lands in the
Novorossian region note that the settling of the region was by means of a
survey undertaken by the Russian government, and detailed drawings
locating the foreigners were superimposed.. m connection with these
special rules for the General Survey of Novorossia, which were prepared by
the Senate with royal approval, February 27,1820, future allotments of
land were foreseen for villages of foreign settlers of the crown
department, that is, for colonists30. A special survey was conducted in me
Ekaterinoslav Province by a local intermediary commission beginning in
1839 and was completed in 1878 (31).
Landownership in Bessarabia, which until its union with Russia was
subject to the laws and rule of the Moldavian and Turetz governments, was
found to be in a state of extreme disorder. Lands had been distributed by
the princes to their own subjects and were given names by the estate.
After unification with the empire, the first order was to take steps to
identify lands located in the southern part of Bessarabia which had
belonged exclusively to the Turetz people. These were designated for
settlement by crown peasants from the interior Russian provinces and by
foreign colonists. The survey of this region of Bessarabia was assigned to
the topographic department of the military; the surveyed lands belonged to
the crown villages, to the colonists, and part of them was granted to
individuals. The remaining sections of Bessarabian lands were held by
churches, monasteries, towns, and private owners. A Bessarabian survey
office was established for surveying the land in this part of Bessarabia,
which consisted of the districts of Orgeyev, Yassk and Khotin, and for the
settlement of disputes in the districts of Akkerman and Bender in 1818.
This office also developed regulations for conducting its business
affairs. On the basis of these rules the survey office conducted surveys
by means of forwarding the work to three survey commissions: Orgeyev,
Sorok-Yassk and Khotin. Since the work of the office was recorded in the
Moldavian language until 1853, the commission records of the office were
translated into the Russian language for the first half of the 19th
century. By 1888 in the Bessarabian Province, 2308 land surveys were made,
from which 2438 plots were planned. In 1891, the Bessarabian Survey Office
and its commissions were abolished, and the unfinished work of the General
Survey was transferred to the Kishinev District Court. The Bessarabian
Provincial Government was in charge of conducting the Special Survey in
the province. On the whole, the survey of Bessarabia was accomplished
under the rules of the local surveyors, and conducted on the basis of
local survey laws which functioned in each area.
The detailed nature of the survey documents is reflects definite
themes: the limits of neighboring plots of land, the interrelation of the
owners in this oblast, and the settlement of disputed land questions.
Recognition of these themes was arrived at as a result of an analysis of
the materials which have been discovered in the archival fond. In the
first place they contain the surveyors' characterization of the
relationships of Jewish colonists and neighboring landowners, based upon
information which appears in the lawsuits connected with clarifying me
boundaries of the lands of Jewish colonists. But apart from this, and more
apparent, these sources ("written field survey procedures" with attached
survey plans and drawings) give a meticulous description of the Jewish
settlements: their location, the layout of adjacent population centers and
their owners, the landscape, grassland, roads, the layout of the
settlements, and the number of inhabitants and their occupations, which
includes information of a genealogical character (family lists of Jews
with the indication of the elders-mayors and their deputy assistants. All
the survey documents of the central and local offices, which are now kept
in RGADA, were, until the revolution in 1917, in the archive of the Survey
Office in Moscow, and from 1918 -1939 in the Central Survey Archive. These
sources have not been used in earlier research concerning Jews.
III
It should be noted that the General Survey of the land areas of the
neighboring colonies of the Alexandrov District, Gorkaya, Preyutnaya,
Veselaya, Roskoshnaya, Novo-Zlatopol and Bogodarovka took place in 1801
when most Jewish villages did not yet exist. The "economy; notes" to the
plans of the General Survey for this period were laid aside in the
archive; they contain a detailed description in the survey of two sections
of vacant crown lands (former estates) of 2861and 16616 dessiatines (32) ~
the future areas of the colonies of Priyutin and Novozlatopol. There is
also the description of the privately owned uncultivated land of Major
Mamayev Skotovsky (34) 40 dessiatines (33), on which the Jewish colony of
Krasnoselk was established.
All these sections were placed within natural boundaries between the
small rivers of Sukh Yanchul, the tributary river Volcha, and the Solena,
a tributary of the Yanchul River. The first two sections were accepted by
the colonial departments of the Ekaterinoslav Bureau of State Properties
in 1848 (34). The textual information about the location of this region is
consolidated in the manuscripts "special geometric plans" of the crown
lands (1827) which were allotted by the Ekaterinoslav Survey Office for
future settlement (35).
