A Mother’s Quest For A Better Life
By Harold D. Kauffman
(Excerpts)
(Page 34)
Heeding the invitation of a former German princess, Catherine the Great, who had assumed the throne of the Tsar, they fled poverty and the greedy dukes who conscripted their young men and sold them as mercenaries to the highest bidder. Their homes and small fields had been destroyed repeatedly by the ravages of European wars, and the legions who had bled upon them were made up of their sons.
Knowing the desperation of her countrymen, Catherine appealed not only to their land hunger but also promised freedom of religion and language, financial aid and transportation costs, a tax-free existence for years, and above all, freedom from military conscription in perpetuity. Although some came from other parts of Europe, 27,000 had set out from Germany, abandoning whole villages and frightening their dukes into banning further emigration.
Among these Rhenish and Saxon settlers had been the ancestors of Maria Dorothea and Martin Gruenwald who had helped to found the village that lay southwest of Saratov on the Medveditsa River. The Russians called it Medveditskoi-Krestovoi-Buerak, but the German settlers knew it by the name of its first mayor—Frank.
In 1871 their families had taken them at age 13 to new lands on the east side of the Volga River where they joined a new colony—Krijovar, or as it was known to the German residents: Brunnental, Spring Valley.
(Page 35)
…The lives of the young people followed the seasons. A short period of hard work during the brief Russian summers was followed by the severe winters. Situated in an area that was open to both east and west, the colonists found themselves living in a mixed culture. Although Brunnental was staunchly Lutheran, near it were Roman Catholic, Mennonite and Reformed villages. Interspersed were Orthodox villages of Russians.
Each summer Muslim tradesmen and artisans would come form the area around the Caspian Sea, and it was at Martin’s home that they often stayed while in Brunnental. The settlers realized that the camel was probably well suited to their land, and soon the tall dromedary joined the horses and oxen of their tradition. Camels would eat the Russian thistle and thrive, and so these were gathered in the summer while tender and piled on shed roofs where they provided fodder for the camel in winter.
The broad, splayed hooves of the camels made them sure-footed in the snow, and their wool grew thick and luxurious in the winter cold. In the spring this provided the housewife with a rich crop of wool for spinning into soft, warm garments and blankets.
…As early as 1871 (MY NOTES: 5 years before David Ehlenberger’s birth), the privileges granted by Catherine the Great were revoked. A new interpretation of “perpetuity” was accepted and, after one hundred years, the final blow came in 1874 with the conscription of young men from the German villages for a five-year peiord of military duty.
Maria Dorothea’s eldest son was among those called up in 1901, and upon his return in 1905, he told of the disaster of the Japanese war and of the uprising he had witnessed while on duty in Kiev. As the new head of the family, he convinced his mother that the time had come for emigration. Early in 1907 the second son and his bride departed for Kansas and then Nebraska, preparing for the family to follow the next year.
(MY NOTES: Why is this relevant? David Ehlenberger fought in this same war, and also emigrated in 1907. Additionally, I remember my grandmother [David’s daughter] mention that they stopped to visit relatives in Kansas/Nebraska while en route to Oregon from the east coast on their return from Russia in January of 1914.
Also interesting, is that this story refers to a “David” who was Maria Dorothea’s cousin, who helped her across the frozen plains when her husband died. He saved her life. I have come across very few “David”s in my research of Brunnental, other than this story and my great-grandfather.)
(Page 36)
As the hot summer days wore on, another danger reappeared: cholera raged across the Russian countryside. Anna, Maria Dorothea’s daughter-in-law, began to fear for the lives of her three sons, her own life and loved ones. Adamantly she pleaded that they leave immediately, that winter would be too late.
In concert with relatives and friends, including David, the faithful cousin (MY NOTES: this would eliminate him from being David Ehlenberger because David Ehlenberger emigrated in May, 1907 on the Umbria. There could still be a connection, however.), the widow made arrangements, selling unharvested crops and other possessions for a pittance. In late August thirteen people set out by rail on the first leg of their trip to America.
Conditions on the train were crude. Benches ran down each side of the car; above these were shelves for baggage, and in the aisles lay the large bags and bundles of the emigrants upon which many sat and slept. Lice infested everyone. On the third day, Anna, the daughter-in-law, her guard momentarily lowered, purchased some fresh fruit from a peasant along the route. Within three days she was seized by the horrible disease she so feared.
The entire Brunnental party was put off the train at a small Ukrainian town and lodged in the station. Anna was placed in a rail car on the siding, and her husband and another young man cared for her. On the second day the three were taken by freight car to the nearest city. Upon arrival, they were placed in quarantine on a siding, and the young mother died.
…Once reunited, the party continued to Libau, where on Oct. 7, 1907, they were to embark upon the Russian East Asiatic Steamship Co.’s vessel, Estonia. Twenty days later they arrived in New York after a stormy North Atlantic voyage, during which the barrels of salted meat spilled, spoiling most of the dry staples. Upon arrival at Ellis Island, smallpox was discovered on the ship, and all its passengers were quarantined on a neighboring island for several days.
(Page 38)
…Maria Dorothea had grieved for her missing daughter for years. First came the hardships of World War I, followed by communist Revolution which raged back and forth across the German colonies for several years, both sides wreaking retribution upon the detested Germans.
Surviving this era and the starvation years of 1920 and 1921, Anna Margaret’s husband was executed or deported as a kulak, and his considerable property was confiscated. Another period of deprivation followed in 1928 through 1932 during the first five-year plan when Stalin’s forced collectivization of farm land resulted in another severe famine…
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