Jacob Ratzlaff family census information

After arriving in Marion County, the Jacob Ratzlaff family made their home at several different locations, the first of which was a dugout near a livery stable in Galva, KS.  The green Jacob Ratzlaff book identifies Jacob’s occupation as a weaver of cloth while in Russia.  The SS Polaria identifies him as a farmer on the ship’s manifest.  Jacob may have never owned his own farm in the U.S. though, as the family rented various locations.  According to U.S.A. Federal census data, the family lived in Blaine and Logan Townships in 1900 and Moore Township in 1910.  Clearly the immigration year on this form is not correct.

1900 US Census:
Name:	Jacob H Ratzlaff
Titles & Terms:
Residence:	Blaine & Logan Townships, Marion, Kansas
Birth Date:	1843
Birthplace:	Russia
Relationship to Head of Household:	Self
Spouse:	Anna Ratzlaff
Spouse's Titles & Terms:
Spouse's Birthplace:	Russia
Father:
Father's Titles & Terms:
Father's Birthplace:	Russia
Mother:
Mother's Titles & Terms:
Mother's Birthplace:	Russia
Race or Color (expanded):	White
Head-of-household Name:	Jacob H Ratzlaff
Gender:	Male
Marital Status:	Married
Years Married:	38
Estimated Marriage Year:	1862
Mother How Many Children:
Number Living Children:
Immigration Year:	1874
Enumeration District:	81
Page:	8
Sheet Letter:	B
Family Number:	132
Reference Number:	76
Film Number:	1240488
Image Number:	484
	Household	Gender	Age
	Jacob H Ratzlaff	M
Spouse	Anna Ratzlaff	F
Child	Adam Ratzlaff	M
Child	John Ratzlaff	M

Here’s a scan of a portion of the 1900 census that shows Jacob’s entry, as well as Bernard’s family:

1910 US census:
Name:	Jacob H Ratzlaff
Birthplace:	Russia
Relationship to Head of Household:	Self
Residence:	Moore, Marion, Kansas
Marital Status:	Married
Race :	White
Gender:	Male
Immigration Year:	1893
Father's Birthplace:	Russia
Mother's Birthplace:	Russia
Family Number:	35
Page Number:	3
	Household	Gender	Age
	Jacob H Ratzlaff	M	69y
Spouse	Anna Ratzlaff	F	68y
Child	John Ratzlaff	M	20y
	Charles Nachtigall	M	13y

These locations are in the extreme NE corner of the county.  The 1910 census shows that Charles (Carl) Nachtigal (Eva Ratzlaff Nachtigal’s son) was living with Jacob at the time, perhaps as a farmhand.  See map: http://www.historicmapworks.com/Map/US/47883/County+Outline+Map/Marion+County+1921/Kansas/

John Wiebe, grandson of Helena Ratzlaff Becker, has indicated to me that the Jacob Ratzlaff family lived in the extinct Marion County village of Gnadenau for a time.  See: http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/gnadegnadenau_krimmer_mennonite_brethren_church

and:

http://www.kshs.org/p/kansas-historical-quarterly-settlement-of-the-krimmer-mennonite-brethren/12990

Wiebe also has indicated to me that the family may have even occupied the house that is now the Pioneer Adobe House in Hillsboro, KS, before it was moved to its current museum location.  http://www.cardcow.com/163542/pioneer-adobe-house-museum-hillsboro/

Anna (Foth) Ratzlaff died in 1912 when the family was living near Durham, KS, and was buried in the Logan Cemetary which was associated with the Morning Star Church.  No headstone can be found today.  It's possible that no headstone existed as there was some debate within the Holdeman Church, with which the family may have been associated, in regards to whether headstones were proper or not.  The 1920 U.S.A. Federal census finds Jacob living with Helena’s family, the Beckers, in Meno, Major County, Oklahoma. 

