DeAnn, I think you meant to address this to Paul as I am not researching this name/person. Debbie DeAnn Leonard wrote: > Debbie > Do you have an August Huebner d. 1901 birth unknown > Had a daughter Emelia B. 11-14-1864 came from this same area , in your > research ?? would appreciate hearing from you > > Paul Rakow wrote: >> Hello Debbie, Vera, >> >> One of my ancestors moved from Ozorkow (a few miles from Zgierz) >> to Knyszyn near Bialystok at about the same time, 1831. >> >> Along with about 20 other clothmakers from the town, he first >> tried to get permission to move to the Bialystok area in the 1820s. >> I was lucky enough to find some documents about his first attempt >> in the Warsaw archives. Here's what he said: >> >> ====== >> >> 7 August, 1824, Ozorkow >> >> Gottlieb Huebner, cloth manufacturer, presented himself in person, >> and testified: >> >> My name is Gottlieb Huebner, my profession is cloth-maker. I was born >> in the town Zaniemysl in the province Poznan. The last place I lived >> in was the town Pyzdry; I came to live in Ozorkow three years ago. I >> have my own house, on a site with 2 morgens of land. I also own the >> machines needed to pursue my trade, and some household equipment. >> >> 1) So you intend to emigrate to Russia? Why? >> >> Answer to 1) >> >> I intend to move to Russia, if I am permitted. The reason is simply >> that the market in our goods is poor, because of the increasing number >> of large factories, such as the Harrer factory in Sieradz. Trade has >> declined noticeably, and I believe it is bound to collapse. >> >> I do not have any other reasons, and I am not suffering from any >> injustices. The only thing I need to mention in conclusion is that >> the Squire of the Ozorkow estate has already sold the grist and >> fulling mills to be used as manufacturies, and is depriving us of >> opportunities to use the fulling mill. This lack will soon be, in >> fact already is, felt by us. We, the manufacturers of Ozorkow, only >> have one fulling mill; a very poor one, at that. >> >> As for my public liabilities, I have nothing to say. I am only liable >> for the town treasury tax, labour duty, and the school fee. I have no >> reason to complain about public burdens. >> >> This is my honest testimony, in witness whereof I sign with my own >> hand. I state that no one urged me to move to Russia, and that I am >> certain I know of no one who would urge it. >> >> Gottlieb Huebner >> >> ============= >> >> So, as Debbie guessed, its mostly economic reasons. >> >> One reason for a lot of cloth-makers leaving the Lodz >> region and moving to Bialystok was that the Russians had put up the >> customs duty to keep cheap cloth from the Polish provinces out >> of Russia proper. Bialystok at that time was on the Russian side >> of the customs line, so some of the big industrialists from the >> Lodz region opened up factories in Bialystok, and many of the >> small clothmakers moved too. I'll have to check on the date that >> the customs were raised - but I think it was soon after the 1830 >> Polish uprising. >> >> Also, clothmaking in the 1800s was still run on the guild >> system. After their apprenticeship a young clothmaker had to >> several years travelling around working in different towns to >> gain experience and see how things were done elsewhere, so they >> would know where the best opportunities were. I think that's why >> clothmaker families are so challenging to track, because sons >> often settled far away from their birthplace, unlike farm people. >> >> Paul Rakow >>