The Village of Przechówko, Part 3

 

Przechówko's modern legacy

 

The unique legacy of the village of Przechówko can be defined by discussing four characteristics:

1)      The proclivity of this congregation to spawn filial congregations,

2)      The remarkable consanguinity of the members of the daughter congregations,

3)      The extensive church records of the original congregation and the continuation of those records right into the present day,

4)      The Przechówko village cemetery.

 

Due to various reasons – lack of land, lack of economic opportunities, harassment from landowners or local officials, turmoil after wars, religious oppression, and others – Przechówko congregants very early on began to expand into filial congregations, as discussed above.  Notably, the Przechówko congregation was the only Low German Mennonite congregation to repeatedly spawn filials comprised almost entirely of people with ancestry from the mother congregation. 

Przechówko was established right about the year 1600.  Very soon, it became associated with the Old Flemish congregation located in Schonsee.  The first true filial congregation to Przechówko was Jeziorki, established about 15 miles away in the year 1727.  The next expansion was the Netzebruch churches – Brenkenhofswalde and Franzthal – which were established in 1765.  Under the Polish Kingdom, two more daughter congregations were established – in Masovia at Sady, and in Podolia at Deutsch Michalin – both established very late in the 18^th century.  All these congregations were established by Przechówko congregants and all these congregations continued to commune with the mother church.

Przechówko Congregational Tree

Beginning in the year 1801, the first Przechówko filial congregation established within the borders of the Russian Empire was formed at Karolswalde in Volyn Governorate, and then a second Volhynian colony was established at Antonowka in 1804.  In the same year – 1804 – the Molotschna Colony was established in New Russia and beginning in 1820, the larger group at Przechówko began moving into the Molotschna Colony.  These folks established the villages of Franzthal and Alexanderwohl in 1820 and 1821 respectively.  Congregants from the Netzebruch established the village of Gnadenfeld in 1835 and then some of these Netzebruch-Volhynians moved to the Molotschna Colony in 1836 to form the village of Waldheim.  All these villages in Volhynia and Molotschna, that is: Antonowka and Karolswalde, and then Franzthal and Alexanderwohl and Waldheim and Gnadenfeld were made up of majority Groningen Old Flemish Mennonites and they were likely all in fairly close contact with one another.  Just like a family creates a family tree, the Przechówko congregation created a congregational tree.  Today, congregations in Kansas such as Lone Tree or Alexanderwohl or Hoffnungau are branches of this larger tree. 

This constant spawning of filial congregations means that Przechówko families have a very unique and special genealogy.  There is no other group among the Low German Mennonites which has sustained itself like the Przechówko Old Flemish have.  These filial congregations display a remarkable consanguinity.  That is, a great many of the congregants can still today – more than 400 years after the birth of the congregation – trace their ancestry back to the very first congregants.  This is a second trait that’s unique for this group.

For instance, we can look at the congregants at Alexanderwohl (Goessel, Kansas) in the following way.  Polling 150 individuals from the 1983 Alexanderwohl churchbook (about 20% of the congregation at that time), we find that 34% still had those original Przechówko surnames.  Further, a whopping 87% of those surveyed had ancestors found in the village of Przechówko or at the Przechówko church.  52% had either 3 or 4 grandparents with Przechówko ancestry. 

A very similar study could be done with the congregants at Lone Tree (Canton, Kansas) with even more shocking results.  From the 2020 membership list at Lone Tree, 94% of those surveyed had Przechówko ancestry.  79% had either 3 or 4 grandparents with Przechówko ancestry.  So again, in the year 2020, an estimated 94% of the Lone Tree members could all trace their ancestry back – more than 400 years – to the same place and to the same group of people.

This quality of consanguinity is completely unique among Low German Mennonites.  But it can be found again and again, albeit to slightly lesser degrees, at Hoffnungsau and Henderson Nebraska and Freeman South Dakota and at Tabor and at many other Holdeman congregations or any other church which ultimately derives its origins from Przechowko.  This is incredible evidence of the legacy of the Przechówko church.

