Schönfeld Mennonite Volost (administration) came into being with the new Schönfeld Mennonite settlement in the district of Alexandrovsk, province of Ekaterinoslav (now Zaporizhia Oblast), Russia. Since this settlement was scattered, it was difficult to persuade the local government to grant the Mennonites the customary privilege of self-government. After much effort, particularly by Peter Harder, the first secretary, the government recognized the Schönfeld Volost in 1873. The following villages belonged to it: Schönfeld, Silberfeld, Blumenheim, Kronberg, Rosenhof, and Blumenfeld. Schönfeld was in the center of the settlement and some of the villages were about twenty miles away. The following served the settlement as Oberschulze (mayor): Abraham Driediger, Johann Cornies, Johann Dyck, and Heinrich Wiens. Secretaries were Peter Harder and David P. Dyck. In 1902 a new brick building was erected for the Schönfeld Volost.

Bibliography

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 474. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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