Andreas Ratzlaff (b1869) forestry service

When Jacob, Anna, and the rest of the Ratzlaff party left Volhynia in 1893, two of the oldest children stayed behind in Russia.  Eva was married in 1885 to Johann Nachtigal and their residence was just outside Leeleva.  It’s hard to tell where their house stood, but I believe it’s probably marked at the lower left-hand corner of the map of Leeleva.  Could it have been closer to Menziliski then to Leeleva?  Eva, Johann and their one surviving child born prior to 1893, Tobias, remained in Volhynia.

Andreas also stayed behind in 1893.  Andreas was born in 1869, but apparently there is a discrepancy about this birth date.  Most sources give the date as 12/23/1869 but GRANDMA indicates that another source gives the date as 11/11/1869.  It’s possible the discrepancy exists because of Russia’s continued use of the Julian Calendar (O.S.) until the year 1917, but I don’t think that’s likely.  While the U.S.A. and most of Western Europe used the Gregorian Calendar (N.S.), Russia stuck to an older system until 1917.  The Gregorian Calendar is several days ahead of the Julian.  For instance, the Russian October Revolution, according to the U.S.A. (Gregorian) Calendar, actually occurred on 11/07/1917.  In Russia, where they were using the Julian Calendar, the revolution occurred on 10/25/1917.  On Andreas’ Russian forestry service paperwork, his birthdate is recorded as 12/23/1869.  The Russians would have used the Julian system when recording this date.  Translation to Gregorian would actually bump that date forward into January, not backward into November.  I feel it’s likely that 12/23/1869 is the correct date in Julian and that this date was never corrected when he moved to the U.S.A.

Regardless of the birthdate, Andreas was born in Leeleva and grew up with the rest of the family until the early 1890s.  In 1891, Andreas was obliged to leave Volhynia to complete his stint with the forestry service.  Forestry service (Forseidienst) for young Mennonite men was completed in lieu of military service (http://www.gameo.org/encyclopedia/contents/F6717ME.html/?).  According to Andreas’ Forestry Service paperwork, he began his service in 1891 and was away from Volhynia when most of the rest of his family left for U.S.A. in 1893.  He returned in very early 1895.

The cover page of Andreas’ Forestry Service paperwork indicates that his stint began in 1891 (the square to the left) and that he served in the Ratzynskaya Forestry Brigade (the square to the right).  The cicular emblem in the middle indicates the Mennonite Forestry Service.  Each page of this document says “Andreas Ratslaf” or “Andreas Jakobovich Ratzlaf” across the top in a horizontal rectangle. 

This map, from the Mennonite Historical Atlas, shows a forestry camp labeled as Razyn in extreme southern Russia, just north of the City of Kherson.

Unfortunately, the second page of the booklet is missing.  This missing page may have indicated the date that Andreas’ service actually began.  Question number 6 on the third page asks if the bearer has any special skills to which Andreas answers “none”, and question number 7 assigns Andreas to Brigade number 2.

The next two pages deal with personal data.  Andreas indicates that he was born on 23 December 1869, that he’s currently a bachelor, and that he adheres to the Mennonite faith.  These documents are his discharge papers and number 11 indicates that he is being discharged to a) Province: Volhynia, b) District: Ostrog, c) Parish: Kunitsky, and d) Village: Antonovka.  Below is indicated that the document was issued in Odessa on 31 December 1894.  After that are some signatures and some language which indicates that Andreas appeared at the Ostrog Police Station on 17 March, 1895, to enroll into the ranks of reserve workers.

The next page indicates that Andreas was recognized as a citizen of the village of Antonvka and that he personally received these documents on 30 December 1895.  The signature of the parish notary follows and then an illegible handwritten paragraph completes the page.  On the next page of the document, in a different written hand is a sentence that states something like Andreas was given temporary leave from March to August of 1905. 

To summarize then, Andreas was drafted into the Forestry Service in 1891.  He served at the Ratzynskaya  forestry camp, a member of brigade number 2.  He was discharged in Odessa on 12/31/1894 to his home village of Antonovka and appeared at the Ostrog Police Station on 03/17/1895 to enroll into the ranks of reserve workers.  The meaning of the last handwritten line is a bit of a mystery, but he was given temporary leave from March until August of 1905, after which time he would presumably re-enter the ranks of reservists.

Interestingly, Andreas was married to Susanna Wedel on February 17, 1895, which would have been only about a month after his return from service in Ratzynskaya.

