Oberschulze
Oberschulze (German for mayor or executive official) was the highest officer of the district or county (German, Gebietsamt; Russian volost) in the Mennonite settlements in Russia, Manitoba, Mexico, and South America. Each village had a mayor (Schulze) and all the villages of a single Mennonite settlement were administered by the Gebietsamt, of which the Oberschulze was the head. The position of the Oberschulze in civic matters was parallel to that of the elder in the spiritual realm (see also Government of Mennonites in Russia).
Molotschna Oberschulzen were Klaas Wiens, 1804-1806; Johann Klassen, 1806-1809; Gerhard Reimer and Johann Klassen, 1812-1815; Peter Töws, Gerhard Enns, Johann Klassen (Orloff), Johann Klassen (Tiegerweide), and Johann Regehr, 1833-1842; Abraham Töws, 1842-1848; David Friesen, 1848-1865; Franz Dyck, 1865-1867; Abraham Driedger and Kornelius Töws, 1868-1873; Abraham Wiebe, 1873-1879; Peter Dück and Klaas Enns, 1882-1885; Johann Enns, 1885-1889; Klaas Enns and Peter Neufeld, 1889-1899; Franz Nickel, 1899-1906; Dietrich Dyck, 1906-1910.
In 1870 a new district was organized known as "Gnadenfeld," where the following served as Oberschulze: Wilhelm Ewert, 1870-1871; Franz Penner, 1871; Peter Ewert, Gerhard Fast, and David Unruh, 1878-1887; Gerhard Dürksen, 1887-1904; Jacob Dürksen, 1904-1910.
Bibliography
Friesen, Peter M. Die Alt-Evangelische Mennonitische Brüderschaft in Russland (1789-1910) im Rahmen der mennonitischen Gesamtgeschichte. Halbstadt: Verlagsgesellschaft "Raduga", 1911: 678 ff.
Additional Information
The Oberschulzen of Chortitza were:
| Oberschulz | Years |
| Peter Siemens (1765-1847) | 1801-1805 |
| Nicholas Krahn (b. 1754) | 1805-1808 |
| Peter Siemens (1765-1847) | 1808-1823 |
| Isaac Toews (1774-1831) | 1823-1826 |
| Jacob Penner (b. 1787?) | 1826-1829 |
| Peter Loewen (b. 1775) | 1829-1832 |
| Jacob Bartsch (1797-1877) | 1832-1838 |
| Jacob von Kampen (1793-1867) | 1838-1841 |
| Jacob Bartsch (1797-1877) | 1841-1854 |
| Johann Siemens (1816-1857) | 1854-1857 |
| Jacob Dyck (1811-1875) | 1857-1866 |
| Jacob Hamm | 1866-1869 |
| Heinrich Martens | 1869-1872 |
| Jacob Braun (1829-1894) | 1872-1875 |
| Isaac Lehn (1829-1896) | 1875-1878 |
| Peter Andres (1828-1908) | 1878-1881 |
| Johann Hildebrandt (1828-1905) | 1881-1887 |
| Franz Thiessen (1832-1892) | 1887-1890 |
| Peter Dyck (1837-1907) | 1890-1893 |
| Heinrich Froese (1834-1900) | 1893-1896 |
| Peter Thiessen (1852-1918) | 1896-1899 |
| Kornelius Martens (1857-1921) | 1899-1902 |
| Peter Koop (1865-1936) | 1902-1905 |
| Jacob Wiebe (b. 1859) | 1905-1908 |
| Johann Hiebert | 1908-1909 |
| Jacob Wiebe (b. 1859) | 1909-1911 |
| Abraham Paetkau (1874-1941) | 1911-1914 |
| Johann Martens (1871-1955) | 1914-1917 |
| Peter Hildebrandt | 1917-1917 |
| Peter Ens | 1917-1919 |
| Author(s) | Cornelius Krahn |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius. "Oberschulze." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 24 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Oberschulze&oldid=134897.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius. (1959). Oberschulze. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 24 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Oberschulze&oldid=134897.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, pp. 14-15. All rights reserved.
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