Information concerning nine Jewish colonies of the Ekaterinoslav
Province from 1862 - 1884, including genealogical data, is concentrated in
the archival collection "The Materials of the General and Special Surveys
for the Ekaterinoslav Province" (Fond 1308). Specifically, it is in a
series named "small file" (Inventory 5 of the fond} which relates to
questions concerning the restoration in the second half of the 19th
century of the boundaries of sections of land of the Aleksandrovsk
district which separate them from neighboring properties ("written field
boundary proceedings" concerning landed estates or the delineating of them
from other estates). On the one hand, these materials are a graphic
example of the lengthy process in the resolutions of similar land disputes
in Russia, and, on the other hand, the archival record contains a rich
personification of a collection of individuals from the top leadership of
the colony guardians, mayors, deputy assistants, trustees from village
communities and ordinary colonists). Carried in me number on the list of
Jews are - "home owners" (owners of homesteads) - who signed lay
agreements at assembly meetings.
The chief source for names of colonists of the Alexandrov District
appears in an analysis of the multi-year dispute concerning the renewal of
boundaries and boundary markers for land in the colony of Gorky and their
neighbors in the Jewish villages. This dispute began in 1862, when, at the
insistence of the Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers of the
Southern District of Russia, a decree was issued, which followed the
Ekaterinoslav Province rules, for the renewal of surveys of the boundaries
between the lands of the colony of Gorky and the land owners Ivanitzky and
Dvuryechenta -- the
village of Semenov (36). The record -- the proceedings, the renewals
-- was completed only in December, 1880, when the final
documentation of the survey work was sent to the survey office for
examination, verified as correct, and confirmed in May, 1881 (37).
This decision was announced in 1882,1883,and 1884 in the village
assemblies of the Jewish colonies, at which time they were given evidence
of acceptance by land owners, and assurances by the mayors of Gorky,
Priyutnaya, Bogodarov, Krasnocelk and Novo- Zlatopol38. The village
assemblies of colonists also elected representatives from among them who
would be present during the survey and express the interests of the
colonists. These representatives as a rule, were reelected from the number
of "honored land owners, of good moral conduct, not under court
investigation". Often such persons were mayors (village elders) or
assistants (powerful elders); the assemblies also nominated and confirmed
prosperous and authoritative landowners along with them. Sometimes these
elected representatives served several years in succession, that is, they
were elected repeatedly, a fact that says much about their positions in
the communal environment. The signatures of the Jewish land owners appear
in the actions taken during the survey.
Technically, the lay agreement is represented in the following document
as: the underlying reason for the gathering of the colonists and the
results of the election of trustees (recorded by clerks); the decipherment
of signatures (also by the clerks) and the actual signatures of the
landowners in the Jewish language. The decision in the Russian language is
witnessed by the mayors of the colonies and secured with the seal of the
village authority. It should be emphasized that only landowners affixed
signatures to the agreement, that is, only the chief families (and
sometimes also several families to me extent that several families could
live on one homestead, each having their own homes).Because of this the
lists lack the names of women, children and several families with small
properties. Keep in mind that not all landowners who had the right to sign
similar acts, attended the general assembly; in these cases their
signatures are absent from the agreement. Nevertheless, the list of
signatures can indirectly give evidence of the overall numbers of the
population in any colony, and of the dynamics of then- growth or decline.
By way of example, some numerical facts about the number of landowners
from lay agreements for different years are cited: Gorky - 24 (1874), 21
(1877), 20 out of 29 (1879), 21 (1882); Priyutaaya - 25 (1874), 21 out of
37 (1879), 18 (1882); Bogodarovka - 21 (1874), 17 (1877), 21 out of 45
(1879), Novo-Zlatopol - 36 (1877), 43 (1879), 32 (1882); Veselaya - 23
(1877); Krasnocelka - 29 (1877), 32 (1879), 31 (1882), 27 (1883)39. From
the given list it is evident that in some cases both the number of those
present in the assembly of landowners and the whole number of land owners
is indicated; this proves that far from all members of me assembly
attended and, accordingly, signed the agreement (the figures of the whole
number of landowners and those actually found in the assembly differs
considerably.)d
Besides this, families of Jewish colonists who were brought in by
trustees from adjacent population centers (for example, the colonies of
Zatish, Ravnopol, and Khiebodarov) while me surveys were being conducted
in neighborhoods with colonies of landowners, are encountered in the
documents'". It is interesting that in a number of cases, because of
errors by me trustees, other persons were recorded in the documents. It is
evident mat inability of the Jewish colonists to read and write in Russian
was a fairly typical occurrence.