The third point which illustrates the legacy of the Przechówko church is the presence of the extensive church record.  These records date all the way back to the 17^th century and in many cases can be corroborated by other documentation.  Only 3 sets of comparable Polish Mennonite church records survive today: those from Danzig, those from Montau, and these from Przechówko.  Neither the Danzig church nor the Montau church formed filial congregations so their records terminated when those churches came to an end.

On the other hand, the Przechówko church records were continued in the Molotschna Colony at Old Alexanderwohl.  And then when that group came to USA in 1874 the record was brought to Kansas and continued.  With this record, an historical document exists spanning three countries, two migrations, and covering almost 400 years of people and history.  Some people in the community can trace as many as 13 continuous generations of ancestors – or even more – through these records.

The Przechówko Village cemetery is something that’s currently coming into focus as we enter the year 2025.  Since there are no Mennonite structures still standing in the village of Przechówko, the cemetery is the only remaining physical remnant from the 200+ years that the Mennonites lived there.

Przechówko Cemetery; 2024

The 20^th century was not kind to Przechówko; the whole area endured two world wars and 40 years of domination by communists.  In 1964 the final village residents were evicted to make way for the Mondi cardboard factory.  These factors greatly obscured the West’s ability to discern what had become of Przechówko; descendants in America had no way of knowing what had happened – or what was happening – to the village.

By the late 1980s communication began to open up and travelers from the west began to go into Poland.  However, the Przechówko cemetery lay, apparently forgotten, hidden away in the weeds and trees south of the cardboard factory.  Rumors abounded that the factory had destroyed the cemetery but seemingly no one in the West knew for sure.

By 2019, when I first went to Poland, most American experts still weren’t entirely sure about the status of the Przechówko cemetery.  But if anything was there at all, it was located off main roads so tour groups could not easily get there.  I was fortunate enough to happen upon a chance encounter with the Polish expert on Mennonite civilization in the Vistula River valley, Dr. Michał Targowski.  After Targowski took me to the cemetery we began a robust discussion for many months regarding how to go about restoring the place.  Our plans finally began to be implemented during the summer of 2023.

The cemetery is located centrally in the land which was Przechówko village, on the south side of the road just west of where the church stood.  It’s about 180 feet (E to W) by about 110 feet (N to S) in size.  According to records, there should be well over 400 burials in the cemetery, both Mennonite and Lutheran, about half of that number being small children.  Workers in the cemetery started the restoration work by clearing weeds and stray trees and undergrowth and then locating all the grave markers.  When they started, it was possible to identify 73 grave markers but by September, 2023, they had discovered almost 50 additional markers.

Przechówko Cemetery gravestones

Quickly we learned a significant characteristic about the Przechówko cemetery that makes it entirely different to other Mennonite cemeteries in Poland: the age of the gravestones.  For instance, Heubuden cemetery near Malbork is probably a typical Mennonite cemetery in Poland.  Mennonites at Heubuden placed in their cemetery very large gravestones which were likely carved by professional masons.  The inscriptions are relatively easy to read and the vast majority of the stones are from the 19^th century.

On the other hand, many Mennonite gravestones still exist in the Przechówko cemetery but they are very different to what’s found at Heubuden.  At Przechówko, the Mennonite gravestones are simple field stones with crude inscriptions, probably carved by the villagers themselves.  These stones represent the 18^th century, in contrast to the 19^th century stones at Heubuden.

And that’s very significant because by today – the 21^st century – it’s very rare in Poland to find 18^th century gravestones still in their original spots – in a cemetery.  Most 18^th century gravestones, or even older ones, have either been removed to museums or destroyed altogether.  For instance, at the large Mennonite cemeteries at Schonsee or Obernessau, there might be only one or two 18^th century gravestones.  But at Przechówko, we don’t have just 1 or 2 or even 5 of these old gravestones – by my count there are 28 gravestones that date from the 1700s representing many lives that easily date even into the 1600s.  This is a totally unique characteristic of this cemetery which really makes it quite an astonishing historical treasure.

References:

Baue und Reparaturen an den Kirchen-, Pfarr- und Schulgebäuden zu Przechowko, 1854-1857.  I. HA Rep. 76, IX Sekt. 5 Lit. P Nr. 41.  Geheimes Staatsarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz.

