Maps of Leeleva

The Leeleva area was mapped many times around the turn of the 20^th Century.  The Austro-Hungarians, Poles, Russians, Germans, Soviets and Americans all mapped the area.  If we compare these maps to the hand-drawn map of Leeleva we can see that the author’s memory was fairly accurate.  All the elements of the hand-drawn map are correct, some are just slightly out of place.  Note that different spellings are used for many of the locations from map to map.  This was probably due to language differences from German to Russian to Polish, etc.  For comparison’s sake, here are a few maps of the area.  First is the hand-drawn map, probably drawn from memory, many years after the author had left Russia:

Next is one that was mapped by the Austro-Hungarians in the late 1880s.  Note that on this map Leeleva is marked as Nikitskaja and Menziliski is marked simply as M.H.

This one was also done by the Austro-Hungarians, but slightly later, probably around 1900.  Again, Leeleva is marked as Nikitska, but Menziliski is not marked at all:

This map was charted by the Polish Army when Poland claimed the area in the early 1920s:

This map is of an unknown date.  Neither Leeleva nor Menziliski are shown on this map.  Leeleva would lie immediately south of Siever (Siwerka on this map) and Menziliski would be in the clearing immediately southeast of Kuniv (Kunew):

This map is also of an unknown date.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t show the entire area:

This map of a portion of the area was mapped by the Soviets in the 1940s:

This map of a similar portion of the area was also mapped by the Soviets in the 1940s and is marked in Cyrillic.  Leeleva (Лесная) is toward the bottom right while Kuniv (Кунев) is near the middle left.  Note that on this map, many small canals are seen across the area.  These canals obviously helped drain the many small streams and ponds dotting the area previously.  For instance, the two small ponds near Sievers (the village immediately north of Leeleva) that appear in the map above, do not appear in this map, having been drained.  The Soviets must have sponsored this type of hydraulic design sometime in the late 1930s to early '40s.  These canals can still be seen criss-crossing the area today:

This map was drawn by the American Army at some point after World War II.  It's compiled from data from the 1930s and '40s.:

Finally, here's a satellite view of the immediate Leeleva area today.  Note that Leeleva is marked Lisna.  Menziliski is no longer there, but it once stood in the clearing to the upper left.

Based on all the above maps, we can see where geographical changes need to be made to the hand-drawn map.  If we retain the same elements and just move them around a little, we could get something like this.  My apologies to the original author of the map for my crude rendition; I’ve tried to save the spirit of the original map while making the geography a little more accurate:

Based on information from all these maps, my best guess for where Andreas Ratzlaff’s house stood is marked by a green X on this map which was charted by the Polish army around 1921.  From the hand-drawn map, we can see that Andreas’ house stood to the west of a cemetery, south of the main road through Leeleva, east of the road to Kuniv:

I should also point out that the chronology on the hand-drawn map is probably not altogether accurate.  Andreas Ratzlaff was born in 1869, so he probably wouldn't have had his own house until after 1890.  Among the listed residents on the map, according to GRANDMA a few left for America in 1874.  Obviously if they left in 1874 they wouldn't have had a house in Leeleva at the same time as Andreas Ratzlaff.  Perhaps the Andreas Ratzlaff house was also the Jacob Ratzlaff house.  Jacob and family moved into the area in the 1860s and perhaps Andreas inherited the house after his Forestry stint was over in the 1890s.