The Establishment of the Mennonite Colony of
Deutsch-Michalin
Rodney D. Ratzlaff (ratz01a@gmail.com),
30 January 2024
The Mennonite colony of Deutsch-Michalin was located
immediately north of the Ukrainian village of Mykhailyn. The history and location of this colony has
been misunderstood for a long while. The
colony was caught up in regions affected by the Partitions of Poland. Interestingly, it became one of the very last
Mennonite colonies established in the Republic of Poland and simultaneously one
of the very first Mennonite colonies in the Russian Empire. For long periods, Deutsch-Michalin was
assumed to have been located within the borders of Volyn Governorate in the
Russian Empire. This assumption was
incorrect; Deutsch-Michalin was never included administratively within Volyn
Governorate. Below, I will use the
spelling Mykhailyn in reference to the Ukrainian village and Deutsch-Michalin
in reference to the Mennonite colony.
[note: All the locations listed below have different
spellings in Polish, Ukrainian, Russian, and German and this is a factor which
can add a lot of confusion. Since these
locations currently exist in Ukraine, I will use modern Ukrainian spellings.]
I. Ukrainian
Mykhailyn (49°35'09.9"N 28°47'09.7"E)
The Ukrainian village of Mykhailyn (Михайлин) was founded as
early as the year 1545 by Mykhailo Gubynsky (Міхна (Михайла) Губинського), a
wealthy man from nearby Vinnytsia. At
this time the tract of land was inhabited and farmed by local Cossacks. In 1598 the voivode of Bratslav, Janusz
Zbarazki (Януш Збаразький) bought the land and after his death it passed to his
niece, Anna. With Anna’s marriage into
the Vyshnevytsky family, the tract passed to this powerful family’s holdings. The Vyshnevytskys expelled Cossack-Russians
from their lands but after Yarema Vyshnevytsky’s (Ярема Вишнивецький; father to
King Michael I of Poland) death, the tract became once again inhabited by
Cossacks and was then in 1779 purchased by Count Protasius “Prot” Potocki
(Антоній Протазій Потоцький). In 1791,
with the permission of King Stanisław August
Poniatowski (Stanisław II), Potocki settled Low German Mennonites from Prussia
on the tract. Potocki divided the tract
between the Cossacks and the Mennonites.
After 1861 there were 54 yards in the village of Mykhailyn. There was an inn and a chapel in the cemetery
but no school. In the early 1870s the
village became the property of Bezyk Fedor Mikhailovich (Безика Федора
Михайловича) and in 1882 a school was established.[1]
During the Soviet era, the town of Makhnivka was named Komsomolske/Комсомольское. Thus, it was difficult for 20th
century researchers to locate, and many assumed it was somewhere in
Volhynia. The name reverted to Makhnivka
in 2016 and today it’s included administratively in Vinnytsia Oblast, as are
both Deutsch-Michalin and Mykhailyn.
II. Establishment
of Old Flemish Mennonite Settlement of Deutsch-Michalin
Mennonites were invited to settle on the Makhnivka and Samhorodok
estates which were owned by Prot Potocki in 1791. Sources say that Potocki encountered these
Mennonites in the markets of Warsaw.[2] These Mennonites had surnames consistent with
Old Flemish Mennonites from Przechówko and its daughter congregations.
Evidence indicates that Cornelius Wedel (GMA #81618;
1747-1798), received permission to move from Deutsch-Konopat to the Świniary
estate in Masovia in May, 1785.[3] The documents also indicate 13 other
Mennonites, all from villages located in the Schwetz-Kulm lowlands, received
similar permission. We know that several
of these Mennonites settled and lived in the Deutsch-Wiączemin/Sady area. We also know that this Cornelius Wedel became
the leader of the Mennonite group at Deutsch-Michalin. In 1868 the Świniary estate included the
villages of Kożików (Kalinowo), Deutsch-Wiączemin, Michowice, Sady, Nowosiadło,
and others.[4]
Interestingly, when I visited Skansen Osadnictwa
Nadwiślańskiego (Open-Air Museum of the Vistula Settlements) in Nowy
Wiączemin, Poland, in 2023, the guides showed replicas of the boats the
Mennonites would have used to take goods to market via the Vistula River. When I asked exactly which city they would
have taken their goods, the reply came, “Warsaw”.
