, see here and here.
13. Maria Schmidt was a Mennonite widow from Przechovka with one son and one daughter. As we noted before (Anna Pankratz here), identifying a widow is more difficult than identifying the other names on this list.
However, thanks to GRANDMA’s search capabilities (which I just discovered), we have at least one candidate to consider. Generally one searches GRANDMA by birth name, but one can also search by a woman’s married name by using a { character in front of the husband’s surname. Using that search form for this person (i.e., searching for Maria in the Given Name field and {Schmidt in the Surname field) and setting the birth year at 1780 +/– 20 (i.e., to capture all women whose married name was Maria Schmidt who were born between 1760 and 1800), GRANDMA returns fifteen possibilities.
Checking all of the possibilities to see if anyone’s husband died before 1819 leads to two candidates: Maria (Maricke) Köhn (PCB 623/GM 40861) and Maria Schmidt (PCB 829/GM 100100). Both women had, as far as we know, one son and one daughter. However, we cannot really suggest one or the other, given the spottiness of our information. Maria Köhn Schmidt’s children apparently ended up in Volhynia, so this may indicate that Maria herself went there as well. We have almost no solid information about Maria Schmidt Schmidt, the other possibility, and there is a hint that her son ended up in Neumark, where Maria’s husband was seemingly born. In other words, we cannot link either woman to Molotschna.
In the end, this 1819 emigrant must remain unspecified. In all likelihood she was part of the Przechovka church, but we cannot say anything beyond that.
14. Benjamin Ratzlaff was a Mennonite from Jeziorka whose family included a wife, two sons, and two daughters. We are on firmer ground with this emigrant, although the identification is not without questions. Rempel cross-references this entry to two later settlement reports (2007, 152, 158). The second one offers the most information:
Two elements of the settlement report merit special attention. First, the report has two sons and only one daughter (i.e., father + two sons = three males; mother + one daughter = two females). Because the other settlement report agrees with these numbers, we can assume that the visa entry is mistaken in stating that the family had two daughters. Second, the settlement report locates the Ratzlaff family in Franztal, which, consulting the 1835 Molotschna census, helps us to identify the individual in view with relative certainty: he was Benjamin Peter Ratzlaff (GM 1320/GM 47884).
Born in 1791, Benjamin Ratzlaff married Anna Richerts, widow of Hans Becker, in 1813. According to GRANDMA, Anna bore six children to her first husband: five sons and one daughter. She also bore two daughters to Benjamin Ratzlaff, both of whom died before 1819. Clearly, Anna’s daughter by Hans Becker was still alive at that time and made the journey to Franztal. The complication is that three of their sons were also alive, which does not match the two sons identified on the visa and the settlement report. Perhaps the oldest son, who turned seventeen in 1819, was serving as a servant in someone else’s family?
Details aside, it is almost certain that we have identified the correct family. Benjamin Peter Ratzlaff, as we noted, did settle first in Franztal, then in 1827 moved to Rudnerweide, where he apparently lived until he emigrated again, this time to the United States. The place of his death is given as York, Nebraska, but the GRANDMA note about him passing away in the immigrant house clearly leaves no doubt that he actually died near present-day Henderson. He is buried at the Bethesda Cemetery (see here for a brief biography).
15. Peter Pankratz, a Mennonite from Przechovka, traveled with his wife, three daughters, a driver named Peter Pankratz, and a servant named Katharina Ratzlaff.
The Przechovka church book lists nine males named Peter Pankratz, but only three of them are candidates to be this individual. Unfortunately, we know too little about these three to suggest one over another—or over anyone else, for that matter. Further, the 1835 census does not list this Peter Pankratz anywhere, so his identity must remain a mystery to us.
One additional curiosity should be noted: this is the second time a driver named Peter Pankratz has been listed (see number 6, Anna Pankratz). No doubt these were two separate individuals, but beyond that we can say little about their identities. We do know that one Peter Jacob Pankratz, born in 1806, owned Wirtschaft 4 in Franztal in 1835. As difficult as it might be for us to imagine today, it probably was not unreasonable to think that a thirteen-year-old boy might have served as driver of a wagon on the journey. Since the 1835 census states that Peter Jacob Pankratz emigrated in 1819, it seems that this boy was the driver either for Peter Pankratz number 15 or Anna Pankratz number 6. This does not help us identify Peter Pankratz number 15, of course, but the fact that the road led to Franztal once again is striking.