Beuthner, Friedrich. Neuer und Alter Schreib Calender; Libra.  Danzig, 1686.

Crous, Ernst and Richard D. Thiessen. Przechovka (Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Poland) https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Przechovka_(Kuyavian%20Pomeranian_Voivodeship,_Poland)&oldid=174065. 21 July 2022. 18 April 2023.

Culm 2676. Topographische Karte 1:25 000 (Meßtischblatt) cz. wsch. (Ostdeutschland). 1906. Cropped.

Death records 1775-1829; Evangelische Kirche Schwetz (Krst. Schwetz). n.d. Ancestry.com. 18 April 2023.

Duerksen, Jacob A. "Przechowka and Alexanderwohl—Beginnings of Alexanderwohl, Tabor, Hoffnungsau and other Churches." Mennonite Life (1955): 76-82.

Dziennik Bydgoski, 25 September 1938: 19.

Goertz, Adalbert. FAQ: Preußen (Prussia) (https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/faq/faqpruss.htm?fbclid=IwAR0A0Gkf6oNR-E6XZ3Lm3SlhLDD3zJzAoGugc7WWrsz1DShcvZABVzD3Igc). n.d. 18 April 2023.

Klassen, Peter. Mennonites in Early Modern Poland and Prussia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2009.

Maercker, Hans. "Eine Polnische Starostei und ein Preussischer Landratskreis. Geschichte des Schwetzer Kreises 1466-1873." Zeitschrift des Westpreussischen Geschichtsvereins (1884).

Mennonites in the Przechowka Area, West Prussia. Compiled by Adalbert Goertz. (https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/przech.htm. n.d. 18 April 2023.

P35 S27 Grudziadz. WIG - Mapa Taktyczna Polski 1:100 000, Warsaw, 1933. Cropped.

Prussiae Vera Descriptio, Jan Baptista Vrients. Antwerp, 1608. Cropped.

Przechowka Church Records. Translated by Lydia Pankratz and Anna M. Unruh. https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/Przechowka_Church_Register.html. 15 October 2017. https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com. 18 April 2023.

Przechowka Village, 4 March 1773. Extracted by Glenn H. Penner, Translated by Sabine Akabayov. https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/1772/Przechowka.pdf. 30 December 2022. https://www.mennonitegenealogy.com/prussia/1772/West_Prussia_Census_1772.pdf. 18 April 2023.

Przechowka, West Prussia, Memberships lists for 1715 and 1733 from the Travel Diary of Hendrik Berents Hulshoff. Translated by Glenn H. Penner. https://mla.bethelks.edu/archives/cong_15/hulshoff.pdf . n.d. 18 April 2023.

Przechówko: dom (chałupa) nr 141 (16).  https://zabytek.pl/pl/obiekty/dom-(chalupa)-nr-141-(16-875964.  19 February 2025.

Przechowo: Act of Granting the Hereditary Possession of a Half of the Przechowo Vorwerk to 7 Previous Emphiteutic Tenants; 1774, 20th May. https://mla.bethelks.edu/archives/VI_53/Bydgoszcz/Przechowko/PrzechowkoBlatt6BydgoszczArchivesFond1881FileXXXX/IMG_3846.JPG, June 2023.  Translated by Michał Targowski, 2020.

Przechowo. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przechowo. 2 February 2023. 18 April 2023.

Rathslade. Olenderski Park Etnograficzny w Wielkiej Nieszawce.  Photo by the author.  2019.  

Ratzlaff, Erich. Im Weichselbogen Mennonitensiedlungen in Zentralpolen. Winnipeg: Christian Press, 1971.

Regestrum subsidii g[ener]alis palatinatus Pomeranie cum sius dismetibus, 1662.  Sygnatura

1/7/0/3/147.  Archiwum Główne Akt Dawnych w Warszawie, Archiwum Skarbu Koronnego.

 

Richert, John D. "Ministers of the Groningen Old Flemish Society of Mennonites in Poland and Prussia, 1765-1835." 2021.

von Schrötter, Friedrich Leopold. Karte von Ost-Preussen nebst Preussisch Litthauen und West-Preussen

nebst dem Netzdistrict 1:150 000, Marienwerder (XV).  Berlin, 1802. Cropped.

