Last Update 24 April 2002
Borodino / Besssarabia, S. Russia From "A" to "Zzzz" continued.....
Copyrighted Material: Borodino / Bessarabia, S. Russia from "A" to "Zzzz"
Page1:B- 96
[page one]
1814-1940
We have never again had a Bible course like the one in Borodino before the resettlement. The church, one of the oldest in our communities, scarcely held the audience in spite of the 750 seats. housemaids [sic] and kitchen help alternated in attendance and in the last days the employees of the consumers cooperative were also given vacation so they could go to the church and take part in the preparations. The Word was receive and songs were sung with gusto and were familiar with the history of the community, could feel that movement of the spirit which so moved the hearts, especially in Borodino, in the years of the fanaticism after Lindl's workings in Sarata. At least now it was the Holy Spirit, which placed Word of God in the center of attention, and not the "internal" light and not heresy. It was truly a living church and one loyal to the `confession of the Lutheran Reformation, which we experienced.
Borodino--first called "Soak" after the creek, then [sic] Alexander , was finally baptized Borodino in memory of the victory over Napoleon. The village made this name honorable in the course of its history, and above all in the victory of faith.
It was a peculiar mixture of settlers who came here in 1814: sixty-four families from Wuerttemberg, 9 from Baden, together 73 families of Swabian stock' 18 families from West Prussia, 22 from Mecklenburg and 2 from Saxony, altogether 42 families of northern (low German) origin. The final result was good Swabians in language, ambition and cleanliness [sic]. The land granted to them, 7614 hectors, was increased to 78832 Hectars by purchase. From the beginning a larger percentage of this land was put to the plow and
Page: B-97
spade than in many other communities. Crops farmed were mainly : winter and summer wheat ("Ulka" ), barely, oats, rye, maize, hemp, mustard and millet, later also soy beans and castor bean. The cultivation of vegetables served for personal use only.
[page two]
In second place was animal husbandry. Horse were the pride of the citizens of Borodino, which is proved by the number of horses which the village owned, 1200. At the same time (1939) the inhabitants had together 2879 sheep and 515 cows. Without a doubt Borodino made money because the surrounding lease land of the nobility was leased at low prices. Yet this advantage was at the same time a disadvantage, because they neglected to purchase lands, and when it was too late, the farms had to be divided again and again. The trades were used as an alternative, yet they could also not prevent migrations which had begun. Some of those seeking land went to the daughter communities: Mathildendorf, Josefsdorf, Jakobstal, Old- and Neu-Borodino, Hannowka, Annowka (Manscha), New Annowka. In the desperate years after 1925 some found home in the Rumanian [sic] Banat. Around the turn of century many Borodino citizens migrated to Canada and the United States, others went to the Crimea and the Caucasus. All the emigrants became successful due to the ambition of the people from Borodino. Only those who went to the Crimea, but especially those who moved to the Caucasus, returned to their home village as completely impoverished people after the revolution and the years of chaos 1917 to 1920. In 1925 they emigrated to Brazil where they tediously acquired property on coffee plantations or by the clearing of trees from the land They were the poorest
Page: B-98
of the poor. In spite of the migration there were forty-eight landless families. [sic] With the redistribution of neighboring estate though the agrarian [sic] reform 1919/1920 the landless people of Borodino were almost left empty-handed. Trades absorbed a number of the families without land. There were eight smiths, six cabinet makers, four wheelwrights, nine cobblers, four tailors, six saddlers, one weaver, two butchers and three potters. Next to Kloestitz Borodino had a good representation of potters. Pottery sold well at the markets, above all milk pots until the coming of milk separators and dairies. A pot of curdled milk was a real refreshment in the summer on the field and at home.
[page 3]
Industry and commerce also progressed slowly. The Co-operative Society, found in 1909, and the diary also run by them, saw to it that the influence of the "middle man" was lessened and the farmers got more money into their pockets. The farmers mill of the Brothers Schock and Co., founded in 1882, was modernized. Until the founding of the high mill "Progress" in Beresina it was one of the best-known mills in the German communities. Since 1925 there was also a People's Bank, the importance of which remained insignificant as the base capital was too small. The German Agricultural Society succeeded more and more in the last decade and brought grain at fair prices.
