Mistakes in the 1835 Molotschna Census

When you are using the 1835 Molotschna census, you should always confirm the entries by looking at the original.  I have been told that the translators of the English version had only a poor microfilm copy to work from, so they had a difficult time reading it.  Now much better copies are available.

Here is an example I just found.  I was looking at Abraham Kornelius Fast, who lived at Sparrau #22 in the census.  His entry says that he transferred from the Neukirch village (underlined in red) in 1830. 

Sparrau #22 English translation - Abraham Kornelius Fast household, 16 March 1835, 8th Revision of Census of Russian Empire, Sparrau village, Molochanskii Mennonistskii Okrug, Melitopol'skii Uezd, Tavricheskaia Guberniia, household #22.  Found in Odessa Region State Archives, Odessa, Ukraine, Peter J. Braun Collection, Fond 89, Inventory 1, File 357, p. 603R.  Accessed on English translation from Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Since all males who lived in a village after the previous census in 1816 are listed in that village, even if they had moved away or died, I could look at his entry in Neukirch, and it should show that he moved to Sparrau.  I looked in the index, and there was no Abraham Fast in Neukirch.  So I thought that maybe he had been missed in the index.  So I went through the English translation of the census for Neukirch page by page.  Again, nothing.

Then I checked the original Russian for Neukirch village, and I found him at Neukirch #23.  "Abraham Korneliusov Fast" is underlined in blue and "Sparrau" in red.

Neukirch #23 Russian original - Abragram" Korneliusov" Fast" household, 27 February 1835, 8th Revision of Census of Russian Empire, Neukirch village, Molochanskii Mennonistskii Okrug, Melitopol'skii Uezd, Tavricheskaia Guberniia, household #23.  Found in Odessa Region State Archives, Odessa, Ukraine, Peter J. Braun Collection, Fond 89, Inventory 1, File 357, p. 350R.  Accessed on digital file from Tim Janzen, Portland, Oregon.

What had happened?  Why wasn't he in the English?  When at looked at the English translation for Neukirch #23, he was there; but the name was mistranslated at Voth not Fast.  This is an easy mistake to make because Voth in Russian is Фотъ while Fast in Russian is Фасть.  The two names look quite similar in Russian, and if you're dealing with a poor microfilm copy. . . .

Neukirch #23 English translation - Abraham Kornelius "Voth" [should be Fast] household, 27 February 1835, 8th Revision of Census of Russian Empire, Neukirch village, Molochanskii Mennonistskii Okrug, Melitopol'skii Uezd, Tavricheskaia Guberniia, household #23.  Found in Odessa Region State Archives, Odessa, Ukraine, Peter J. Braun Collection, Fond 89, Inventory 1, File 357, p. 350R.  Accessed on English translation from Manitoba Mennonite Historical Society, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

 

If you were looking for an Abraham Kornelius Fast in Neukirch in the English, you would have missed him completely.  Indices and translations are wonderful tools, but they can also lead you astray.

[A sharp-eyed reader might notice that the Sparrau entry says he moved to that village in 1830 while the Neukirch entry says that he moved away from that village in 1833.  That discrepancy is in the original.  It may have arisen because people often physically moved from one village to another but it took time for their legal registration to be transferred.]