Volhynia Pastor’s Book (on LDS microfilm 18949478)

This Pastor’s book contains many miscellaneous records and notes. Many are just the details needed to later enter data in the Kirchenbuch but others are records that are just informally kept. So it is for the entry for mid-September 1835 on page 29 of microfilm 18949478. This microfilm was of some of the original Lutheran church records for Volhynia from between 1827 and 1841. The following pithy sentences are reorganized to make them clearer. Apparently the sentences document the people found in Friedensfeld, Zhitomir Parish, Volhynia (a village between Miripol and Romanow) at the baptism of Daniel Klienke (son of cloth maker Johan Klienke and his wife Eleanor Schmidtge from Colberg, Silesia).

Friedensfeld. Johan Christian Schmidke. Tuchmacher (cloth maker) Michael Spitzer and Anna Justina. Johan Frederich Reiman 57 & Carolina Magdalena Wagner 36 and daughter Caroline 23. Gottfried Krieger 55. Anna Rosina (Gering) 46 and son. Gottfried Griesmann 19. Michael Spitzer & Anna Justina. Martin Will and wife and Anna Christina 12, Anna Rosina, Anna Susanna. Andreas Spitzer and son Johan 3 and Anna. Andreas junior with wife Anna Rosina. Christian Hoffman with wife Anna Rosina and son Daniel. Christoph Jesswein and new wife Anna Justina. George Mack (Muck/Maug/Maag/Marx) widower 53. Son George 25. Daniel 23. Jacob 21. Friedrich 19. Caroline 15. Magdelena 7. Wilhelm Mohr and family. Martin Krieger and family.

Then restated again in the next paragraph….

Michael Spitzer 26 and wife Anna Justina 22 and Caroline 3. Johan Martin Will 51 with wife and Anna Rosina 18, Anna Susanna 16, Anna Christina 14, and Johan 12. Andreas Spitzer (Sr.) 59 and wife Justina and son Johan 19, Gottfried 12, Gottlieb 8(?) and Anna 15. Andreas Spitzer (Jr.) 24 and wife Anna Rosina 18. Christian Hoffman 38 with wife Anna Rosina 37 and Daniel 14(?), Gottfried (Friederich) 10, Anna Helena 8, Anna Rosina 5 and Samuel 3. Christoph Jesswein 25 and wife Anna Justina 22 and son Gottfried 3. Michael (jr.?) 41. Followed by the George Mack family again.

Then in December of 1836 (page 132), the Pastor lists the people in Justinowka (near Freidensfeld – between Miripol and Romanow) as: 1) Andreas Spitzer from Poland 2) son Johan 3) with new wife Susanna nee Will (Martin Will’s daughter) 4) daughter Anna Spitzer 5) Martin Will (widower) 6) Michael Spitzer 7) wife Justina Will (Martin Will’s daughter) 8) Anna Rosina Will (Martin Will’s daughter) 9) jungfrau Anna (Christina) Will (Martin Will’s daughter) 10) Andreas Wagner 11) wife Caroline nee Gall …… 12) …. 13) Andreas Spitzer the son 14) wife Anna Rosina (Schmidt). 15) Gottfried Pflugard and wife Anna (Spitzer). 16) no one listed. 17) Gottfried Jesswein with wife Anna Pfugard. 18) Christoph Jesswein 19) jungfrau Justina Janke (?) 20) Christian Hoffman 21) wife Rosina nee Hahn 22) Daniel Hoffman 23) George Mack 24) Gottlieb Gitzmann 25) with wife Christina nee Leipold 26) and son Heinrich Gitzmann 27) and wife Anna Florentina (Spitzer? Or Mack) 28) Daniel Mack 29) with wife Julianna Gitzman 30) old George Mack 31) son Jacob.

Thus, the Spitzers and Hoffmans had settled down to farming in the southern part of Volhynia (Zhitomir parish) in the mid-1830’s. Their village was initially Justinowka but then they quickly moved to Faustendorf. This land was suitable for flax production which was required to produce cloth. They would continue to live there until the mid-1850’s when they moved to Romansdorf (the older Slavic name is Doliwa) in Kiev parish. The Gottlieb Gitzmann family listed above lived in Kiev parish prior to Faustindorf so perhaps they were instrumental in moving the group to Romansdorf 20 years later.

July 17, 2000