Müller, Peter (1825-1873)
Peter Müller, b. 1825 in Einsiedel, Galicia, d. 1873 in Podusilna, known as a "Güterhändler" (real estate dealer), played an unusually important role in the economic life of the Mennonites of Galicia. His grandfather Johann Muller (1773-1835) and his father Johann Muller (1802-1857) were elders, of the Einsiedel congregation. Thus far the Mennonites had spread by purchasing smaller estates for daughter colonies. Peter Müller changed the course of the economic development completely. In 1862-1872 he purchased six large estates (Viszenka, Blyszczyvody, Troscianiec, Dobrovlany, Lipovce, and Podusilna) and urged Mennonites to sell their small farms and borrow money to buy portions of the estates. Thus through the activities of Peter Müller the crowded settlements were gradually abandoned and the Mennonites settled on scattered estates.
As a result the old settlement of Einsiedel disintegrated in the 1870s. Peter Müller even went to the Palatinate to invite Mennonites to come to Galicia. A number of families and individuals came. Also in the preservation of archival material Peter Müller rendered valuable service to the Mennonites of Galicia. He copied 24 of the early letters, which Peter Bachmann used in his book, Mennoniten in Kleinpolen (p. 168). The era of Peter Müller marked the turning point in the history of the Mennonites of Galicia, bringing prosperity, cultural adjustment, and a widening outlook. On the other hand, now that the Mennonites were scattered over a large area and their former isolation was broken they were in serious danger of being submerged in a general process of secularization and disintegration.
Bibliography
Bachmann, Peter. Mennoniten in Kleinpolen, 1784-1934: Gedenkbuch zur Erinnerung an die Einwanderung der Mennoniten nach Kleinpolen (Galizien) vor 150 Jahren. Lemberg, 1934. Reprinted Lvov : Naukowej, 1980: 168.
| Author(s) | Cornelius Krahn |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1957 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Krahn, Cornelius. "Müller, Peter (1825-1873)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 19 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=M%C3%BCller,_Peter_(1825-1873)&oldid=90290.
APA style
Krahn, Cornelius. (1957). Müller, Peter (1825-1873). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 19 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=M%C3%BCller,_Peter_(1825-1873)&oldid=90290.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 772. All rights reserved.
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