1920 US Census:
Name:	Jacob Ratzlaff
Residence:	, Major, Oklahoma
Estimated Birth Year:	1842
Age:	78
Birthplace:	Russia Poland
Relationship to Head of Household:	Father-in-law
Gender:	Male
Race:	White
Marital Status:	Widowed
Father's Birthplace:	Russia Poland
Mother's Birthplace:	Russia Poland
Film Number:	1821472
Digital Folder Number:	4385101
Image Number:	219
Sheet Number:	2
	Household	Gender	Age
	Bernard Becker	M	38y
Child	Lena Becker	F	36y
	Oittli Becker	F	15y
	Josephine Becker	F	14y
	Alvina Becker	F	12y
	Edwin Becker	M	10y
	Roselle Becker	F	6y
	Neoma E Becker	F	4y
	Lois D Becker	F	2y
	Jacob Ratzlaff	M	78y

Here's a scan of a page from a 1905 Marion County, KS, census that shows Adam Ratzlaff at the top.  I'm not sure whose name could be directly under his since he wasn't married yet in 1905.  His age, however, is listed correctly.  Farther down the page, see Jacob, Anna, and John, as well as Helena and the Beckers; Andrew and Otillie.

This scan is from a different 1905 Marion County census.  Again, Jacob, Anna and John can be seen, as well as Andrew, Helena, and Otillie Becker

Jacob Ratzlaff family travels to USA

The Jacob Ratzlaff family left Russia in 1893 bound for the U.S.A.  Many of the Mennonites in the Karolswalde villages, including elder Tobias Unruh, had left for America in 1874.  The Mennonites from Volhynia settled mainly in Hutchinson and Turner Counties, South Dakota and Marion and Harvey Counties, Kansas (http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/volhynia_ukraine/?searchterm=volhynia).  Perhaps because the Ratzlaffs' traveling fare was donated by Bernard Jantz of Durham, KS, the family were bound for Kansas.

At this point I don’t know much about the Ratzlaffs' voyage from Volhynia to America.  There were train stations near Ostrog; at Kriwin, near Wilbowno at Badowka and Mohylany, and at Ozenin.  These locations are all north and east of Ostrog. 

In the 1890s, they probably would have crossed the border into Austria-Hungary near Brody. 

The train ran from Ozenin to Dubno to Radziwilow which was the last stop in Russia.

From Radziwilow, they would have continued on to Brody and Lemberg (L’vov). 

From there they would have been bound for the German border, at either Myslowice or Oswiecim.  In Germany, the typical immigrant route was Breslau (Wroclaw), Liegnitz, Frankfurt, Berlin, Stendal, and finally Hamburg. 

From Hamburg they sailed on the SS Polaria (SS stood for SteamShip) of the Hansa Line, Hamburg America Line, setting sail on June 10, 1893.  The ship stopped at Antwerp, Belgium, on June 14, 1893, and then progressed on to Montreal, Canada, where it arrived in port on June 27, 1893. 

From Montreal, they would have proceeded on to Chicago, where they would have boarded a train to Kansas.  They probably would have travelled via the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad.  This map from 1891 shows the Santa Fe’s stops.  (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atchison,_Topeka_and_Santa_Fe_Railway)

Florence was the main Marion County stop in the 1890s.  There was a branch line that ran from Florence – Marion – Canada – Hillsboro – Lehigh – Canton – Galva – McPherson, so they would have detrained at one of these stops.  This shot shows the Florence depot in 1904.

Leeleva, Volhynia

My grandfather, Albert Ratzlaff, son of Andreas Ratzlaff (b.1869) was in possession of a hand-drawn map of Leeleva.  The geographic details of this map are all correct, although they're not all in the right places.  Also, the chronology of this map is off just a little.  Some of the inhabitants that are listed left the village in 1874 while Andreas, who's listed as living toward the bottom left, certainly didn't have his own home by that time since he was only born in 1869.

