Showing posts with label Weber. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weber. Show all posts

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Families From FRANK

The Village Frank Newsletter
Volume 22, Number 1
Winter 1992/1993
Sherrie Stahl, editor

Did Your Family Come From The Village of FRANK??

(Excerpts)
(Page 2)
(This information is a reprint from AHSGR-Clues 1972-Part 1)
FRANK- (Russian name: Medveditskij or Medwedizkoi Krestowoj Bujerak), present name is Medweditza, (see Work Paper #23, p. 3). Kanton: Frank, Wolost: Frank. Established May 16, 1767, 115 families, 525 settlers. Lutheran Colony on the Bergseite, located in the A-4 quadrant in Stumpp map #6. As given by Mr. Carl Eckhardt, Hastings, Nebraska in Die Welt Post,, 19 Oct. 1939.

(MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following represents known family names only. I will add to this as necessary.)
74. Wagner

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON FRANK
Surnames found in Frank, Russia. Based on list given by Mr. Fred Grosskopf of Greely, Colorado in 1968.
4. Bath, Bott

14. Elenberger

63. *Wagner

65. Webber, Weber

*Fred Grosskopf thought these families came from Saxony.


(Excerpts)
(Page 4)
“…The exciting news is that one afternoon, a Mr. Batt, formerly from FRANK and now residing in Germany presented me with an outstanding map of FRANK. It identifies every resident of FRANK from 1767 to 1941 by name and location. The map is very professional. I believe that Mr. Batt was an engineer at one time. I have sent the map to Lincoln to have it reproduced and made available for sale to the AHSGR membership. It was the request of Mr. Batt-- who would not take any money for the map—to have it made available to our AHSGR membership….”

…this village map (Map #55) is now available from AHSGR in Lincoln, NE... Please write to: AHSGR, 631 D. Street, Lincoln, NE. 69502-1199.

According to the AHSGR Newsletter, the #55 FRANK Village Map was drawn by Heinrich Batt of Germany, and it shows who was living in each homestead as of August 1941. The newsletter goes on to say that this new map is much more thorough than the other FRANK Map #19 which depicted the village at the turn of the century.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Researching Russia-German Names

AHSGR, Clues, 1986 Edition—Part 2

Genealogy – Special Problems For The Advanced Researcher
By Arthur E. Flegel

(Excerpts)
(Page 24)
…Another significant aspect of names is the contraction of given names. This custom that was taken along to Russia was very common to the regions where our ancestors originated in Germany. As a matter of fact, during the ancestral period of history we are researching, it was custom to give children double names, which were later shortened or altered according to the whim of family members.

All male members of a given family might begin with the Christian name, “John” (Johann) followed by the second name which was the primary one, such as: Johann Conrad, Johann Jakob, Johann Georg, etc. However, that person would never be called Johann. Instead, within the family circles, he would be referred to as Conrad or Jakob or Georg, etc., which could be confusing for the novice researcher. The contraction of the name Johann Georg to Hanjerg was another common occurrence. Should a young man be named Johannes, he would normall not have a second name and would be called either Johannes or Johann.

In the case of women, the combination names normally included an Anna or Maria such as Anna Elisabeth, Anna Margaretha, Maria Katherine, Maria Elisabetha, etc. From time to time, I receive ancestral charts indicating someone’s great-grandmother as being named “Alice.” This is definitely an error, for the name “Alice” was unheard of among our ancestors. In fact, the name was Anna Elisabeth, which having been shortened to “Annalies,” eventually became “A’lies” and was then translated “Alice.” Anna Margaretha could become “Anna-grete,” with further corruption to “Amagrete.” Maria Elisabetha commonly became “Marilies” or “Maralies.”

