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

of Elder Huebert), who herself died about five years after her husband; the widow of Simon Harms, daughter of Elder Huebert; Mrs. Krause, nee Dyck, of Sparrau; the first wife of Jakob 540 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH §246 Giesbrecht; and others. Brother and Sister Peter Dyck of Pordenau, at one time very active in this church, migrated to America (about 1890) and are now living in California. 2. Since the Kuban settlement is particularly and officially a colony of the M.B. Church, we include here more detail about its civil, economic, and social character at the present time (about 1904). Compare #280, 206, and 231-234. a) The population of both villages, Velikokniashesk and Alexand- rodar (formerly Wohldemfuerst and Alexanderfeld), or the Volost of Velikokniashesk, totaled more than 2,000 persons in 1904. Of these about 1,500 were of Mennonite extraction and legal status. Of the latter some 1,000 persons were registered in the volost. Over 200 of those so registered, and over 550 of the entire church population (‘‘Church registry entries”), belonged to the M.B. Church. Some 50 of the Mennonite population were Adventists, and about 100 persons of Mennonite extraction belonged to the "Templers.” 333 Thus the larger portion of the Mennonite population belonged to the Mennonite Church; Baptists (i.e. “Brethren” of non-Mennonite extraction and legal status) numbered about sixty. Approximately 400-500 persons belonged to the Orthodox, Catholic, and Lutheran churches and to the Jewish confession. The majority of the non-Mennonites were Orthodox Christians. As to the landowners and the enfranchised members of the volost community, it was the “brethren” who constituted the determinative majority and as a rule held most of the civic offices. b) The land possessions of the volost community consist of sixty-seven full farms (in Alexandrodar such a farm comprises sixty-one dessiatines; in Velikokniashesk, sixty -five) 334 and eight small farms of ten dessiatines each (Velikokniashesk— five; Alexandrodar— three). Classified by vocation and ownership, ten landless day -laborers, 150 landless trandesmen and industrial tradesworkers, eight small-farm operators, twenty-two half -farm operators, and fifty-seven full-farm operators lived in the villages in 1904. Of the latter some owned more than one farm. Also, there were fifteen landowners who held property outside the colony (estate owners). 335 Only a few persons (single adults, family heads, or widows) received regular assistance for the poor from the churches or the volost. Large industry and business: there were two factories producing farm machinery, two steam-operated mills, three watermills, one “Dutch” windmill, one ordinary windmill, one cheese factory, three general stores, four market gardens, one large communal vineyard, several prosperous apiaries, one apothecary warehouse, one drug store, and one bookstore. Co-operative enterprises: One co