Historical Background

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No 9 of this series of publications contained an account on the emigration of Siegerlaenders to south Prussia in the year 1799.  The settlement of these families on the estates of the hereditary prince Wilhelm von Oranien-Nassau failed.  Some of them returned already within a short  time to their home-land, most were holding on a few more years, but in 1805 nearly all of these settlers had disappeared from heredi­tary es­tates.  Many returned, com­pletely impoverished, to their old home­land, others are said to have emi­grated to America and very few of them cab be traced into Russia. – Since the fall of the Mongolian em­pire Kirgisen, Kal­muecken and Basch­kiren troubled southern Rus­sia. The cities Sama­ra, Sara­tow, Ka­myschin and Zarizyn were founded in the sec­ond half of the 18.  Century in defence against those tribes.  The reign of Katharina II. (1762 –  1796) then saw the regular set­tlement at the lower Volga.  The empress is­sued in 1763 a Mani­festo, in which she encouraged for immigration to Russia.  Laws is­sued for this pur­pose ensured

  Free worship

Release from taxes for 10 – 30  years

Interest-free loans for all acquisitions

Release from military service  for life

Own municipality and school administration

Free allotment of crown land (30 –  80 Dess­jatines) to each family.

Alexander I. (1801 - 1825) contin­ued Katharina's settlement poli­tics. His decree of 20.02.1804, however, was not quite so gener­ous.  The emi­grants had to prove an ownership over a minimum off 300 guldens, a certifi­cate of good behaviour issued by the homeland au­thorities was often required and the annual number of the immi­grants was limited.  Now set­tle­ment be­gan at the Black Sea coast.  Up until 1823 159 colonies were created in the Governments of Cher­son and Jekaterinoslaw, in Tauria and Bessarabia (since 1812 Rus­sian).  In the Black Sea area there were about 1000 colo­nies before the Second World War.

This decree  obviously gave raise to the rumour, which in the summer of 1804 circulated among  the unfortunate settlers in Southern Prussia and which puzzled the Posen cham­ber.1   In any case shortly after­wards  many Nas­sawian settlers set out to go east in expectation of a better future and in 1805 founded  the col­ony Altnassau in Tauria.2   Of the 60 fami­lies, listed in the Revisonsliste 1811, there are at least six from the Sieger­land.

Around 1820 more Siegerlaend­ers emigrated to Tauria.  They were relatives of those already 1805 im­migrated and in the meantime es­tablished settlers.  So far there are no references in Sieger­laender sources.  Their origin, however, is clearly docu­mented in the death re­cords of the Taurian parishes. 

Origin and descendants of these families are compiled in the  family lists.

1 Geh.StA  Berlin Rep. 96A, Tit. 69E, Fol. 17

2 Stumpp, K.: Die Auswanderung aus Deutschland nach Russland in den Jahren 1763 bis 1862; S. 883. Tübingen [1972]

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