The Reich and Kison Families

The Reich and Kison Families

                                                                                        9/30/2019

Both sides of my mother Alma Schmidt’s Family were Germans who had settled in Bessarabia after they were invited to come and farm by Catherine the Great, Czarina of Russia in the early 1800’s.

The Kison side of the family settled in Kulm, Bessarabia.

The Reich (Rich) side of the family settled in Elft, or Neu Elft where Reinhold Reich was born on November 16, 1883 to Christian Reich and Maria Elizabeth Hirschkorn.  Christian Reich was born on February 16, 1849 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia.  Christian’s father was Samuel Reich, born on July 25, 1807 in Germany.  Samuel died in 1854 in Alt Elft, Bessarabia.  His mother was Maria Hamann (1798-1845).

Samuel Reich’s father was Gottlieb Reich (born in February 16, 1794 in Tornova, Poland), and his mother was Louisa Gutsch (1806-1843). Gottlieb had a second marriage to Christine Jaess.

Reinhold emigrated to America at the age of 17 from Antwerp, Belgium on the SS Zeeland on October 12, 1901, arriving at Ellis Island, New York on October 22, 1901.  His origin is shown as Eigenheim, Bessarabia.  His final destination was shown on papers as Ritzville, Washington.

Reinhold must have spent some time in Ritzville, but is later shown as a boarder in Spokane, employed with Express Wagon.  His name is shown as Rinard Rich, age 26.  He married Bertha Kison on December 14, 1911 at the age of 28, in the Salem Church in Ralston, Washington.  Ralston was a small farm town south of Ritzville.  The Salem church was eventually destroyed, but the attached cemetery still exists and is being maintained.  One of the members prepared a record of the Salem Church, with membership and events listed.    I have a copy of that record (a booklet).

Reinhold’s brother Johannes came to visit him from Canada while he was in Ritzville.  He showed in the Canadian Border Crossing document at Eastwood, Idaho, that he was going to visit his “bro” Rinard in Ritzville.  Through a contact in Canada with his granddaughter, I found out that Christian Reich was father to both.  Prior to that I didn’t know who his father was.  Reinhold had two brothers, both lived in Canada.

After moving to Spokane, Reinhold worked as a truck driver, and owned a truck which he used in a moving business.  However, the moving business was being dominated by big companies, and they resented his competition in their business.  That may have led to a confrontation that led to his death, listed as a “suicide” in a fall from the bridge over the Spokane River.

He had also dabbled in gold mining, and had bought some mining equipment, and probably mining stock which did not produce income, and caused hardship for the family.

Bertha Kison was born on October 18, 1893 in Ritzville to Friedrich Kison and Rosina Radke.  The Kison Family was one of the founders of Eigenheim, Bessarabia.  They had moved from Kulm in about 1861, the year in which Eigenheim was founded.  Emelia (or Amelia) was born in 1889 and Simon was born in 1890 in Eigenheim.  Emelia was 4 and Simon was 3 when the family emigrated to Ritzville, Washington in 1893.  Bertha was the oldest born in the US in Ritzville in 1893.  Her brother Gustav was born in Ralston, Washington when Bertha was 2 years old.  Then came Maria in 1897, Daniel in 1903, and Alvina in 1903.  Maria died in 1901 at just 4 years of age.  There was an epidemic of cholera in the area about that time, and many died of the disease.  The sad tale is recorded at the Salem Cemetery on the tombstones still existing.

After marrying Reinhold and moving to Spokane, times were difficult and family income inadequate.  For many years Bertha worked in a restaurant, doing scullery work, and later cleaned homes for the wealthy.  After Reinhold died, she was the only breadwinner, and supported the family which included Alma, Rosemarie, and Elmer.  The home that they lived in at E. 1303 12^th Avenue is still existing in Spokane, and was my birthplace, in the front bedroom. The family doctor came to the house in those days.

After seven years as a widow, Bertha married Emanuel Siewert on July 18, 1946 when she was 52 years old.  Emanuel was a widower and had three teenage children.  Bertha took on the job of raising the three teenagers.  The son died in a swimming accident at about 16 years of age.  The two daughters maintained contact with Bertha after Emanuel died on December 4, 1955 at the age of 58.  They had been married for 9 years.  It was interesting to find out that there was a Siewert already in the family tree, so they may have been distant cousins.