Another curious custom was the practice of identifying the feminine gender by adding an “in” to the woman’s maiden name, thus for Schmidt, “Schmidtin,” or for Gross, “Grossin” or for "Weberin for Weber" etc. This could lead to the entry of an incorrect surname in the researcher’s records. Unelss special attention is given to these peculiarities, frustrating research problems can develop. But, let us always remember that these customs are very definitely a part of our valued heritage. They were not uniquely German from Russia, but instead had originated in the Rhineland, Hesse, and Palatinate regions of Germany from whence they were taken into Russia and eventually brought along to the Western World…

Büdingen, Germany 1766 Document

AHSGR, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 1980

A Document of 1766 Found in Büdingen, Germany
By Emma Schwabenland Haynes

(Excerpts)
(Page 1)
In Work Paper No. 9 for October 1972 on page 50, I described a very interesting document dated October 30, 1766 which is in the library of Büdingen Castle east of Frankfurt, Germany. During the past year several people have written to ask for further details of this historic paper, which lists the names of twenty-five heads of families who left Germany for the Volga.



Since not all members of AHSGR possess early issues of our publications, may I repeat that Büdingen was the most important “Sammelplatz” or gathering place of those Germans who wanted to emigrate to Russia in the late eighteenth century. The town was headquarters for a Russian commissioner named Facius who moved to Büdingen after being expelled from Frankfurt. Numerous edicts had been passed by the rules of south-western Germany prohibiting emigration. But in spite of their efforts, it is presumed that approximately 27,000 people left for the Volga after 1763.

The Russian government preferred that stable citizens settle in their domains, and for that reason 375 marriages took place in the Protestant church of Büdingen between February and July of 1766. In 1971, shortly after our Society was organized, I made a trip to Büdingen to look at these marriage lists…

At the same time, I also went to the castle of Büdingen, which is used as a home by members of the family. They have hired a full time archivist, Frau Dr. Reimers, to take care of the manuscripts and books belonging to the castle. I asked Dr. Reimers for documents and other material going back to the year 1766 when hordes of would-be emigrants converged on the city. To my great disappointment she said that nothing remained except five pages listing the citizens of Düdelsheim and Rohrbach who had left for Russia.(1) At my request she made a copy of the document, three pages of which are reproduced in this issue of the Journal.

At the top of the first page… may be roughly translated as, “A report most respectfully submitted to the highly esteemed government chancery of the Count of Ysenburg- Büdingen.”

The document then goes on to say that all of the subjects who left the country for Russia have sold their goods and peroperty and have paid the necessary taxes, with the exception of:

(MY NOTES: The following is the complete list given.)

1. Johann Stephan Claus, who has given everything to his step-son, Johann Henrich Menges, on condition that if he arrives safely in Russia, his step-son will pay off his debts.


2. Andreas Klink. His parents have recently died and their estate is still not settled…


3. Johann Peter Claus, who went to Russia as an unmarried traveling artisan, has given his share of the family property to his brother Johannes to be used until he returns home again or writes that his part should be sold.


4. Conrad Raab has sold his possessions but this will scarcely pay for all of his debts.


5. Johann Henrich Scheyd with his wife made so many debts through disorderly living that he could hardly repay them. In a few years he would have had to go begging or else become a shepherd’s servant at the home of his father-in-law Hohnstein. He would not have been good either for his master or for the community. At his departure he turned over all his goods to his brother, Johann Adam Scheyd to pay the interest which must be met before other payments are made….

(MY NOTES: The following is NOT a complete list given. I have listed only names that may or may not be directly related.)


From ROHRBACH: All were citizens.

Casper Weber’s widow


(Page 2)
…I was very excited to discover that thirteen of the families from Düdelsheim and three form Rohrbach were listed as settling in Balzer.(5) There names and dates of arrival as given by Merkel follow:

From ROHRBACH:

Anna Margareta Weber [presumably of Casper Weber]
August 8, 1767.


NOTES:
(1) Both Düdelsheim and Rohrbach belonged to the “Grafschaft” or earldom of Isenburg- Budingen.

(4) For a complete list of those people who settled in Balzer see Hattie Plum Williams, The Czar’s Germans, published by AH”SGR in 1975, pages 102-105.