With the upswing in agriculture the shaping of the village also took a pleasurable development. The citizens of Borodino place great importance on lovely houses, cleanliness [sic] and neatness in the farms. Already in 1827, twelve years after the found, the community counted thirteen houses built of stone in addition to the sixteen crown houses and the eighty-six built of
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unfired lime brick. Even up to 1939 well of lime bricks on a stone foundation were often built. This had the advantage of protecting better against cold in the winter and against the heat in summer. Best of all were the clay walls pounded on a stone foundation. (Rammed earth walls) Clay mixed with straw was rammed between boards and frames--a type of clay cement. Such walls, protected by an overhang [sic] roof and cement tiles, were dry and durable. The large village with its white-washed houses in the green of the trees,with clean paths and streets, can be designated a model village.
Advancement in all areas took longer. The community lay a little off the beaten path and the sever moral and church spirit held the people back from the outside world. This condition we can attribute to the reliability of the community members in retaining faith and custom. A cultural society "Heilbronn" has existed since 1928 with eight members. A library with three hundred volumes and its own building was among the property of the society. A church choir and school choir made great strides, for the village belonged to the congregations which took greatest joy in singing.
In regard to the church, Borodino was one of the most active congregations. The fanaticism which, as Separatism, after Lindl's downfall caused a ravaging [sic] and destructive during in the parishes of Alt-Elft, Kloestitz and Tarutino, had it's origin in Karl Ehne [Ehni] from Marbach on the Necker. That which his inner light revealed to him was decisively not the revelation of the Holy Word. The danger of religious and moral degeneration took on dangerous forms, until the authorities intervened. To be sure the movement declined, but the
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followers of the sekt were not really healed until the brothers and sister loyal to the Bible turned again to the healthy life in the religious congregational meetings. Great awakenings in later decades lead to a growth of our brother community specifically in those parishes and churches which had been threatened by the spirits of fanaticism. Thus we return to the beginning of our report. Loyalty to faith and loyalty to the mother tongue were so closely bound together in Borodino that even an additional century in the steppe would not have torn this bond asunder.
A series of diligent sexton teachers, village and chief magistrates had significant importance in Borodino, in the parish and in the entire area of settlement. To be named are: Bishop of Separatists, Karl Ehne [Ehni] from Marbach and his opponent, the head of the Brother Council of our communities, Karl Schock the Elder, who was effective with great blessing and who furthermore [sic] was one of the most outstanding village magistrates. As recognized spiritual leader was Gottfried Hoeger, who as philosopher and writer (Albert Mauch) wrote religious and philosophical treaties and next to Pastor Peters was the only German in the Country Educational Council.
Johann Brau, Chief Magistrate, and Karl Shock, Johannes Schneck, Johann Kron and Gustav Bippus served as magistrates in model loyalty. Gustav Schock and his brother Traugott were teachers and sextons as well as representatives of the community in the village council and in the synode [sic] .
Johann Kraenbring is to be recognized as
Page: B-101
the last sexton who placed a stamp on the religious life of the community. He is still active today and wrote the village report.
Church and School had their just place in the minds of these men regarding the buildings. Borodino had one of the oldest churches by rebuilding a prayer house in 1850. Then it had the largest number of seats in the entire parish. In 1902 there was a new reconstruction and it had seven hundre dfifty [sic] seats. The citizens of Borodino loved their old church and therefore could not decide to build a new one.
The first school was replaced by a large building in the years 1866-1869, which required the high construction cost of 5314 rubles and 58 copecks [sic; kopeck]. In 1911 a second school house resulted through reconstruction of a grain warehouse.
Today the citizens of Borodino are blown to all the winds, yet they can be found in number in times of mobilization. May the blessing of God, who was implored upon so often in the honorable church in times of drought and war as well as other catastrophes from heaven also not be absent in the future.
From the files of proven losses of many civilian personnel
As of 31 Dec 1964
Deported 21
Died in flight or in
deportation
29
[Author's name unknown. at this time.]
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