Bertha sold the Siewert house a few years after he died, since it was much too big for her to live in alone.  She bought another home in Spokane where we celebrated many Christmas dinners.  Later she sold that house and moved in to a duplex which Ben Schmidt had built in the Spokane Valley.  She had her own half of the duplex adjoining Alma and Ben so they could make sure she was properly looked after.  They typically had their evening meals together, and went to church together in Spokane.

As a side note, the church they attended was originally the German Baptist Church in Spokane on Arthur Street.  Many Germans from Russia were members there.  After the change from the German language to English, her brother Simon preached to those preferring German sermons in the basement of the church.  That church still exists, but is no longer in use since it had a stone foundation which was not considered safe.  The members of the church moved to a new building in Spokane (Terrace Heights Baptist Church) which they had constructed.  Her son Elmer laid the brick for the building. 

Bessarabia History

Records for my family on both sides show that they came from Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Bessarabia, and other names for the same place.  The confusion arises because the area was very much in flux as to who was in control at the particular time that the record was made.  Other than that, they all tie back into Germany, where they originated at an unknown date.

This article was copied from a source which I did not record, but gives a historical, accurate record of how the Germans, and particularly my family settled in Bessarabia.
Quote:
German colonization of Bessarabia began in 1812 when Russia acquired this territory from the Ottoman Empire.  Tsar Alexander I issued an invitation to Germans--mainly in the Duchy of Warsaw--to settle in this comparatively empty region.  These Germans had migrated there from several German states--especially Prussia, Wurttemberg and Baden--to colonize the Prussian districts after the first partition of Poland.  When theses regions became part of the Duchy of Warsaw and were suppressed by the state and fell into misery and hunger, many of the Germans were willing to follow the Tsar's call.  Germans from southwestern Germany, particularly Wurttemberg, also responded to the invitation.  That region was seriously depressed because of the Napoleonic Wars and suffered under arbitrary rule of the princes, high taxation, religious quarrels, and many failed harvests.  The Tsar promised the settlers--as Catherine the Great had done before in 1763--free land (65 hectares), exemption from military service, and religious freedom.  (It is important to note that Catherine the Great was herself of German descent.)

Between 1814 and 1842 about 9,000 Germans migrated to Bessarabia and founded 25 mother colonies on about 150,000 hectares of land given to them by the state.  Because of their high birth rate, the number of colonists increased to 25,000 by 1842, leading to a sharp increase in demand for new land.  As it became available, daughter colonies were established. In this manner, more than 150 communities were set up in 125 years of German Settlement in Bessarabia.  Between 1861 and 1919 the German population of Bessarabia rose from 33,000 to 79,000, accounting for three percent of the total.  The highest concentration of Germans was found in the Akkerman Kreis where they represented more that 16% of the population.

But some colonists left Bessarabia again.  Large numbers emigrated in 1874 when the exemption from military service was lifted. (Until 1939, altogether 19,000 Bessarabians would emigrate, of whom 11,320 would go to North America--most of them in 1902--and another 2,000 to South America.)

Although relations between the Germans and Russians in Bessarabia were generally good, pressure from the nationalist and Pan-Slavist movements led to a continuous decline in the number of privileges that the German colonists had been granted.  The situation deteriorated even  more with the outbreak of the First World War.  German schools were closed, and German services and newspapers were prohibited.  They lost much of their land and were threatened with mass evacuation to Siberia.  However, the severe winter and the Revolution of 1917 kept them from this fate.

After Bessarabia had become part of Rumania in 1918, the liquidation and expropriation laws were repealed.  Although the colonists received their land back, the German Schools were allowed to reopen, and church services could be offered in German, many of the concessions were once more withdrawn.  The following two decades would, however, be characterized by considerable economic prosperity and cultural development as the Bessarabians tried to retain their German heritage and to be loyal Rumanian citizens at the same time.  At the end of the 1930's they were even allowed to establish church schools again.  In the 1930's, 2.8% of the population of Bessarabia was German.  There was an active cultural life among the Bessarabian Germans: In 1940, 61 villages had German libraries, the teachers' organization and the Hochshulverband with its collection of books, and their were five German bookstores.

