[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Records in Poland

[Jerry Frank]

Bruce and all,

Your message was good EXCEPT for one major point.  Catherine the Great had nothing whatsoever to do with the migration of Germans to either Russian Poland or Volhynia.  I have to say that she never offered your Knulls or Buelows any land.  She was long dead before Russian Poland was created and before the German migration into Volhynia.

Most Germans were in Russian Poland by default when Russia took over land in 1815 which had previously been occupied by Prussia.  Some migration from Prussia to Russian Poland continued to occur after 1815 because of the opportunities in cloth making (especially in the Lodz region but others as well) and the availability of land for farming.  There were a few Germans in Volhynia prior to 1830 (mostly in trades such as glass making but some farmers as well).  Migration of small consequence started in the 1830s with cloth makers and farmers moving in at the invitation in particular of Polish landlords.  A second migration with large numbers began in the 1860s.

For more detail about German migration to the eastern regions see the Dec 2001, Mar 2002, Mar 2003 and Jun 2004 Journals.


Jerry




----- Original Message -----
From: BruceB2332 at aol.com
To: ger-poland-volhynia at sggee.org
Cc: BruceB2332 at aol.com
Sent: Tuesday, December 10, 2013 1:13:45 PM
Subject: Re: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Ger-Poland-Volhynia Digest, Vol 127,	Issue 12

In answer to your question as to why people living in Poland spoke 
German, There was a large group of German settlers to Russia, which is what 
 Poland was at the time. Catherine the Great was instrumental in many 
Germans  moving to Russia. She, herself, Was German and she wanted the work 
ethics of the  German people, so she offered very cheap land to those who would 
move. Since  Germany was so overcrowded, Germans came by the thousands. My 
own Grandparents,  Gottlieb Braun and Lydia Krueger, were German settlers who 
lived in Russia, or  Poland.  The Kruegers owned a large rye plantation near 
Warsaw,  Poland.
I hope this helps to answer some of your questions. My maternal ancestors,  
the Knulls and the Buelows, emigrated to Ukraine because they were 
teachers, and  Catherine the Great offered teachers 20 acres of land if they would 
move.
Let me know if you have any other questions. I, too, had 3 life changing  
experiences. I went to Ukraine through Thoughts of Faith, a Lutheran  
institution, in 2004, 2005, and 2006. I taught VBS there, and English as a  second 
language along with music, art, and the Bible.  I also wrote the  curriculum 
for the VBS program for 2005 and 2006. In 2005, the LUtheran bishop  of 
Ukraine sent a pastor and a body guard with me to do research in Voldomir  
Volenski, or the old German colony of Vladimir Volhynsk. I found the church  
where my great-grandfather taught, which also happened to be the church where 
my  grandparents were married and confirmed. It was known as Zion Lutheran 
Church in  Wladimir Volhynsk.  When communism broke down, the church was given 
to the  Greek Orthodox religion, and that is what it is today.
My grandmother's brothers were killed during WW2,  She escaped during  WW1 
with two of her children, Herman and Adele Buelow, hidden in the back of a  
wagon while my great-uncle Fred Buelow drove them through battle fields to 
get  to the Baltic Sea, where my Grandmother and her two young children got 
on the  last boat to leave Russia.  My grandfather had left a year earlier 
after  their teacherage burned down.  He was delighted to see my Grandmother 
and  his two children again.
Bruce Braun
 
 





----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message:  1
Date: Mon, 9 Dec 2013 16:47:17 -0500
From: Sandra Burke  <sburke091 at comcast.net>
To: ger-poland-volhynia at sggee.org
Subject:  [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Records in Poland
Message-ID:  <DDE53670-0B06-4C17-9AFB-9DDCE2529FA3 at comcast.net>
Content-Type:  text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hello,
I have been  working on the genealogy of my paternal ancestors since 2010.  
I hired a  researcher from Poland but have had the most success through 
SGGEE.  I  was blessed to take a trip to Poland and Ukraine in 2010 that was  
life-changing.  I continue to search but am wondering what is reasonable  to 
expect from records in Poland.  My ancestors were poor laborers, many  were 
illiterate.  How far back do church records go?   At what  point should I 
stop searching because there just are not any more records  available? Another 
question I have is why my ancestors spoke German but lived  in Poland?  
When I sat in the archives in Poznan in Poland, I also  noticed that the books 
with my ancestors records had been microfilmed by the  Mormons.  Therefore, 
is it necessary to hire researchers in Poland?   Can I find these records 
myself at the Mormon Church local history  centers?  Is it worth taking a trip 
to Salt Lake City, Utah?  I know  that some of the records I need from 
Ukraine are still be
ing inde
xed  and not yet available.  I know I have many questions;  many of you  
have much more experience and knowledge than I do and I want to be efficient  
and reasonable with my expectations.  Thank you so much.

Sandy  Burke
Indiana