Neu Freudental - 1848 Village History Copyright 1996, Ralph E.

Wiseman

Notes: Please see the Introduction to the Village History Project for additional information.

NEU FREUDENTHAL
I
The foundation of the colony and the settling took place in 1828 in the spring, but the houses
were built only in 1829.

II
The colony is situated in the south Cherson region on both of the mountain slopes of the left
side-valley, towards the south of the so-called Serbker valley, 10 W. away from the Russian
small town Serbka. Right above the colony, the valley parts into two arms, and it gets quite lost
about 10 W. towards north. The proper village consists of two rows of houses built on the
mountain slopes of the valley. It extents 80 Faden long, and it is separated in the so-called
Oberdorf (=perhaps: upper village) and Unterdorf. At the end of the right row of houses, two
side-valleys run into the village valley. The one is going towards north-west, the other, a curved
one, goes to north and ends in a distance of about 6 to 8 W. Where this valley extends to north-
east they have started to build a new row of houses, right above the gardens belonging to the
houses in the left row of the proper village. This new row is called "Siehe dich vor" (=take
care!). There are small farmers living there in well-built cottages and houses. In the proper
village all of the houses, without any exception, have been built according to a construction plan
got from the one-time Vormundschafts-Comtor (=guardianship office?)[ Welfare Committee ?],
most of them including two apartments and the stables. Near to each row of houses there is a
small place surrounded by walls so that the cattle driven out and in every day cannot enter. The
upper walls enclose the yards, and the others the gardens. The gardens are all fenced in, in some
parts by hedges, in other parts by walls. With only a few exceptions, all of them are planted with
trees, and under the tress there are different leguminous plants and root plants, especially rapes
and turnip-cabbage. At the farms down in the valley they have always good water. In the upper
estates they have built fountains in their gardens. There is good water in those fountains at any
time. In the first years of the settlement there had been several wells in the valley, so that the
valley had been rather filled with water. But in the course of time the wells as well as the valley
got overflown, so that the original wells disappeared and only the lowest parts of the valley are
under water now. In the west, the colony is bordered by different landowners' land extending up
to the village. In the east, too, the border-land about 3 to 5 W. broad and 8 W. long towards the
south, is bordered by landowners' prairies. In the south-west there is the colony Helenenthal.

The land of the colony Freudenthal, according to the latest survey, is 2,655 Dessartin. It formerly
was owned by a landowner name Marine [Marina, Mariental ?] who had no heirs when he died.
Even today the land is called Marine Chutter. It is cut by two valleys being wider the more you
go towards the south. At some places the slopes are too steep to be cultivated. At other places the
slopes are less steep but their ground is not fertile, not even good enough to grow grass.
However, the ground of the prairie consisting of black mold and clay is suited for grain and
potatoes and grass, and the weather being benign the crop is good. The third stratum being loam
most of the trees are of short duration. When they have just been planted they are fine as they get
much nourishment from the mold. But when their roots have passed the mold and the clay and
come to the loam that is as hard as stone the trees begin to dry up. It is wild acacia, elm-tree,
willow, and mulberry tree which grow best. If there was ;more gravel and lime marl instead of
clay and loam the trees would have a longer duration. There is no shortness in stones and stone-
pits in Neufreudenthal; lots of them are not at all wanted.

III
The colony being founded by colonist come from the colony Alt Freudenthal got the nice name
Neu Freudenthal in memory of its mother-colony.

IV
47 families settled, most of them sons and daughters of the Alt Freudenthal colonists. Only a few
of them came directly from the Kingdom Wuerttemberg (Germany) after having stayed at Alt
Freudenthal for some time.

V
There are only a few colonists now (in 1848, when this part of the book was written!) who with
their parents have immigrated to Russia from Wuerttemberg (Germany), Sachsen (Germany),
and Hungary. They do not remember their leaders. The others were born in Russia.

VI
When the immigrants came to the prairie assigned to them, they found it occupied by one
landowner and some slaves living in poor cottages. The immigrants of Neu Freudenthal were
allowed to live in those cottages until they had built their houses. They did not get any other
help.

