From the history of the district up to 19. Century
The farmers of the valley
"... clearing in the Marienwerder valley began, when landmaster Hermann Balke left the bank threshold of the Nogat (Oberfeld, Mareese) to his civil fellow combatants an the lowersaxony Dietrich von Depenow 300 hooves theglobal Tiefenau ... From the hight the there adjacents resident transmitted their cattle at flow of the flood -, pig and herds of horse on the pasture, left by them the fruitful mud soils of the bank thresholds interspersed with all kinds of roots treat down and arranged thus the clearing more simply, fewer time-consuming.
Gradually the bank threshold of the Nogat changed itself. The 51 citizens of the city Marienwerder could sow the brewing barley, which they needed for their malt and brewing houses at flow of the water in narrow field strips. But no citizen of the city structured there its messuage, even the househouse houses was still situated on the eastern hill to the height.
Individual addresses will have already existed however despite all inhospitableness of the valley around the year 1300. Fisherman, which dared it to endure on the sandhills at the high lake also the winter over or the shepherds, who resisted on the high bank thresholds in fixed blockhouses the inclemency of the winter and spring, may have been established. But the farmer was missing.
The need to win for the increasing people number ... new settlement area... led to the resolution to make at least the best usable and the normal flood floods not suspended soils in the valley... The agreement of bishop and section concerning iistrequirements at "new Werder", which 1334 took place, freed the opportunity to establishments of village. When they took place, is not assignable... The inhabitants of the valley villages were Germans...
The city Marienwerder their valley possession was extended by bishop Berthold 1336 up to the center of the Weichsel. On again ?????? the citizens a German interest village created Ziegellack which resembled possession right as the episcopal villages received. You followed the city Mewe with citizen village (Mewischfelde). The owners of Rothof-Tiefenau settled hard at the south boundary of their possession and under same conditions as the above village Scholpin, which is called several times with border disputes ... At the same time single settlements in shape of jugs at the ferryplaces developed over the Weichsel: Rote Bude, to which south boundary of Ziegellack where a dock of the inhabitants of Marienwerder, which landing place of the weichselnavigator was established, the white and the red jug on the large pasture at the highway along the Weichselstreet of the ferryplace opposite Mewe (Johannisdorf), the Fährkrug Schadewinkel....
The havy fights in 15. and at the beginning 16. century depopulated the valley, so that the individual inhabitants are only announced, no longer closed rural pareshes ... Only fishermen dwellings are and jugs at the past driving inches in the valley...
The at the beginning of a new settlement Salomon Reimann, the first lay office captain made in Marienwerder, in the year 1564 at the river Liebe in the valley on the field corridor for today`s Kampangen. Because of the inundations this attempt failed. On the other hand later on Grooß Paradies which was situated more south four farmers with success cultivated themselves one year, after the river Liebe was diverted to the Hohensee by a channel from the supply. Then 1574 Friesen, Dutch as forerunners of West-German refugees (Perbandt, Heimson, Pelke, Lamterson, Jochim Lamkeson and Jochim Clausson) announced themselves for settlement on 13 hooves in Kampangen and involved further farmers, who became domestic in Ellerwalde.
With them one came into our of areas unknown corridor organization and a new possession right, the "Zeitemphyteuse" (hereditary lease to 30-40 years, in later times to eternal) up. The form of the new villages of the valley did not remain any more the medieval meadow village (ribbon-built village with extended workstation for the church, which village pond and the joint shepard- and other houses, before whom road split and gathered behind that it again) and the village community with corridor obligation. The northwest German brought the march farm settlement also, which was adapted to ist character to independent restaurant form completely. The " community " with its corridor obligation appeared to them as exterior character of the rural dependency on the remaining village members. They rented in community the locality concerned, divided then however the corridor into longitudinal pieces transverse to the road, which were enough of the Weichsel to the opposite boundary, and set its yard to top of the strip. Like that everyone was into connected pieces for itself. The formula, which often used, " everyone for all, all for one " referred therefore only to the interest performance. The slope to the individualism could not find sharper printout than in the march farm settlements... The march farm settlements were expanded also since within being situated the villages, as partial in Kampangen, Ellerwalde and Schinkenberg, against it only on Rundewiese ...