Thus, we do have indication that: 1) Cornelius Wedel was the
Mennonite leader at Deutsch-Michalin; 2) Cornelius Wedel came to Deutsch-Wiączemin/Sady
area c1785; 3) Mennonites from Deutsch-Wiączemin took goods to the Warsaw
markets; 4) Prot Potocki encountered Mennonites in the Warsaw markets and
invited them to his estates c1791.
Deutsch-Michalin was given a charter from the King of
Poland, Stanisław II, which is dated 1791.
This charter is partially quoted in Alexander Voronin in his 1873 About Foreign Settlers in the Southwest
Territory, as well as in the article on Samhorodok in the 1889 Geographical
Dictionary of the Polish Kingdom.[5] A copy of what is presumably the entire
charter is found on a document from the St. Petersburg Archives.[6]
III. Arrangement
of the Mennonite Settlement
These Mennonites settled on parcels of land with distance
between each house. This contrasted with
the layout of the nearby Ukrainian village of Mykhailyn.
·
The Mennonites were settled “on the steppe north
of the village of Michalin…[t]he land survey was carried out by a surveyor…in
the manner familiar to the Mennonites; Deutsch-Michalin became a group of
individual farms (Einzelhöfen)”.[7]
·
The Mennonites were settled “on individual
homesteads…and not in villages. Living individually, they had much to suffer
from surrounding peoples. At first the settlers were bothered greatly by (Circassians),
a robbing and marauding horde of people”.[8]
·
“In contrast to the South Russian Mennonite
colonists, the Michaliner did not settle in closed villages, but each family
settled on his own farm. [L]iving on individual homesteads, suffered frequent
depredations by native tribesmen”.[9]
The 1791 charter does indeed describe where the colony was
set. Put simply, the land was north of Mykhailyn
and south of Wielka Ruda (Rubanka) and Kumanowka (Kumanivka), and in between
the Samhorodok valley and the Makhnivka-Samhorodok road.[10] It sits at the convergence of two small
valleys, at 49°36'09.9"N 28°47'12.2"E.
IV. The Partitions
and Subsequent Legal Ramifications for Mennonites at Deutsch-Michalin
An understanding of the location of Deutsch-Michalin
requires one to consider the Partitions of Poland. The colony began life in 1791 under Polish
control but was thereafter transferred to the Russian Empire. It existed in the Russian Empire within three
different administrative districts:
1)
Bratslav Vicegerency, Makhnivka Uyezd
(1793-1796)
2)
Kyiv Governorate, Makhnivka Uyezd
(1796-1846)
3)
Kyiv Governorate, Berdychiv Uyezd (after
1846)
Prior to the First Partition (1772), under the Republic of
Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), Bratslav Voivodeship
and Kyiv Voivodeship were situated in the extreme southeast of the kingdom;
these were the voiviodeships (counties) that included Makhnivka, Samhorodok, Mykhailyn,
and Deutsch-Michalin. Mykhailyn and
Deutsch-Michalin were on the borders of Zhytomyr Powiat (district) of
Kyiv Voivodeship (which also included Makhnivka) while Samhorodok was in Vinnytsia
Powiat of Bratslav Voivoideship. [It
is worth noting that in 1667, the city of Kyiv became controlled by Imperial Russia. Therefore, by time of the Partitions, Kyiv
Voivodeship no longer included the city of Kyiv. The seat of the voivoideship government was
at that time the city of Zhytomyr.]
The First Partition of Poland ceded northeast Poland to
Russia, not affecting Makhnivka-Samhorodok area at all. The Second Partition, in 1793, saw Bratslav,
Kyiv, as well as the eastern portions of Volyn, turned over to Russia.
