Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta

The Guardianship Committee of Foreign Settlers in South Russia

Compiled March 2002 by Tim Janzen & Tatyana Makarenko

1801

File 45. File concerning the Mennonite Heinrich Dyck who came to poverty and about the transfer of his home to the Mennonite Gerhard Enns.

1. Official reports from District Mayor P. Siemens from the Chortitza Colony.
2. Notes from the journal of the Guardianship Office about the reasons for Mr. Dyck's poverty, his death, and the solution to transfer his home to Mr. Enns.
3. The applications of Mr. Enns for the elimination of the personal debts of Mr. Dyck.
4. A solution by the Guardianship Office to transfer the debt of the deceased Mr. Dyck to Mr. Enns.

These documents are written in both Russian and German. The documents are in bad condition as mold has damaged some of the documents.
20 Dec 1800 to 28 May 1801. 22 pages. 35 frames.

File 46. Statistics about the numbers of colonists compiled by the Guardianship Office of Foreign Settlers.

1. Statistics registers compiled by the Guardianship Office in the various districts of the Ekaterinoslav, Kherson, Chernigov, and Taurida Provinces and in the Crimea for 1804, 1805, 1806, 1807, 1811, and 1812.
2. The statistical pages contain the number of colonists in the districts, the names of the villages, the numbers of families that lived in indicated villages, and the total number of females and males.
3. The statistical data for 1816, 1818, and 1819 contains additional information about the total number of settlers in these areas and the nationality of colonists in the Ekaterinoslav colonies.
4. A financial statement by the Ekaterinoslav Guardianship Office of Foreign Settlers in 1819.
5. A register of colonists who had recently arrived in the Chortitza, Molotschna, Josephstal and Danzig Colonies in 1818; contains the number of families and the amount of property they brought with them (money, horses, and carts).

These documents are written in Russian.
11 Jun 1801 to 23 Sep 1819. 84 pages. 141 frames.

File 48. File concerning the regulation of financial reports in the Josephstal, Kronsgarten, and Jamburg Colonies.

1. An order from the Guardianship Office about the necessity to have a special accounting book of finances (a register of incomes and expenses of the public monies) in the colonies.
2. Reports from the village leaders, inspectors, and the accountant, Mr. Gsell, about the fulfillment of this order.
3. Registers of incomes and expenses of the public monies for 1806, 1807, 1808, and from January to September, 1814; monthly registers for 1808, 1805, 1810, 1812 (partly), and 1814 (partly).
4. Notes from the journal of the Guardianship Office about receipt of the reports from the inspectors and mayors.
5. A list of the colonists from the Josephstal and Rybalsk Colony who received saplings of cherry trees.
6. Draft of a shed for silkworm storage and plans for its construction.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
11 Feb 1801 to 27 Jun 1828. 815 pages. 1264 frames.

File 49. File concerning the audit of orphans' money in the Josephstal Colony. This file was compiled because of the embezzlement of this money by Mr. Hertz, Mr. Nitzel, and Mr. Schnakenberg from the Josephstal Colony.

1. Orders from the Guardianship Office about an audit, lists of all colonists who received this money, list of orphans to whom this money belonged (dated 1819), reports, correspondence and other paper work (list of participants provided).
2. List dated December 12, 1804 of heads of households in the Chortitza Colony from whom monies were received (frames 92-99).

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
15 Aug 1798 to 5 Nov 1820. 244 pages. 410 frames.

File 50. File concerning an order by the Senate and the Government Economic Department to send some members of the Guardianship Office to village of Vishenka in the Chernigov Province. Also about the initiation of collecting various taxes from Hutterites in Radichev.

1. 1. An order about the transfer of state lands to the Hutterites who were settled in the village of Vishenka (1801). (This land had been previously rented to them). This village belonged to Count S. P. Rumyantsev. A certificate written by Mr. Brigonzi about these lands.
2. Descriptions of the villages Ivankovo, Radichev, and Budishe of the Novgorod-Seversk District. The plan of the state lands which were transferred to the Hutterites in Vishenka.
3. Correspondence about the resettlement of the Vishenka Hutterites, their establishment in a new place, and about their acquisition of household effects.
4. Lists and the table of lands of the Radichev Hutterites (1801).
5. A census written in German of the Hutterites living in Vishenka dated May 22, 1801 (frames 75-82).
6. A list containing information about trades that were done by the settlers in 1806.
7. Reports written by the Elder of the Vishenka Colony, Mr. Waldner, to the Guardianship Office about the state of affairs of the Vishenka Hutterites in the new settlement (1802-1803) and about the history and state of the Radichev Colony (1803).
8. Reports written by Radichev Brotherhood to the Guardianship Office concerning economic questions, financial situations, and the return of state debts (1804-1816).
9. A census written in Russian of the Hutterites living in Radichev dated April 21, 1806 (frames 551-556).
10. The draft of the furnace (for glazing of azure crockery) with the description (1803).

