Belowesch - 1848 Village History
Copyright 1996, AHSGR    

Notes:  Please see the Introduction to the Village History Project for additional information.  

BELOWESCH

The colony Belowesch near the river Kalchik, about 168 versts from Alexandrovsk and 240 versts from Ekaterinoslav, was founded in the year 1832. Because of the severe climate, the soil here does not grow winter grains very well, but summer grains do better. 0n the west side of the colony's land, on the river Kalchik, there is a small stone quarry. There were no wooded areas
here at the time of settlement.

Because many of the settlers here originated in the colony Belowesch in the province of Chernigov, one of the founders, Georg Bechthold, who is now mayor, gave this colony the same name.

Twenty-six families from the Borzna district in Chernigov province settled here in the years 1832 and 1833. The population of the old colonies, founded by forefathers who had come from Germany, had increased so much in the long period since the founding that their land was no longer adequate to provide food for all. As a result of a plea to the crown for more land, they were given an area for settlement on the so-called Jewish Steppe. In the fall of 1831 our colonists arrived here, along with all the others who came to this region from their old home. They were quartered for the winter among the Prussian colonists. In the spring of 1832 they began to build houses on the assigned sites, a task completed in 1833. The colonist Christian Claassen of Grunau, member of the Forest and Garden Society of the Mariupol colonist district, rendered substantial services to these colonists by surveying their lots and guiding them in establishing themselves. Our steppe had formerly been rented by Johann Cornies, an executive member of the Forest and Garden Society of the Molotschna Mennonite district, but there were no houses on it when the settlers arrived. Our colonists received no financial help to get settled, but each family had brought along 400 rubles to provide for itself.

The famine year 1833 and the livestock epidemic in 1834 that arose from the shortage of feed created great difficulties for the settlers, but also brought great blessings, since the many who had been addicted to drunkenness now began, with God's help to lead sober and moral lives. Without the help given by the government in the year 1833 many would undoubtedly have died of' hunger.

The earthquake on 11 January 1838 began here at eight o'clock in the evening and caused no damage. In the year 1842 steppe mice did much damage to the crops. The same year the forest plantation was established. In December 1945 a livestock epidemic robbed several farmers of the major portion of their stock. The three-week storm of 1848 did much damage to the fruit trees.

Teacher: Johann Stamm.
Mayor: Bechthold

Coordinated with GRHS Village Research Clearing House
Coordinated with AHSGR/GRHS Translation Committee Chairman
Original translation: Adam Geisinger
Publication: AHSGR Journal Vol.4, No. 1 (Spring 1981)
Scanned: Dale Lee Wahl
Permission granted for posting on GRHS: May/2006

(NOTE - More data of interest is contained in the above referenced Journal article than is contained in this history. Copies available from the AHSGR.)

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