VII
At the time Neu Freudenthal was founded, the inhabitants of the mother colony Alt Freudenthal
were not yet very well-to-do. So the children could not get much from their parents, and it was
hard for them to start.

VIII
When the colony was founded, in 1828, the land was nearly all covered with grass and different
herbs. The ground being not wornout but fresh and the weather being benign the crops were rich.
The colonists soon got wealthy because they knew about agriculture and because they started
cattle-breeding, too. But the bad year 1833 used up nearly all they had stored so that they had to
start from scratch. During the following plentiful years they recovered, especially in 1837. Now
they enlarged and embellished their houses which up to then had been rather poor. They built
stables and they purchased cattle. The colonists now owned a herd of Nachtvieh (= night cattle?)
of more than 600 heads, and about 400 cows. Nearly everyone owned 6 to 10 horses, 2 to 3
wagons, several harrows, plows, and everything necessary.

The following years were not so good because of some damage done by hail. Besides, there was
a terrible cattle-plague in 1845 that cut off about 500 cattle in Neu Freudenthal. In the following
years 1846 and 1847, there were very bad crops. Because of the dryness in those years the cattle
could hardly feed in the pasture. In winter there was a bad shortness of food, and a lot of cattle
starved. So the people of Neu Freudenthal fell in poverty again, and better times are wanted.
There were two earthquakes, in 1830 and in 1838, which did not do any harm; but two fires, one
in 1846 caused by a flash, [Lightning ?] and another one in 1842, plunged two families into
poverty.

In 1838, the community bought a colonist's home for 1,500 Rbl.B.A. It was enlarged so that
there was enough room for school and church - and there is today.

IX
The community for its existence, still poor in some points but good on the whole, feels indebted
to the goodness of God and to the kindness of the emperor's Mr. Nikolai Pawlowitsch, as well as
to the help from a committee for foreign settlers in South Russia (which always truly cares for
the colonists). It thanks them in full respect and submission.

Neufreudenthal, den 8. Juni 1848

(gez. = signed)Schullehrer (= teacher) Joh. Baumann

.....................................................
Neu Freudental, Beresan District of Odessa

Posted: Wed May 25, 2011 7:56 am

Joined: Tue May 10, 2011 8:02 pm

Posts: 76

Founded: 1828 German Name: Neu Freudental, Russian name: Marina. Ukraine name Myrne
Religion: Evangelical

Notes: Handbuch Russland-Deutsche by Ulrich Mertens states: Neu Freudental,

(Freudental/Marina/Marine-Chutor), Odessa/Berjesowsk/Neu-Freudental, *1828, ev., (Neu-
Freudental), Land: 2,875 Deßj.; Land 2,655 Deßj. (1859: Kronland; 63 houses); founded by 47
families form Freudental, (few directly from Württ., Sachsesn and Ungarn), 1869-84 and 1886-
1907 central school; 1861 Neu Freudental church founded, served 8 municipalities and 6,75
souls; population 517 in 1858, 660 in 1904, 870 in 1905, 1,020 in 1911, 1,204 in 1914, 898 in
1919, 1,099 in 1926.

Pioneer settler surnames: Beiger, Beck, Bentz, Braun, Burghard, Daiberdt, Engelmann, Enzy,
Esslinger, Gägger, Hierning, Hoffer, Kaesser, Kern, Koschel, Kümmerle, Lang, Leonhard,
Mehl, Neubauer, Ohlheusser, Pfaff, Philipp, Rentschler, Rettenger, Ridlinger, Rogler, Schell,
Schlenkenberger, Schock, Schulder, Schweihardt, Silling, Steiger, Wacker, Weber, Widmayer,
Will. (Source Fond 6 Inventory 1, file 1786.) Search the Black Sea database
(http://www.blackseagr.org/blksea-db/se archform.php) for more information on these settlers.

Twenty two families came to Neu Freudental from Freudental, nine from Peterstal, four from
Grossliebental, three from Neuburg, and two families from the Beresan District.

Books:
Paradise on the Steppe by Joseph S. Height
From Catherine to Khruschev by Dr. Adam Giesinger

Census Records:Neu Freudental Liebental District Odessa 1858 Census by GRHS and AHSGR