Photos of Chortitza, Russia

There are two sets of photos on Flickr which show views of Chortitza.  Although they were all taken in 2006, they capture the feeling of a much earlier time.  If the pictures are not full screen, click on the arrows in the lower right hand corner to enlarge the picture to full screen.  If no description of each photo is visible, click on "show info" on the top, right of the menu bar of the full screen version to bring up the description box.

Photos taken by Erwin Firesen, 2006, Chortitza Colony including several of Neuosterwick.

Photos taken by Dariva, 2006, Mennonite Sites in Ukraine, including several of Chortitza.

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The parents of Catharine Reck Batke

On July 14, 1937, Catharine Reck Batke filled out an application for a Social Security Number. She was living at 714 Vine Street in St. Joseph, Michigan and working at the Berrien Packing Company, also in St. Joseph. She stated her birthday as October 14, 1891 on the typed copy, however in the section which reads: "subject to later verification" the year is corrected to 1890. This later date is consistent with Catharine's other documents. She also notes she was born in Russia. The SS# provided her is: 367-12-0849.

Best of all, she lists her father as John Reck (you can see the correction from Rek to Reck) and her mother as Renata Shirk.

An email note received from Don Fredrick, grandson of Catherine Reck Batke, shared the following information on March 11, 2011 to Elaine Beaudoin:

In a note recently discovered from a visit to my grandmother Catherine Batke, wife of Henry Batke, by the Don Fredrick family before she died and while she was in the nursing home, we find that Renata Scherk, Shierk, Shirk was mentioned by her as the wife of her father John Reck.  We assumed at the time of the visit that John and Renata, according to Catherine, did not leave Germany to come to Canada or the US.  We wrote down on our note at the time that the spelling was Scherk, not Shirk.   Are you sure about the spelling of Renata "Shirk"?

Until more proof is provided, all the spellings -- Scherk, Shierk and Shirk -- should be researched.   Thanks Don for the note.

Grosse Île, Canada video

Although this video is intended to honor the Irish who died at Grosse Île, Canada when emigrating to North America, it gives a glimpse of what the Batkes might have seen when the ship Pallanza arrived on September 28, 1912. 

Port of Quebec, Grosse Île

The Batkes entered the Port of Québec on July 28, 1912.  The receiving station for the Port of Québec was Grosse Île at the time.  An excerpt about Grosse Île follows:

"The quarantine station on Grosse Île, an island located in the middle of the St. Lawrence river, 48 km downstream from Québec, was established by colonial authorities in 1832, in response to reports that new immigrants had various contagious diseases. With cholera outbreaks in 1832 and 1834, and a deadly typhus epidemic in 1847-1848, thousands of new immigrants were quarantined on the island, with thousands eventually perishing. The victims of the latter epidemic were mainly Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine. This period of virulent epidemics came to an end only after another outbreak of cholera in 1854.

"At the time of Confederation in 1867, the Canadian government formulated a comprehensive policy on immigration and settlement, requiring the establishment of a reliable, efficient quarantine station. Dr. Frederick Montizambert was in charge of establishing modern facilities at the Grosse Île quarantine station, where he acted as medical superintendent from 1869 to 1899.  As fewer people immigrated to Canada as a result of the First World War (1914-1918) and the Great Depression (1930s), and knowledge of microbiology and the treatment of contagious diseases was advanced, the hospital on Grosse Île was reduced to treating minor childhood infections such as diphtheria, chicken pox and measles. New international health agreements stated that people infected with these diseases no longer had to be quarantined and serious infections such as cholera, typhus and smallpox could be successfully treated at the Parc Savard Hospital in Quebec, founded in 1907. The quarantine station on Grosse Île was closed in 1937."

Quarantine And Public Health: The Changing Role of Grosse Île, by André Sévigny, Historian, September 1995.

Pallanza Manifest, 1912

This is the first of three pages of the Pallanza Manifest which is the steamer the Batkes sailed on from Bremen, Germany to Quebec, Canada, July 14 - July 28, 1912. The Pallanza left Hamburg, Germany on July 13, stopping at Bremen on July 14 where the Batkes embarked on the ship. The last stop of the Pallanza in Europe was at Rotterdam, The Netherlands, on July 15 before sailing across the ocean and arriving 13 days later in Quebec, Canada. Including the Batkes, there were 378 adults and 104 children who made the trip across the ocean. In Quebec, steerage medical inspection occurred at 9:00 a.m. and was completed at 11:00 a.m on July 28. Only three individuals were detained. The manifest notes that there was a "special" Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) train which left at Noon. Supposedly, the Batkes were on that train.

Pallanza Manifest, page 15

On page 15 of the Pallanza passenger list it shows Batkes on lines 27 - 29.
Line 27: $580(?) in cash, Batke, Johan, age 35
Line 28: Batke, Anna, age 65
Line 29: Batke, Anna, age 11
The Batkes state they can read and write; their country of birth is Russia and their race is German. Their destination is Ernfold, Saskatchewan. Johan states he was a farmer in Russia and plans to be a farmer in Canada. They say they plan to "always" stay in Canada and declare their religion as Evangelical.  They note they will be traveling inland on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

Pallanza Manifest, page 16

 

Listed on page 16 of the Pallanza manifest for July 13-28, 1912 are several more of the Batke family.

Line 1: $160 in cash; Batke, Heinrich, age 34

Line 2: Batke, Catarina, age 22

Line 3: Batke, Catarina, age 2/12

Line 4: $50 in cash; Batke, Karl, age 29

Line 5: Batke, Frederika, age 24

Line 6: Batke, Anna, age 2

The information for these Batkes is the same as for those on page 15.  The adults state they can read and write and plan to stay in Canada permanently.  They declare their country of birth as Russia, race as German and their destination as Ernfold, Saskatchewan.  The male adults say they were farmers in Russia and that they plan to be farmers in Canada.  They also state their religious denomination as Evangelical.  And, they plan to travel, once they land, on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).