© Mennonite Heritage Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba (Last updated 14 April 2011)


  • Odessa Archives Fund 6: Guardianship Committee of Foreign Settlers in Southern Russia

    Retrieval numbers: Microfilm 791-798, 949-952, 1123-1124,786-790 ,799-802, 953-959; 1120, 1121-1122; CDs 19-25; DVDs 150-155.

    Title: Guardianship Committee of Foreign Settlers in Southern Russia: Odessa Archives Fund 6 fonds
    Dates: 1799-1877; filmed 2000-2010
    Extent: 33 rolls of microfilm : 16 mm
    Extent: 6 CD ROM disks
    Extent: 6 DVD disks
    Repository: Mennonite Heritage Centre Archives

    Historical note

    The "Guardianship Office for Foreign Settlers in New Russia" was established in 1800 in Ekaterinoslav, as the main institution for the management of all foreign colonies in southern Russia region (Ekaterinoslav, Taurida and Kherson provinces/guberniyas). In 1801 it was renamed the "Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers in New Russia" and in 1818 it became the "Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers in Southern Russia", due to the increased number of settlers in New Russia and Bessarabia. The main office was in Ekaterinoslav (1800-1820), then Kishinev (1820-1833), and Odessa (1833-1871). Until 1837 the Guardianship Committee reported to the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (Economic Department). From 1837 to 1871 it reported to the Ministry of State Domains.
    The functions of the Committee were very important and included settling and governing the colonies, the arrangement of colonists, grants or loans for building houses, the sale of cattle, the sale of agricultural equipment and seed, arbitration and settling of disputes, and the promotion of trade, industry and agriculture. The Guardianship Committee for Foreign Settlers in Southern Russia was abolished in 1871, and its functions were transferred to local administrations.

    Scope and content note

    This fonds contains the records of the Russian government department that was responsible for all issues related to the foreign settlers in Russia. The department was charged to ensure the success of the settlers. Of high interest to family historian are the vital records of births, marriages and deaths for the Chortitza Mennonite Colony for much of 1801 and 1802. There are also lists of children vaccinated (see 1809 and 1814 lists). A fair number of files relate to criminal cases or other situations where legal documents were generated due to some type of conflict in the colonies. Other files contain primarily statistical information about the colonies. The files also provide considerable information about how the Office of Guardianship governed the colonies.
    The content is organized chronologically with file descriptions listed in eight (8) separate finding aids called inventories (i.e. Inventories no. 1, 1a, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8).
    See chart below for details.  

    Inventory No.

    1

    1a

    2

    3

    4

    5

    6

    7

    8

    Date inventory was created

    1940

    1940

    1940

    1940

    1940

    1951

    1951

    1951

    1951

    Inclusive dates of files

    1800-1846

    1863-1869

    1847-1852

    1852-1856

    1856-1877

    1819-1876

    1800-1872

    1800-1806

    1808-1871

    Quantity of files in 1940

    9286

    143

    5315

    3095

    6398

    610

    46

    21

    45

    Quantity of files in 1998

    5737

    111

    3344

    1459

    3864

    443

    46

    21

    32

    Date of filming Mennonite-related files

    2000-2010

    2006

    2000

    2001

    2002-2003

    2003, 2006

    2006

    2006

    2006

    MHC retrieval numbers

    microfilm

    791-798, 949-952, 1123-1124; CD/DVD 19-22, 150-155

    CD 25

    micro-film 786-790

    micro-film 799-802

    micro-film 953-959; 1120

    micro-film 1121-1122; CD 24

    CD 24

    CD 24

    CD24

    Links to Inventory File Lists

    Inventory 1 (1799-1841) 14 rolls of microfilm,  4 CD ROM disks and 6 DVD disks.

    Inventory 2 (1847-1852)  5 rolls of microfilm. Place Index.  Name Index.

    Inventory 3 (1852-1856) 4 rolls of microfilm. Name Index.

    Inventory 4 (part 1) (1856-1877)  7 rolls of microfilm. Place Index.  Name Index.

    Inventory 4 (part 2) (1856-1877) 1 roll of microfilm. Place Index.  Name Index.

    Inventory 5 (part 1) (1819-1876)  2 rolls of microfilm.  Name Index

    Inventory 5 (part 2) 6, 7, 8 and 1a (1800-1871) 2 CD ROM disks. Place Index.  Name Index.

    Index terms

    Creators

  • Odessa Archives Fund 6
  • Guardianship Committee of Foreign Settlers in Southern Russia

    Adjunct descriptive data

    Finding aids

    File lists, file abstracts and frame by frame descriptions for selected files related to Mennonite content.

    Notes

    Custodial history

    In 1 June 1918, the Russian Government issued a decree "About Concentration and Centralization of Archives" which resulted in a state system of archival institutions being established. The most valuable records were declared as state property. The Odessa Historical Archives was established in 1920 and the records of the Guardianship Committee were placed there in 1922 as Fund #6. (Most likely the records were with the City of Odessa administration from 1871-1922.) From 1922-1940 the files were arranged chronologically, file descriptions created and a series of inventory lists prepared. By 1940 there were 5 research guides (referred to as "Inventories." During the German-Romanian occupation of the Second World War, many files disappeared. After the war, four additional "inventories" were created and existing lists updated. English and German translations of the Russia file lists begun in the 1990s. Mennonite related materials were selected for a cooperative microfilming venture between North American Mennonite archives and the Odessa Region State Archive starting in 1998, with the first microfilms arriving in North American in 2000.

    Language

    Russian, German, French

    Arrangement

    Described by Alf Redekopp, April 2011.

    Location of originals

    Odessa Region State Archive

    Associated and related materials

    See:
    Mennonite Historical Society of Alberta resources
    Mennonite Archives of Ontario His Mss 11.15
    Germans from Russia Heritage Collections
    See also:
    Odessa Region State Archives Fund 252 Finding Aid (MHC reference shelf)

    Restrictions on access

    None to access

    Other notes

    Acc. Nos. 2000-152, 2001-121, 2003-016, 2003-131, 2003-132, 2006-051, 2011-023