Franztal 22

The previous post compared three lists—the 1835 Molotschna census, our list of 1819 immigrants from Przechovka, and Peter Rempel’s list of 1819 settlers—in order to begin to identify Franztal’s founding settlers. A comparison of the names in these sources revealed thirteen of the twenty-three landowners in Franztal, including Wirtschaften 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24. This post will work through the remaining Wirtschaften to see if we can identify the other ten owners.

Our procedure will be straightforward. We will identify the Wirtschaft by number and give the name of the person who lived there according to the 1835 census. We will survey the available evidence about that person—and any others listed at the same location—and draw whatever conclusions we can about who first settled that Wirtschaft.

1. Gerhard Heinrich Dirks (GM 61557) moved to this plot from Rudnerweide in 1828, so we know he was not the original settler. The census does not list any other inhabitants, so we cannot suggest who first owned this Wirtschaft.

2. Jacob Johann Neufeld (GM 61562) moved to this plot from Grossweide either in 1820 (so his entry under Grossweide) or 1829 (so his entry under Franztal). This discrepancy is at least in the English translation of the census, perhaps also in the original. If Neufeld moved to Franztal in 1820, he was the original settler of this plot; if he moved in 1829, he was not, and we are unable to suggest some other candidate.

4. Peter Jacob Pankratz is apparently GM 43141, since the name of the father, wife, and daughter on the census matches the information given for this individual. Peter was born in 1806, which means he was fourteen when Franztal was founded. Clearly, he was not an original landowner. Interestingly, he had a connection with our family. Peter’s father Jacob (GM 43069) died in 1808, after which his mother Ancke Pankratzen (GM 32957) married Jacob Peter Buller (GM 318737; for a post documenting the confusion that surrounds Jacob, see here). She died in 1813 while still in Prussia, and Peter Pankratz was presumably left with his stepfather Jacob Buller. What is curious is that Peter Pankratz is not listed with Jacob Buller when the latter emigrated in 1820 (Rempel 2007, 172). What happened to Peter Pankratz that he did not emigrate with Jacob Buller? It is tempting to think that this Peter was one of the drivers named Peter Pankratz within the 1819 traveling party (see here). How and when he came to own Franztal 4 is unknown, as is the identity of the original owner of the Wirtschaft.

5. Although we already identified Peter Andreas Richert (GM 48279) as the original owner, it is worth mentioning that he died in 1821. His plot was taken over by Peter Peter Janzen (GM 29972), who moved to Franztal 5 from Rudnerweide in 1822. We should also note that Jacob Jacob Buller (GM 5587) lived at this plot from 1820 until he moved to Alexanderwohl in 1822. This Jacob was the son of Jacob Peter Buller mentioned in number 4 above.

7. The census reports that Jacob Jacob Goerz (GM 61582) emigrated to Molotschna in 1821 and then moved from Tiegerweide to Franztal in 1822. Therefore, he was not among the original twenty-three landowners, and we have no clues as to the original settler of this Wirtschaft. 

9. Dietrich David Block (GM 61603) left Prussia for Russia in 1818 (Unruh 1955, 360; Rempel 2007, 109). He is not listed at any other Molotschna village, so it is reasonable to think that he settled first in Franztal and was one of the original landowners. 

12. Peter Peter Ratzlaff (GM 47898) was twenty-two in 1835, so he was six when his family moved to Molotschna in 1819. His father Peter Heinrich Ratzlaff was the original owner of Franztal 6, so the most reasonable explanation is that the son Peter took over Franztal 12 when he established his own family. We have no further evidence as to who was the founding owner.

13. Andreas Jacob Pankratz (GM 43136) came to Molotschna late. According to Rempel (2007, 172), he received a passport in 1820 but was unable to sell his possessions and so stayed in Prussia. Later (2007, 194) we read that a second visa was issued in 1824. The English translation of the census states that he moved to Molotschna in 1829, but one wonders if the 4 has been misread as a 9 (Steve Fast’s list of census corrections does not indicate any error; see here). Whichever date is correct, we can conclude that Pankratz was not an original landowner.

16. The census reports that Kornelius Kornelius Siemens (GM 61663) emigrated to Russia in 1817, which is confirmed by Rempel (2007, 106). The census further states that he moved to Franztal from Ohrloff in 1820. The Kornelius Siemens listed at Ohrloff 22 appears to be a different individual (and, contra GM and the index here, I see no Kornelius Siemens listed at Ohrloff 25). Assuming that the Franztal listing is correct, Siemens was an original landowner in Franztal.

20. According to the census, Heinrich Peter Janzen (GM 225175) moved to Molotschna in 1817 (see also Rempel 2007, 105). The census adds that he moved to Franztal from Lindenau 30, where he was apparently landless in 1820. Janzen was thus one of Franztal’s founding landowners.

21. Peter Peter Janzen (GM 61689) is reported to have emigrated in 1819 (neither Rempel nor Unruh lists him in any records). He is not listed in any other village, so we may conclude that he settled first in Franztal and was one of the original landowners. His residency there was short, however, since he passed away in 1822. Franztal 21 passed to his second son, Klaas, who continued to live there at least through 1857, after which the property apparently passed to Klaas’s son Jacob (see the voter lists here). 

23. According to the census (also Unruh 1955, 370), Peter Jacob Schmidt (GM 61708) emigrated in 1822 and resided first in Alexanderwohl; he moved to Franztal 23 in 1824. He was therefore not one of the original landowners.

This exercise has enabled us to identify at least four, possibly five, more original landowners, but five or six remain unknown. In the next post we will recap what we have learned thus far and make some concluding observations about the nature of the sources on which we must rely.

Works Cited

Rempel. Peter. 2007. Mennonite Migration to Russia, 1788–1828. Edited by Alfred H. Redekopp and Richard D. Thiessen. Winnepeg: Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society.

Unruh, Benjamin H. 1955. Die niederlandisch-niederdeutschen Hintergründe der mennonitischen Ostwanderungen im 16., 18. und 19. Jahrhundert. Karlsruhe-Rüppurr: self-published.