1869 Kuban Colony Census

State Archives of the Odessa Region, Odessa, Ukraine

Records of the Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers in Southern Russia
Fund 6, Inventory 5, File 278

Initially translated from Russian by Nikolai Penner in February 2004
Nikolai Penner’s translation was financially sponsored by Glenn Penner
Edited in March 2004 by Tim Janzen, Portland, Oregon

Explanatory comments by Tim Janzen: 

This document provides information about a group of 67 families who were living in the Kuban Colony in the Caucasus Region in South Russia as of February 29, 1869.  All of the people included on the list were Mennonite Brethren.  Most of the people on this list were from the Molotschna Colony, but some were also from the Chortitza Colony.  Those people from the Molotschna Colony are found in the first portion of the list and those people from the Chortitza Colony are found in the last portion of the list.  The document is found among a large collection of documents pertaining to the Mennonite Brethren in File 278.  The list is found on pages 635 to 643 in the original file and may be found on frames 1102 through 1119 on the microfilm of this file.

All of the families from the Molotschna Colony who are found in this list with the exception of Aganetha Schmidt and her son Johann Penner’s family who are the 55^th family in this list are also found in the 1864 List of Families Intending to Settle in the Kuban Colony.  None of the families from the Chortitza Colony who are the 56^th through 67^th families in this list are found in the 1864 List of Families Intending to Settle in the Kuban Colony.

In this translation the names of the Mennonites and the locations have been translated into their most common form.  Ages that appear in parentheses in the translation have been crossed through in the original document.  This was done because the person had either married and thus was no longer living in the family or because the person had died.  The ages of people who had died are their ages at the time of their death.  The villages mentioned in the column where the settlers names are found are the villages they were living in prior to moving to the Kuban Colony in 1863 or shortly thereafter.  Information that has been placed in brackets does not appear in the original but has been added for clarification.  A question mark has been placed where selected words or phrases are difficult to read in the original.  The comment for Johann Friesen, age 15, in family #57 has not yet been entirely translated.

The original document from which this translation was made may be found on microfilm at the following archives:  the Center for Mennonite Brethren Studies, Fresno, California; the Center for Mennonite Studies, Tabor College, Hillsboro, Kansas; the Mennonite Historical Society of British Columbia, Abbotsford, British Columbia; and the Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Alex Voth provided helpful suggestions for the improvement of this translation.

 

Page 635            copy

 

Register of the Molotschna colonists who are settled in Zelenchuk region, who possess lands of 65 dessiatines [175.5 acres] per family and who have to be excluded from their former colony of residence.

 

 