16. Andreas Schmidt was a farmer from Przechovka whose family included a wife, two sons, and his mother.
Instead of starting with the Przechovka church book or GRANDMA, in this case we begin with the 1835 census, which lists an Andreas David Schmidt who emigrated from Prussia in 1819. Since we know of no other Andreas Schmidt who left that year (two other men named Andreas Schmidt made the journey in 1820), we can safely assume that the one identified in the census is the same one as is listed on this visa.
Andreas David Schmidt (PCB 1272/GM 43155) was born in 1788 and married Helena Schmidt in 1815; they had two sons when the visa was issued and a daughter on the way when the party left for Molotschna. Andreas’s mother Anna Unrau Schmidt accompanied the family but apparently passed away before the 1835 census.
Two pieces of information about this family deserve special mention. First, Andreas Schmidt settled at Alexanderwohl 20, and in our earlier discussion we identified him as one of that village’s original settlers (here). Once again we encounter an 1819 emigrant settling first in Alexanderwohl; we will certainly return to what this implies at the end of our initial examination. Second, Andreas Schmidt accepted into his household Jacob Heinrich Köhn, whom we tentatively suggested might be the actual person listed on visa number 12 (not Martin Köhn; see here). This suggestion is admittedly little more than a hunch, but it worth keeping in mind until additional evidence surfaces either supporting or disproving it.
***
This group of four presented a number of complications, but we were able to identify two of the emigrant families and follow one to Franztal and the other to Alexanderwohl. Through the first half of the 1819 list, we have been able to identify with relative certainty twelve of the sixteen emigrants named. Of those twelve, we have traced three to Alexanderwohl and six to Franztal. Only time will tell if this pattern continues for the second half of the list of thirty-two.
Checking all of the possibilities to see if anyone’s husband died before 1819 leads to two candidates: Maria (Maricke) Köhn (PCB 623/GM 40861) and Maria Schmidt (PCB 829/GM 100100). Both women had, as far as we know, one son and one daughter. However, we cannot really suggest one or the other, given the spottiness of our information. Maria Köhn Schmidt’s children apparently ended up in Volhynia, so this may indicate that Maria herself went there as well. We have almost no solid information about Maria Schmidt Schmidt, the other possibility, and there is a hint that her son ended up in Neumark, where Maria’s husband was seemingly born. In other words, we cannot link either woman to Molotschna.
In the end, this 1819 emigrant must remain unspecified. In all likelihood she was part of the Przechovka church, but we cannot say anything beyond that.
14. Benjamin Ratzlaff was a Mennonite from Jeziorka whose family included a wife, two sons, and two daughters. We are on firmer ground with this emigrant, although the identification is not without questions. Rempel cross-references this entry to two later settlement reports (2007, 152, 158). The second one offers the most information:
Benjamin Ratzlaff (Бениамин Рацлав), whose family consists of 3 males and 2 females. On their move to Russia they brought 1000 rubles cash, horses valued at 85 rubles and possessions valued at 200 rubles. They arrived in Russia in 1819 and settled in Franztal, Molotschna.
Born in 1791, Benjamin Ratzlaff married Anna Richerts, widow of Hans Becker, in 1813. According to GRANDMA, Anna bore six children to her first husband: five sons and one daughter. She also bore two daughters to Benjamin Ratzlaff, both of whom died before 1819. Clearly, Anna’s daughter by Hans Becker was still alive at that time and made the journey to Franztal. The complication is that three of their sons were also alive, which does not match the two sons identified on the visa and the settlement report. Perhaps the oldest son, who turned seventeen in 1819, was serving as a servant in someone else’s family?
Details aside, it is almost certain that we have identified the correct family. Benjamin Peter Ratzlaff, as we noted, did settle first in Franztal, then in 1827 moved to Rudnerweide, where he apparently lived until he emigrated again, this time to the United States. The place of his death is given as York, Nebraska, but the GRANDMA note about him passing away in the immigrant house clearly leaves no doubt that he actually died near present-day Henderson. He is buried at the Bethesda Cemetery (see here for a brief biography).
15. Peter Pankratz, a Mennonite from Przechovka, traveled with his wife, three daughters, a driver named Peter Pankratz, and a servant named Katharina Ratzlaff.