After the Mennonites left in 1874, some of the villages were inhabited by Lutheran Germans.  A descendant of one of the later inhabitants provided me with this map, which shows Leeleva at a slightly later date than the map above.  Based on the locations of the cemetaries, I also think this map shows a portion of Leeleva slightly to the east of the map above:

Here's a close up shot of Leeleva as shown on the Polish Army map from the 1920s.  Note the location of the two cemetaries in Leeleva (Lesna) (marked as Cm on the map).  Was the more northerly the Mennonite cemetary while the southern one was Lutheran?  Based on the geography of the hand-drawn maps above, I feel this could be the case:

Finally, here's a hand-drawn map of Karolswalde c.1900, taken from the Karlswalde web pages (http://home.arcor.de/pulin/karlswalde/maps_ph1.htm).  Like the other hand-drawn maps, the geography may be a bit off here, because it was drawn by a person remembering the village from decades ago.  The details are probably all fairly correct, but may be in the wrong places.

Ostrog circuit Mennonite villages

There were several Mennonite villages in the Ostrog, Volhynia, area that were settled by Prussian Mennonites from the Schwetz, (Przechowka, also referred to as Culm or Graudenz Mennonites) Prussia, area.  There were also other Mennonite villages in Volhynia that were inhabited by Swiss Mennonites.  Documentation exists that my Ratzlaff ancestors lived in several of these villages including Karolswalde, Zabara, Antonovka, Leeleva, and Mensiliski.  My Voth, Wedel and Nickel ancestors, who married into the Ratzlaff family, also lived in Karolsberge and Gruenthal.  Some records list ancestors as being from Ostroger.  It could refer to the town or county of Ostrog.  For more information on Russian Mennonite villages, see: http://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/russia/.  In regards to the Volhynian villages, the following chart lists the ones of which I’m aware:

German  Name	Russian  Name	A.K.A.	Settlement  Date	Province	Colony	Mother Colony
Antonovka			before 1821	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Fuerstendorf	Lesna	Leeleva, Lebwa, Lesnaja, Nikitska	before 1874	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Fuerstental	Kustarna		about 1870	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Jadvinin	Novosilka		about 1808	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Karolsberge			about 1827	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Karolswalde	Prykerdonne	Holendry Slobodskie, Karlswalde	about 1801	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Waldheim	Meselski	Menziliski		Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
	Stanislawka		?	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
	Michailowka		?	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Gruental	Moshchanytsya	Moszczanica	about 1877	Volhynia	Karolswalde	Culm-Gaudenz, Prussia
Michalin			1798	Volhynia
Dosidorf	Zabara	Zabarskie		Volhynia
Waldheim	Solianka			Volhynia
Heinrichsdorf			1848	Volhynia		Waldheim, Molotschna by way of Karolswalde
Bereza				Volhynia
Horodyszce				Volhynia
Jozefin				Volhynia
Lindental				Volhynia
Melanienwald				Volhynia
Zofyovka				Volhynia

The following map is taken from the Mennonite Atlas.  It shows most of the Mennonite villages in Volhynia, including those that weren’t associated with Karolswalde.  Note that Michalin, which is not marked on this map, was located just south of Berdichev, which would be the extreme lower right-hand corner of this map.

The following maps show the villages that were in the Karolswalde area.  The first map was produced by the Austrians in the very early 1900s.  Moszczanica (Gruental) can be seen just NE of Ostrog.  Several of the other villages appear south of Ostrog.  Leeleva is marked as Nikitska:

Finally, this last map was produced by the Polish Army in the 1920s.  This map indicates the locations of some of the later villages, Mezelski, Stanislavka and Michailowka, as well as Leeleva (marked as Lesna on this map).  Note that most of these locations are preceeded by “Kol” meaning “colony”.  Fuerstental, marked as Kustarna, can also be seen to the extreme right:

Anna (Foth) Ratzlaff (b1842)

Jacob Ratzlaff’s wife, Anna Foth (or Voth) was probably also born in the Karolswalde villages, although I have less information about her.  According to GRANDMA, Anna was born on 05/24/1842 and was baptized on 06/10/1861.  This is the listing from Tobias Unruh’s baptism records:

Aufschreibung von Diejenigen welche durch die heilige Wassertaufe in unsere Gemeine zu Antonowke in dem Bethause daselbst als Brueder und Schwestern auf- und angenommen worden sind.