Grandma Number	Family Number	Molotschna Region, Berdyansk District, Taurida Province	Age		Number of people in household	Location where listed in the most recent census (1858 Census)	Comments
			males	females
		Village of Rudnerweide
2504	1.	Benjamin Becker	35			Waldheim #25
		his wife Anna		22
		son Heinrich	4				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Anna		2			Born in the Caucasus
		his mother Mrs. Wedel		66
		his sister Maria		26	6
2517	2.	Jacob Becker	41			Waldheim #22
		his wife Margaretha		30
		his sons:  Jacob	4				Born in the Caucasus
		Franz	1		4		Born in the Caucasus
11895	3.	Abraham Regier	41			Rudnerweide #40
		his wife Anna		(40)			She died in 1868
		his sons:  Abraham	15
		Jacob	7
		his daughters:  Anna		19
		Helena		9	5
3166	4.	Sara Block		(28)		Franzthal #12	Married to Abraham Eitzen (family #26)
		Katharina Block		(24)			Married to Peter Buller (family #19)
		Maria Block		23			Married in the Caucasus
		her husband Gerhard Gaede	23			Liebenau #14
		daughter Agatha		1	3		Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Franzthal
	5.	Peter Siemens	(30)				He died in 1865
		his wife Renatha		26
		son Kornelius	5				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Anna		4	3		Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Ladekopp
51872	6.	David Klassen	62			Sparrau #44
		his wife Helena		61
		son Johann	24
		daughter Aganetha		26	4
	7.	Abraham Peters	43			Blumenort #14
		his wife  Katharina		37
		sons:      Abraham	10
		Jacob	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Aganetha		12	5
413902	8.	Peter Martens	55			Ladekopp #35
		his wife Renatha		(50)			She died in 1865
		his second wife Elizabeth		26			Daughter of Johann Pankratz (family #31)
		his sons:  Peter	25
		Jacob	24
		Johann	21
		Kornelius	13
		Abraham	11				Blind
		Heinrich	10
		David	1		9		Born in the Caucasus
	9.	Johann Klassen	54			Ladekopp #34
		his wife Maria		49
		his sons:    Abraham	24				Mentally disabled
		Johann	16
		Peter	4
		daughters:  Maria		19
		Renatha		14	7
	10.	Katharina Reimer		(29)		Ladekopp #31	She died in 1866
		her brother Jacob	25
		his wife Helena		18			Daughter of Heinrich Krause from the Ekaterinoslav Province (family #61)
62964	11.	Abraham Isaak	58			Lichtfelde #28
		his sons:     Jacob	18
		Johann	16
		daughters:  Anna		(29)			She died
		Helena		(27)			Married to Jacob Schmidt from the Ekaterinoslav Province (family #61)
		Katharina		12
		his married son
		Abraham Isaak	24
		his wife  Justina		31			Formerly a Buller with family #19
		daughter Maria		1	7		Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Liebenau
283353	12.	Simon Harms	39			Schardau #37
		his wife     Agatha		35
		sons:          Heinrich	(9)				He died in 1865
		Simon	3				Born in the Caucasus
		daughters:  Anna		9
		Maria		6	5
9236	13.	Klaas Hiebert	34			Muensterberg #13
		his wife Katharina		27	2		Formerly a Klassen, from the Mennonite district in the Saratov Province
2539	14.	Peter Nickel	43			Sparrau #49
		his wife     Sara		40
		sons:          Peter	16
		Heinrich	13
		Abraham	4
		Jacob	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughters:  Anna		18
		Sara		11
36531	15.	Peter Gaede	27			Liebenau #14
		his wife Helena		29
		his sons:  Heinrich	5				Born in the Caucasus
		Peter	4				Born in the Caucasus
		David	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Agatha		1	6		Born in the Caucasus
29088	16.	Heinrich Nickel	49			Rudnerweide #30
		his wife      Katharina		47
		daughters:  Katharina		11
		Aganetha		8
12411	17.	Johann Klassen	47			Sparrau #44
		his wife Katharina		40
		sons:          Jacob	16
		David	12
		daughters:  Maria		7
		Aganetha		4
		Katharina		(2)	6		She died
102944	18.	Kornelius Reimer	45			Schoensee #41
		his wife Gertruda		(30)			She died in 1867