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
28 Jun 1801 to 14 Dec 1815. 530 pages. 855 frames.

File 51. Instructions regarding cattle plague that were written because of an order by the Government Economic Department.

1. Notice about sending instructions to the colonies for preventing cattle plague.
2. Reports from the inspectors of the Molotschna Colony and colonies in the Crimea about cattle plague and correspondence regarding it.
3. Information about dead cattle in Chortitza and Swedish Colonies with information about the owners of these cattle (1809).

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
19 Jul 1801 to 31 Dec 1801; May 1808 to 5 Dec 1814. 506 pages. 593 frames.

File 53. File concerning the seeds which the Frisian Mennonites borrowed from Emperor Alexander's store in 1794.

1. Correspondence from the Chortitza District Office with the Guardianship Office about returning of this purveyance to Emperor Alexander's store.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
12 Aug 1801 to 15 Jan 1806. 44 pages. 79 frames.

File 58. File concerning permission to build a distillery issued to the Kronsgarten Colony. Report written by Mayor Bartel Mewsen of Kronsgarten.

1. A report from Mayor Bartel Mewsen to the Guardianship Office with a petition to permit building of a distillery in the colony.
2. Note from the journal of the Guardianship Office about permission to build on certain conditions.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
7 Jan 1801 to 26 Jan 1801. 7 pages. 14 frames.

File 59. File concerning the deportation of the Russian Mr. Matwei, who is currently living in the village of Einlage.

1. Report written by the Chortitza Colony District Mayor, Peter Siemens.
2. Reports, including a petition to deport Mr. Matwei, who wouldn't pay the community for fishing and pasture according to the contract; notes from the journal of the Guardianship Office supporting the petition from the mayor.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
3 Jan 1801 to 7 Feb 1801. 7 pages. 14 frames.

File 60. Petition written by the retired soldier Mr. Posovayla about giving him money due to him for grazing cattle in the Chortitza Colony.

1. Petition from Mr. Posovayla to Samuel X. Contenius about a sum for cattle grazing in Rosenthal which Mr. Posovayla didn't receive.
2. Report from Peter Siemens, the Chortitza Colony District Mayor, with explanation about the reason for this underpayment.
3. Note from the journal of the Guardianship Office about this case.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
5 Jan 1801 to 11 Feb 1801. 6 pages. 14 frames.

File 64. File concerning estates which were passed from one Mennonite or colonist to another because of death or other cause during 1801.

1. Correspondence from the Mayor of the Danzig German Colony (Elisabethgrad District), Johann Lessing, consisting of the petition to take away the house of Michael Pritzkau.
2. Correspondence from the Chortitza Colony District Mayor, P. Siemens, about estates which were passed from Peter Neufeld and Martin Ens to Gerhard Epp and Peter Epp of Rosenthal; from the deceased Nicholas Heide of Einlage to Johann Neufeld; from Peter Mantler to his son in Neuendorf; from Jacob Schwartz to David Loewen; from the deceased Heinrich Dyck to Heinrich Wiebe; from Peter Siemens of Rosenthal to Johann Loeppke; from the deceased Dietrich Neufeld to Peter Wiebe; from the deceased Gerhard Doerksen to Franz Berg including a brief inventory of the estate; from Martin Doerksen to Franz Thiessen; from the deceased Leonhard Janzen of Einlage to Johann Hiebert; from the deceased parent to Georg Krahn; about the trusteeship of the above estates of Gerhard Braun and Herman Neufeld and the inventory of the estates.
3. Correspondence from the Chortitza District Office about estates which were passed from the deceased Franz Kroeker of Rosenthal to Julius Toews; from the deceased Heinrich Klassen of Rosenthal to Phillip Kauenhowen; from the deceased Jacob Loewen of Neuenburg to Peter Reimer; from Phillip Dyck to son Abraham Dyck.
4. Correspondence from the Mayor of Chortitza, Franz Dyck, about estates which were passed from the deceased Heinrich Dyck to Jacob Wiens of Rosenthal; from Gerhard Penner to Gerhard Wiebe, including a brief inventory of the estate; from Martin Penner to his son-in-law Bernhard von Bergen.
5. Correspondence from the Mayor of Schoenwiese, Johann Ewert, about an estate that was passed from Jacob Neufeld to Franz Janzen of Kronsweide and about trusteeship of the above estate of the deceased Aron Martens, including an inventory of the estate.
6. Correspondence from the Mayor of Jamburg, Bartel Lutz, about the transfer of the house of the deceased Mr. Piller to Michael Lauttenschlager of Jamburg and about the assignment to trustees Friedrich Neidan and Johann Klein the above property of the deceased Johann Gerbrandt of Rybalsk. This includes an inventory of the property.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
This file is missing the beginning and end pages.
18 Jan 1801 to 9 Jun 1803. 297 pages. 426 frames.