Bratslav Viceroyalty (Bratslavskoe Namestnychestvo/Брацлавське
намісництво) was then formed in 1793 but dissolved soon after in 1796. The administrative center of the Viceroyalty was
Vinnytsia (until 1795) and then Bratslav (after 1795). The Viceroyalty consisted of 13 counties (1) Bratslav/Брацлавський,
2) Vinnytsia/Вінницький, 3) Gaisinsky/Гайсинський, 4) Tulchinsky/Тульчинський, 5)
Yampil/Ямпільський, 6) Mogilev/Могилівський, 7) Makhnovsky/Махнівський, 8) Lipovetsky/Липовецький,
9) Pyatigorsk/П'ятигірський, 10) Bershad/Бершадський, 11) Litynsky/Літинський, 12)
Khmelnytsky/Хмільницький, 13) Skvyrsky/Сквирський). In 1796 when the Viceroyalty was dissolved, 13)
Skvyrsky, 9) Pyatigorsk, 8) Lipovetsky, and 7) Makhnovsky were transferred to Kyiv
Governorate/Київської губернії, while 1) Bratslav, 2) Vinnytsia, 3) Gaisinsky, 4)
Tulchinsky, 5) Yampil, 6) Mogilev, 10) Bershad, 11) Litynsky, and 12) Khmelnytsky
were transferred to Podol Governorate/Подільської губернії.[11] Thus, Mykhailyn and Deutsch-Michalin were
transferred to Kyiv.
At this point, Makhnovsky (Makhnivka Uyezd, which
included Samhorodok) was part of Kyiv Governorate. In 1846, administrative lines were re-drawn
which removed Berdychiv from adjacent Volyn and gave it to Kyiv. Thereafter, Berdychiv took over from
Makhnivka as the seat of the county government (Berdichevsky Uyezd/Бердичевскій
Уѣздъ). Both Makhnivka and Samhorodok
were included in Berdychiv Uyezd and Deutsch-Michalin itself was located in
Ogiivska Volost (Огіївська волость).[12]
The Partitions of
Poland[13]
V. Ongoing Legal
Dispute
In 1796, government officials agreed to hear a case brought
by the Mennonites associated with Deutsch-Michalin, under the leadership of
their elder Cornelius Wedel. The
Mennonites explained that they had come to the area in 1791 at the invitation
of Prot Potocki with a charter signed by the Polish king. They settled on privately owned land and
initially established two villages: Deutsch-Michalin and Rosentheim. They asserted that beginning in 1795, after
the region came under Russian control with the Second Partition, Bratslav
officials had begun imposing taxes they were not able to pay. Administrators had disregarded the taxation
privileges given to the Mennonites by the Polish charter and the Mennonites
appealed for those privileges to be restored.
The Mennonites further invoked taxation exemption privileges for colonists
granted by the 25 July 1763 Manifesto of Catherine the Great.
The case was argued and discussed among officials of Kyiv
Governorate, Podol Governorate, and the Investigation Committee of State
Property and Foreign Settlers. However,
the details were difficult for these administrators to ascertain since Bratslav
Viceroyalty had been liquidated and it seemed certain details or documents were
lost. From 1796 to 1800, correspondence
passed between Podol, Kyiv, and the Investigation Committee, as they tried to
determine the details.
According to the 1795 Revision (census), 99 men and 88 women
Mennonites lived in Deutsch-Michalin.
Three Mennonite groups were identified in the area: 1) the group at
Deutsch-Michalin, 2) a group of 7 living in Adampol, 3) a group of about 157
living in Podol on land belonging to Privy Councilor Rumyantzev which could not
be located.
The Deutsch Michalin group and the Adampol group both lived
on privately owned land. The argument
was made that since they lived on private land, they could not receive tax exemptions
from the state. However, if they moved
to state owned land, then exemptions could be given.
The Adampol group lived on a khutor at Adampol and
made Dutch style cheese for their landlord, Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski. They used very little agricultural land or
equipment, arguing therefore that they should not be taxed. Sufficient state-owned land could not be
identified upon which to relocate the group.
Their case was closed, and their taxation benefits were apparently not
restored. This group was likely 1 family
of Swiss Mennonites with the surname Goering.
Regarding Deutsch-Michalin, the case was taken up by the
local Makhnivka Court and then by the [Russian?] Senate. Finally, probably in late 1800, the decision
was taken in favor of the Mennonites and their former Polish rights and
privileges were restored.