The generall settlement eagerness set 1575 in the upper valley with the year ... The upper valley could be settled, up to Rundewiese in more than ten years fully. For the temporal order the interest books of the office give information: Groß Paradies 1565, Kampangen (to 2. Marks) 1574, Kanitzken 1574, Ellerwalde 1775, Schinkenberg 1576, Stangendorf 1576, Groß und Klein Nebrau 1580, Russenau 1581, Groß und Klein Grabau 1581, Neuhöfen 1584, Treugenkohl 1587, Neu Muehlbach 1587 ...
The landlooking up West German ones (dutchmen, Westphalians, Frisians, Holsteiner and Pommern-Mecklenburger) brought apparent from their homeland apart from their knowledge in the dyke construction substantial cash money also, so that they were not dependent by the office on the allocation of living inventory. Mostly they came as refugees from religious reasons, had to profess itself however to the lutherician denomination after Prussian rite, if they did not want to be proven. Mennonites (such, no oath placing ??????
The oldest, directly to the Weichsel created and with the village condition provided village is Kanitzken. It received 15 yard places on the 40 hooves, which belonged to the Gemarkung . The facility document of the village, which the farmers sought to improve by own negotiations in king mountain, became the sample for the leases for the remaining. In it it means: " of God grace we Albrecht Friedrich ... say ... that in the ???????
Dutchmen Dirike Johannsen, Hansen Silbermann, Johann Claussen, Lorenz Gertsen, Joachim Witt and largely Joachim Witt including their fellows the property Kanitzken in our office Marienwerder., which in former times inhabitants of Lichtenau (when pastureland) held, within its being certain boundaries on 30 years of Michaelis 1575 off rented. "
The designation " dutchman " for the farmers and only for these has with the homeland to do from which it came, nothing. The word, then is called it, must actually " striking countries " (Rodeländer) be interpreted, because with dutchman also Pommern are called, which received same right.
The farmers settled in Kanitzken changes partially within the first thirty years lease period to others again to the settlement output places, so e.g. a Witt to Weichselburg. On a corridor card Kanitzkens from the year 1607 are individually specified the farmers. Of the boundery against Gr. Grabau up to the boundary against Weichselburg Dirk Brandt, the Schulze Jochim Jonas, Wessen, Wilhelmsen, Paulsen, Dirksen, Zink, Jacobsen, Wortensen, Quiring, Krueger, Claussen, Gertsen. The places of residence are not determined, the church books begin only 20 years late. ...
The direct origin of the new immigrants, the farmers, their farmhands, farm servants, Tagelöhner and the craftsmen cannot be determined to 1623 at all. Trust-, registers of deaths and birth exist only since 1623 in Nebrau, in Marienwerder still later. The village privileges, lease documents, interest registers do not give notion, there the Dorfschaften not to particulars, but to the municipality were altogether leased. The contracts with Kampangen and Kanitzken, already mentioned, make an exception. In addition, the specification is incomplete there. From the been issued court decisions, from complains and reports a set of approximately 50 names of farmers can be tetermined, who come of to the first lease period approximately to 1670.
Two main groups of the origin are to be differentiated: Northwest German and Pommern. The latters are mainly in round meadow provable and spread from there to the north. The older settlements Kanitzken, Kampangen, Ellerwalde, Schinkenberg and Stangendorf are settled of northwest German farmers, the later following – e.g. Nebrau, Weichselburg, Russenau, Grabau and Neuhöfen – of Pommern. ...
Under the west German ones, many jerky items,
which became heavy it, were to the refugees before religious pursuits to
become established. Consequently in the first years of the first term of
lease a regrouping had already taken place. But today there is still al
large set of families, which are in the male trunk descendants of the first
immigrants: Adrian, Brandt, Dietrichsen, Dirksen, Gibbe, Heinrichsen, Wildbrad,
Peckholz, Pokrandt, Quiring, Thimm, Witt, Menz ..."
Source: Sonderschrift des Vereins für
Familienforschung in Ost- und Westpreussen e.V., Nr. 42; Wernicke, Erich,
Kreis Marienwerder, Aus der Geschichte des Landkreises bis zum 19. Jahrhundert,
Hamburg 1979, Im Selbstverlag des Vereins, ISSN 0505-2734