The first Ratzlaff

Mennonites began settling in the Schwetz (modern-day Polish = Swiecie) area perhaps as early as the mid 16^th century.  By the mid 17^th, Przechowka was an established Mennonite congregation affiliated with the Groningen Old Flemish Societeit, the most conservative branch of Mennonites (http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/P780.html/?searchterm=przechowka) in West Prussia.

The Mennonite congregation was well-established and we can see from the church records that many Ratzlaff families were members.  According to the Przechowka Churchbook, the first Ratzlaff was a soldier in the Swedish army who laid down his sword to join the Mennonite Church.  As the Prussian government forbad conversions to the Mennonite faith, Ratzlaff was forced to travel to Holland to be baptized into the Church.  Upon his return he joined the Przechowka congregation.  In the Przechowka Churchbook, we can see that his son, Hans, was born about 1610.  Hans had five sons, and from there the Ratzlaffs quickly became one of the most numerous families of the congregation.

The claims the Przechowka Churchbook makes to the first Ratzlaff being a Swedish soldier are entirely plausible as the Swedish Army was indeed operating in the Vistula area in the first quarter of the 17^th century.  The Swedish-Polish War raged from 1600 – 1629 and the Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus, led his Swedish troops into the areas around the Vistula: Pomerania, Mecklenburg, and East and West Prussia.  The Swedish troops are well-documented as having moved through the Prussian Grosswerder and Kleinwerder which were inhabited by many Mennonites at the time.  Cities and villages that were affected include Danzig (Gdansk), Elbing, Pilawa (Pillau), Gniew, Nowy and Brodnica (among many, many others).  Mennonite congregations existed in or near all these locations.

Our first Ratzlaff ancestor was impressed with the simple folk living along the Vistula.  At some point during the military campaigns in the early 1600s, he decided to drop his sword and join the Mennonite Church and settle in the village of Przechowka.

My Ratzlaff family origins

As far as we know at this point, the Ratzlaff family originated near Schwetz, which today is in central Poland, in the early 17th century.  Ratzlaffs lived in the Mennonite villages of Przechowka, Beckersitz, Jeziorken, etc., along the banks of the Vistula River.  Because of migrations and the destruction of records, I lose track of my Ratzlaff ancestors during the 18th century.  The 19th century, however, finds my great great great grandfather Ratzlaff, Heinrich, living in Karolswalde, Russia.  Karolswalde, along with several adjacent small villages, was a german colony founded in the early 1800s, just south of the city of Ostrog, Russia.  Heinrich's son, Jacob Ratzlaff, was born in 1842 in Karolswalde and emigrated to Marion County, KS, in 1893.  Jacob's son, Andreas (my great grandfather), was born in 1869 in Leeleva (Fuerstendorf in german).  Leeleva lies several miles SW of Karolswalde and can be found on a current map of Ukraine under it's modern name, Lesna.  Andreas Ratzlaff and his family emigrated to Marion County, KS, in 1907.

If you are interested in Ratzlaff (or Ratzloff) family history and want to know more, please visit the blog and website of my 3^rd cousin, Gordon Ratzloff, at http://fammail.blogspot.com/ and http://ceilingunlimited.com/fammail/.  Gordon is the great grandson of Henry J Ratzloff.  Henry was the eldest brother to my great grandfather, Andreas Ratzlaff.  Gordon’s website and blog contain a lot of personal information that gives a wonderful feel to the Ratzloff/Ratzlaff family.  Gordon shares photos and anecdotes in an attempt to personalize his Ratzloff, Ratzlaff, Holdeman and Nightengale (Nachtigal) families.  Particularly if you are descended from Jacob Ratzlaff (1842-1926) you should visit Gordon’s site and check out his information.