Wittenberg - 1848 Village History
Copyright 1996, Elli Wise

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

WITTENBERG -- MALOJAROSLAWETZ I

Prompted by overpopulation, a number of Germans emigrated in the years 1796-1806 from their native land, the Kingdom of Wuerttemberg. Most came from the Black Forest region and the Danube districts. They emigrated to the Polish Kingdom were they settled on their own with only minimal help from the Royal Prussian regime. Because of revolutionary unrest in Poland in the years of 1810 and 1811, and the maneuvering of French troops on their way to Russia in 1812, the Germans requested to emigrate from Poland. Because of unique circumstances, the Russian government sent a friendly invitation to move to Russia and settle there. These settlers would be given special privileges. In 1814, commissioner Crueger, came to Poland himself to hand out the necessary passes to the hard pressed Germans for their emigration to Russia. They left in several groups from Poland to Russia in 1814 under the leadership of a Russian official.

Once they arrived in Russia, they were housed in various towns with Bessarabian citizens and were given provisions until they could be settled on land of their own. In 1815 and 1816 they founded the colony Malojaroslawetz in the Kirgish Valley. It is 100 werst from the provincial city Kishinev, 110 werst from the district city of Akkermann and 35 werst from Ismail. The area measured 8,183 Dessjatine and 570 Faden of rolling land. There are lots of alkali springs and few rocks, mainly consisting of fossils. The fossils were mostly found in the western area of the colony and were dangerous to break since they were unstable, resting on a 10 to 15 fuss layer of dirt. The fertile soil in the valley consisted of a 6 fuss thick layer of heavy black river dirt, generously mixed with alkali. In the hills, the same river soil is mixed with white, yellow and sometimes black sand. The soil in the hills was best suited for vineyards and grain crops. Fruit trees and forests didn't thrive since the heavy, hard dirt wouldn't let the roots spread and absorb the necessary moisture. Even with best of care, plum and apricot trees died after 12 to 15 years; pear, and apple trees and even the Locust trees and Elms (Acacien & Ruester) only survived perhaps 20 years. In addition, the grass was meager and not suitable to raise cattle.

After the founding of the colony, 16 families from Prussia joined the settlement and the count came to a total of 140 families. Since there was not enough land available, two families had to settle elsewhere, leaving 138 families remaining in the colony. Most of the German settlers were from Germany, contributing to the naming of the colony Wuerttemberg which is still used among the native citizens. A few years after settlement, the colony received notification from the authorities to use the name Malojaroslawetz, possibly an historic reference to Malo-Jaroslawetz, where the Russians defeated the French in 1812.

Prior to the founding of the colony, two Bulgarians, Slatkow and Mongowsky, held a lease on this steppe land. There were no houses or shelter to be found by the immigrants and there was no trace of woods, gardens or vineyards.

The colonists received from the crown the necessary materials to build living quarters: that is shrubbery to erect woven houses. They also received a small allowance of 25 lewen to purchase building materials. For farming they received wagons, machinery, a necessary team of stock and some furniture. For planting they received 4 Tschetwerik wheat and 4 Tschetwerik potatoes. Also from the time of settlement until their first harvest they received one pud flour and some grits per person monthly. For this subsidy, each family incurred a debt of 1,114 rubel (or 318 rubel 28.5 kopek in silver) to the crown. This was to be paid back in interest free payments, starting in 1833, until paid in full.

The assets the settlers brought with them, was speculated, that at the least, a few had 20 to 100 rubel, some 100 to 200 rubel and the rest 200 to 1000 rubel (silver).

In 1815, the colonists equipped a farmhouse to be used for schooling and church services. In 1817, they established the district office for Malojaroslawetz and a general districts office. There were good crops and the sale price for cattle was very high. A good cow brought 16 to 20 rubel (silver) in the years of 1816, 1817 and 1818. In 1819, the first specific school was built and equipped. Church services could be held there also. In November of the same year, a large earthquake occurred. They had fair crops during the years of 1819, 1820, 1821 and 1822. In 1822, 40 wirthen of the
crop was destroyed by a significant hailstorm. The price of cattle had dropped to 3-1/5 to 4 silver rubel per cow.

