Let's begin our detailed study of the Lichtfelde village history. Here is the first paragraph:
15. Lichtfelde. Acting on their own initiative, in 1818 a significant number of Mennonite families decided to emigrate to join their co-religionists in South Russia, as they had no more prospect to receive land for their descendants in Prussia.
"Acting on their own initiative." The first emigration from Prussia to Russia, which resulted in the establishment of Khortitsa (Chortitza), was a three-year process that began in 1786 with an official invitation from the Russian minister in Danzig to the Mennonites. The churches sent delegates to survey the land, who spent a year traveling to Russia and negotiating. After they returned and reported, two groups departed in 1788 and spent the winter en route, arriving in 1789.
When the second colony Molotschna was established in 1803, Elder Cornelius Warkentin had learned that land was available, so the prospect of emigration was discussed at a minister's conference in August 1803. Large groups of Mennonites left and arrived in Khortitsa by fall, where they wintered with fellow Mennonites. In 1804, another large group joined them and they established new villages in Molotschna. The whole process was simpler and faster.
When the third wave arrived in Molotschna, beginning in 1818, they came in smaller groups, not in the organized mass migrations that established Khortitsa and Molotschna. And they were more responsible for organizing their own journey. In reality, there had been three decades of contacts among the Russian government, Mennonites in south Russia, and Mennonites in Prussia. It was much easier to emigrate to Russia in 1818 than it had been in 1788.
"in 1818" The Napoleonic Wars had ended in 1815, so the threat to the Prussian state had disappeared, and they no longer needed Mennonite support domestically. So they ended sales of state land to Mennonites, making it more difficult to acquire land for children and expansion. At first the Prussian government refused to give exit visas, but eventually they relented, but on the condition that Mennonites would pay an exit tax of 10% of the value of their property.
"a significant number of Mennonite families" Either 254 or 255 families emigrated over a roughly two-year period. If we assume 5 people per family, this would be roughly 1300 people. It would be interesting to know if they traveled in one huge group (unlikely since they came from different parts of Prussia) or several large groups. Or was it many groups of a few families? Presumably the wealthier families rode wagons or carts, in which they also hauled their possessions. Poorer families or individuals would have walked, perhaps pulling a handcart or carrying everything they owned in a backpack.
"to join co-religionists in South Russia" It was much easier for this third wave of Mennonites to emigrate to south Russia because they had friends and relatives in Molotschna Colony to welcome them and to help them get settled in their new homeland.
"no more prospect to receive land for their descendants in Prussia" A farming family needed to buy more land for its children to farm, or their future economic prospects would decline. Children would be forced into a craft or trade, which was much less profitable than farming. The Prussian government was hoping that this economic pressure would force Mennonites to give up their non-resistance, but the prospect of cheap farmland in Russia gave them a way to keep their faith and to prosper economically. Thus, our ancestors saw this as God's provision for them.
The German original:
15. Lichtfelde. Aus eigenem Antrieb entschlossen sich im Jahre 1818 wieder eine bedeutende Anzahl mennonitischer Familien, zu ihren Glaubensgenossen nach Südrußland auszuwandern, weil sie in Preußen keine Aussicht mehr hatten, Land für ihre Nachkommen zu erhalten.