To give some perspective of where Andreas was stationed during his Forestry Service, here’s a map of the Ukraine in the 1880s.  Andreas had a journey of about 470 miles from his home near Ostrog to the camp at Ratzynskaya, which was about 15 miles or so north of Kherson.  Other young Mennonite men in the camp would have come from the Molotschna Colony, which lay 180 miles to the east of Kherson.  Andreas received his discharge papers in Odessa, which is 125 miles west of Kherson.  In the 1880s, Odessa was the 3^rd most populous city in Russia and the major administrative center of the southern areas of the Empire.  On the map below, Andreas’s home near Ostrog is marked with an H, the Forestry Camp is marked with an F, and the Molotschna Colony is marked with an M.

I haven't yet been able to find exactly where Ratzynskaya was.  Marked by a green box on this Soviet map from the 1940s is the general area where the camp must have been.  Kherson can be seen at the very bottom just right of center:

Children of Jacob Ratzlaff

After the Jacob Ratzlaff family settled in Marion County, the children soon went their own ways.  GRANDMA tells us the following about the children:

Henry emigrated in 1893 with wife Katharine (Base) and children Tobias and Carolina.  The couple had eight more children who were born in Galva, Lehigh, Burrton and Halstead, KS.  Henry died in 1916 and is buried in Burrton, KS.  Katherine died in 1947 and is buried in Hesston, KS.  Henry felt it to be more appropriate to spell the family last name with an “O”, therefore his descendants’ last name is spelled Ratzloff.  Father Jacob, never having learned to read or write English, accepted the spelling as it was given to him by immigration officials.

Eva did not emigrate with the family in 1893.  She had married Johann Nachtigal in 1885 in Leeleva and stayed there with her family.  Johann died in 1904 and was buried in Volhynia.  Of the couple’s eleven children, only five survived.  Eva, with the five children, emigrated to the U.S.A. in 1909.  They arrived in Galveston, TX and settled near Durham, KS.  In 1910, in Major County, OK, she married Tobias Unruh who was also originally from Antonovka, Volhynia but had come to America in 1874.  Tobias died in 1937 and is buried in Halstead, KS.  Eva moved to California after Tobias’ death and in 1949 was buried in Winton, CA.

Andreas also did not emigrate with the family in 1893.  At the time, Andreas was fulfilling Russian Government obligations with the Mennonite Forestry Service.  Much more on Andreas later.

Bernard emigrated in 1893 with his wife Maria (Schultz).  Their first seven children were born near Durham and Hillsboro, KS.  Later, the family moved to Copeland and then Protection, KS, where they had two more children.  Bernard and Maria are buried in Montezuma, KS; Bernard in 1952 and Maria in 1963.  Maria’s parents were Cornelius and Leona (Jantz) Schultz.  Leona’s brother, Bernard Jantz of Durham, KS, loaned the Jacob Ratzlaff family money for their voyage to America.  Bernard and his siblings worked for many years to pay off the loan.

Adam was with the family aboard the Polaria in 1893 and lived in Marion County until at least 1905.  Adam’s first marriage ended in divorce.  In 1943 he married Dena Koehn, originally of Durham, KS, in Merced, CA.  Adam and Dena were both buried in Winton, CA; Adam in 1950 and Dena in 1976.

Helena travelled with the family in 1893 and was married to Andreas Becker of Moundridge, KS, in 1903.  Conflicting data from GRANDMA and the 1905 Marion County census shows that their first child was born either in Major County, OK, or Durham, KS.  Regardless, Andreas passed away in Meno, OK, in 1912 after the couple had four children.  Helena remarried to Bernhard Becker, also of Moundridge, KS, in 1913.  The couple had five children, all in Meno, OK.  It appears that at some point in the 1920s the Beckers lived in Halstead, KS, where one of their children, Juanita, as well as Father Jacob, passed away.  Helena died in 1927 but I don’t know where she’s buried.  Bernhard died in 1976 and is buried in Newton, KS.

John was only three years old during the voyage in 1893.  He married Amanda Unruh in 1915.  GRANDMA tells us very little about his family, but they must have moved around a bit between Major County, OK and Protection, KS.  The couple had five children.  John died in 1954 and is buried in the Lone Tree Church Cemetary in McPherson County, KS.  GRANDMA does not indicate details about Amanda’s death or burial.

The Green Jacob J Ratzlaff book also tells us of four other children.  Three babies died in infancy in Volhynia.  Unfortunately, we don't know anything further about these babies.  In addition, a daughter named Elizabeth passed away due to small pox at the age 15 years.  Elizabeth's name does not appear on the Polaria's manifest, therefore she must have passed away prior to 1893.  Therefore, she was born between 1863 and 1878 in either Zabara, Menziliski or Leeleva.  She was probably buried in a cemetery near Menziliski or Leeleva.

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