 

Schwetz 2576. Topographische Karte 1:25 000 (Meßtischblatt) cz. wsch. (Ostdeutschland). 1905.

Cropped.

 

Shapansky, Henry. The Mennonite Migrations (and the Old Colony, Russia). Rosenort, 2006.

Sulimierski, Chlebowski, Walewski, Et al. Geographical Dictionary of the Kingdom of Poland and Other Slavic Countries. Warsaw, 1880-1902.

Gemeindeverzeichnis Deutschland 1900, Königreich Preußen, Provinz Westpreußen, Regierungsbezirk Marienwerder, Landkreis Schwetz. Edited by Uli Schubert. https://www.gemeindeverzeichnis.de/gem1900/gem1900.htm?westpreussen/schwetz.htm. 22 September 2022. 18 April 2023.

“Visitationes Archidiaconatus Pomeraniae Hieronymo Rozrażewski Vladislaviensi et Pomeraniae :

Episcopo Factae. (Vol 2).”  Towarzystwo Naukowe w Toruniu; Fontes 2 (Torun 1898).

 

Wegner, Richard. Ein Permmersches Herzogthum und eine Deutsche Ordens-Komthurei; Kulturgeschichte des Schwetzer Kreises, Band I und II. Polen, 1872.

Zagroda Jednobudynkowa z Niedźwiedzia. Olenderski Park Etnograficzny w Wielkiej Nieszawce Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/olederskiparketnograficzny/photos/pb.100063661565807.-2207520000./642597092569011/?type=3. 17 January 2017.  18 April 2023. 

 

The Village of Przechówko, Part 2

 

1802 map showing Świecie (Schwetz) and Przechówko.[1]

A quality which makes the Przechówko group very unique among Vistula Mennonites was the way the church continually spawned filial communities in outlying areas or villages.  The first of these filials was established already near the turn of the 17^th century at Schönsee, about 10 miles (16 km) east of Przechówko on the right bank of the Vistula.  This expansion was necessitated by Vistula flooding which prevented right-bank villagers crossing the Vistula to attend church services in Przechówko.  In following years filials were established in Jeziorki (1727), near Drezdenko (Driesen) in the Neumark (1765), at Sady near Gąbin (Gombin) (c1787), at Deutsch Michalin by Makhnivka (Махнівка) (1791), and at Karolswalde by Ostroh (Острог) (1801).[2]  These filial settlements remained in close communication with one another, and adherents moved between the different settlements and will be discussed in more detail below.

In the summer of 1772 the great powers of the Habsburg Monarchy (Austria), the Kingdom of Prussia, and the Empire of Russia, began to divide and appropriate portions of Poland with the annexations known as the Partitions of Poland.  In the years 1772, 1793, and 1795, portions of Poland were annexed resulting in the elimination of the country as an independent sovereign entity.  Royal Prussia, the area where most Mennonites lived, was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia with the First Partition in 1772.  The basic area that had been Royal Prussia thereafter came to be known as West Prussia and many facets of life for the Mennonites changed.  The Prussians set about with their agenda meant to increase the prosperity of West Prussia.  Initiatives such as equality of rights among Catholics and Lutherans, financial support of protestant church and schools, abolition of serfdom, reconstruction of towns and cities, improvement and promotion of agriculture, and cultivation and administration of forests, were all implemented.[3]

Governmental administration in West Prussia was divided between Gdańsk (Danzig) in the north and Kwidzyn (Marienwerder) in the south.  A land survey was implemented which resulted in taxation reforms by 1784.  However, immediately upon annexation villagers in West Prussia were required to pay fees to help fortify the military – the Truppenmärschen and Festungsbauten.  These were heavy and oppressive fees.[4] 