1.  Tobias Heinrichs Sohn                  Unruh                     zu Antonowke

2.  Adam Andreas Sohn                      Koehn                    zu Antonowke

3.  Jacob Andreas Sohn                      Koehn                    zu Antonowke

4.  Andreas Davids Sohn                    Koehn                    zu Antonowke

5.  Benjamin Andreas Sohn                Buller                      zu Antonowke

6.  Peter Andreas Sohn                       Koehn                    zu Antonowke

7.  Cornelius Davids Sohn                  Nickel                     von Karolswalde  58/51

8.  Peter Peters Sohn                            Unruh                     zu Antonowke

9.  Cornelius Heinrichs Sohn              Unruh                     zu Antonowke

10. Bernth Peters Sohn                        Voth                       von Karolswalde  27/24

11.  Benjamin Peters Sohn                  Unruh                     zu Antonowke

12. Benjamin Davids Sohn                  Koehn                    zu Antonowke

13.  Jacob Davids Sohn                       Koehn                    zu Antonowke

14.  Peter Davids Sohn                        Koehn                    zu Antonowke

15. Andreas Heinrichs Sohn              Schmidt                  zu Antonowke

16.  Benjamin Andreas Sohn              Unruh                     zu Antonowke

                                Nun folgend die Jungfrauen:

1.  Sara Jacobs Tochter                       Koehnen                zu Antonowke

2.  Elske Andreas Tochter                  Ratzlaffen              zu Antonowke

3.  Susanna Andreas Tochter            Koehnen                zu Antonowke

4.  Anna Andreas Tochter                  Koehnen                zu Antonowke

5.  Eva Andreas Tochter                     Nachtigalen           zu Antonowke

6.  Elscke Heinrichs Tochter               Koehnen                zu Antonowke

7.  Maria Jacobs Tochter                    Wedeln                  zu Antonowke

8.  Elsckke Johanns Tochter               Unruhen                zu Antonowke

9.  Eva Peters Tochter                         Beckern                  zu Antonowke

10. Anna Andreas Tochter                 Unruhen                zu Antonowke

11. Eva Heinrichs Tochter                  Vothen                   zu Antonowke

12.  Anna Heinrichs Tochter              Vothen                   zu Antonowke

13. Helena Johanns Tochter               Nachtigalen           zu Antonowke

Diese hier aufgeschriebene anderseitige und dies seitige sechzehn maennliche und dreizehn weibliche Seelen sind auf ihrem Verlangen durch dem heiligen Worte Gottes und dem Befehle Jesu Christi im beysein viele Zeugen getaufet und durch eine Handaufnehmung als Glieder in der mennoniten Gemeine am 23.ten Junius Neuenstyls Anno 1861 in dem Bethause zu Antonowke auf- und angenommen worden. Als nehmlich am ersten heiligen Pfingstfeiertage.  Der Aeltester Tobias Unruh.

I’m not sure if the Eva Voth who preceeds Anna on the list might be her sister or not, but it could very well be possible.  Based on this information, Anna’s father was named Heinrich Voth.  The baptism took place in the village of Antonovka.

According to the green Jacob Ratzlaff genealogy book, Anna had three half-brothers named Bernard, Peter, and Fred Ratzlaff, who all came to the U.S.A.  Based on that information, Anna’s mother must have been widowed by Heinrich Voth or by a Ratzlaff male.  The Jacob Ratzlaff book doesn’t indicate whether these three half-brothers were older or younger than Anna.

Anna passed away on April 8, 1912, and was buried in the Logan cemetery near Durham

, KS.  I’ve searched the cemetery, but have not been able to locate the gravestone (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=cr&CRid=92912&CScn=logan&CScntry=4&CSst=18&CScnty=941&).