In 1940, Bessarabia and northern Bukovina were occupied by Soviet troops.  Against the background of the Hitler-Stalin-Pact, it was agreed to resettle the more than 93,000 Bessarabian Germans to
the Reich.  They were allowed to take along food, furniture and agricultural implements, but were not compensated for their homes and whatever wealth they had accumulated.  They wound up primarily in camps in Saxony, Franconia, Bavaria, the Sudentenland, and Austria.

After  difficult times in the resettlement camps, the great majority of the Bessarabians was resettled on farms in the Warthe-Gau and  West Prussia in 1941/1942 from which their Polish owners had recently been expelled.  Many Bessarabians were aware of the fact that they had displaced another ethnic group  for their own advantage, but did not ask many questions.

In January 1945, Russian troops advanced on the regions where the Bessarabia Germans had been settled, and while trying the flee, the Germans suffered tremendous losses.  Those who made it came to Mecklenburg, Brandenburg, Saxony, Lower Saxony, and Holstein.  Others were deported to the Caucasus and to Siberia.
UNQUOTE

Those who were deported to Siberia were sent in cattle cars in the middle of winter with snow and freezing conditions which they were not prepare for.  Many froze to death or died because of the severe conditions.  Those that survived were unloaded in Siberia with no provisions made for where they were to live or how they were to survive.

Search for Ludwig Schmidt

I need some help in finding what happened to my Great Great Grandfather Ludwig Schmidt born February 28, 1862 in Nataliendorf, Zhytomir, Ukraine.

Ludwig married Helene Mueller on January 10, 1882 in Heimtal Parish, Zhytomir  Volhynia, Ukraine. She was born in 1859 and died very young in 1892.  Her death left Ludwig with three young boys to raise.  Herman (7 years old), Wilhelm (4 years old) and August (3 years old). According to Wilhelm (Bill Smith) as reported by his daughter, Ludwig remarried, probably in part to have a new mother for the three boys.  I suspect that the new wife provided Ludwig with at least another son and a daughter.  I have a picture that I believe shows the three sons from Helene, plus a daughter and a son.  Unfortunately, the picture is not labelled to identify the new wife or the two children.

Wilhelm (Bill Smith) apparently did not emigrate to Canada with Herman and August, but he did leave later and went to Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, Canada.  He married Mary Mueller on February 28, 1910 in Spokane, Washington.  While in the Winnipeg area, he worked for Mary's father in a wood lot, where Mary was tasked with raising her young brothers and sisters.  Bill and Mary eloped and went by train to Spokane, Washington where they were married.  They later moved back to Canada and settled in Bigger, Saskatchewan.

Bill's daughter told me that he had left because he could not get along with Ludwig's new wife.  This is the only confirmation I have that Ludwig remarried, but I seriously need to find out who the new wife was.  That would help me find out if Ludwig also emigrated, or if he stayed behind in the Ukraine.  I hope that he did emigrate, because conditions got really bad in the years before WWI, and even worse after WWI was over.

I have found two Ludwig Schmidt's that have birthdates close to February 28, 1862, but do not match exactly.  One was in Alberta, Canada, and another in North Dakota, USA. If I can get some corroborating data, that may help me determine if Ludwig emigrated to either Canada or the United States, and perhaps locate the other family lines of the half-brother and half-sister, and perhaps more of Ludwig's children.

I have no remembrance of Herman mentioning any contact with Ludwig after he and his brother's left the Ukraine for Canada.  However, those were different times and communications were at best difficult.  I do remember that after WWII, Herman and Mary sent care packages to people in Europe.  This continued for some time until the requests for help included items like nylons and luxuries that made it appear that their basic needs were being provided.  Herman was not wealthy, being a crop farmer, growing vegetables and other crops which he took to the farmer's markets in Spokane, Washington as his sole source of income.  Since the requests included nylons, could the person receiving the help have been his young sister? or the second wife?  I have a vague memory of hearing that there was a sister that was married in the Ukraine and did not emigrate.

