ABSTRACT
In May 1875, farmer Braune in the Saxon village of Frankenstein wrote to the district authorities in Flöha to report that a few nights earlier, his unmarried Magd Julie Reihsig had “secretly run away without legal grounds.”1 He added that she was now living with her foster father, a factory worker in the village of Erdmannsdorf, who informed him that she had taken another position at a higher wage. Braune demanded her severe punishment and that she be returned to him immediately. The official replied that although this appeared to be a case of simultaneous hiring, he could not impose a jail sentence since she had not received a bonus [Mietgeld] from both employers, and suggested that the local magistrate in Erdmannsdorf look into the matter. Several days later, Julie appeared before the magistrate and testified that she had run away because she had not been hired for heavy work, but instead for housework, laundry, and milking; that she had been forced to do every sort of heavy job, “like a stall maid,” which was unsuited to her physical strength; that she had given proper notice; that Braune had verbally insulted and mistreated her constantly; and that he had withheld part of her wage. After some debate between the magistrate and the district official, the Flöha authorities informed Braune that, based on her testimony regarding timely notice and poor treatment, they had decided not to pursue his grievance. The fact that the case record ends there suggests that Julie Reihsig managed to leave a job she disliked in order to search for employment elsewhere.
