Brienne - 1848 Village History
Copyright 2000, Dr. Elvire Necker-Eberhardt 

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

BRIENNE

The colony of Brienne, under the supervision of the Kloestitz district office in the province of Bessarabia, and belonging to the Arcis parochial district, was founded in the year 1816.

ARRIVAL
The first inhabitants of this colony arrived in Russia in the years 1814 and 1815, but since most of them were without means, they had to stay in Moldau(1), in quarters provided by the government among local inhabitants until the time of their actual settlement at the places of their destination. Only in the specified year of 1816, with permission from the higher authorities, could they truly settle in the present locality.

FOUNDING
Upon arrival at their assigned steppe, one of the first concerns of the head of each household was to provide a shelter against storm and weather. This consisted of a temporary, so-called "earth hut," that even continued to be the home of some of the settlers for several years. Of these sod huts, some still stand as a monument to earlier times. In the following years, 1817 and 1818, some simple houses were built in pounded clay, and some of stone, depending on an inhabitant's wealth and ability.

LOCATION
Brienne was founded in the so-called Kujelnik(2) valley on the southern side of the river, which is the border between the colony of Brienne and the colony of Alt-Arcis. This river unites at the edge of the colony/settlement with the Tschaga River, arriving from Alt-Arcis. Brienne is 130 werst(3) south of the capital of Kischenew(4) and 70 werst west of the district town of Ackerman(5).

ESTABLISHING THE COLONY
By now the houses are built fairly regularly in two rows, which are slightly curved at both ends. With each house there is a large yard, and in most instances a good vaulted cellar, and a well; however, not all contain good drinking or cooking water. The stables are mostly located in the rear part of the yard to improve appearances in the colony. Behind them are the threshing places, and where possible, a garden planted with fruit trees. In front of each house at a short distance is a street wall about 2 arschin(6) high. The entrance to the yard is equipped with a gate. The space is fully planted with trees.

PUBLIC BUILDINGS
Two-thirds of the distance through the colony, so not exactly in the middle, is the spacious schoolhouse, built in 1840, and also a beautiful garden of forest and fruit trees. On the other side of the street, opposite the schoolhouse, stands the little church, which is not yet completed. A short distance behind it, serving as a reminder, stands the earlier schoolhouse, which is now used as the village office. On an incline to the south on a chain of hills, behind the upper row of houses, stands the storage building.

STREET
Between the two rows of houses, the approximately 10-faden(7)-wide street rises westward up to Toplitz, which borders the Brienner steppe, to the southern Russian village of Pawlowka.

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE LANDSCAPE
Colony-owned land is located on the previously mentioned elevation. The soil is black, containing quite a lot of saltpeter and some sand. Except for two large vineyards and the range pasture, it is used for agriculture and hayland. With wet weather, the land produces good growths of grass and field crops. The aforementioned vineyards produce best on the hills. Besides that, the available valley land is of little value, and is planted with various timbers. It is not usable because a large amount of ash, left from earlier times, is found right under the surface. In such cases, trees of any kind seldom thrive. There no woodlands on this steppe other than those presently planted. On the other hand, very useful stone quarries are not far away from the colony.

ORIGIN OF THE COLONY NAME
The first name of the colony was Peterswunsch(8), given by the then ruling member of the Office, President Muller. After that, in the numerical order of identifying the colonies, it was called No. 15, or The Fifteenth. In the year 1819, upon instruction of General Bachmet, it got the name of Brienne, as it is still called.

NUMBER OF FAMILIES AND ORIGIN OF THE SETTLERS
In this colony, 84 families were originally settled, all of which came from the royal Kingdom of Prussia, district of Bromberg, and who first emigrated to Poland and from there to Russia.

GROUPS AND LEADERS OF THE EMIGRANTS
The 84 families of settlers emigrated as an independent group and arrived in Russia under the leadership of Commissioner Krueger, who later also directed them to the steppe where they settled. The steppe assigned to them was empty, and all around there were no dwellings or anything to serve as shelter for the wanderers.

SUPPORT AND MEANS BROUGHT ALONG
Each of the 84 families (at that time considered to total only 72 families) was given the 20 customary Holland Dukaten(9) when they arrived at their designated place. This was advance payment for housing, a plow and wooden wagon to carry on farming. This money was later to be paid back to the crown. Their belongings brought from the homeland consisted of small tools and a little cash left over after the trip.

EVENTS SINCE THE FOUNDING OF THE COLONY
Since its founding, the colony has not suffered any floods because of its elevated location. Also in praise of the ever-watchful hand of God, no devastating fires have occurred. Yet, it must be said that the general lack of the fear of God and lack of moral standards had its devastating effect on this colony, and is still evident. Presumably, Brienne could have attained significant prosperity in the first fruitful years if the 50 desjatins of land each inhabitant owned had been properly used. Yet much worse was the moral state in the colony. The inhabitants of this colony themselves called down the rod with which God chastised many of the people through loss of possessions and life.

In the years 1828 and 1832, they were plagued with the prevailing stock epidemic; in 1833, the crops were destroyed by grasshoppers, and in the years 1833-34 they suffered with drought and barren fields, and the livelihoods of many were sorely threatened. In the years 1830-31, cholera reigned and many of the inhabitants of this colony had to lose their lives to this terrible disease. Two earthquakes occurred; the first in 1828, the second in 1838. But, by the grace of God, there was no damage.

PRESENT IMPROVED CONDITIONS IN THE COLONY
Compared to the earlier conditions in the colony, its present prosperity must be credited to the honor and protection of God through whose grace the settlers survived their tribulations. Many of them and their children recognize the care demonstrated by the higher authorities, who deserve praise.  In a decade, the deeply troubled colony of Brienne, through better supervision by the overseer and through the energy of capable officers who were earlier more scarce, survived the epidemics and bad years of providential disasters. Thankfully, it has begun to rise up praiseworthily.

WISH
And so, may the Lord our God, from whom all good gifts come, pour out His Holy Spirit richly: upon our beloved ruler and czar; upon his high office and all government persons of high and low standing; also over all subjects of the entire empire, so that the years of freedom might be lengthened, and the well-being of body and soul may be recognized and sought after, to the honor of our great God and Father through Jesus Christ.

Sexton and church school teacher of the colony Brienne: Chr. F. Minderlin (Author) No. 58. The foregoing historical account is hereby certified by the Brienne mayor's office as to its accuracy.

Colony of Brienne April 23, 1848
Mayor: Breitenbucher
Assistant: Hanemann
Assistant: Herrmann
Community Secretary: Wursthorn

Translator's notes:

(1) former name of an area that is now Moldova
(2) probably later spelled Kogelnik
(3) 1 werst = 1.2 km
(4) There are many spellings of this city, including this one and Kishinev.
(5) sometimes spelled Akkerman or Ackerman
(6) 1 arschin = 71 centimetres
(7) 1 faden = 3 metres
(8) literally "Peter's wish"
(9) a currency of money at the time


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