Because of the great distance, the community could not make full use of their land that bordered Tarutino. In 1823, with permission from the authorities, half of the community, consisting of 69 families, parted and founded a new colony on the other half of the land of 4,069 Dessjatine, 285 Faden in the so called Posthal and it was called Colony Malojaroslawetz II (Alt Posthal).

In the years 1823, 1824 and 1825 the harvest was really bad, since locusts destroyed the fields. In 1826, there was a cattle epidemic and the people incurred great losses. The crops were fair though in 1826 and 1827. In May of 1828, Russian troops marched through the colony on their way to Turkey, and more troops followed. In the winter of 1828/1829 the Russian military set up their quarters there. Also a large earthquake occurred in November of the same year.

After the peace treaty with Turkey, the Russian troops again passed through the colony on their way home. The colonists were not too happy about this since they were not reimbursed for providing food and shelter to the Russian military. At the same time in 1829 there was another livestock epidemic that wiped out almost their entire livestock. The grain crops were good in the years 1828, 1829, 1830 and 1831. In 1831 there was a cholera epidemic, that fortunately took only a few lives. In 1832 and 1833, a new prayer house was erected and the old school house renovated. In the same two years there was not much rain and the crops were bad. The prices of cattle and grain rose high, a cow cost 14 to 15 silver rubel and the wheat 6 to 9 silver rubel per Tschetwert.

The area district office was moved to Malojaroslawetz II in 1834. In August of 1935 the colony had to endure a severe hailstorm, and three days after the storm they still found hailstones weighing a Pfund and a half. Luckily they had already harvested their grain but they suffered great loss in the vineyards and orchards. The harvests in 1835 and 1836 were fairly good. The 'free years' had expired in 1836 and the colonists had to pay dues now to the crown as well. In 1837, they had a good harvest; in 1838 the crop was fair. During the same year an earthquake shook the land for 10 minutes. A grain silo was built in 1839, however, with little rain, the crops were meager in 1840 and 1841. Harsh winter was endured in the same season. Snow began to fall on November 10, 1840 and fell continuously several days at a time. Blizzard conditions interchanged with sunny weather, and the snow remained until March of 1841, often measuring 1/2 Faden on the steppe land. This brought on a shortness of feed. A bale of hay costing 20 to 30 silver rubel.

1842 and 1843 brought decent harvests, but in June of 1844 there were torrential downpours that led to 4 floods. Many bails of hay washed away, the orchards were damaged and the gardens devastated. The old schoolhouse was flooded as well and could not be used anymore. It was torn down and a new one built at a higher location.

The summer of 1845 brought a devastating cattle disease to the colony and many cattle succumbed. The crops were also bad that year as well as the following year. In June of 1847 another locust swarm destroyed a major portion of the crop, leaving the harvest meek. That same year they built a courthouse but it was not finished until 1848.

In the years 1845 through 1847 the price for cattle was very low, a cow cost 7 to 8 silver rubel. The wheat price stayed level during the years of 1838 through 1847. In the winter of 1847/48 a horse disease spread and most farmers lost their work teams. There was also a lot of snow with temperatures dropping 15 to 20 degrees minus Celsius, lasting for weeks at a time.

The citizens awaited the spring of 1848 with worry. Nesting of locusts had spread throughout many Bessarabian villages. They anxiously hoped that The Almighty would fend off this plague for the welfare of his people.

A LOOK BACK TO THE PRESENT CONDITION OF THE COLONY
Entering the year 1848, the colony Malojaroslawetz I now had been in existence for 33 years, bringing on the development and shaping of the land. When the colonists came, they did not know of the customs, laws, nor the language of the local inhabitants and were often cheated and lied to. Not aware about the conditions of land, nor familiar with the climate, they worked the fields, the vineyards and the gardens, the same as they had in their land of origin. They had to experience on their own, that they had to use the land differently to have success, especially with the vineyards. They planted the vines early in the first year, but since they had been cropped too short, they did not bear fruit. Discouraged, they slacked off with the care, and blamed the dirt and climate until they learned differently. They had better results in the following years starting in 1840. A lot of wine growers could rise out of the misery, they became encouraged, and eagerly planted more vineyards.

