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The Homesteader Issue 6 THE HOMESTEADER newsletter of the harvey county genealogical society Volume 2 Issue 3 - May 2006 - ISSN 1559-3592 THE GERMAN-RUSSIAN MENNONITES: A DILIGENT PEOPLE © 2005 by Diana G. (Buller) Carmichael Printed with permission from Diana G. (Buller) Carmichael, a descendant of those diligent Mennonites The term ’German-Russian’ (or ’Russian-German’) is the identifier of the migration of the Mennonite people, since the documented historical roots of Mennonites today are found in the early sixteenth century Anabaptists, many of whom are traced to their origins in the Netherlands. These ancestral congregations were perceived as a threat to the Catholic church and reformers of the day, so were constantly persecuted for their beliefs. They eventually followed the leadership of Menno Simons (born in Witmarsum, Friesland in 1495; died in Wüstenfelde, Germany on January 31, 1561), who had joined the Anabaptist movement in 1536, and from whose name the word Mennonites (’Mennisten‘) is derived. Their position on church membership was that it should be an adult decision, rather than infant baptism, and their views of the Bible and discipleship led them to practice non-resistance (refusal to bear arms, swear allegiance to any earthly authority, hold political office, or sue in a court of law). Thus strongly committed to following these precepts, they wandered Europe seeking religious freedom and were scattered throughout Switzerland, Holland, Germany and Prussia (Polish Russia). In her Manifesto of July 22, 1763, Catherine the Great (born a Princess in Germany on April 21, 1762), Empress of Russia, offered a vast region of the royal lands for agricultural development to the persecuted peoples of all faiths with the promises, among other things, that they could practice their beliefs with no restrictions, not be required to pay taxes to the treasury, and would not be pressed into military service. The Mennonites were a highly prosperous agrarian culture on the steppes (prairies) of Russia, the major economic resources being grain, sheep, silk, orchards, and dairies. However, after the death of Catherine (November 17, 1796), the exemption from military service eventually changed. In order for the Russian empire to build a more efficient army, the new monarchs of the country increasingly insisted on drafting Mennonites (which became effective in 1874). This precipitated the idea for emigration and, once again, the Mennonites began looking for new homes. Their search pointed them across the Atlantic Ocean toward the Americas where other Mennonite groups had already prospered. During the years 1873 and 1874, the largest migration of German-Russian Mennonites to the United States from Russia took place. The two largest colonies to immigrate were from the Chortiza (Khortitsa) and Molotschna. One of the places they came to was Kansas, where they were encouraged by land grants to develop farms adjacent to the new Santa Fe railroad. Besides Harvey County, the German-Russian Mennonites made their homes in Marion, McPherson, and Reno counties in Kansas. These Mennonites introduced the hard winter wheat (‘Turkey Red’) to Kansas when they first began planting it in 1874 and 1875. Volume 1 of Kansas: A Cyclopedia Of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. (Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar) states, “The large influx of these people followed an investigation on the part of advance committees, which determined upon Harvey county as a suitable locality in which to settle. This was a very important circumstance in the growth of the county, as they are a thrifty and industrious class of citizens, and they have contributed toward the general prosperity of all lines of business.” Harvey County still has one of the largest Mennonite populations in the United States, and although their lifestyle has become more modernized, they are known as a warm-hearted and friendly people famous for their hospitality and good cooking. There are numerous contributions they have made to Harvey County, with their most visible and recognized influences being nearly two dozen Mennonite churches, two colleges, a nationally recognized mental health organization, the national headquarters of the Mennonite Church USA (Newton), the headquarters of the Western District Conference (North Newton), and the Mennonite Publishing Network and Herald Press. Bethel College (North Newton) was established in 1887 by German Mennonites from Russia and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America; it is affiliated with the Mennonite Church USA. Hesston College (Hesston) was established in 1909 by the Mennonite Church USA. The Mennonite Church in Halstead was the first organized in the county in the Spring of 1875 and had sixteen members. A newspaper published in the interests of the Mennonites and published in the German language, ‘Zurheimath,‘ was first issued in Halstead on January 6, 1876 with David