The Przechovka church book lists nine males named Peter Pankratz, but only three of them are candidates to be this individual. Unfortunately, we know too little about these three to suggest one over another—or over anyone else, for that matter. Further, the 1835 census does not list this Peter Pankratz anywhere, so his identity must remain a mystery to us.
One additional curiosity should be noted: this is the second time a driver named Peter Pankratz has been listed (see number 6, Anna Pankratz). No doubt these were two separate individuals, but beyond that we can say little about their identities. We do know that one Peter Jacob Pankratz, born in 1806, owned Wirtschaft 4 in Franztal in 1835. As difficult as it might be for us to imagine today, it probably was not unreasonable to think that a thirteen-year-old boy might have served as driver of a wagon on the journey. Since the 1835 census states that Peter Jacob Pankratz emigrated in 1819, it seems that this boy was the driver either for Peter Pankratz number 15 or Anna Pankratz number 6. This does not help us identify Peter Pankratz number 15, of course, but the fact that the road led to Franztal once again is striking.
16. Andreas Schmidt was a farmer from Przechovka whose family included a wife, two sons, and his mother.
Instead of starting with the Przechovka church book or GRANDMA, in this case we begin with the 1835 census, which lists an Andreas David Schmidt who emigrated from Prussia in 1819. Since we know of no other Andreas Schmidt who left that year (two other men named Andreas Schmidt made the journey in 1820), we can safely assume that the one identified in the census is the same one as is listed on this visa.
Andreas David Schmidt (PCB 1272/GM 43155) was born in 1788 and married Helena Schmidt in 1815; they had two sons when the visa was issued and a daughter on the way when the party left for Molotschna. Andreas’s mother Anna Unrau Schmidt accompanied the family but apparently passed away before the 1835 census.
Two pieces of information about this family deserve special mention. First, Andreas Schmidt settled at Alexanderwohl 20, and in our earlier discussion we identified him as one of that village’s original settlers (here). Once again we encounter an 1819 emigrant settling first in Alexanderwohl; we will certainly return to what this implies at the end of our initial examination. Second, Andreas Schmidt accepted into his household Jacob Heinrich Köhn, whom we tentatively suggested might be the actual person listed on visa number 12 (not Martin Köhn; see here). This suggestion is admittedly little more than a hunch, but it worth keeping in mind until additional evidence surfaces either supporting or disproving it.
***
This group of four presented a number of complications, but we were able to identify two of the emigrant families and follow one to Franztal and the other to Alexanderwohl. Through the first half of the 1819 list, we have been able to identify with relative certainty twelve of the sixteen emigrants named. Of those twelve, we have traced three to Alexanderwohl and six to Franztal. Only time will tell if this pattern continues for the second half of the list of thirty-two.
| Name | PCB/GM | Comment | |
| 1 | Peter Becker | 321/32099 | settled at Franztal 17 |
| 2 | Jacob Wedel | 276/106688 | based on association with Glugowko |
| 3 | Heinrich Unrau | 1149/86839 | settled at Alexanderwohl 14 |
| 4 | Peter Wedel | ?? | perhaps PCB 262/GM 81631, a Przechovka elder |
| 5 | Heinrich Ratzlaff | 141/47821 | settled at Franztal 25 |
| 6 | Anna Pankratz | 140/43100 | widow and sister to number 5 above |
| 7 | Jacob Becker | 334/32008 | Jacob passed away; his widow married Tobias Schmidt (number 28) |
| 8 | Adam Ratzlaff | 192/4327 | settled at Franztal 19 |
| 9 | George Nachtigal | 662/42260 | settled at Franztal 3 |
| 10 | Peter Unrau | 1322/61701 | settled at Franztal 22 |
| 11 | Martin Cornelsen | 1250/33801 | emigrated in 1820; settled at Alexanderwohl 1 |
| 12 | Martin Köhn | ?? | first name probably an error |
| 13 | Maria Schmidt | ?? | probably from Przechovka |
| 14 | Benjamin Ratzlaff | 1320/47884 | settled first in Franztal |
| 15 | Peter Pankratz | ?? | destination unknown |
| 16 | Andreas Schmidt | 1272/43155 | settled at Alexanderwohl 14 |
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