It was to the advantage of the colonists, that when they divided the colony they arranged the fields more accessibly and had removed every third house to enlarge the construction area. The setback though was that in the years of 1817 through 1821 when the colonists depended entirely upon their grain sales and the Tschetwert of wheat was low at 1-1/5 to 2-1/2 silver rubel. 1819 through 1825 they depended on the sale of cattle and it was at a low of 3 to 4 silver rubel per cow. Because of the low prices and the mishandling of the fields, the colonists became very poor and could not build decent nor large enough official buildings. Because of heavy workload or otherwise disinterest, the children were not regularly attending school and the new generation was poorly educated.

Had the authorities not intervened with rules and regulations to upkeep customs and maintain order; and had there not been decent citizens amongst the settlers, that led with good examples, the customs would have been lost and carelessness would have taken the upper hand.

They finally learned through experience how to better conduct farming, even though they had suffered and had gotten poor. The situation began to ease and thrive, and the present condition of the colony proves that through perseverance, efforts and practical farm management it can be successful.

With God's mercifulness, to the noble precautions of the authorities, and the healthy location of the village, they were spared the brunt of illnesses, had less deaths, and the families were not torn apart as much as happened in surrounding colonies. The business oriented women raised sheep and in the winter they used the wool to spin, weave and sew clothing for themselves, using flax and hemp to help support the household need. That saved a lot of expenses and even brought extra income that they could call on when in need. The vineyards, now being properly cared for, brought good crops, also helped out when in need.

Even though the colony was not yet in the condition that the authorities and colonists would have liked, one can see after a ten year absence, the conditions improved enormously. The wide valley that separates the rows of houses and the many barren alkali drenched areas presented the colony as not very picturesque. The lack of stones also impaired the look of the houses, generally they were in good condition. The yards were surrounded by walls and there were orchards behind the houses. In the Kirgish river valley they planted vegetable gardens and on the western hillside of the lower village area they planted a forest of locust, elms and cherry trees. Along the wide river banks of the Kirgish, the road wound from Kishinew to Ismail, crossed by a mail roadway, leading to Bender and Reni.

The mandatory requirement that any child, male or female had to be able to read, write and know simple math, have knowledge of the Evangelical Lutheran
beliefs, before they could be confirmed, pleasantly improved the education of the youth. At least the children gained a necessary knowledge to succeed in
the average life.

According to the official records of Jan 1, 1848 this community counted 77 families, 386 male and 382 female for a total of 768 people. The vineyards and gardens measure 175 Dessjatine the grain fields and the hay field 1,116 each, and the grassland for the cattle measures 1,662 Dessjatine. The community possesses 259 horses, 859 cattle and 2,294 sheep. The winter seed amounted to 180 Tschetwert 5 Tschetwerik. The summer seed of 697 Tschetwert 5 Tschetwerik and 20 Tschetwerik potatoes. This came to a total of 898 Tschetwert, 2 Tschetwerik. The community owes to the crown a total debt of 15,160 Rubel 35 Kopek in silver and of that they have to pay 493 Rubel 35 Kopek in silver in 1848. In addition to that, their tax dues consisted of 58 Rubel 17 Kopek to the support of the colony authority, 18 Rubel 63 Kopek to the support of the State police, for land and postal fees 56 rubel 58 Kopek, local tax of 661 rubel 2 Kopek. and county tax of 1,069 rubel 79 Kopek to a total of 1,864 Rubel 19 Kopek in silver. Grain stored for emergency: 156 Tschetwert, 3 Tschetwerik is available also.

CONCLUSION
I am ending this report with the most devout wish that God the Almighty, shall further show mercy and richly bless our authorities and this community as he has in the past.

The Author: Johann Georg Kurz, Lay preacher / teacher

To verify that this report is truthful it is herewith sealed with the signatures of the mayoral office.

1st colony Malojaroslawetz, April 27, 1848.

Mayor: Necker
1st. Assistant: Glass
2nd. Assistant: Schmied
Secretary: Widmer

as translated by Elli Wise 7/96
Coordinated with GRHS Village Research Clearing House
Coordinated with AHSGR/GRHS Translation Committee Chairman

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