Information about the settlement of the colonies can be found in the
final documents of the survey work, and statements by the trustees:
1846-Novo-Zlatopol, 1854 - Gorkaya, Priyutaaya and Bogodarovka41.
Thus, the materials of the disputed survey affairs(1862-1884) provide
valuable information concerning the land relationships of Jewish colonies
with the adjacent Russian villages, the events of life within a colony
relating to land problems, and finally, about the colonists themselves.
The lists of the Jewish farmers contained in assembly agreements for more
than a decade and a half enable one to trace the family ties of the
colonists, to define the larger circles of their families, and identify
the elected leaders and trustees in the affairs of the colonies.
Information concerning the Bessarabian Jewish colonies appears in the
archival collection "Materials of the General and Special Surveys of the
Bessarabian Province" (Fond 1299), which is contained in one inventory.
Also in the case of Ekaterinoslav Jewish villages, information about the
colonists of Bessarabia is contained in "written field survey proceedings"
with supplements of survey diagrams and drawings, which give a detailed
economic-statistical and geographical description of the Jewish colonies.
Here the information which includes textual materials is harmoniously
supplemented by graphic information of hand-written cartographic sources.
The lay agreements by the village assemblies of Jewish landowners
inspire greater interest in mis series of records (as in the colonies of
the Ekaterinoslav Province). However, the questions which were decided by
the general assemblies in Bessarabia were somewhat broader. Lay agreements
did not only record the selection of trustees from the colonists for
conducting
the survey. We encounter here the power of attorney ("letter of trust")
of the Jewish petty bourgeoise of the Podol'sky Province, who selected
trustees who represented their interests in the selection and purchase of
individual land for settlement. There are also deeds of purchase, mat is,
documents by certain powerful Jewish groups, wishing to create a colony.
These documents reflect the first steps which proceeded the creation of a
certain settlements. Thanks to mis fact, we not only possess information
about the number and personal makeup of the colonies (for example the
first settlers - the founders of the colony), about the places they came
from (towns or villages), the tithe the village was created, the former
owners of the land, and so forth.
By comparing the texts of the authorities, the purchase deeds, and lay
agreements, we can leam how many then and who specifically of the settlers
wanting at first to become farmers actually did - not all of them decided
to transfer to another neighborhood; only as tithe passed in the search
for a suitable plot of land and other dungs did they make the decision.
Surname lists from the powers of attorney, deeds of purchase and lay
agreements give the following picture of the number of Jews in the
Bessarabian colonies: Dumbraveni - 24(1846), 63 (1888); Vertuzhani - 42
(1838), 36 (1885);Lublin-45 (1856), 75 (1866); Brichova- 35 (1836),
51(1878); Vafya-lui-Vlad - 70 (1836), 80 (1839), 38(1886)42.
The discovery in the archives of materials of the General and Special
Surveys of the land in Bessarabia touches upon the history, geography,
economy and genealogy of 10 local Jewish settlements out of 16: inthe
Sorok District - Dymbraveni, Vertyuzhani, Kapreshti, Lyublin (Nemyerovka),
Brichova, Zguritsa, Markuleshti (Starovka); in the Orgeyev District -Shibka;
in the Khotim District - Lomachintsi(Vishneva); in the Yassk (Bel'ts)
District - Valya-lui-Vlad. The history of the colonies listed is
indissolubly connected to the history of the populated centers (ancestral
lands) of the land on which they were settled.
The chronological limits of the sources, containing genealogical
information for all these Jewish villages of the Bessarabian Province, are
from 1836 to 1899.Several words about the method used in the publication
of surnames of Jewish colonists. The sign (X) signifies that among the
inhabitants of the colony one surname represents two and more men.
Incidentally, there are in many cases in the original sources (cited in
the name index attached to me doctoral dissertation defended by D.A.
Feldman, Candidate of Historical Science, The Russian State University,
1996 ) the indication of the homeland which allows one to determine the
family ties of landowners: blood-related brothers, fathers and sons. But
even in the absence of the patronymic we can determine with a high degree
of probability the affiliation of all those with the same family names in
the colony to be one and the same families. Sometimes their number
according to the documents for several decades totals ten men. One should
note, that a characteristic occurrence in the paperwork of
pre-revolutionary Russia was the practice of the irregular recording of
the place names, surnames and names, particularly of non-Russians. There
are a great number of similar occurrences in studies of archival sources.
