Johann Cornies
Encyclopedia
Johann Cornies (20 June 1789 – 13 March 1848) was a Mennonite
German
settler to the Russian Empire
.
settlement of Bärwalde (Niedźwiedzica)
, near Danzig (Gdańsk)
in West Prussia
. He was a son of Johann Cornies (born in Mühlhausen, East Prussia
) and Aganetha Cornies. He had 3 brothers; Peter Cornies (1791-1840s), David Cornies (1794-1850s), and Heinrich Cornies (1806-?). In 1804, his family moved to Molotschna
, a Mennonite settlement in what is now Ukraine
. He married with Agnes Klassen (1792-1840s), and they had a son and a daughter of the same names.
Cornies was the first president of The Agricultural Improvement Society, an Odessa
-based commission that supported German colonists
. The organization introduced modern farming practices to the colonies and later extended its reach to education and social life. The commission was sponsored by the Russian government with the hope that the master farming techniques of the Mennonites could be introduced to Jewish, Tatar and Russian villages. The society introduced dryland farming
, fertilizer
and four-year crop rotation
. Planting tobacco
and mulberry
trees for sericulture
were promoted.
Cornies owned a large estate, Jushanlee, a model farm and showplace of south Russia. Crown prince
s Alexander I
and Alexander II
as well as other government officials visited the estate. His holdings were expanded by gifts from the government for his services and totaled 100 km² (24,710.5 acre) at his death. He owned a large herd of thoroughbred cattle, 8,000 merino
sheep and four hundred horses.
Cornies helped also with the immigration and colonisation of Jews. He died at Orloff
, a village in the Molotschna
colony.
Mennonite
The Mennonites are a group of Christian Anabaptist denominations named after the Frisian Menno Simons , who, through his writings, articulated and thereby formalized the teachings of earlier Swiss founders...
German
History of Germans in Russia and the Soviet Union
The German minority in Russia and the Soviet Union was created from several sources and in several waves. The 1914 census puts the number of Germans living in Russian Empire at 2,416,290. In 1989, the German population of the Soviet Union was roughly 2 million. In the 2002 Russian census, 597,212...
settler to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
.
Biography
Cornies was born in the Vistula delta MennoniteVistula delta Mennonites
Vistula delta Mennonites settled in the delta of the Vistula between the late 16th century and 1945.-Origins:The Mennonite movement was founded by Menno Simons, a Dutch priest who left the Catholic Church in 1536 and became a leader within the Anabaptist movement...
settlement of Bärwalde (Niedźwiedzica)
Niedzwiedzica, Pomeranian Voivodeship
Niedźwiedzica is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stegna, within Nowy Dwór Gdański County, Pomeranian Voivodeship, in northern Poland...
, near Danzig (Gdańsk)
Gdansk
Gdańsk is a Polish city on the Baltic coast, at the centre of the country's fourth-largest metropolitan area.The city lies on the southern edge of Gdańsk Bay , in a conurbation with the city of Gdynia, spa town of Sopot, and suburban communities, which together form a metropolitan area called the...
in West Prussia
West Prussia
West Prussia was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773–1824 and 1878–1919/20 which was created out of the earlier Polish province of Royal Prussia...
. He was a son of Johann Cornies (born in Mühlhausen, East Prussia
East Prussia
East Prussia is the main part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast from the 13th century to the end of World War II in May 1945. From 1772–1829 and 1878–1945, the Province of East Prussia was part of the German state of Prussia. The capital city was Königsberg.East Prussia...
) and Aganetha Cornies. He had 3 brothers; Peter Cornies (1791-1840s), David Cornies (1794-1850s), and Heinrich Cornies (1806-?). In 1804, his family moved to Molotschna
Molotschna
Molotschna Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhia Oblast in Ukraine. Today is called Molochansk with a population of under 10,000. The settlement is named after the Molochna River which forms its western boundary. Today the land mostly falls within the Tokmatskyi and...
, a Mennonite settlement in what is now Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. He married with Agnes Klassen (1792-1840s), and they had a son and a daughter of the same names.
Cornies was the first president of The Agricultural Improvement Society, an Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
-based commission that supported German colonists
Volga German
The Volga Germans were ethnic Germans living along the River Volga in the region of southern European Russia around Saratov and to the south. Recruited as immigrants to Russia in the 18th century, they were allowed to maintain German culture, language, traditions and churches: Lutherans, Reformed,...
. The organization introduced modern farming practices to the colonies and later extended its reach to education and social life. The commission was sponsored by the Russian government with the hope that the master farming techniques of the Mennonites could be introduced to Jewish, Tatar and Russian villages. The society introduced dryland farming
Dryland farming
Dryland farming is an agricultural technique for non-irrigated cultivation of drylands.-Locations:Dryland farming is used in the Great Plains, the Palouse plateau of Eastern Washington, and other arid regions of North America, the Middle East and in other grain growing regions such as the steppes...
, fertilizer
Fertilizer
Fertilizer is any organic or inorganic material of natural or synthetic origin that is added to a soil to supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants. A recent assessment found that about 40 to 60% of crop yields are attributable to commercial fertilizer use...
and four-year crop rotation
Crop rotation
Crop rotation is the practice of growing a series of dissimilar types of crops in the same area in sequential seasons.Crop rotation confers various benefits to the soil. A traditional element of crop rotation is the replenishment of nitrogen through the use of green manure in sequence with cereals...
. Planting tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
and mulberry
Mulberry
Morus is a genus of flowering plants in the family Moraceae. The 10–16 species of deciduous trees it contains are commonly known as Mulberries....
trees for sericulture
Sericulture
Sericulture, or silk farming, is the rearing of silkworms for the production of raw silk.Although there are several commercial species of silkworms, Bombyx mori is the most widely used and intensively studied. According to Confucian texts, the discovery of silk production by B...
were promoted.
Cornies owned a large estate, Jushanlee, a model farm and showplace of south Russia. Crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
s Alexander I
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I of Russia , served as Emperor of Russia from 23 March 1801 to 1 December 1825 and the first Russian King of Poland from 1815 to 1825. He was also the first Russian Grand Duke of Finland and Lithuania....
and Alexander II
Alexander II of Russia
Alexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
as well as other government officials visited the estate. His holdings were expanded by gifts from the government for his services and totaled 100 km² (24,710.5 acre) at his death. He owned a large herd of thoroughbred cattle, 8,000 merino
Merino
The Merino is an economically influential breed of sheep prized for its wool. Merinos are regarded as having some of the finest and softest wool of any sheep...
sheep and four hundred horses.
Cornies helped also with the immigration and colonisation of Jews. He died at Orloff
Orloff
The Orlov is a large diamond that is part of the collection of the Diamond Fund of the Moscow Kremlin. The origin of this resplendent relic – described as having the shape and proportions of half a hen's egg – can be traced back to the 18th century Sri Ranganathaswamy Hindu temple, in Srirangam,...
, a village in the Molotschna
Molotschna
Molotschna Colony was a Russian Mennonite settlement in what is now Zaporizhia Oblast in Ukraine. Today is called Molochansk with a population of under 10,000. The settlement is named after the Molochna River which forms its western boundary. Today the land mostly falls within the Tokmatskyi and...
colony.
External links
- Cornies, Johann (1789-1848) at Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia OnlineGlobal Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia OnlineThe Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online is an online encyclopedia of topics relating to Mennonites and Anabaptism. The mission of the project is to provide free, reliable, English-language information on anabaptist-related topics....
- Life in Russia: Renewal of Community of Goods