Meanwhile, conditions were getting worse in Prussia. "In 1787 Frederick William II of Prussia issued an order forbidding the Mennonites to enlarge their landholdings. The 'Mennonite Edict' followed in 1789 with further restrictions. Frederick William III further increased restrictions when he issued a declaration supplementary to the Mennonite Edict in 1801… It became apparent that these restrictions were aimed to undermine the Mennonite principle of nonresistance. Mennonites who gave it up could purchase all the land they wanted."
Consequently, more and more families showed interest in emigrating from Prussia. In 1798 Elder Cornelius Warkentin visited south Russia and in subsequent contacts discovered the availability of a large tract of land that had opened up about 100 miles southeast of the Chortitza Colony on the Molochnaya River. This tract would hold several thousand families. Also significant in its timing was the special "Privilegium" which Czar Paul I had given the Mennonites in 1800. Without the reassurance from the Russian authorities it is doubtful the Mennonite immigration would have been as large as it was. Between 1803-1806 a total of 365 families sold their property, if they had any, in Prussia and moved to the Molotschna.
These immigrants were on the average more prosperous than those who had gone to Chortitza. They came primarily from the districts of Marienburg and Elbing. The fact that the wealthy were now allowed to emigrate, provided they paid their 10% tax on all assets, opened the door. The Mennonites of the Molotschna colony were mostly of the Flemish branch. Only the village of Rudnerweide was of the Frisian branch.
In the intervening years the Prussian government tried various tactics to keep the Mennonites from emigrating. For a while passports were not issued for those wishing to leave. A 10% tax on all property of those wishing to emigrate didn't slow down the exodus. Napoleon's conquests also disrupted the continent for a period. Napoleon's march on Moscow in 1812 caused a temporary lull in emigration. Then in 1819-1820 another 254 families migrated to the Molotschna colony. In 1835 migration to the Molotschna came to a close with 1,200 families living there.
Thriving ColonyBy 1835 the colony consisted of fifty eight villages covering 324,000 acres making it the largest Mennonite settlement in the Ukraine. The villages of Halbstadt and Gnadenfeld became the administrative centers for the colony. The population included many teachers, ministers, and other leaders, leading to a very progressive and thriving colony.
A description of life in the colony was recorded by Alexander Petzholdt who visited there in 1855. "…they were raising mainly sheep, cattle, horses, silk, and grains, including summer wheat, rye, barley, and oats. He found that the Mennonites had planted 7.5 million fruit and shade trees. Industry was in its early stages, with a number of mills, silk factories, carpenter and smith shops, brick factories, oil presses… The products were much in demand among the population outside Molotschna. Some 500 non-Mennonites found employment [there]... at that time."
Trades and IndustryMost immigrants had one primary desire and that was to establish a separate farm for themselves. A survey of the Molotschna settlers in 1808 indicated that 61 percent of the heads of household indicated they previously were farmers. Twenty two percent indicated they had been involved in the cloth trade and ten percent were woodworkers. There were also a small number of builders, smiths, shoemakers, and a single clockmaker.
Most households possessed a spinning wheel to produce wool and linen yarn. Many wove plain cloth and made their own clothes. In the early years there was a strong demand for construction workers and other trades leading some to dedicate their time roughly between farming and the trades. As early as 1815 a cloth manufacturing and dyeing workshop was founded at Halbstadt, Molotschna colony, which bought local wool production, hired local craftsmen with prior experience in the weaving and cloth industry and began production. By 1817 Johann Klassen, the owner, employed forty six workers with five looms.
Threshing GrainHenry Tiessen, in his book The Molotschna Colony, describes from first-hand experience, what threshing was like in the colonies. This being one of the main sources of income in the 1800's, it is worth some commentary since it relates to how our forefathers earned their living.
"The threshing period constituted the culmination of the farmer's yearly efforts. He now reaped what he had sown. For good threshing dry weather and much sunshine was required. Early in the morning we would hitch the horses to the harvest wagons and set out for the fields. Although the dew lay on the fields, it did not effect the wheat; the stooks [stacked, cut wheat stalks] were formed in such a fashion that the grainy part of the sheaves was completely covered and protected from inclement weather conditions. There was usually one pitcher to each wagon. A strong pitcher would take two, or three, or even four sheaves at a time and throw them into the harvest wagon. One person on the wagon would place the sheaves in orderly fashion and thus increase the holding capacity of the wagon…Usually all the three or four wagons would leave [for the village] at the same time.
At home the big threshing machine stood on a firm foundation underneath the roof. At the turn of the century there were still over 1000 farmers who operated their threshing machines by horse… When operating the horses, a horse-gin (a mechanical device - Rosswerk) was used which in turn operated the threshing machine. From six to eight horses were hitched to the "Rosswerk", all depending on the size of the threshing machine. As a boy it was my duty to stand on the platform of the "Rosswerk" and prod the horses to keep them going…
When the grain was crisp and dry, and when the weather was clear, the going was excellent. The big slasher drum, rotating at a tremendous speed, would knock out the kernels very effectively. In case of damp weather, however, or in case of damp grain, the going was very hard and much grain would remain in the straw….
The straw that came out of the threshing machine had to be removed. A worker would look after this by piling the straw into an empty net. Another person with two horses would pull the heavy load to the straw stack. By means of a long rope and a pulley the heavy net with straw would be pulled up the straw heap… The straw from oats and barley was piled in a separate heap and used as fodder for the horses and cows in the winter. By means of a cutter, the straw was chopped into little bits before being fed to the cattle
By means of sieves and shakers the threshing machine separated the straw from the grain and chaff. A conveyor picked up the grain and chaff and carried it to the fanning mill located on a higher elevation in the barn. The fanning mill would separate the chaff from the grain….
The grain was stored in special bins…or in the attic. The Mennonite farm houses were usually of one-story construction. They were very solidly built with thick walls and steep roofs. There was lots of space in the attic, and it was dry. In the winter the grain would serve as an insulator and keep the house warm. Carrying the grain onto the attic was no easy task and to be able to do it was always regarded as a sign of manhood….
Much of the wheat was sold on the spot to Russian and sometimes Jewish traders. They, in turn, would hire teamsters (Tshumaki) who delivered the grain to the nearest seaport. Most of the Molotschna grain went to the seaport of Berdjansk….The land was fertile and a farmer could harvest from 35 to 45 bushels of wheat from one acre. Sometimes even more. At the beginning of the twentieth century the price of wheat was about one dollar per bushel and was rising steadily as time went on."
In the Molotschna colony, as in the other colonies, hard work and diligence were considered a virtue. The Russian government was equally eager to see this virtue spread. They considered the Mennonites to be ideal colonists for this reason. Even when immigration was prohibited after the 1820's, the Mennonites still found the Russian authorities receptive to their entreaty for permission to immigrate. Around 1806 Richelieu noted in a report that "the Mennonites are astonishing, the Bulgarians incomparable, and the Germans intolerable."
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2/17/2002