(5) My article in 1972 was based upon Jacob Volz's booklet which is not completely accurate.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Family Names – Clues (1)

AHSGR, Clues, 1979 Edition

Names of Families Residing in the Volga Villages
Submitted by Gerda S. Walker with additions by Arthur E. Flegel

(Excerpts)
(Page 70)
The 1978 issue of Clues listed families and other pertinent information about 27 Volga villages. We were pleased to receive favorable comment and additions from our members who found this material helpful in their research.

Following is a continuation of this project…. We plan to continue with further listings for villages from all areas as they become available.

BALZER (Rssn. names: Pancyr; Balakowo; Golyj Karamysch) Kanton: Balzer
Balzer was a Lutheran village established 1765 with 479 in habitants. Located on the west side of the Volga river (Bergseite) in the C-4 quadrant on the Stumpp map #6.
These family names for Balzer were published in Die Welt Post, 19 Oct. 1939. Jacob Volz collected the history of Balzer when he was a member of the Volga Relief Society dlegation which administered relief work among the Volga colonies in 1922-1923. Lists of the original colonist to Balzer may be found in the Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862, by Dr. Karl Stumpp and in The Czar’s Germans by Hattie Plum Williams.

(MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only names which may pertain to known relatives. I will expand this list later on, need be.).

49. Weber


(Page 72)
BRUNNENTAL (Rssn. name: Kriwoijar) Kanton: Seelmann
Burrnental was founded in 1855 by Evangelical colonists who came from overcrowded mother colonies to the new land granted by the Crown to the German colonists. It is located on the east side of the Volga river (Wiesenseite) in the Kanton of Seelmann, Samara district. Located in the D-5 quadrant on the Stumpp map #6.
These surnames are found in a history of Brunnental by the Rev. John Block, Die Welt Post, 22 Rebruary 1940, and in AHSGR records.
Rev. Block wrote that “all settlers to Brunnental came from mother colonies on the Bergseite (west side) of the Volga, Saratov district. The main colonies were Frank, Norka, Kolb and Walter, also Huck. An especially large group came from Frank.

3. Becker (Kolb)

This additional list of names for Brunnental was compiled by the late Rev. Elias Hergert in the 1930’s.
9. Becker

22. Elenberger

35. Hartung

99. Wagner

102. Weber

Population:
1897 – 4520
1912 – 4944
1926 – 2411


(Page 73)
DEHLER (Rssn. name: Beresowka) Kanton: Kukkus.
Dehler (Deller) was founded 1 July 1767 by 55 Roman Catholic families from southwestern German lands. There were 85 males and 86 females under the direction of LeRoy an dPictet. Located near the brook Beresowi on the Wiesenseite of the Volga river, in the C-4 quadarant on the Stumpp map #6/
A history and map of Dehler may be found on page 74 of the 1966 Heimatbuch, Landmannschaft der Deutschen aus Russland, Stuttgart O, Diemerhaldenstr. 48. The history is written by a former resident of Dehler, Dr. M. Hagin. Dr. Hagin states that the names Chevalier, Martell, Masson and Hagin were of French extraction.

3. Becker


(Page 74)
DIETEL/DITTEL (Russn. Name: Oleschna.) Kanton: Frank.
Founded by the Evangelicals. Located on the Bergseite in the B-5 quadrant on the Stumpp map #6.
These family names were known in the village around 1900 – 1923. The list is a combination of names extracted from letters written by Pastor A. Möllmann, of Dittel, to Mr. Jacob Weber of Lincoln, Nebraska concerning the Volga Relief packages sent to Dittle in 1922-23 and a list of family names by the mother of Mr. Richard K. Lackman of Moorhead, Minnesota. It is interesting to note that Pastor Möllmann and the village clerk always wrote “Dittel” while those in the United States spelled the name “Dietel”. We wish to thank Mrs. Victor Weber of Lincoln, Nebraska for allowing us to use the Möllmann letters sent to her father-in-law.

5. Batt

Population:
1788 – 445
1798 – 502
1816 – 939
1834 – 1739
1850 – 2561
1860 – 3181
1886 – 3510
1904 – 5565
1912 – 6569
1926 – 3016


(Page 77)
ADDITIONS TO SURNAMES ALREADY LISTED

The following additions were submitted by Mr. Harold D. Kauffman, Alexander Weber, and Mike Apker….

