The village of Dosidorf had been founded in 1819 by Groningen Old Flemish Mennonites. We don't know the details but at some point, those Low German Mennonites were replaced by the Swiss Mennonites, including this Christian Moses Gehring.
From the villagers listed above, we know that the Schmidts, Ratzlaffs, and Deckers re-located to Lilewa (Furstendorf) by the very late 1860s. We also know that Furstendorf was established in 1868, the same year when this Dosidorf contract expired. Further, we know that both Dosidorf and Lilewa were associated with Antonowka. Therefore, my theory (so far unproven by any sort of documentation) is that Lilewa was established by Dosidorf villagers returning to the Antonowka area after the expiration of their lease in Dosidorf.
[page 1] On 20 October 1847, Christoph ______ [Gering], son of Moses, Mennonite and hereditary lord
of the Mennonite colony, Novograd-Volynskiy district, Volhynian authority, entered into the following
contract with these Mennonites from Ostrog district, from land owned by Count Karl Jablonoski:
Heinrich S____, Heinrich Ratzlaff; Heinrich Kohn, son of Andreas Kohn; Andreas Voth, son of
Benjamin Voth; Heinrich Kohn, son of ___ Kohn; Andreas Schmidt; Heinrich Voth, son of Hans
Voth; and Karl ___ .
1. The Mennonite Christoph Gering, residing on his own property in the colony Dosidorf, will
lease to eight families, eight huben of land, including eight houses, gardens, fields,
meadows, and woods. There is also unarable land which separates the eight huben from the
border to Groß Prawatin and Klein Prawatin and Zakrenicze . This land shall be distributed
among the eight families so each receives one hube of land, and each farmer has an equal
share of arable and unarable land.
2. Rent on this land and buildings shall be paid on 24 March 1848, and thereafter for twenty
years, [page 2] that is, until 24 March 1868. The annual amount of rent to be paid is 18
silver rubles for each hube. The settlers agree to make payments twice annually: on 24
September and on 24 March, over the amount of nine silver rubles each. After twenty years
have passed, the settlers will commit to stay on the land for another term of twenty years,
and continue with subsequent twenty-year terms, unless both parties agree to ask the court
to draft a new contract.
3. The settlers are entitled to use this land as they desire: for raising crops, trees, planting
gardens, keeping livestock and bees, and all the forms of farming allowed by the authorities.
They must keep the land and woods in good condition, maintain the buildings, and make
necessary repairs and improvements. Additions may be built as desired, but there may be
no demand for payment from Landlord Gering. Should a settler abandon the property
without good reason, he shall receive no payment for the farm buildings remaining on the
property. If the condition of the buildings [page 3] has been allowed to deteriorate and a
settler wishes to leave, he must first make necessary improvements to the condition of the
buildings, without reimbursement by Gering. Such a situation shall be evaluated by an
independent committee of honest individuals.
4. Settlers agree to purchase all their libations at the _____ belonging to Gering at Colony
Dosidorf, at the price that has been set by the authorities. They are not allowed to bring
drinks from other places to be used among themselves. A person doing so will be held
responsible under the laws regarding drinks . The settlers are allowed to go to another mill.
If they desire, they may also build their own mill on their property, at no cost to Gering.
Should they leave this place and settle elsewhere, [the mill] will become the property of Lord
Gering at no charge. The settlers may not build factories of any kind.
5. All Imperial taxes that are currently required, those that may be mandated in the future,
[page 4] and also the ______ [Poschline?] for the libations, as well as any other requirements,
must be paid by the settlers, without causing inconveniences to the landlord. The settlers
must also keep the street and the bridge on their eight huben land in good repair.
6. When the land is to be surveyed and distributed in the coming Spring of 1848, both parties
agree to invite the surveyor, to assist him in taking the measurements, and to add their
required signatures to the maps that will be provided. The surveyor shall be paid to one half
by the landlord and to the other half by the settlers.
7. The settlers are not permitted to cede their land to another person without knowledge and
permission [of the landlord]. Should, through unfortunate turns of fate, a plot become
uninhabited, the landlord is required to take this land back under his control without
encumbering the remaining settlers.
8. There are winter crops which have already been planted at this time, on this land, by the
current residents. These residents [page 5] have the right to harvest these crops for
themselves, or if they prefer, may leave them to the new settlers.
9. In all aspects of farming, the settlers must be satisfied with the yields of the land they are
leasing. Whatever they may need in excess, they must purchase.
10. On the remaining land outside of the eight huben leased, belonging to Landlord Gering, the
settlers do not have the right to cut wood or graze livestock. The landlord does have the
right to these wooded areas for his own use.
11. Foreigners, regardless of occupation or family relation, may not live with the settlers without
a legally required permit. A settler who disregards this rule will be held liable.
12. Should, God forbid, a building be lost to fire, the settler is required to rebuild at his own
expense.
13. All eight families are responsible for lease payment and for adherence to the items of this
contract, all for one, and one for all, and guarantee each other’s property. [page 6]
However, should a settler want to resettle to another location and still owe taxes, Landlord
Gering may, to his own protection, confiscate livestock and property from this settler. These
shall be appraised as decided by a committee of honest individuals; the same as mentioned
under Item 3 of this contract.
14. The settlers undersigning this contract for settlement of Colony Dosidorf must obtain from
the authorities at their previous residence a permission to emigrate. This must also be
certified at [Skaski], as the law requires. If this is not accomplished by 24 March 1848, the
settler shall get annual permission _______________ to reside without _____ . Gering does not have
the right to allow such settlers onto his property without a permit. Should the permit not be
obtained by the aforementioned date, these settlers will be excluded from the contract. The
settlers further assure that they will conduct themselves without rudeness toward the
landlord, [page 7] that they will maintain good order in their affairs, and will fulfill the
requirements of this contract. Should one of the settlers not adhere to the standards, and
not make required payments, Landlord Gering has the right to remove him from this
community and reclaim the property.
Both parties agree to hold all items of this contract holy and inviolable, by affixing their hand
signature to this document.
Landlord Christian Gering, son of Moses
Heinrich Schmidt, son of Samuel
Heinrich Ratzlaff, son of Heinrich
Heinrich Kohn, son of Andreas
Heinrich Voth, son of Benjamin
Heinrich Köhn, son of Jakob
Andreas Schmidt, son of Peter
Andreas Voth, son of Hans
Karl Decker, son of Andreas
[page 8] In agreement with the decision by the Serene Minister of the Empire, an addition is made to
Item 14 of the contract, as unanimously agreed upon by both sides:
In the case of poor behavior or default on lease payments by a settler, Landlord Gering of
Colony Dosidorf will allow the community of settlers to address the issue with the settler in
question. If the community, following deliberation, decides not to take responsibility for payment
and improvement of conduct by said settler, then, following this fair assessment by honest
individuals, Landlord Gering has the right to remove the settler from the colony [page 9] and
to confiscate his property in order to reclaim the debt.
To this we affix our hand signatures:
Landlord Christian Gering, son of Moses
Heinrich Schmidt, son of Samuel
Heinrich Ratzlaff, son of Heinrich
Heinrich Kenn, son of Andreas
Heinrich Voth, son of Benjamin
Heinrich Kenn, son of Jakob
Andreas Schmidt, son of Peter
Andreas Vuth, son fo Hans
Karl Deckert, son of Andreas
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