Migration - East Prussia to West Prussia 1840-1850's

ow-preussen-l
1

Hallo Rolf Peter:

Thanks again for your informative response. I sure am learning a lot
from you and do appreciate your help. Your answer brings to mind another
question though. Reussen, which (thanks to you) we now know is a regular
Dorf and not connected with an estate. The old family story in my
family is that when my great-grandma left and came to America in 1898,
her parents remained behind and her father was a sharecropper for a
wealthy man. Therefore, I am assuming that he had that occupation when
she left in 1898. I know that my great-grandma was born in Reussen in
1880. Her name was Paulina Liebert. I also know that she was last
living with an Aunt named Susanna Liebert-Boettcher in Seegenau in Kreis
Rosenberg when she left and came to America in 1898. The timeperiod
between 1880 (Reussen) and 1898 (Seegenau) is a blank for me.

Therefore, I'm assuming that since Reussen is not connected with an
estate, that "her father could not have been a sharecropper while living
in Reussen." Is that a safe assumption? Or, hypothetically, would a
person living in the Dorf of Reussen travel a further distance to a farm
to work on a daily basis so that they could qualify as a "sharecropper
living in Reussen?" In other words, my question is - if a Village/Dorf
is not connected to an estate, would there be any farm laborers living in
that Village/Dorf? I'm trying to picture what my great-grandma's father
might have done for a living in this village of Reussen. Were there any
farmer laborers that would live in a Dorf that was not connected to an
estate?

If your answer is that there would be no sharecroppers living in a Dorf
that is not connected with an estate (Reussen), then that would be a good
indication that even though my great-grandma was born in Reussen in 1880,
her family didn't remain there, and at some later point, her father
became a sharecropper somewhere else by the time my great-grandmother
left for the United States in 1898. Am I understanding this right? What
I am trying to do here is to find out WHERE her parents lived when she
left in 1898.

Thank you for sending the link to the map. Although I already do have
maps that show Reussen, I had not see this particular one. I was about
to ask you how I might find out which villages were Gutsdorf or Rittergut
or had Rittergut attached to them, but now I see that I can use this map
to do that. Do you know if there is the same type of map just to the
west of the one that you sent that would show Kreis Rosenberg with the
boxes with the antennas which denotes estates? Or, are you aware of
any list of Rittergut or Gutsdorf over time on the internet somewhere?

Thanks so much Rolf Peter. I am very grateful for all of your help.
Regards,
Laura

2

" The old family story in my
family is that when my great-grandma left and came to America in 1898,
her parents remained behind and her father was a sharecropper for a
wealthy man. Therefore, I am assuming that he had that occupation when
she left in 1898. I know that my great-grandma was born in Reussen in
1880. Her name was Paulina Liebert. I also know that she was last
living with an Aunt named Susanna Liebert-Boettcher in Seegenau in Kreis
Rosenberg when she left and came to America in 1898. The timeperiod
between 1880 (Reussen) and 1898 (Seegenau) is a blank for me."

As I pointed out before, it is probably just a family myth that your
great-great-grandfather was a sharecropper, as there were no sharecroppers
in the American sense of the term in Prussia at the end of the 19th century.
Most likely, your relatives just used an American term of which they might
have thought it came closest to your great-great-grandfather's occupation.
American 'sharecroppers' (and this expression is a uniquely American one),
in the literal sense of the term, shared their crops with the owners of the
land they worked on. In contrast to this, Prussian farm laborers, in
exchange for their work, received what I have already listed from the owner
of the land. As you point out yourself, your forefather worked "for a
wealthy man" who would most likely have been a farmer at Reussen.

"Therefore, I'm assuming that since Reussen is not connected with an
estate, that 'her father could not have been a sharecropper while living
in Reussen.' Is that a safe assumption?"

Yes, it is.

" Or, hypothetically, would a
person living in the Dorf of Reussen travel a further distance to a farm
to work on a daily basis so that they could qualify as a 'sharecropper
living in Reussen?'"

No, see above.

" In other words, my question is - if a Village/Dorf
is not connected to an estate, would there be any farm laborers living in
that Village/Dorf? "

Sure, since farm laborers also worked for farmers, not just for estate
owners.

"Were there any
farm laborers that would live in a Dorf that was not connected to an
estate?"

Yes, see above.

"... and at some later point, her father
became a sharecropper somewhere else by the time my great-grandmother
left for the United States in 1898. Am I understanding this right?"

No, see above. 'Sharecropper' is the wrong concept. If he worked for 'a
wealthy man', he was a farm laborer.

"What
I am trying to do here is to find out WHERE her parents lived when she
left in 1898."

Alright, but this cannot be deduced from the above answers.
Answers could be provided by civil registry records or, perthaps, by the
Mormon Church that collects such data world wide.

" Do you know if there is the same type of map just to the
west of the one that you sent that would show Kreis Rosenberg with the
boxes with the antennas which denote estates?"

Yes, there is a similar map showing Seegenau Kreis Rosenberg, West Prussia.
Please turn to

www.kartenmeister.com/preview/map/images/Deutsch-Eylau_27.jpg

And finally, thank you for not including previous messages in your mails,
since there are certain individuals who have already complained about this
practise..

Regards,

Rolf-Peter