File 65. Reports from the colonies to the Guardianship Office about birth rates and death rates in the colonies.

1. Registers of births, deaths, and marriages of the colonists from the Chortitza Colony (villages of Chortitza, Schoenhorst, Neuendorf, Neuenburg, Kronsweide, Einlage, Schoenwiese, Rosenthal, Insel Chortitza) January-November, 1801, January-May, July-November, 1802, January-May, 1803, and January-May, 1806. Statistical summary page for 1801.
2. Statistical information for 1801, 1802, and 1803 for the Swedish, Josephstal, Rybalsk, Kronsgarten, Jamburg, and Danzig Colonies and for the Belowesch Colony for 1805.

Correspondence, including a list of participants.
These documents are written in both Russian and German.
2 Jan 1801 to 28 May 1806. 139 pages.
(See the microfilm of selected files from Odessa Archives, Fund 6, Inventory 1 for this file).

File 66. File concerning a report written by Mayor Ewert about Mennonites from Schoenwiese who divided community money among themselves.

1. A report from Mayor Johann Ewert about the distribution of money by the Mennonites, which was against an order from the Guardianship Office.
2. Report from Peter Siemens, the Chortitza Colony District Mayor.
3. Notes from the journal of the Guardianship Office.
4. List of names of the people who made a contract about a lease in Schoenwiese.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
24 Jan 1801 to 26 Jun 1801. 14 pages. 27 frames.

File 67. 1801 Chortitza Colony Census and economic information; economic information about the Josephstal and Jamburg Colonies during 1801.

1. A census of the Chortitza Colony taken in 1801. Information also provided about the sowing and harvesting of crops in the Chortitza Colony, Josephstal, and Jamburg Colonies.

These documents are written in German.
26 Jan 1801 to 27 Feb 1802. 118 pages.
(See the microfilm of selected files from Odessa Archives, Fund 6, Inventory 1 for this file).

File 68. File concerning the establishment of a ferry across the Dnepr River near Einlage. Written announcement by the New Russia Minor Court.

1. Correspondence from the New Russia Minor Court, the Guardianship Office, the New Russia State Chamber, and the Chortitza District Office about the establishment (at the expense of the State Chamber) of a ferry over the Dnepr River near Einlage (en route from New Russia to the Alexandrovsk Fortress), and about transfer of this ferry to the Chortitza Colony Mennonites under the stipulation that they will ferry all people over the Dnepr River free of charge; an estimate of the costs of this project.
2. Correspondence from the New Russia Minor Court, the Guardianship Office, the New Russia State Chamber, and the Chortitza District Office about the need to guard the ferry and to arrest runaway serfs.
3. Correspondence from the Guardianship Office and the Chortitza District Office with the Chief of State Police, Mr. Zolotnitsky, about a prohibition against Mennonites being ferrymen in Einlage because this was the state ferry; about a prohibition to the Mennonites against ferrying "strangers". They could only use it for themselves.
4. Reports written by the Chortitza District Office concerning the state ferry over the Dnepr River at Einlage and rowing over Moskovka River in the village of Schoenwiese.
5. A statement written by the Ekaterinoslav Civil Governor to the Guardianship Office about cases of arrest on the ferry in Einlage.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
31 Jan 1801 to 17 Dec 1814; 31 Jan 1827 to 30 May 1828. 105 pages. 185 frames.

File 79. Petition written by the Mennonites Gerhard Penner and the widow of Mr. Rempel to the Guardianship Office to issue them passports to move to Prussia and about the lease of their properties to other people.

1. This file has been lost.

19 Feb 1801 to 14 Jun 1801. 38 pages.

File 87. File about the eradication of gophers by flushing them out of their holes.

1. Injunction to the Guardianship Office to start eradication of gophers in the colonies.
2. Order from the Guardianship Office about eradication.
3. Report from Peter Siemens, the Chortitza Colony District Mayor, and the Mayor of Swedish Colony, Mr. Christianson, about the fulfillment of this order.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
4 Apr 1801 to 26 Jun 1801. 10 pages. 20 frames.

File 91. Report written by District Mayor Siemens about Trofim Zaitsev, who had four horses without proper documentation.

1. About the fact that Mr. Zaitsev didn't register his horses in his passport.
2. Report from District Mayor Siemens about two missing Mennonite horses and the four unregistered horses of Mr. Zaitsev.
3. Note from the New Russia District Court about this petition.

These documents are written in Russian.
2 May 1801 to 3 Jun 1801. 9 pages. 17 frames.

File 92. File concerning sending Mennonites who were living away from the Chortitza Colony back to the colony. Information about the wealth of all of the colonies and about the weather.