FRANK:
1. Batt

GRIMM:
2. Weber

Friday, February 13, 2009

Village Names – Clues (3)

AHSGR, Clues, 1978 Edition

Names of Families Residing in the Volga Villages
Submitted by Gerda S. Walker


(MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only family names which may or may not lead to blood relatives. I will expand this list later on, need be.)

(Excerpts)
(Page 70)
KUKKUS (Rssn. name: Wolskoje, also Neu-Brabant) Kanton: Kukkus, Wolost: Stepnaja.
Est. in 1767 by 181 settlers, Ev. Lutheran colony. Located on the Wiesenseite in the E-4 quadrant on Stumpp map #6.
Sent in by Mrs. Marie Margarete Kukkus of Laurel, Montana, Route 1, Box 3 and published in Die Welt Post on 28 Sept. 1939, p. 8. (Jacob Volz did not know if all spellings were correct and all names listed.)
A second colony Kukkus, Kanton: Lyserderhöh, later Kanton: Pallasowka. Located on the Wiesenseite in the F-7 quadrant on Stumpp map #6. Population in 1926 was 84.

2. Bekker

36. Otto

Population:
1897 – 3618
1912 – 3796
1926 – 2459


(Page 71)
KUTTER (Rssn. name: Popowka) Kanton: Balzer, Wolost: Sosnowka. Other German names were: Brehning, Pfaffenkutter and Neumann.
Founded in 1767 by 353 Lutheran settlers. Located in C-4 quadrant of Stumpp map #6.
Published in 14 Sept. 1939 Die Welt Post, p. 8. Pastor Hagelganz of Portland, Oregon wrote to Jacob Volz; “Upon receipt of your postcard I went to see my countryman, Ludwig Boekel, who also knew them well and the two of us made a pilgrimage in spirit to the colony of Kutter, our old home.
We went from house to house and visited all, but naturally we could only tarry long enough to get their names. We would have liked some information as to how those dear ones over there are, but we could learn nothing further. Here is the list of family names:”

53. Wagner

Population:
1788 – 482
1798 – 574
1816 – 850
1834 – 1398
1850 – 2042
1857 – 2191
1860 – 2412
1886 – 2357
1891 – 3279
1894 – 3191
1897 – 4031
1905 – 4108
1910 – 4178
1912 – 4260
1926 – 2065



LAUWE (Rssn. Name: Jablonowka) Kanton: Kukkus, Wolost: Stepnaja Lauwe, also was sometimes called Laube.
Est. in 1767, 179 settlers, Lutheran colony. Located on the Wiesenseite in the D-4 quadrant on Stumpp map #6.
Names sent in by Mr. Gottlieb Schleicher of Lincoln, Nebr. to Jacob Volz and printed in 12 Oct. 1939, p. 8 of Die Welt Post.

Old Family Names:

These families also lived in Lauwe:

21. Wagner

Population:
1897 – 2551
1912 – 2680
1926 – 1954


(Page 73)
MESSER (Rssn. name: Ust Solicha), Kanton: Balzer, later Kanton: Kamenka, Wolost: Sosnowka.
Founded 1766 by 397 Ev. Lutherans. Located on the Bergseite in the C-5 quadrant on Stumpp map #6.
These family names sent in to Jacob Volz by Mr. Friedrich Meisinger of Flint, Michigan…

Names from other sources:
1. Weber
2. Goegel/Göbel
3. Springer

Population:
1788 – 581
1798 – 619
1816 – 960
1834 – 1828
1850 – 2704
1857 – 3327
1860 – 3403
1886 – 3102 (?) [sic]
1891 – 4260
1894 – 4627
1897 – 5204
1905 – 5057
1910 – 5196
1912 – 5295
1926 – 3575


(Page 74)
NORKA Kanton: Balzer, Wolost: Norka.
Est. 15 Aug. 1767 by 215 families; 501 male and 456 female, total 957 settlers, Lutheran-Reformed colony. Located on the Bergseite in the B-4 quadrant on the Stumpp map #6.
Sent to Jacob Volz by Henry Hölzer, Georg Koch, Lorenz Pfenning and Wilhelm Glanz. Pub. on 31 Aug. 1939 in Die Welt Post, p. 7. Additional 15 names sent in by Mr. Georg Yost, Billings, Montana who was also working on a village plat. Pub. 21 Sept. 1939, p. 5 in Die Welt Post.

