Gottlieb Leinz

* 25.4.1856, +03. 07. 1925 in Krasna.

Of his ancestors, only his father Karl and grandfather Franz have so far been clearly proven.
The origin of the Leinz family (also possible according to the Krasna baptismal register: Lein, Leintz, Lenz, Lentz, Leyno, Lusc, Leinc, Leinez) could not be determined so far.
Franz Leinz is said to have come to Krasna with his family from the neighboring colony of Borodino in 1834. This is not certain.

• In any case, according to GRHS research, the Leinz were not a founding family in Borordino, i.e. they only arrived there - if at all - after 1815.
• There is no entry for Leinz in the church register of Borodino (only available from 1833).
• According to the 1835 census, the name Leinz only existed in Krasna in Bessarabia.
  Although Franz Leinz is said to have moved from Borodino to Krasna only in 1834, there are already entries for Leinz/Linz in the Krasna baptismal register, but they relate almost exclusively to godparents.
  It is interesting in this context that a Franciscus Linz (is this possibly Franz Leinz?) was godfather at the baptism of a girl from Elisabetha in 1814. It is not clear whether this place name refers to Krasna or Tarutino. Both places were initially called that.

Gottlieb Leinz (18 years old) married Anna-Maria Hein (19 years old) on Jan. 27, 1875 in Krasna.
They had eight children, five sons and three daughters.
As a widower, Gottlieb (37) married the widow Anna Habrich (37) on Sept. 1, 1893, and they had one son.

The most important activities of Gottlieb Leinz

1. Gottlieb Leinz ran a farm in Krasna at a time of upheaval.
   Whereas in the past the farmer had an inheritable usufructuary right to the land he held, according to the legal situation around 1871 he himself was the owner of his plots.
   After 1871, each settler received a title deed in which the former family shares of 60 dessjatinen were divided into hereditary farm shares according to the number of male family members present in the family.
   According to the property deed of 1871, Gottlieb's father Karl owned 87 dessjatinen of land. As Gottlieb's brothers died as children, he will have inherited everything, or at least the largest part.
   Gottlieb Leinz was therefore one of the larger landowners in Krasna. As he himself had several sons, he endeavored to increase his land holdings in order to provide each son with a proper inheritance. And this had to be done as far as possible outside the Krasna district.
   Alois Leinz reports on this: When the land in Krasna had already become scarce, my grandfather Gottlieb Leinz and other farmers from Krasna bought land 'auf der Stepp', also called Schag. As this area of land was about 12 km from Krasna, each of the farmers built a farm building there, which usually consisted of two or three rooms, a stable and sheds. The farmers only used their farm buildings when they were working their land. Otherwise these buildings stood empty. Because several Krasna people settled there, these farmsteads on the steppe were called 'New Krasna'. Officially, it probably belonged to New Paris.
   

   Leinz, Alois, My father told, in Heimatbuch, 25 Jahre nach der Umsiedlung, 1965, S. 305

2. Gottlieb Leinz built and operated a steam mill in Krasna together with Hironimus Ternes in 1895.
   Mühlen spielten für die Versorgung der Kolonisten schon von Anfang an eine wichtige Rolle. Mills played an important role in supplying the colonists from the very beginning. Mills were also the first major commercial enterprises founded by the colonists.
   Steam mills were initially heated with straw, later operated with diesel generators (see article by Leinz, Alois, Die Mühle in Krasna in: 25 Jahre nach der Umsiedlung, s. 313). He also reports on many other interesting details about this mill.
   We read about the Krasna mill in a letter to the Dakota Rundschau: 'An engine has been put in the mill. It is now not fired with straw as it used to be. The owners of the mill are: Rochus Ternes, Korbinian Leinz, Franz Dirk, Isidor Leinz, Alexisus Riehl, Josef Steimann, Josef Ternes, Georg Schreiber and the children of Karl Leinz.' These were the descendants of the above mill founders.

3. Gottlieb Leinz was Oberschulze (mayor) of Krasna for many years.
   From 1871 Krasna had its own regional office (until 1918), which was headed by an Oberschulze.
   Eduard Ruscheinsky has identified the head shuls of this period: Gottlieb Leinz held the office in three electoral periods; 1881-1883, 1887-1889, 1905-1910. He was awarded a golden medal of honor (St. Stanislaus) by Tsar Nicholas II when he traveled through Bessarabia in 1908. (Heimatbuch; 25 Jahne nach der Umsiedlung; 1965; Autor: Alois Leinz, S 45).
   This was also reported by Der Staats-Anzeiger Bismarck, North Dakota 26 Januar 1911 Film 11463, Vol. 5, No. 27, Page 3, Krasna, Bessarabien, Rußland Dezember 16, 1910: On December 15, our head schoolmaster Gottlieb H. Leintz ended his official duties. He was highly respected and esteemed by everyone in his service, not because of his wealth, but because of his prudence. He held the office of Oberschulze for five years and also received a gold medal with the ribbon of St. Stanislaus from our gracious Emperor Nicholas the Second in 1908.
   Mr. Leintz is now in charge of our orphan administration.

4. Gottlieb Leinz was involved in the orphan administration.
   In 1869, following the order of the Welfare Committee, the then Maloyaroslavets II Regional Office founded an orphans' fund for the colonies belonging to its territory; initially Krasna was also included. After the establishment of a separate district/territory in Krasna from 1871, Krasna remained a member of the orphans' fund of Malojaroslawetz II.
   The orphan's fund was not an independent body, but an institution of the regional office. Its administration consisted of three elected persons sworn in by the regional office and confirmed by the welfare committee (later by the bailiff): a director and two members. A so-called orphan father was elected in each municipality of the regional office to represent the interests of the orphans and the orphan fund in his municipality. Gottlieb Leinz held this office for Krasna for a time. All orphan fathers of the member communities participated in the administration of the orphan fund.
   The orphan's fund did not have any full-time employees; the clerk took care of the written work.

   The orphan's fund had three important functions:

   • Administration of orphans' assets, the security of which was guaranteed by the municipalities.
   • Lending of orphans' money to creditworthy citizens against collateral.
   • Acceptance and management of deposits, including from private individuals and municipalities.

On the subjects of agriculture in Krasna, the steam mill, the mayor and the orphan administration, the bookh Krasna, the History of a German Bessarabian Villagen can be read further..

Eduard Volk
Neuwied, April 2024