[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Mager Family stories: Petrykiw, Ternopol area

[richard benert]

Randi,

One can only guess at what your Nana may have meant by "Bolsheviks", but I 
think it is not uncommon for Bolsheviks to have become the bogeymen for all 
sorts of traumatic experiences in the memories of our ancestors.  Unless I 
am ignorant of what some isolated bands of Bolsheviks were up to in the 
years before 1911, when your Nana emigrated, it just isn't likely that she 
hid in the closet to escape some marauding Bolsheviks.  The Bolsheviks were 
moderately active in the Revolution of 1905, but mostly in St. Petersburg 
and Moscow.  They had maybe 8000 members in that year and they increased to 
about 46,000 by 1907, but tsarist repression reduced their membership to 
about 1000 by 1910.  Not even Richard Pipes, a historian most given to 
pointing out the evils of Bolshevism, mentions any instances of the kind of 
activity your Nana remembered.  I'd guess--and it's only a guess--that she 
may have been hiding from marauding bands of peasants who, in the 
revolutionary year of 1905, attacked wealthier farmers.  This COULD be the 
"other threat" of which you speak.  Maybe it was just a quarrel with some 
neighboring farmers!

It's not hard to find out what was going on in Europe in these years.  Any 
good library should have dozens of books.  Or any good encyclopedia.  It IS 
harder to find information on eastern Europe, but not impossible.  I just 
did a Google search on "revolution of 1905", and it immediately came up with 
467,000 hits!  I think, for many things, that "wikipedia.org" is a fairly 
reliable place to start.

If your Kamienna Werba = Kremieniec, a little farther south from Dubno than 
Werba, then the river they escaped on was the Ikwa.  I can say this on the 
authority of Jerry Frank's wonderful map.

Dick Benert
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Todd/Randi Bender" <bender.t at sasktel.net>
To: "German" <ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>
Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2005 9:23 AM
Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Mager Family stories: Petrykiw, Ternopol area


> Hi Nancy,
> I am going to post my reply to the list in hopes that someone may have 
> more ideas.
> The surname was MAGER.
> I too noticed the time-line problem. I have had little luck pin-pointing 
> what was going on in Europe between 1906-1911. I know there were many 
> problems, but nothing specific for the Kamienna Werba area.
> It may be that it was not the Bolsheviks but some other "threat". She 
> recalls leaving Volhynia under the cover of darkness, carrying what they 
> could when they crossed the border. Also a story of how they travelled, 
> hidden in a boat carrying cattle, under the hay. Was Kamienna near a 
> river?
> I have yet to learn their departure point from Europe. I know they arrived 
> at Quebec via Glasgow. I have not any luck beyond that.
> I am going to go with the fact that although German, that Polish was their 
> "native" tongue. I am still confused about "being forced to learn German".
> I agree with your idea that the family may have originally came from 
> Poland and then were re-germanized.
> I have no reason to doubt too much of what Nana said as I have been able 
> to confirm most of her story. So although some details may seem odd, she 
> has been correct right down to exact dates for everything else. This is 
> where my question arises from.
> Also have a RESKE (Riske, Riska) connection from Dowagiac, Mi > Manitoba 
> that I have yet to figure out, if anyone else is searching that surname.
> Thanks for your input,
> Randi Bender
>
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