Chapter 2 What was it like in the south of Russia in 1811?

When Heinrich Schmidt arrived with his family on the vast prairie in southern Russia, no one else lived there. Only half-civilized nomadic tribes of Tartars roamed the area.

The colonists built the original 48 villages like Rúckenau (est. 1811) and Schardau (est. 1820) along the Molotschna (which means milk) River that flows into the Black Sea. The later villages were established every one to three miles along the streams and tributaries. They were strung out along the dusty, country road like beads scattered along a string.

Everyone lived along the main village street. The plots of land divided among the original settlers were 180 feet by 720 feet with the house set back from the main road. Although the first houses were made of sod, by the time Abraham was born in 1850, everyone had rebuilt their house in the precious lumber that was brought in by wagon from hundreds of miles away. The farmland lay behind the houses, all in an orderly fashion. Because of the cold winters, the settlers attached the houses to their chicken coops and stock pens. They did this so they wouldn't have to go out in the cold and rain to take care of the animals, but it gave the impression that the animals lived in the house with them.

The early economy of the colony began with sheep and cattle raising. Wool was in demand in Europe (do you care that it was because of the demand for uniforms caused by the Napoleanic Wars?). The expanse of waving grasses made sheep raising easy and profitable. As transportation developed and markets became more accessible, agriculture turned more toward wheat farming. (Henderson Mennonites: From Holland to Henderson by Stanley E. Voth 1982)

Was Heinrich Schmidt a farmer?
Not everyone was a farmer. Abraham wrote in his diary that his father Heinrich "was a chauffeur for a wealthy miller in Russia".

 

Some of the people had small businesses like the blacksmith, dressmaker, cabinetmaker, wheelwright, and weaver. These businesses apprenticed children and taught them skills in return for their labor.

There were also 13 "hollander" mills in the Molotschna colony. The owners of these mills were often wealthy because the climate was perfect for growing cereal crops. The average farm grew 500 pounds of wheat per acre. 

The Mennonite farmers grew rye to make their famous "black bread". They also developed a particularly hardy strain of wheat that came to be known as "Turkey Red". The Mennonite farmers brought this wheat to the United States in the 1870's. According to the previously mentioned book about Henderson (see above) all the wheat grown in America today came from the Mennonites' Turkey Red.

The wealthy millers employed many servants including chauffeurs to drive their carriages and their wagons. The wagon driver hauled the flour in long wagon trains to the port city of Berdjansk on the Sea of Azov  about 60 miles away. Cornelius Janzen, a grain dealer, bought and sold wheat for the Mennonites.

So perhaps Heinrich got a job driving the wheat to the port city. What an exciting job for a young man!

What happened next? The next installment will be about Heinrich and his wife Katharina and the birth of our grandfather/greatgrandfather/2xgreatgrandfather Abraham Schmidt.