		his second wife Anna		22			Born to a Mr. Wiebe; she was a stepdaughter of Abraham Toews of Fuerstenau in the Taurida Province
		his sons:  Abraham	7
		Peter	4		4
		Village of Liebenau
3341	19.	Peter Buller	25			Liebenau #2
		his wife Katharina		24			Formerly a Block with family #4
		son             David	3				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter     Katharina		1			Born in the Caucasus
		his brother Gerhard
		his sisters:  Helena		(27)			She died in 1867
		Justina		(31)			Married to Abraham Isaak (family #11)
		Eva		23	5		Married to Johann Neufeld (family #42)
		Village of Elisabeththal
2311	20.	Franz Klassen	59			Rudnerweide #51
		his wife Margaretha		69	2
2306	21.	Abraham Wiens	38			Elisabeththal #18
		his wife Maria		35
		sons:       Abraham	8
		Johann	7
		Franz	6
		Gerhard	5				Born in the Caucasus
		Kornelius	3				Born in the Caucasus
		Jacob	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Margaretha		10	9
2305	22.	Kornelius Wiens	41			Elisabeththal #18
		his wife Sara		34
		his sons:  Franz	9
		Kornelius	7
		daughter  Anna		11	5
		Village of Elisabeththal
	23.	Martin Mierau	41			Waldheim #73
		his wife Maria		(40)			She died in 1865
		his second wife Florentina		27			Formerly of Prussian nationality
		his sons:     Johann	(5)				He died in 1864
		Franz	(4)				He died in 1864
		Martin	(1)				He died in 1864
		daughters:  Margaretha		(13)			She died in 1864
		Anna		12	3
		Village of Marienthal
3424	24.	Dietrich Klassen	30			Sparrau #44
		his wife Maria		(24)			She died in 1867
		his second wife Elizabeth		24			Born to a Mr. Wall; she was a stepdaughter of Jacob Siemens of the village of Elisabeththal
3422	25.	Dietrich Klassen	59			Sparrau #44
		his wife Justina		45
		his sons:    Isbrand	27
		Johann	23
		Jacob	20
		daughters:  Justina		16
		Anna		15
		Katharina		12
		Maria		7	9
		Village of Blumstein
3391	26.	Abraham Eitzen	39			Lindenau #20
		his wife Sara		28			Formerly a Block with family #4
		his sons:  Johann	10
		Abraham	8
		Daniel	6
		daughter Katharina		12	5
6192	27.	Daniel Eitzen	36			Lindenau #20
		his wife Katharina		30
		his sons:    Abraham	10
		Daniel	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughters:  Anna		8
		Katharina		6	6
		Village of Schardau
35563	28.	Heinrich Flaming	40			Marienthal #15
		his wife Katharina		37
		his sons:     Johann	10
		Heinrich	(4)				He died in 1866
		daughters:  Katharina		14
		Maria		4
		Elizabeth		1			Born in the Caucasus
111491	29.	Peter Stobbe	38			Schardau #14
		his wife Maria		34
		his sons:    Peter	6
		Johann	3
		daughters:  Maria		8
		Helena		1			Born in the Caucasus
132531	30.	Widow Katharina Schmidt		62		Schardau #11
		her sons:  Abraham	19
		daughter Katharina		(23)			Married in the Mennonite district in Poland
		married son Heinrich	24
		his wife Katharina		34	4
		Village of Gnadenfeld
27717	31.	Johann Pankratz	53			Gnadenfeld #39
		his wife Maria		50
		his sons:    David	15
		Heinrich	12
		Johann	11
		daughters:  Anna		(30)			Married to Peter Block (family #38)
		Elizabeth		(26)			Married to Peter Martens (family #8)
		Susanna		(23)			Married to Franz Wall (family #36)
		Katharina		20
		Gertruda		8	7
Son of 57156	32.	Bernhard Penner	30			Gnadenfeld #2
		his wife Agatha		19			Daughter of Heinrich Neufeld from the Ekaterinoslav Province (family #56)
		daughter Maria		1			Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Wernersdorf
Wife of 54070	33.	Widow of Johann Hiebert		49		Wernersdorf #1
		sons:  Abraham	29
		Johann	8		3
54220	34.	Kornelius Kornelsen	64			Wernersdorf #21
		his wife Katharina		54
		his stepsons:  Johann Dick	21
		Abraham Loewen	18
		stepdaughter:  Elizabeth Loewen		13	5
		Village of Waldheim
33915	35.	David Dirksen	39			Lichtenau #22
		his wife Katharina		24
		his sons:    Abraham	6