While the bureaucratic processes were underway, a group of 8
Frisian families living in Deutsch-Michalin applied for permission to move to
Chortitza but officials ordered them to remain in place until the case was
settled. 2 families, numbering 24 people
total, subsequently moved to the City of Bratslav. Later, officials discovered that about 30
Mennonites had left Deutsch-Michalin for unknown locations so that only about
55 men were left in the colony.[14]
Moreover, in October 1798, the Makhnivka Court granted the
Deutsch-Michalin Mennonites permission to search for a new location for
settlement if they so wished.[15]
VI. Old Flemish Mennonites Leave Deutsch-Michalin and Arrival of Frisians and Swiss
As a result of the above-mentioned legal dispute, most of
the Przechówko-derived Old Flemish Mennonites left Deutsch-Michalin to
establish Karolswalde, near Ostrog in Volyn.[16] The Old Flemish seem to have been replaced in
Deutsch-Michalin by Frisians largely from Montau. Surnames of the immigrants in 1804 and 1805
included Harms (Treul, Parsken), Wichert, Voot (Dragass), Baltzer (Treul),
Schroeder (Montau, Klein Lubin), Siebrandt (Kommerau), Nickel (Treul), Kliewer
(Treul), Wohlgemuth (Compagnie), Eck (Treul), Ewert, Schmid, Klaasen,
Becker. An 1811 list of homesteaders in Deutsch-Michalin
indicates that the villagers came from Treul, Tragheimerwiede, Neunhuben,
Montau, Kunpat, Kommerau, and Weishof.
At that time there were five Schmidt families, two of whom came from
Konopat and were therefore Old Flemish (wives of these two families were both
nee Koehn). The other three Schmidt
families indicated origin in Deutsch-Michalin.[17]
A group of Swiss Mennonites also came to Deutsch-Michalin in
1797 following an unfortunate experience with the Hutterites at Radichiv near Vyshenki.[18]
VII. Mennonites Sell
Settlement to Czechs
When the majority of Mennonites left Deutsch-Michalin in
1874, they sold out to Czech settlers.[19] Notably, Czech information says these
settlers purchased from the Mennonites the settlement of Holendry which the
Czechs then named Mykolaivka. Mykolaivka
is the modern name for the village situated immediately north of
Mykhailyn. On old maps we can see the
village labeled Holendry (or similar).
Holendry is an obvious reference to Mennonites. Voronin, in About Foreign Settlers,
gives a survey of foreign settlements in the Southwestern Territory and
mentions no foreign colonies aside from Deutsch-Michalin in the area of
northwestern Kyiv Governorate. The only
explanation is that this Holendry (modern-day Mykolaivka) is Deutsch-Michalin.
The Czech information, approved by the Association of Czechs from Volhynia, says these new settlers purchased 37 lots from the Mennonites in 1874.[20] Doreen Harms lists 42 Mennonite families in 1874. Two of these may have been landless widows, and three were young, single men who likely did not own land yet.[21] Taking away these five, we’re left with 37 lots.
VIII. Maps Showing
the Colony of Deutsch-Michalin
The following 19th century map[22]
shows the location of Ukrainian Mykhailyn (highlighted in yellow) relative to
Deutsch-Michalin (highlighted pink; here marked as Holendrow, a reference to
the village’s Mennonite origins).
Makhnivka is at the north while Samhorodok is at south (both highlighted
blue).
Deutsch-Michalin (Holendrow) is bordered on the south by
Mykhailyn, on the east by the Samhorodok Valley (highlighted red), on the west
by the Samhorodok-Makhnivka Road (highlighted purple), and on the north by the
villages of Kumanowka and Rudanka (both highlighted green).
Makhnivka-Samhorodok
area, 1865 (1 verst = .66 mile)
A closer view of the same map shows Deutsch-Michalin’s (Holendrow)
location along two small east-west valleys (highlighted red). Mennonite colonists’ houses are marked
(highlighted blue) along these valleys as well as a cemetery (highlighted
green) near the point where they converge.
Mykhailyn is again highlighted yellow.
Deutsch-Michalin and Mykhailyn, 1865 (1 verst = .66 mile)
Deutsch-Michalin
(Mykolaewka) and Mykhailyn, 1932 (1 verst = .66 mile)
IX. Mennonite
cemetery at Deutsch-Michalin
The Mennonite cemetery at Deutsch-Michalin appears to have
been located at approximately 49°36'22.8"N 28°47'04.5"E. Based on current satellite views, I see no
trace of the cemetery today. A thorough
search of the area, with help from local guides, might prove otherwise.