After Anna’s death, Jacob lived with his daughters.  The 1920 U.S.A. census finds him living with Helena’s family in Major County, OK.  Jacob passed away in December of 1926 and was buried in Halstead, KS, on December 21^st.  His gravestone is fairly easy to find in the Halstead cemetery (http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=ratzlaff&GSfn=jacob&GSiman=1&GScid=92629&GRid=54937171&)

Heinrich Ratzlaff, father of Jacob Ratzlaff (b1842)

According to the information I currently have, my great great great grandfather’s name was Heinrich Ratzlaff and I feel it’s likely that he was somehow related to the Johann Ratzlaff (1726-1805) family.  He was born sometime near the year 1800 in either Driesen, Brandenburg, or Karolswalde, Volhynia.  GRANDMA tells us that his first name may have been Jacob.  We do not know Heinrich’s wife’s name, but the couple did have four children.

1)      Henry, birth date unknown

2)      Jacob, born 08/12/1842

3)      Benjamin Jacob, born c.1848

4)      Susanna H, born 03/15/1850

#3 Benjamin’s middle name was Jacob, and #2 Jacob has also been listed with the middle initial “J”., so it’s possible that Heinrich’s name was actually Jacob.

We don’t know much about Heinrich or the oldest son, Henry.  GRANDMA indicates that Jacob, Benjamin and Susanna were all born in Karolswalde.  The green Jacob Ratzlaff book indicates that Jacob was born in Holland, but that’s just not very likely to be accurate.  Henry was probably born around 1840, which would indicate Heinrich’s birthdate to be in the neighborhood of 1800.  We don’t know anything further about Henry at this time except that the green Jacob Ratzlaff book says that he never left Russia.  Benjamin and Susanna’s names appear, like their brother Jacob’s, in the Tobias Unruh baptism record.  Unruh lists Benjamin as having been baptized in Zabara in 1858.  Susanna was baptized in 1866, but the location isn’t indicated.  Given the birth dates of the children, the Heinrich Ratzlaff family must have moved from Karolswalde to Zabara between 1850 and 1858.  They must have returned to Karolswalde by 1869.  Notes indicate that the family moved from “Poland to Russia” in 1867; could this refer to the move from Zabara to Karolswalde?

Jacob’s children are listed in an earlier entry, so they won’t be repeated here, but GRANDMA also lists names for Benjamin’s children and Susanna’s children.

Benjamin married a woman by the name of Eva Schmidt who was born around the year 1849.  In 1877, his and five other families set out to move to Jerusalem.  The party got as far as Turkey where they were forced to stop.  They lived in Turkey for five years until a typhoid epidemic took Benjamin’s life at some point around 1881.  He was buried in Turkey.  We don’t know if Eva and the children came back to Volhynia or not, but in 1882 the family emigrated to the U.S.A. and settled near Halstead, KS.  Benjamin and Eva Ratzlaff’s children were:

1)      Bernhard, b.1864 in Volhynia, d.1944 in Regina Saskatchewan.

2)      Maria, b.1868 in Volhynia, d.1947 in Halstead, KS.  Maria married Heinrich Nightengale and many of her descendants still live in Kansas.

3)      Henry B, b.1871 in Volhynia, d.1943 in Montezuma, KS.  Henry married Sarah Schmidt and the family moved to Montezuma.

4)      Andreas, b.1874 in Volhynia, d.1949 in Delhi, CA.

5)      Helena, b.1876 in Volhynia, d.1940 in Fairview, OK.  Helena married Andrew Koehn in Marion County, KS.  After Koehn’s death, Helena married Henry Nichols in Fairview, OK.

6)      Jacob Benjamin, b.1877 in Volhynia, d.1863 in Winton, CA.  Jacob married Susie Koehn in Enid, OK.  The family lived in OK, Canada, and CA.

            The eldest child, Carolina (b.1864) probably died young.

Susanna was born in 1850 in Karolswalde.  She married Jacob Boese (Base) (1949-1897) of Karolswalde in 1871 and the family immigrated to the U.S.A. aboard the SS Kenilworth in 1875.  The couple had 10 children between 1872 and 1894 and must have attended the Bergthal Mennonite Church in Pawnee Rock, KS, although not much is know about them.  Susanna remarried later in the U.S.A. to a man named Albrecht.    GRANDMA does not indicate the date of her death.