[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] German Occupation - Latvian - Contractor

[Howard Krushel]

Sig Matt:
Other occupations noted in the records were, Pferdeknecht; would he have
taken care of a team of horses and worked the field with them or would he
have taken care of the horses after they had returned from working the
fields; then there was the 1st Cook(Koch) and 2nd Cook; did they cook for
the Gutsbesitzer as well as the knechts and Instleute? ;Stuben maedchen-
would they have taken care of the Manor house? Kutscher- he would have been
available to drive the Estate owner and his family around in a carriage? And
would too likely have taken care of the carriage horses? Would there have
been several foreman or just one, and would they have been given a special
title?
Occasionally I see the term Schaeferknecht which I assume is a Shepard but
then there is the term of Hirt which I presume might be a cattle or goose
herder? Were the Instleute also given heating fuel in the form of peat or
wood? ; but in regard to wages, were instead, paid in kind, rather than paid
wages; it almost sounded like this was only a very small step away from the
days of feudalism. According to family folklore, a great Uncle, after he was
asked to sell a bull at the local market, instead of returning to the
Estate, used the money to travel to America. The story continues, that he
returned several years later, paid back the money, and brought his family to
America.
Howard Krushel    


-----Original Message-----
From: ger-poland-volhynia-bounces at eclipse.sggee.org
[mailto:ger-poland-volhynia-bounces at eclipse.sggee.org] On Behalf Of Sig Matt
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2007 5:59 PM
To: Reiner Kerp; ger-poland-volhynia eclipse

  Your mother-in-law is correct in her description of an Instmann. An
Instmann is usually a married man with family who makes an agreement with
the "Gutsbesitzer" (Landowner) for certain labor services which can include
the whole family (during harvest time for instance.) Living space is usually
in an Insthause. A one or two room space in a building that would contain
multiple units. In our time, the first half of the 1900's, there was no
indoor plumbing. All water was carried from a hand pump somewhere in the
yard. He  would be allotted a piece of ground to grow his own vegetables and
(I believe) space to keep a cow or a pig and chickens. But the story was
that he never received much money. 
  Single workers were usually housed separately and received room and board.
A single Landarbeiter would also be referred to as a Knecht, a single female
worker is a maid (Magd in German).
  To my knowledge Instmann contracts were handled on an annual basis. At
certain periods in the fall or springtime one would see them move from place
to place with their meager belongings packed on a horse drawn wagon,
containing some bedding and very little furniture. Not all farming
operations were always profitable. 
  Instleute (a plural form) were considered to be at the bottom rung of the
economic ladder.
   
   I grew up in Eastprussia, I was 14 at the time in 1945.
   
  Sig Matt