6. Baecker

12. Bott

110. Weber

Population:
1788 – 1358
1798 – 1660
1816 – 2509
1834 – 4113
1850 – 5951
1857 – 6300
1860 – 6894
1886 – 7641
1891 – 10,200
1894 – 10,518
1897 – 13, 416
1906 – 13,500
1910 – 13,623
1912 – 14,236
1926 – 7210



(Page 75)
ROSENBERG (Rssn. name: Umet-Ilowlinskijumet), Kanton: Kamenka, later Kanton: Erlenbach, Wolost: Slowlin.
Founded 1850 on the Bergseite, Luth. Located in B-7 quadrant of Stumpp map #6.
Names as sent in by Mr. Georg Heimbuch to Jacob Volz, who corrected spellings. Pub. in Die Welt Post, 21 Mar. 1940, p. 8.

59. Weber

Population:
1857 – 796
1860 – 808
1886 – 1173
1890 – 1714
1894 – 1833
1897 – 2685
1910 – 2910
1912 – 3000
1926 – 1913



(Page 76)
WALTER includes Walter Chutor (Rssn. name: Gretschinnaja Luka) Kanton: Frank, Wolost: Frank.
Est. 25 August 1767 (Julian) by 99 families, 431 settlers, Lutheran colony. Located on the Bergseite in the A-4 quadrant on the Stumpp map #6.
As given by Mr. Jacob Alles of Flint, Michigan in Die Welt Post, Thursday, 14 Dec. 1939, p. 5.

56. Weber
57. Walter
58. Weber

Note: This list was sent to Mr. Jacob Volz of York, Nebraska who had asked his countrymen to list the family names of their home villages in Russia. No date is given for the time period in which these families lived in Walter and it must be assumed that Mr. Jacob Alles was listing those names with which he was familiar when he emigrated.

Population:
1897 – 5900
1912 – 6660
1926 – 2739

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Village Names - Clues (2)

AHSGR, Clues, 1978 Edition

Names of Families Residing in the Volga Villages
Submitted by Gerda S. Walker

(Excerpts)
(Page 64)

FRANK (Russn. Name: Medweditskij or Medwedizkoi Krestowoj Bujerak), present name is Medweditza, (see Work Paper #23, p. 3). Kanton: Frank, Wolost: Frank.
Established May 16, 1767, 115 families, 525 settlers. Lutheran Colony on the Bergseite, located in A-4 quadrant in Stumpp map #6.
As given by Mr. Carl Eckhardt, Hastings, Nebraska in Die Welt Post, 19 Oct. 1939.

(MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only family names which may or may not lead to blood relatives. I will expand this list later on, need be.)

28. Hartung

74. Wagner

“Some names are not written clearly.” – Jacob Volz, to whom this list was sent.

Population:
1897 – 11700
1912 – 11577
1926 – 5195

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON FRANK
Surnames found in Frank, Russia. Based on list given by Mr. Fred Grosskopf of Greeley, Colorado in 1968.

4. Bath, Bott

14. Elenberger

63. *Wagner

64. Webber, Weber

* Fred Grosskopf thought these families came from Saxony.

RELIGIOUS HISTORY
The Parish of FRANK (Wedwedizko-Krestowoi Bujerak) was founded in 1768. (From Die Kirchen und das Religiose Leben der Russland-deutschen, page 344.)
28,039 Parish members in 1905….


(Page 66)
GRIMM (Rssn. Name: Lesnoi-Karamysch) Kanton: Balzer, later Kanton: Komenke, Wolost: Sosnowka.
Est. 1767, 179 settlers, Lutheran Colony on Bergseite. Located in B-5 quadrant of Stumpp map #6. Names as sent in to Jacob Volz by Mr. Jacob Geist, Fort Collins, Colorado. (Jacob Volz thought this list was pretty complete.) Die Welt Post, 11 Apr. 1940.