		David	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughters:  Maria		12
		Helena		10
		Carolina		9	7
Son of 44162	36.	Franz Wall	29			Blumenort #9
		his wife Susanna		23			Daughter of Johann Pankratz (family #31)
		his son Johann	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Maria		2			Born in the Caucasus
3369	37	Friedrich Strauss	28			Waldheim #59
		his wife Aganetha		31
		his sons:  Johann	6
		Friedrich	(1)				He died
		Friedrich	1				Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Landskrone
399985	38.	Peter Block	27			Landskrone #24
		his wife Anna		30			Daughter of Johann Pankratz (family #31)
		his son Peter	(2)				He died in 1868
		daughter Anna		1			Born in the Caucasus
89989	39.	Kornelius Penner	31			Landskrone #18
		his wife Anna		26
		son             Johann	3
		daughters:  Elizabeth		8
		Anna		6
		Helena		4
		Katharina		1			Born in the Caucasus
		Maria		1	8		Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Grossweide
	40.	Abraham Dick	27			Pastwa #20
		his wife Helena		29			Formerly a Friesen with family #43
		his son Abraham	1		3		Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Tiegenhagen
Likely son of 103148	41.	Jacob Giesbrecht	30			Tiegenhagen #21
		his wife Gertruda		38
		his son Gerhard	7
		daughter Margaretha		5
		stepdaughters:  Gertruda Neufeld		19
		Anna Neufeld		15	6
		Village of Sparrau
Son of 61072	42.	Heinrich Neufeld	30			Blumstein #28
		his wife Helena		29
		his sons:  Heinrich	4				Born in the Caucasus
		Peter	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Anna		3			Born in the Caucasus
		his brother Johann	24
		his wife Eva		23			Formerly a Buller with family #19
		his son Johann	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Eva		1			Born in the Caucasus
274249	43.	Helena Friesen		(29)		Sparrau #27	Married to Abraham Dick (family #40)
Son of 53568	44.	Peter Goerz	24			Sparrau #40
		his wife Anna		20			Formerly a Schlier [spelling ?], of Prussian nationality
		daughter Anna	1		3		Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Lichtfelde
101722 and 399839	45.	Abraham Wiens	46			Muntau #26
		his wife Anna		44
		his sons:  Jacob	19
		Abraham	5
		Johann	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughter Susanna		(4)	5		She died in 1866
9308	46.	Jacob Kroeker	47			Blumstein #33
		his wife Maria		45
		his sons:    Jacob	20
		Peter	17
		Heinrich	9
		daughters:  Maria		14
		Margaretha		12	7
		Village of Gnadenheim
52123	47.	Johann Friesen	52			Gnadenheim #11
		his wife       Helena		49
		his son        Johann	21
		daughter      Maria		18
		married son Franz	23
		his wife       Anna		23	6		Formerly a Penner, of Prussian nationality
Son of 52123	48.	Gerhard Friesen	26			Gnadenheim #11
		his wife Anna		24			Formerly a Strauss, from the village of Waldheim
		daughter Maria		2	3		Born in the Caucasus
399381 and 51496	49.	Heinrich Boldt	41			Friedensdorf #30
		his wife Anna		39
		his sons:     Heinrich	15
		Johann	8
		Jacob	6
		Peter	(1)				He died on the journey [to the Kuban Colony]
		daughters:  Sara		18
		Anna		11	7
		Village of Blumenort
	50.	Franz Martens	75			Blumenort #34
		his wife Maria		78
		Village of Prangenau
60840	51.	Jacob Delesky	33			Blumenort #13
		his wife Maria		31
		his sons:    Abraham	3
		Jacob	1
		daughters:  Aganetha		11
		Katharina		6	6
150215	52.	Widow Agatha Hildebrand		48		Lichtfelde #10
		his sons:    Heinrich	26
		Jacob	12
		Nikolai	10
		daughters:  Agatha		22
		Elizabeth		20	6
		Village of Muntau
101674	53.	Wilhelm Giesbrecht	35			Muntau
		his wife      Katharina		27
		his son       Wilhelm	1				Born in the Caucasus
		daughters:  Katharina		4
		Helena		(3)	4		She died
	54.	Village of Tiege
2287		Bernhard Janzen	37			Schoensee #39
		his wife Anna		35
		his sons:    Bernhard	6
		Abraham	4
		daughters:  Helena		15