At the time of the First Partition, the population of Mennonites in Polish lands was between 10-12,000 persons and in 1772, 25% of agricultural land of the Vistula delta was in Mennonite hands.[5]  Przechówko village was enumerated for taxation purposes in March 1773.  By the date of this census the village had grown to a total population of 95 persons.[6]  Cultivated land equaled 13 Hufen.[7]  The 12 wirtschaften divided 10 Hufen averaging .8 Hufe individually.  Together they shared an additional 3 Hufen.  The villagers kept horses and a small number of livestock (primarily dairy cattle) and collected hay from the southern half of the village lands; the meadow stretched toward the canal about ½ mile (0.8 km) south of the main village road.  The hay fed the dairy cattle which were the primary source of income.  The villagers also grew rye in fields stretching out to the north of the farmyards.  By the late 18^th century, the Mennonites also leased the folwark[8] (Vorwerk) immediately east of Przechówko which was owned by the village of Przechowo.  On the fields of the 6-Hufen folwark (≈8.2 Hufen after 1774) the Mennonites primarily grew rye but also a small amount of wheat, barley, oats, and peas.  Hay was also gathered here.[9]

The administration of the Mennonite village was set up with a mayor (Schulz) and two councilors (Rathsmänner).  Together, these three formed the Schulzenamt.  A leaseholding resident of the village was called a Nachbar (neighbor) and together, all the leaseholding residents were the Nachbarschaft (association of neighbors).  The Nachbarschaft and the Schulzenamt met regularly to manage all village matters.  Important village documents were held in the Rathslade (council-chest) which was a lockbox with three locks.  Each member of the Schulzenamt had a key so each needed to be present in order to open the box.

Rathslade; reconstruction from Olenderski Park Etnograficzny w Wielkiej Nieszawce.[10]

The Schulzenamt ensured proper use of standard weights and measures in the village.  It tracked thieves and punished petty abuses of crime.  Each member of the Nachbarschaft was responsible for his portion of dike or canal maintenance, hedge or fence maintenance, as well as ensuring his chimney was clean and cleared the top of his roof by at least one cubit.  The Schulzenamt would be responsible for estate administration in the event of the death of a Nachbar.  The village regulated itself according to the village ordinance code called Willkür (Wilkierz).

Each Nachbar needed a certificate of good standing to move into a village.  In addition to the Nachbarschaft, villages were home to a certain number of Einwohner (aka Einlieger or Instleute) or landless residents.  These landless folks would be tenants to a Nachbar and therefore some houses would be occupied by multiple families.  Before a Nachbar could take on an Einwohner, the Einwohner’s residency needed to be approved by the Nachbarschaft.  Similarly, if a Nachbar wanted to take in a widow, the action would need approval.  An Einwohner would make a living by doing blacksmith work or carpentry or weaving or cobbling or the like.

Mennonites, like the general population, were subject to several different forms of taxation.  In addition to the poll tax (Poglowne or Kopfschatz/Kopfgeld), villagers were subject to a progressive tax on property (Podymne or Rachfangsteuern), a tax on cultivated land (Pobor or Hufenschoss), a tax on livestock (Rogowe or Horngeld), and the Hyberne which was a tax in lieu of quartering soldiers (after the standing army had been established in 1717).  Mennonites were further required to pay a surcharge on their Kopfschatz since they were exempt from the military.  They also were required to pay the Rogowe at a double rate in certain years.[11]

In 1776 there were approximately 1,059 Mennonites living in the Vistula River valley between Nowe (Neuenburg) and Świecie/Chełmno.  The Mennonites inhabited at least 20 different villages.  Przechówko was populated by 17 men and 16 women, 25 sons and 17 daughters, with an additional 5 male and 1 female servants.  Of the 20 villages populated by Mennonites in the area, only Gross Lubin, Niedergruppe, Montau, and Jeziorki, had larger numbers of Mennonite residents.[12]

Even before the Second Partition of Poland in 1793, Vistula Mennonites who resisted assimilation to the Kingdom of Prussia and sought new economic opportunities began moving into Imperial Russia.  Large colonies were established in New Russia by Mennonites who planned to take advantage of the benefits granted foreign colonists by the tsars.  Some Old Flemish Mennonites associated with Przechówko had already moved into the Russian Governorate of Volyn within the first few years of the 19^th century.[13] 