5. Batt

8. Bott

Names for Grimm from other sources:
3. Wagner

Population:
1788 – 962
1798 –1125
1816 – 1701
1834 – 3130
1850 – 4452
1857 – 4497
1860 – 5074
1886 – 5746
1891 – 8233
1894 – 9257
1897 – 10761 (?) [sic]
1905 – 10374
1910 – 10934
1912 – 11788
1926 – 5300



(Page 67)
HUCK (Rssn. Name: Splawnucha) Kanton: Balzer, Wolost: Norka.
Founded in 1767 by 380 Lutherans. It was located on the west side of the Volga River (Bergseite), B-4 quadrant of the Stumpp map #6.
From Die Welt Post, 7 Sept. 1939, p. 8, as given by Mr. P.H. Hein of Harvard, Nebr. He writes, “I have been in America since 1887 but I can still recall the names and have done what I could,” –in a letter to Jacob Volz.

2. Becker

44. Weber

Population:
1788 – 570
1796 – 643
1816 – 1209
1834 – 2120
1850 – 3491
1857 – 4241
1860 – 4328
1886 – 5191
1891 – 7384
1894 – 7309
1897 – 9169
1910 – 9433
1912 – 9600
1926 – 4921



(Page 68)
KAUTZ/KAUZ (Rssn. Name: Werschinka) Kanton: Frank, Wolost: Oleschna.
Located on the Bergseite, in the B-5 quadrant on Stumpp map #6. Founded 1767 by 141 Lutherans. Names as sent in by Mr. Jacob Geist, Ft. Collins, Colorado to Jacob Volz. Pub. in Die Welt Post, 11 Apr. 1940, p. 8, col. 5. (Jacob Volz does not believe these are all the names even though Kauz was a small village.)

Families living in Kautz, Russia in 1913, at the time J. David Frank left Russia. A detailed plan was drawn from memory and the names of the families listed. There were 3 streets listed: Main Street, Upper Street, and Back Street.

Weber………………………………3 families

2 Frank’s Stores
1 Friekel Store
1 School
1 Teacher’s House

Note: The bottom of the legal size original copy was folded back and missed the copy machine. The name of the person submitting this list was thus not on this sheet.


(Page 69)
KRAFT (Rssn. Name: Werchnaja Grjashnucha) Kanton: Kamenka, later Kanton: Dobrinka, Wolost: Ust Kulalinka.
Est. in 1767 by 246 settlers, Ev. Lutheran Colony. Located on the Bergseite in the B-7 quadrant on the Stumpp map #6.
Sent in by Mr. George Heimbuch of Scottsbluff, Nebraska. In the 21 mar. 1940, p. 7 issue of Die Welt Post.

31. Wagner

These names were sent to Jacob Volz who published them but questioned some of the spelling and whether it included all the names of Kraft.

Population:
1788 – 362
1798 – 432
1816 – 670
1834 – 1336
1850 – 2036
1857 – 2514
1860 – 2531
1886 – 2779
1891 – 3967
1894 – 4593
1897 – 5759
1905 – 6387
1912 – 6572
1926 – 2759

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Passenger Lists

AHSGR, Work Paper No. 22, Winter, 1976

Passenger List
By Gwen B. Pritzkau

(MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only family names which may or may not be blood relatives. I will expand this list later on, need be.).

