Journal, Vol. 03, No. 3 – Winter 1980

Cover: The cover depicts the sketch of a proposed medal in commemoration of the Manifesto of 1763.

Content:

One of the documents from the 1760s which this Journal contains is the official English– language version of Catherine’s manifesto of 1763. The other is a document issued by the ruler of the Rhine Palatinate in Germany in 1764 freeing a Jakob Bruch from serfdom to enable him to migrate to Russia.
Concerning the same period we have the story of the founding of the Volga colonies written by Georg Kromm.
Adam Giesinger tells of land distribution in “Changes in Land Ownership in Franzfeld/Odessa 1806-1822” and provides information about the Liebental daughter colonies in this issue’s installment of “Villages in Which Our Forefathers Lived.”
Sally T. Hieb has translated beautifully one of the chapters of Wolhynisches Tagebuch, which was reviewed in the Journal Vol. 2, No. 3. In addition, the story of the grandson of the woman portrayed on the cover of that issue is told here.
The first installment of Pastor David Weigum’s reminiscences of his childhood and youth in the Crimea in the 1880s is presented in Aus Heimat und Leben translated by Leona Pfeifer.
Donald Damer has translated “Not Far From Orenburg,” a report by two Communist reporters on Mennonite colonies in the Orenburg District.
Adam Giesinger presents the first extract from his work dealing with the history of AHSGR.
A timely article is Rosina Kiehlbauch’s “Christmas in the New World” concerning the celebration by an immigrant family in the 1870s.
Concluding this issue are a continuation of Lawrence Weigel’s “We Sing Our History” and the arrival dates of many ships which brought our forefathers to America, provided by Emma S. Haynes.