Ludwig was the son of Georg Schmidt and Eleanor Kols.  Georg was born on February 7. 1842 in Guldendorf, Odessa, Russia.  I believe, but cannot confirm that Georg was the son of Georg Schmidt, born about 1820.  (Approximate-No Data).  There was a Georg Schmidt that went to Volhynia from Plock/Dutchty of Warsaw, Poland in 1813.  He is included in a list of Emigrants from Poland, Duchy of Warsaw between 1813 and 1866. He travelled with Andreas, Christian, Gottlieb, Johann and Michael Schmidt.

A Georg Schmidt is also included in "Emigrants List of the Volga Germans" Mostly from Hesse and the area of the Upper Rhine, in the period 1763-1769, and from West Prussia to the area of Samara in the time period 1859-1865. This list is published by Karl Stumpp, a well known researcher and writer about the German Emigration to Bessarabia.

Early History of the Schmidt-Tobert-Reich-Kison Family

This blog has been prepared to provide a format for the Schmidt-Tobert-Reich-Kison family to share and exchange information on the history of this family.

All four families, including my Paternal and Maternal lines go back to Bessarabia, now Ukraine and eventually to Winnepeg, Canada or Washington State in the USA.  All four are originally German, and at some point in family history emigrated to Bessarabia to take advantage of the Czarina's (Katherina the Great) offer of free farmland.  Some groups that migrated to Bessarabia from Germany even were aided in travel expense, and seeds, and other aid to get established and get started farming.

The Germans were promised a lot of freedoms as part of the arrangement.  They were to be able to essentially govern themselves with no taxes, their own schools, churches, language, and a promise not to have their men required to fight in the Czarina's army.  All of these promises were later broken, and as a result many, including at least one of each of my families, left the area to go to Canada or the USA.  Several, including my grandfather and uncles from the Schmidt family escaped to avoid army duty.

My Paternal Grandfather Herman Schmidt was born in 1885 in Zhytomir, Volhynia, Bessarabia.  As a teenager, he tried to escape several times but was sent back,  until he and his brother August were able to successfully escape in about 1908 using the passports of two German men who had been killed while  in the Russian Army.  They were given the passports by the mother of the two men. His brother Wilhelm left later.  All three originally went to Winnipeg, Canada.

My Paternal Grandmother Mary Tobert was born in Poland in 1891, and emigrated to Winnipeg, Canada  with her mother and her step father with her family.  Herman and Mary were married in 1910 in Winnipeg, Canada.  Her father Heinrich Tobert died somewhat mysteriously while working on the railroad in Poland.  He was working with a road crew, perhaps building a railroad bridge.  He never returned home, and noone wanted to talk about what had happened.  Mary's mother remarried to man named Richter, and emigrated to Winnepeg, Manitoba, Canada with her children, all using the Richter name.

My Maternal grandfather Reinhold Reich also was born in Bessarabia, in Alt Elft in 1883.  He emigrated to Ritzville, Washington, USA, arriving in Ellis Island, New York in 1901.  He moved from there to Spokane, Washington, and was living there in 1910.  He married Bertha Kison in the Salem Church, Ralston, Washington in 1911.  Salem is just south of Ritzville, Washington.

My Maternal Grandmother Bertha Kison was born in Ritzville, Washington in 1893 to Fridreich Kison who had earlier immigrated from Bessarabia.  Friedrich Kison was born in Kulm, Akkerman, Bessarabia.  His family was among the first settlers in Eigenheim, Bessarabia, after leaving Kulm in 1861.  Friedrich Kison was among the first settlers in the Ritzville, Salem, Ralston, Washington area.

I have two family  trees in Ancestry.com, one with the broader scope, including the family of my first wife Sandra Pearson, my second wife Jane Eller, plus the history of aunts and uncles by marriage.  I also have a similar earlier tree in on MyHeritage.com, but I am not currently updating that tree to avoid dual membership costs, and I find Ancestry.com much easier to use, along with being able to document the data I enter for greater accuracy.  The second tree in Ancestry.com is more limited in scope to only include the closer relatives.  I try to keep both of the Ancestry.com trees updated with the same information.

If you are a member of Ancestry.com you will be able to find these trees when you do searches in the Family Trees area.

I will be attempting to add more information on the individuals in the tree to tell some of the background stories and to discuss information that I am seeking on some of the individuals where I need more information.

You can contact me by email at grschmidt38@yahoo.com

George Schmidt, Concord, California, USA