Volhynian Low German Mennonites Bound for the Holy Land, 1874

Not all Mennonites leaving the Russian Empire in 1874 sought to migrate to North America.  A fascinating example of a Mennonite group attempting emigration away from the Russian Empire in 1874 is that of a group of Volhynians bound for Jerusalem.  

This group left Volhynia sometime in 1874 (although perhaps a little bit later) and were bound, according to sources, for Jerusalem or the Holy Land.  The group seems to have been made up of Antonowka (Volhynia) villagers.  According to Adam B. Ratzlaff obituary, the group wanted to return to Jerusalem for the millennium, when Jesus would return there.  According to the Adam B. Ratzlaff obit, they may have even made it to the Holy Land but since there was no land available, returned to Turkey.  Sources (Benjamin Kane obit, John A. Voth obit, Anna Schlabach-Schmidt obit, A.B. Ratzlaff obit, Henry B. Nightingale History, “31 Orphans” story, Benjamin H. Ratzlaff GRanDMA entry) all agree that the group’s progress was hampered by war – some say that war was between Turkey and Russia.  That would probably mean the Russo-Turkish War (1877-78).  But any of the altercations related to the 1875-78 Great Eastern Crisis of the Ottoman Empire could also have been the cause (for instance: April 1876 Uprising in Bulgaria; Serbian-Turkish Wars (1876–1878); Montenegrin–Ottoman War (1876–78); Herzegovina uprising (1875–1877)).

We don’t know how this group traveled from Volhynia (Ostrog) to Jerusalem; they could have used horses/wagons, train, or ship.  Rail would seem most likely although routes in 1874 would not have been direct.

Apparently there were 31 Volhynian Mennonites in the group:

• Benjamin Heinrich (99898) and Eva Schmidt Ratzlaff (99899) Family

• Jacob (404392) and Maria Schmidt Koehn (404393) Family

• Peter (d1877; 143953) and Anna (Koehn, b24 Apr 1847; 1434952) Koehn Family

• Abraham (1435069) and Magdalina Voth Family

• Benjamin Andreas (280075) and Eva Nachtigal Ratzlaff (72833) Family

The group either achieved their goal of reaching Jerusalem – or they didn’t – we don’t know for sure.  But due to wars in the area wound up in the vicinity of Tulcea (now in Romania; then in Ottoman Empire).  In the Tulcea area, they apparently ran out of money and were forced to stop traveling.  Therefore they took up residence among the Dobrujan Germans of the Baptist faith (these Dobrojans were familiar with the Mennonites having been known to purchase industrial equipment from factories in Chortitza Colony as early as the 1860s).  (see “Baptismus in Neu-Danzig und Cataloi” by Silke Neureuther).  During this time, a couple new children were even born.  My conclusion is that they likely lived in the village of Cataloi, about 6 miles south of Tulcea.

In Cataloi, they lived among these Baptists, as well as Romanian Muslim Turks, and local Jewish folks, for as many as 7 years.  During this time, all the fathers of the families died of disease except for Benjamin A. Ratzlaff.  Benjamin's daughter, Agnetha, was married to Frank Edinger.  According to Edinger's 1 August 1945 obituary, he was born in Cataloi.  Historians of the Dobrojan Germans indicate to me that they anticipate these Mennonites are likely buried at the cemetery in Cataloi.  To survive, some of the Mennonite children remembered becoming employed to perform, specifically for Jews, menial tasks on the sabbath in order to produce a tiny bit of income.  At least one Mennonite girl left her family here near Tulcea when she met and married a local Turk (she and her Romanian-Turkish husband later emigrated to Hillsboro, KS, and thus you had an Orthodox Turk living in Hillsboro).

By 1877, this group had contacted Mennonites in Kansas and appealed for help.  It would take several more years to collect enough money to purchase passage to USA.  They finally arrived in New York on 3 January 1881 aboard the S.S. Belgenland and most, presumably, wound up in Kansas.