Some of the Mennonites who began moving into Imperial Russia escaped the devastation of the Napoleonic invasions of the early 19^th century.  La Grande Armée advanced into the Przechówko area by winter of 1806 and the occupation of troops caused severe hardship on all the people of the Vistula valley.  Between 1806 and 1815 French, Prussian, and Russian soldiers requisitioned money, horses, cattle, swine, carts, hay, oats, wheat, rye, rations, weapons, tools, implements, and clothing from the peasants of the lowlands.  Villagers were forced to help build a bridgehead, Grudziądz was besieged for almost a year, and cattle became infected and died.  The area was so ravaged it took more than 20 years to recover.  Sweeping military changes were made in reaction to the French invasions and a new general military conscription law was passed by the Prussian government in 1813-14.[14]  Indeed, correspondence exists written among Przechówko church leaders that clearly shows the Mennonites’ anxiety regarding the political situation during this time.[15]

The Mennonites who remained in Przechówko struggled to rebuild their lives after the invasions.  But by 1819, the remainder of Mennonites at Przechówko also made plans to move into the Russian Empire.  By 1821, they moved to the Molotschna Colony, immediately north of Melitopol' (Мелітополь) in present-day Ukraine, founding the villages of Alexanderwohl and Franzthal.[16]

Of course, a very small number of Mennonites stayed in the Przechówko area after 1821.  These either joined the nearby Montau or Schönsee Mennonite congregations or intermarried into Lutheran families in Przechówko or other adjacent villages.  Mennonite names could be found among Przechówko villagers right up until the early 20^th century.[17]

Wintersdorf (Przechówko), 1905/1906[18]

After the Mennonites migrated away from Prussia, Przechówko became populated by German Evangelical Lutherans.  Indeed, these Lutherans can be seen creeping into the Przechówko death records already by 1819.  The names of the Lutheran villagers which occur most often in the death records include Fölske, Wordelmann, Brüschke, Lüdtke, and Zieroth.  In contrast to some of the Mennonite families who could have lived in Przechówko for more than 200 years, these Lutheran families appear to have moved in and out of the village far more frequently.  The families Brüschke and Müller were by far the most durable Lutheran families, residing in the village for perhaps even more than 80 years.  The families Köpke, Fölske, and Will, appear to have resided in the village for more than 50 years.  In all, families with more than 150 different surnames populated the village for the period 1821-1930.  These Lutheran villagers were members of the Kirchspiel of Schwetz and appear to have moved about from village to village in a way comparable to the Mennonites.  Families with surnames similar to those at Przechówko also populated villages such as Konopat, Jeziorki, Kosowo, Christkowo, Ostrower Kaempe, etc., where Mennonites also formerly lived.[19]

 

Przechówko and environs, 1933[20]

In either 1823 or 1833 the Lutheran residents constructed the first school building in the village and in 1852 that structure burned down.  Documents related to the rebuilding of the school tell us only very little about the village during the mid-19th century.  Przechówko in 1854 was divided into 16 farms and there were also 5 Einwohner (Einlieger) families present.  The Schulze was Jacob Wolter (b1803-d1856).  Like the Mennonites before them, the Lutheran families were generally of very modest means.  The soil in the village fields was very sandy and the whole was still prone to spring flooding from the Vistula River.[21]  The villagers held 150 Morgen of meadow, 98 Morgen of productive land, and a further 54.5 Morgen, for a total of 302.5 Morgen of land.[22]

After the formation of the German Empire in 1871, Przechówko village was officially renamed Wintersdorf.  Other nearby villages were also renamed; for instance, Dworzysko became Wilhelmsmark, Przechowo became Schönau, etc.  Some local records reflect the name change by the year 1876.[23]

By the late 19^th century, the village had subdivided into 17 wirtschaften.  The number of wirtschaften fluctuated somewhat indicating villagers divided their plots.  In 1893 there were 17 properties, in the 1920s: 17, in 1942: 20.  In 1910 there were 92 einwohner in the village.[24] 

The most recent specific event that can be found about the German villagers in Przechowko is listed in a local newspaper, the Bydgoszcz Journal, on 25 September 1938.  The paper reports that on the 22^nd, a very sad and probably rare story unfolded in Przechowko.  Members of the Zieroth family went to their fields to harvest potatoes but 64-year-old Zelma stayed behind to prepare dinner.  When the other family members returned home, they found a broken window.  Upon entering the home, they saw that the rooms had been ransacked; chests of drawers were all opened and clothes were thrown about.  There was no immediate sign of Zelma.  Upon investigating the cellar, the unfortunate family found Zelma, deceased and hanging from a beam.  Money an valuables were later discovered missing so the case was treated as a robbery/homicide by local authorities in Świecie.[25]  The results of the ensuing investigation are unknown.