1. A report written by the District Mayor of the Chortitza Colonies, P. Siemens, with the list of names of young owners and young unmarried Mennonites who served as workers in the villages of Chortitza, Schoenhorst, Neuenburg, Kronsweide, Einlage, and Rosenthal, as well as information about Mennonites who had left the colony.
2. Reports written by mayors about the welfare of the colonies and about accidents.
3. Correspondence from the Guardianship Office, P. Siemens, the New Russia Minor Court, and Inspector Peleshenkov concerning the need for P. Friesen, Mr. Jantzen, Mr. Hiebert, and Mr. Andreas to return to the Chortitza Colony since they had previously left the colony.
4. Reports written by the District Mayor of the Chortitza Colonies, P. Siemens, about the weather in the colonies of the district.
5. A report written by the Mayor of the Jamburg Colony, B. Lutz, about cattle plague in the colony.
6. Correspondence from the Guardianship Office with Inspector Peleshenkov regarding the fire in the house of Jacob Emrich in the Rybalsk Colony.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
25 Apr 1801 to 6 May 1802. 75 pages.
(See the microfilm of selected files from Odessa Archives, Fund 6, Inventory 1 for this file).

File 97. Report written by District Mayor Siemens about the prohibition given to the farmer Mr. Goetz in regards to selling wine to Mennonites from Kronsweide.

1. Reports from P. Siemens; notes from the Guardianship Office; questionnaire from the Guardianship Office to be used in questioning of administrative assistants (beisitzers) from the village of Kronsweide, Mr. Pauls and Mr. Siemens; and the decision of the Guardianship Office to restrict the Mennonite farmer Jacob Goetz from selling wine in the village of Kronsweide.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
21 May 1801 to 29 Jul 1801. 27 pages. 48 frames.

File 98. File written about an order from the Guardianship Office to village governments about the compilation of information regarding the numbers of people and the economical situation in the colonies.

1. A directive written by the Guardianship Office about the necessity to draw up population reports twice a year (every year in April and October) to be sent to the Guardianship Office.
2. Reports written by the Chortitza Colony District Mayor, P. Siemens, the Mayor of the Danzig Colony, Mr. Lesin, the Mayor of the Swedish Colony, Mr. Christianson, the Elder of the Radichev Colony, J. Waldner, the Belowesch District Office, and the Ternovsk Village Office on the same subject.
3. Reports written by inspectors of the colonies on the same subject.
4. The report written by the Secretary of the Guardianship Office.
5. The decree from the Government Economic Department to the Guardianship Office to nullify the unfair decision of the Guardianship Office concerning the decay of the estate of Peter Nikkel of Kronsweide.
6. Economic lists of the Josephstal Colonies with lists of the families in the Josephstal, Rybalsk, Kronsgarten, and Jamburg Colonies in 1801, the village of Neuenburg in 1802, and the Swedish and Danzig Colonies in 1803.
7. Statistical data from the Chortitza District Office containing information about the economical situation in the villages of Chortitza, Rosenthal, Burwalde, Nieder Chortitza, Schoenwiese, Insel Chortitza, Einlage, Kronsweide, Neuenburg, Neuendorf, Schoenhorst in 1803, the Ternovsk and Ingulsk Colony in 1806, the Radichev Brotherhood in 1807, and the Danzig District Office in 1808.
8. A list containing information about the amount of the grain that was reserved in the Chortitza store from 1800 to 1807.
9. Lists of the families in the Lutheran colonies of Josephstal and Rybalsk; a list of names from the Swedish Colony in 1802 and the Danzig Colony in 1803; a list of the families of Hutterites from the Radichev Colony in 1803.
10. Statistical lists containing information about the number of births, deaths, and marriages of the settlers in the Bulgarian and Radichev Hutterite Colonies in 1803, the Chortitza Colony in 1807, and the Belowesch Colony in June, 1808; information about Jacob Emrich of the Rybalsk Colony.
11. Lists of the colonist families from Orel who had paid the land rent for 1801.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
31 May 1801 to 4 Jul 1808. 388 pages.
(See the microfilm of selected files from Odessa Archives, Fund 6, Inventory 1 for this file).

File 103. Report written by the Chortitza District Office about help given to the Mennonite Isbrand Rempel so he could inherit an estate. Information about the recognition of Isbrand Rempel as the official heir to the estate of Peter Wolf.

1. Report from District Mayor P. Siemens; note from the journal of the Guardianship Office; the decision of the Guardianship Office about the petition from the Mennonite Mr. Rempel from Einlage acknowledging him as heir to Peter Wolf's estate.

These documents are written in both Russian and German.
4 Oct 1801 to 28 Oct 1801. 4 pages. 12 frames.

© 2002 Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta
Last Updated 23 Mar 2002

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