Goerz as editor; the name was changed to the ‘Bundesboten’ in January, 1882. Daniel Stuart ‘Dan’ BULLER & Maria ‘Mary’ RATZLAFF GenerationsBy Diana G. (Buller) Carmichael Daniel Stuart ’Dan’ Buller was born January 21, 1890 in McPherson County, Kansas to Heinrich ‘Henry’ Buller and Sara Schmidt. He was baptised on May 15, 1910 in Alexanderwöhl Church, Göessel, Marion County, Kansas. On January 28, 1917, he married Maria ‘Mary’ Ratzlaff in Marion County, Kansas. She was born June 27, 1895 in Hoffnungsau, McPherson County, Kansas, the daughter of Jacob Peter Ratzlaff and Marie ‘Mary’ Unruh. According to the 1920 United States Census, Dan, Mary, and their first two children, were residing in Hillsboro, Risley Township, Marion County, Kansas on January 21, 1920. Dan was a farmer in Marion County in the early years, raising wheat and probably caffir corn, living on the farm next to his parents. Eventually, the family moved to Walton, Harvey County, Kansas. Dan worked at Hopkins Produce on and off. Hopkins bought cream, eggs, and chickens and other fowl. A grocery store in Walton was owned by a man named Carl Budde who owned a Model T Coupe. My father (a son of Dan and Mary) remembers going with his father in that car to a grocery warehouse in Newton to get things for Mr. Budde. As this was during the ‘Depression’ years, Dan did other odd jobs around the area when there wasn‘t enough work with Mr. Budde. The family moved to Newton during the summer of 1933 into a house on East Fourth Street about a block west of High Street for a few months, and then to 1204 East 12th Street. Hopkins also moved his business to downtown Newton on East 7th Street, one-half block east of Main Street. Dan would work there on Saturdays all day until late into the evening for $1.00. My father said he also worked there on Saturdays from eight in the morning to five in the evening for 25 cents (for the whole day) washing the buckets people would bring in when they sold their cream to Hopkins. When they lived on East Fourth Street, the children attended McKinley School. The later children went to Cooper School (when the old building was still located on the south part of the block) when they lived on East 12th Street. Their lunch was homemade bread with lard, which was sprinkled with salt or sugar depending on their taste for that day. They had homemade butter to use once in a while since the family had a roan cow called ‘Roanie.’ Dan worked with the WPA (Works Progress Administration) most of the time, and during that period he worked for the county when they were cleaning the streams around bridges. It was then that he was somehow hit by a log, which was the cause of the cancer that developed in his jaw and neck, and led to his eventual early death. He was often hospitalized after that and subsequently couldn’t do much work. He had also been hurt in 1910 when either a farm wagon or hayrack rolled over him. About once a month the family received commodities at the courthouse: beans, prunes, dried eggs, powdered milk, and other miscellaneous items, which for a large family did not last long (Dan and Mary had ten children). There was a fellow who would drop off old wooden crates that my father would chop up for kindling to use for the family’s cooking and heating. During this time, there were what they called bums who just wanted a handout, and hobos who were willing to work for a meal. Since they lived next to the railroad tracks and highway, a few of each wound up at their door. Mary generally gave the hobos a meal, but she didn’t have them do anything because the boys of the family could do the work themselves. The meal Mary usually gave out was cornmeal lard, or cornmeal mush as they called it then (now it’s called grits). Sometimes there was canned mutton, which my father said he liked very much; he was unhappy that she saved the mutton to serve for company sometimes. Dan died of the previously mentioned cancer on February 3, 1942 at Bethel Deaconess Hospital, Newton, Harvey County, Kansas and was buried February 6, 1942 in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton, Harvey County, Kansas. Mary later married Charles W. Stein on September 12, 1943; he died on November 10, 1960. Mary then married Dietrich S. ‘Dick’ Klassen on October 2, 1964 in Hillsboro, Marion County, Kansas; he died May 14, 1978 at Salem Nursing Home, Hillsboro, Marion County, Kansas. Mary died of ventricular fibrillation on February 28, 1976 in the Peabody Memorial Nursing Home, Peabody, Marion County, Kansas and was buried March 2, 1976 in Greenwood Cemetery, Newton, Harvey County, Kansas. 2 Traditional German-Russian Mennonite recipes: ZWIEBACH 3 tablespoons dry granulated yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 1 cup water 3 cups milk, warm 1 cup shortening or butter, softened 2 eggs, optional 4 teaspoons salt 1/4 cup sugar 11-12 cups flour Dissolve yeast with sugar in warm water (follow temperature guideline yeast package).
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