THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

to the Area Administrative Office’s call to the elders to confer with their congregations in order to gain their consent to exclude us from the status of colonist— we were forced to seek further counsel. ...” b) Johann Claassen, letter of April 19, 1866. “. . . On October 31, I860, I, together with Br. Forchhammer, set off by post for St. Petersburg from Liebenau by way of Berdiansk. ...” c) Otto Forchhammer: “Moscow, November 18, 1860. Beloved brethren! Hallelujah, Christ! even in Moscow and all the world. Ebenezer! Hitherto hath the Lord helped us. On the day on which we took our leave from the beloved Wilhelm Bartel, we travelled beyond Mariopol, but had the misfortune to tip the wagon enroute in the darkness, whereby a hoop of the wagon hood was damaged [of Claassen’s own covered buggy which then had to be left in Moscow and sold]. The Documentary Supplements 345 journey from Mariopol to Bachmut was a miserable one, for no horses could be acquired at any of the stations, and we usually had to pay double or triple the price. . . . When we arrived in Kharkov one late evening, we were able to continue without delay, which pleased Claassen very much since he feared that he would be pursued [1] . . . . Claassen sent a telegraph in Oriol, and when we arrived in Tula, we remained two days. Pastor Landesen’s wife was overjoyed to see us and quartered us with her children, to whom we seemed to be most welcome and with whom the Lord granted us many a lovely conversation .... On our further journey to Moscow we had the misfortune to tip once more, but happily nothing serious happened .... Once more we are bidden: ‘Tomorrow we depart, good-bye, good-bye’— to wit on the railway to St. Petersburg .... Otto Forchhammer.” d) Johann Claassen, letter of April 19,1866: “. . . On Sunday, November 20, 1860, we arrived in St. Petersburg and took lodging with a Baptist brother named Plonus. The time spent in St. Petersburg was a real test of my patience; the dear Lord taught me, and you too there in Molotschna, to exercise patience and rely on His help . . . .” 4. Johann Claassen ’s most humble petition to His Majesty the Tsar. (Supplement to #98.) The copy in our possession is in German translation with a note in Claassen’s hand: “On Monday, May 21, 1862, I delivered the petition, in the Russian language, to an aide-de-camp of the emperor in Zarskoie Selo.” Our document reads as follows: “Most 9erene Emperor! Most gracious Lord! a) With hope and devotion the undersigned humbly undertakes to petition you, our Emperor, for protection in a matter whose undoubted righteousness on the one hand, as well as the shameful misuse of authority, intentional perversion of truth, persecution, mistreatment, etc., on the other hand, can be clearly seen from the accompanying Promemoria. b) "Briefly, the matter is as follows: a number (ca. 50) 137 of Molotschna Mennonites of the Province of Taurida, District of Berdian