February 21, 1993

Dear Aunts and Uncles,

My interest in our family roots and history seems to be growing over the last few years. I want an opportunity to copy any old letters and some of the memories from your childhood about the way you grew-up, your aunts, uncles, and grandparents - to save for the next generations. The best part of genealogy is the human interest stories that tell something of the way our people were, their hopes and struggles in the olden times.

Perhaps this letter can get you started jotting down some memories. Any notes I receive will be made available to the whole clan; I know that we each hold in our memory some stories and experiences that will bring joy to your grandchildren. (I'm sure, for example, that some of you remember some stories about your grandmother Frances Kaufmann.)

I thought you might be interested in one such story about a direct ancestor, Jacob Kauffmann, born in 1709.

On the back of this sheet is a listing of Jacob Kauffmann's children, grandchildren, etc. I have highlighted our direct ancestors from Peter Albrecht back to Jacob Kauffmann, to make it easier to read. Note that the numbers (1-- 2-- etc.) indicate which generation each person belongs to. For example, this branch of our family tree starts with 1-- Jacob KAUFFMANN (1709), then 2-- Jacob KAUFFMANN (his son). The spouses, who married into our family line, are indicated by "sp-". The birth dates are shown in parentheses, for example, "7-- Peter ALBRECHT (1880).

I hope this letter finds you all well and that you enjoy the family history notes. Drop me a line if the spirits move you.

Your nephew,

Geoffrey Anderson

Your Grandmother, Frances Kaufmann

Your paternal grandmother (Peter Albrecht's mother) was Frances (Freni) Kaufmann, born in 1852. Freni, a young mother of 20 years, and her husband Andreas Albrecht (b. 1847), a 30 years old, Laborer, and two children Johan (4) and Anna (Infant) migrated from Russia to the United States with other Swiss Volhynian Mennonites aboard the S. S. City of Chester (Jas Kunnud was the ship Master) leaving from Liverpool and Twendown England and arriving in the Port of New York on 24th of August, 1874. They settled in the Freeman-Marion area of South Dakota.

Volhynia during the 19th century was a province of Western Russia. Most or all of Volhynia is now within the Ukraine. One of the villages in Volhynia is Horodyszcze (Horodisch) the European home of the Andreas and Freni Albrecht family.

Frances Kaufmann's Great Great Grandfather,

Jacob Kauffmann

The following is based on an article by Jerold A Stahly in the periodical, "Mennonite Family History", Volume VIII, Number 4, October 1989, p 129-134. Publishers address: 18 W. Main Street, P.O. Box 171, Elverson, PA 195200-0171.

Freni (Kaufmann) Albrechts grandfather, Peter Kauffmann had been born 1770 in France and emigrated to Poland and then Volhynia with his bride (8 days after their marriage.) Peter Kauffmann's grandfather was Jacob Kauffmann (1709-1780.) Jacob began raising his family at Mortzwiller in the province of Alsace, France. By 1745 they had moved to Maison Rouge (the red house) estate in the Blumbergerwald, a forest north of the village of Florimont. This forest was large with many ponds, and was also known as the forest of Normanvillars. It was owned by the Lords of Florimont. Jacob Kauffmann's family was probably the first Anabaptist family in the forest. By 1780 a dozen Anabaptist families were there, earning their livelihood mainly by weaving. By 1760, Jacob Kauffmann had left the Maison Rouge estate to his oldest son Hans, and moved to Mundigo. From about 1766 to 1775, the family seems to have lived at Sainte-Suzanne in the county of Montbeliard, France.

A farmer named Hans Kauffmann died at Sainte-Suzanne in 1767; he had been born in Montbeliard. His widow Stini (Christina) Schwarri several children left the farm at least by 1772 when she remarried (Daniel Graber of Bethoncourt.) Perhaps Jacob Kauffmann of Mundigo was a brother or close relative of the deceased Hans, and moved to Sainte-Suzanne to keep the farm in the Kauffmann family. Hans and Jacob may have been grandchildren of Isaac Kauffmann of Clemont, the only known Kauffmann householder in the principality when Jacob was born in 1709.

Jacob Kauffmann and his youngest son returned to Mundigo between 1775 and 1779. It was there that Jacob died in 1780, and his widow Marrey (Amstutz) Kauffmann died on February 22, 1785. Jacob's death was recorded in the Montbeliard Church Record by his son-in-law Hans Richen, the elder minister and husband of Jacob's daughter Barbara.

"On this date, February 23, 1780, Jacob Kauffmann my father-in-law died at Mundigo in Alsace, at 5 pm, an old man of 71 years this coming May, infected and affected by dropsy so that he was very terribly swollen, and he was buried on February 24 at 6 pm, in the kitchen garden at Mundigo, with permission from the priest and the lord of the estate, leaving 8 principal heirs, but how he has ordered his affairs is unknown to me, so the above is given as the truth, and I Hans Richen witness as above. . . . On April 4, 5, and 6, 1780, the heirs assembled at Mundigo in the presence of Petter Kauffmann and Petter Klopfenstein and requested the household estate, but with great trouble, the mother, the surviving widow, became very unruly, and dealt with great bias, which is not fright, but is sinful. So each of the heirs received 2559# 6ss., but the disobedient Joggi of the sawmill gets 1000# more than any other, and the mother half of all household goods and the property she brought to the marriage in advance."

The symbol # is evidently the symbol for the French pound or livre; "ss" is evidently the abbreviation for sous.

Jacob Kauffmann's son Jacob, and Grandson Peter

The original text referred to Jacob's son Jacob Kauffmann (also our direct ancestor) as "der ungehorsammer Joggi auf der Saggi." Note that the Kauffmanns spoke the Swiss dialect of German, despite the fact that they lived in France for several generations.

Exactly what disobedience the son Jacob was charged with is unclear. Jacob had married Frenni Eicher on November 9, 1762 at Mundigo. He was later a sawyer at the Bendorf sawmill in Alsace; he died February 5, 1781. He had from two wives seven living children, with the eighth child still in the mother, expected any day.

According to his brother-in-law Hans Richen, Jacob was a careless householder and a disobedient man. It is interesting to note that neither Jacob's other marriage nor the death of his wife Frenni Eicher were ever recorded in the Montbeliard register. This Jacob Kauffmanen's seven children included [probably Jacob, born 1767 and baptized 7/14/1782], Peter (b. 1770), Marrey (b. 1763-1772?). It is not clear whether their mother was Freni Eicher or Jacob Kauffmann's other unnamed wife.

Note that Jacob's son Peter (b.1770) was the great grandfather of your grandmother Frances Kaufman; Peter was one of two Kauffmanns that migrated from Montbeliard France, February 8 1791, to Poland and later to Russia.