[1]
“Михайлин (Козятинський район).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 August
2020, https://uk.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Михайлин_(Козятинський_район)&stable=1
and “Антоній Протазій Потоцький.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 1 April
2020, https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Антоній_Протазій_Потоцький
[2] “Michalin” Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego
(Geographical Dictionary of the Polish Kingdom), Warsaw 1889, Volume VI,
p 295; Voronin, Alexander Fedoseevich, About Foreign Settlers in the
Southwest Territory [Kiev]: Univ. type., cens. 1873, pp 3,4.
[3] Geheimes
Staatsarchiv Preussischer Kulturbesitz; II. HA GD, Abt. 9
[4] “Świniary”
Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego (Geographical Dictionary of the Polish
Kingdom), Warsaw 1889, Volume XI, p 704.
[5] Voronin,
pp 3,4.; “Samohorodek” Geographical Dictionary of the Polish Kingdom,
Warsaw 1889, Volume X, pp 247-248.
[6] [RGIA]
Reel 4, Fond No. 383, Opis No. 29, Dielo No. 1208, Request No. 147, Document
No. 45, pp 1-12.
[7] Kuhn,
Walter, “Deutsche Täufersäedlungen im westukrainischen Raume”, Zeitschrift Für
Ostrforschung 4. Jahrgang 1955, Heft 4, p 492.
[8] Harms,
Doreen, “Historical Sketch of the Gnadenberg Church”, Bethel College, 1946, p
5.
[9] From
Michalin to Gnadenberg 1811-1950; Seventy-fifth Anniversary, Year Book of
the Gnadenberg Mennonite Church, Whitewater, Kansas, 1950, p 4.
[10] [RGIA]
Reel No. 4, Fond No. 383, Opis No. 29, Dielo No. 1208, Request No. 147,
Document No. 45, pp 1-12.
[11] “Брацлавське
намісництво.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 September 2020, https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Брацлавське_намісництво
[12]
“Бердичівський повіт.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 31 July 2020
https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Бердичівський_повіт
and “Огіївська волость.” Wikipedia,
Wikimedia Foundation, 28 July 2014, https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Огіївська_волость
[13]
Adapted from “The Three Partitions of Poland: Partitions of Poland”, Wikipedia,
Wikimedia Foundation, 21 July 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partitions_of_Poland
[14]
unpublished documents from [RGIA] Reel No. 4, Fond No. 383, Opis No. 29, Dielo
No. 1208, Request No. 147, Documents 1-54.
[15]
Letter from the Expedition of State Economy, Trusteeship on Behalf of the
Foreigners and Rural Housekeeping from the Government of the Kiev Guberniya,
October 26, 1798; [RGIA] Fond 383 Opis 29 Delo 161.
[16] Kuhn,
p 493. New documents have recently been
discovered regarding these Mennonites’ relocation from Deutsch-Michalin to
Karolswalde so we can hope that updated information may be forthcoming.
[17] Goertz,
Adalbert, "Deutsch-Michalin Mennonites", Russian Mennonite
Genealogical Resources, 11 June 2022, https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/russia/michalin.htm. Goertz’s piece on Deutsch-Michalin seems to
have become the standard history for the village, however his assertion that
Deutsch-Michalin and Makhnivka were part of the province of Volhynia is
incorrect.
[18] J.J.
Krehbiel, ''Einiges aus der Geschichte der aus Russland eingewanderten
Schweizer Mennoniten,” Der Herold, p.5.
[19] “Samohorodek”
Geographical Dictionary.
[20] Nikolajevka,
Holendry; Map of the Memory of the Volhynian Bohemians; 13 July 2022, https://www.volynaci.cz/obec/370/.
[21]
Harms, pp 10-15.
[22] Schubert,
Fyodor, "Military Topographic Map of the Volyn Province 1855-1877"
Plate XXIV: 7.
[23] "Kazatin",
New Topographic Map of Western Russia 1:84 000/1880-1932.
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