Evidently, clerks experienced great difficulty while compiling documents
because of the complexity of the pronunciation and spelling of Jewish
surnames. And even the knowledge of Russian grammar and Jewish writing was
far from perfect In naming event the same person in different documents
one often encounters several variations of the surname or name: it is
clear that one and another of the same surname changed at me time of
writing, omitting or adding letters. Therefore the author had to combine
several variations of the written names and surnames of Jews of a certain
colony into just one, more prevalent version. Take note, that in the
original source C in the
attached name index - after the basic version of the surname, name, and
patronymic of a specific person there are all the other versions of the
recorded surname, name and patronymic of this colonist taken from the
texts of the documents, and even brief information about him this
reference citations (number of the fond, inventory and file). In general
nearly 800 inhabitants of Jewish farm colonies of the Ekaterinoslav and
Bessarabian Provinces colonies have been discovered in the complex of
survey material in RGADA.
Lists of
Surnames of (Jewish^ Colonists of thekaterinoslav Province
Bogodarovka. Alexandrov
District
(Fond 1308, series 5, files
1444,1448, 1450, 1451)
Azarchi*, Asrieli, Belinski x
Briskovski, Brukman,
Vilinov, Vilkov, Gelperin,
Goronin*, Drevin, Dubrov,
Ersov, Kagan, Kadkovski, Katkov,
Kozinski*,
Lomonosonok, Mezev, Pinson,
Pipkin, Rekant,
Staikin", Sigalov, Trubkin,
Frumin, Khavkin*,
Khanovich'1, Tsiganov,
Shiepchenok, Shnol, Shogalov,
Shchulman, Shchedrinski*,
Elkin.
Vecelaya. Alexandrovsky
District
(Fond 1308, series 5, file
1450)
Baevski, Balonov*, Bolshinski,
Glikin, Gushlits, Don,
Druyan, Zabrotski, Zadov*,
losleas, Kirpin, Klaglya,
Litigin, Lonarev, Malamed,
Moznaim, Momarkin,
Morozov, Raskin, Rosas,
Khiebnik, Shapiro.
Gorky. Alexandrovsky
District
(Fond 1308, series 5, files
1444, 1446, 1448, 1450,
1451)
Arshinov, Asinovski, Belyanski*,
Biyakh, Bodna*,
Borok, Gimel, Gordon1,
Goryanski ,* Gurbanov,
Gurevich'1, Gutkin1, Drozd*
Eliosof, Zeibet, Zlatkin,
Kantsan11, Kleiman, Kroz,
Lemkov*, Lomovski'1,
Meyerov1, Mogaram, Olevsan,
Paikin*, Perelman,
Plinski", Rakhman, Sverdlov,
Serkhel, Sladkov,
Freidenzon.
Krasnocelka. Alexandrovsky
District
(Fond 1308, series 5, files
1444,1450, 1451)
Abragamov, Agui*, Altgovzen,
Amiton1, Ana, Brozgol,
Bukmun, Bubblem", Vaisman,
Golosov, Gordon,
Gokhman", Griskan, Gurevich,
Deglin, Ezrets', lofis,
Kovna^, Lyev, Lyevin*, Lyegova,
Lifshits", Luban,
Mosnaim'1, Naigovzen*, Oshir,
Reingevirts, Sapir*,
Soles", Ushats, Fainshtein",
Feldman, Fredland,
Tsimer*, Charfas'1, Chertkov.
Novo-ZlatopoL Alexandrovsky
District
(Fond 1308, series 5, file
1444,1450,1451)
Amanuel, Befyaev, Berzigal,
Brozgol, Burov, Butelkin,
Vaisman", Borkel, Glezennan,
Godos, Gurevich'1,
Druyan'1, Zlatokrilets, Zogot1,
lorsh", Kabo, Kagan*,
Kleinennan, Kovnat*, Kupesok,
Lyev, Levin*, Lekus,
Lifshits, Lotsov, Lyvan, Maba,
Margalit, Margolin, Medved1,
Miteman
Paliteki, Penchuk, Pripis.
Ushkats*. Fainveits, Tsiblya.
Tsirkm, Shpitsnodel,
Shchuer^, Shchulkir, Eidinzon",
Yanuar.
PriyutnaYa,Alexandrovsky Distn