In 1961 the Mondi paper plant was established, and it became functional in 1966.  The plant today occupies land which previously served as meadowland for the village of Przechówko.

---

[1] von Schrötter, Friedrich Leopold. Karte von Ost-Preussen nebst Preussisch Litthauen und West-Preussen

nebst dem Netzdistrict

[2] Richert, John D. “Ministers of the Groningen Old Flemish Society”.

[3] Maercker, Hans. Eine Polnische Starostei, pp 67-78.

[4] Ibid., p 74.

[5] Shapansky, Henry. The Mennonite Migrations, pp 97, 109.

[6] Przechowka Village, 4 March 1773. Extracted by Glenn H. Penner, Translated by Sabine Akabayov.

[7] According to Adelbert Goertz, 1 Culmisch Hufe = 30 Morgen (=16.8 ha = ca 41.5 acres).  Goertz, Adalbert. FAQ: Preußen (Prussia).

[8] Folwark was also known as Przechowski Folwark and later called Marienhöhe.  Sulimierski, Chlebowski, Walewski, Et al. Geographical Dictionary, Volume IX, p127.

[9] Przechowka Village, 4 March 1773. Extracted by Glenn H. Penner, Translated by Sabine Akabayov.  Until 1774 the Mennonites lease 6 Hufen of the folwark, after 1774 they leased the entire folwark which amounted to approximately 8.2 Hufen according to Przechowo: Act of Granting the Hereditary Possession…1774.

[10] Rathslade. Olenderski Park Etnograficzny w Wielkiej Nieszawce.

[11] Maercker, Hans. Eine Polnische Starostei, pp28-9.  It should also be noted that some taxes were not levied every year.  For instance, the Rogowe was only apparently levied in 1673, ‘76, ‘77, ‘97, 1700, and 1701.

[12] Ibid., p 80.  Maercker names 1789 as the date of these statistics, however, the numbers are identical to those found in the 1776 census of Mennonites in West Prussia.  Some villages, such as Deutsch Konopat and Ostrower Kaempe, seem to have escaped this list.

[13] Namely, Karolswalde and Antonowka.  These colonies did not enjoy the same benefits as did colonies in New Russia.

[14] Maercker, Hans. Eine Polnische Starostei, pp 67, 74, 334-7.  See the males listed from Przechówko, as well as surrounding villages, at Mennonites in the Przechowka Area, West Prussia. Compiled by Adalbert Goertz.

[15] Peter Ratzlaff to Peter Kerber 26 May 1813 (translated by John D. Richert; see https://mla.bethelks.edu/archives/elecrec1669/Ms%201252/); Wilhelm Lange to Peter Wedel 12 Apr 1815 (translated by John D. Richert; see https://mla.bethelks.edu/archives/mf_mss_139/lange/2.jpg).

[16] Duerksen, Jacob A. "Przechowka and Alexanderwohl”. 

[17] Death records 1775-1829.

[18] Culm 2676 and Schwetz 2576.

[19] Death records 1775-1829.

[20] P35 S27 Grudziadz.

[21] Baue und Reparaturen an den Kirchen-, Pfarr- und Schulgebäuden zu Przechowko.  The records indicate that the fire occurred in 1823 or 1833; Leonhard Stobbe indicates it was 1832.  Since there was no school building prior to this we can conclude the Mennnonites did not have a dedicated school building but instead used the church.

[22] Ibid., According to the March 1773, the Mennonite Przechówko possessed 300 Culmisch Morgen of land.

[23] Death records 1775-1829.

[24] Gemeindeverzeichnis Deutschland 1900, edited by Uli Schubert.

[25] Dziennik Bydgoski, 25 September 1938.