		Margaretha		12
		Anna		9
		Maria		1	8		Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Pastwa
102112	55.	Widow Aganetha Schmidt				Pastwa #1
		accommodates her son from
		the first marriage
		Johann Penner	36
		his wife Aganetha		35
		his sons:     Johann	14
		Jacob	11
		Abraham	4
		Aron	2
		daughters:  Aganetha		8
		Anna		6	8
		Chortitza District, Ekaterinoslav Province
		Village of Einlage
14782	56.	Heinrich Neufeld	49			Schoenhorst
		his wife      Maria		32
		his sons:     Abraham	5
		Isaak	3
		daughter:    Maria		1			Born in the Caucasus
		married son Heinrich	25
		his wife Elizabeth		26
		his sons:   Heinrich	(1)				He died
		Heinrich	1				Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Schoenhorst
36775	57.	Johann Friesen	41			Schoenhorst
		his wife     Gertruda		44
		his sons:    Heinrich	14?				[His age appears to have been originally entered as 15, but this was overwritten by another number, likely either 14 or 17]
		Johann	15				He still lives in the Ekaterinoslav Province father ?
		Dietrich	12
		daughters:  Margaretha		17			She still lives in the Ekaterinoslav Province in similar fashion as her brother Johann
		Katharina		9
		Helena		7
		Maria		3	9
		Village of Kronsweide
524402	58.	Gerhard Isaak	37			Chortitza
		his wife      Susanna		39
		his sons:     Gerhard	12
		Peter	5
		daughters:  Susanna		13
		Anna		9
		Agatha		7
		Helena		(3)			She died in 1868
351847	59.	Johann Isaak	27			Chortitza
		his wife Katharina		26	2
138267	60.	Heinrich Peters	44			Kronsweide
		his wife Helena		46
		his sons:  Abraham	16
		Heinrich	12
		Jacob	8
		Kornelius	6
		Johann	3
		daughter  Aganetha		22	8
9248	61.	Heinrich Krause	50
		his wife Katharina		45
		his sons:    Kornelius	21
		Jacob	15
		Johann	6
		daughters:  Helena		(18)			Married to Jacob Reimer from the Taurida Province (family #10)
		Aganetha		11
		Anna		5
		Agatha		3
		married son Peter	28
		his wife Anna		26
		daughters:  Katharina		3
		Anna		1			Born in the Caucasus
		stepsons and stepdaughters:
		Abraham Schmidt	19
		his sister Katharina		18
		brother Jacob	22
		his wife Helena		27			Daughter of Abraham Isaak from the Taurida Province (family #11)
		his son Abraham	1		17		Born in the Caucasus
9234	62.	Widow of Wilhelm Janzen		40
		sons:  Peter	9
		Kornelius	5
		Village of Nieder Chortitza
9376	63.	Peter Nickel	41			Nieder Chortitza
		his wife Judith		32
		his sons:     Peter	12
		Benjamin	6
		daughters:  Agnetha		10
		Helena		5
		Katharina		4
		Maria		1	8
179610	64.	Franz Bergman	46
		his wife   Maria		35
		his sons:  Jacob	17
		Abraham	15
		Gerhard	12
		Wilhelm	(4)				He died
		David	(1)				He died
		daughters:  Katharina		13			She still lives in the Ekaterinoslav Province
		Maria		10
		Anna		(5)			She died
		Anna		1			Born in the Caucasus
		Village of Neuendorf
524396	65.	Peter Berg	38
		his wife      Anna		38
		his sons:     Jacob	17
		Peter	16
		Heinrich	7
		Johann	5
		daughters:  Anna		13
		Katharina		2
		Village of Insel Chortitza
8167	66.	Abraham  Neufeld	26			Insel Chortitza
		his wife    Agatha		39
		his sons:   Abraham	(1)				He died
		Abraham	2				Born in the Caucasus
		stepsons:  Johann Reimer	17
		Jacob	15
		Kornelius	6
		stepdaughters:
		Aganetha Reimer		12
		Katharina		9	8
		Alexandrovsk District
		Village of Schoenwiese
185566	67.	Abraham Goerzen	35			Schoenwiese
		his wife      Helena		37
		his son       Abraham	10
		daughters:  Margaretha		13
		Maria		6
		Helena		2
		his brother Gerhard	33
		his wife      Helena		34
		his sons:    Gerhard	4
		Abraham	2
		daughters:  Margaretha		6
		Helena		5

 

 

The register was signed by the acting Oberschulze Reimer and his assistants Mr. Giesbrecht and Mr. Janzen.

As the head of the Zelenchuk region is absent, the authenticity of the register was assured by his staff-captain.