(Excerpts)
(Page 44)
Date: 16 April 1893
Vessel: Suevia To New York
From: Saratov, Rss


ELLENBERGER
Georg 23
Catherina 21
Catherina 3 mo.
Conrad 17 (bro)

(Page 45)
WEBER
Johannes 58
Catherina 56
Heinrich 16
Johannes 36
Maria 36
Catherina 15
Jacob 5
Catherine 3
Jacob 26
Catherina 28
Elisabeth 3 mo.
Wendel 19
Catherina 19


Date: 17 Nov. 1901
Vessel: Palactia To New York
From: Saratov, Rss


OTT
Peter 30
Elisabeth 30


(Page 48)
Date: 22 May 1878
Vessel: Wieland To New York
From: Frank, Rss


WAGNER
Johannes 20
Magdalena 53
Jacob 19
Conrad 18
Jacob 9

Travel Discoveries

AHSGR, Work Paper No. 13, December 1973

Research In Hesse
By Arthur and Cleora Flegel

(Excerpts)
…At Schotten, which lies directly north of Büdingen, we again met with remarkable success. The assistant pastor, Pfarrer Hoefle of the older Ev. Lutheran parish had spent some years in Brazil and was quite well acquainted with the Volga German history. He was helpful in reading records dating back to 1635. The following list reveals names which had related to the community for many generations. Thos names of unusual number are so indicated by the asterisk (*):

(MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only family names which may or may not be blood relatives. I will expand this list later on, if need be.).

Becker**…, Ellenburger…, Wagner**….

(Page 33)
…Each family received besides many other benefits, as living provisions, two horses, one cow and of hard money, fifteen Rubels. So states one copied document of the early record books of Saratov concerning the foreign settlers of the settlers on the Hill and Valley sides of the Volga. It affirms that as an example, Jagodnaja Poljana was established on 16 September 1767 by 80 families of which 417 were male and 122 female in total 269 souls….

…We drove on to Haiger, where Pfarrer Becker of Berstadt had told us most of the records of the region were being stored. A very helpful Frau Schmidt, wife of the organist, showed us the records. Because of the lateness of the day, we dared not impose on Frau Schmidt too severely, and skimming through the lists, copied names of greatest familiarity. They follow:

Stoll, Müller, Schneider, Engelbardt, Weber, Michel, Koch, Stahl, Schmidt, Huck, Hoffman, Flick, Gerhard, Heinz, Pfeiffer, Krantz, Metz, Hartman, Frantz, Gross, Gress, Tielman.

(Page 36)
…Before we left Kirburg, the Pfarrer Stephan related an incident which had taken place in this community during 1890. A sizable number of the Kirburg parish members decided to emigrate to Russia at that time for religious principles. After less than a decade in Russia, the Germans, terribly disillusioned, returned almost en masse to the Westerwald. The records he possessed disclosed the Pastor’s admonition to his parishoners [sic] counseling them not to leave—evidentally [sic], much the same as had taken place a century earlier.

(Page 37)
…Retracing our route on Highway 414, we stopped at Hachenburg, one of the larger parishes. After a lengthy search, we located the parish house, but it was Saturday afternoon, and no one who could help us was to be found. Continuing east, we came to Herborn, a city in the vicinity of Giessen. Here we hoped to find information on the names “Heiser” or “Heuser.” The lists were very extensive and worthy of further study. However, that must be reserved for another time. Skimming over the names, the villages and towns most common to the family names we copied were: Amdorf, Braunfelz, Herborn and Hobach. A few of the marriages 1762-1767 follow:

(MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only family names which may or may not be blood relatives. I will expand this list later on, need be.).
Joh. Jacob Clauss / Anna Katharina Weber
Joh. Jacob Weber / Christina Elis. Jung
Gottfried Weber / Anna Elisabeth Clauss

A Search for Names

AHSGR, Work Paper No. 13, December 1973

Research In Hesse
By Arthur and Cleora Flegel

(Excerpts)
(Page 22)
From earlier study, we were aware that the city Fulda lay on the principal route of Volga bound emigrants traveling north to Luebbeck for transporation to Russia. Hoping the mamrriage lists would be especially plentiful, we hurried there, arriving in the late afternnon…
…Names from marriage lists of Tann 1762-1767 (MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only family names which may or may not be blood relatives. I will expand this list later on, need be.):

Johann Heinrich Wagner / Magdalena Völger
Johann Georg Wagner / Eva Pilger
Sebastian Hartung / Susanna Gröning
Johann Schmidt / Maria Wagner
Samuel Wagner / Anna kath. Thiel

…Our next stop was Schlitz, to the northwest of Fulda. This community boasts a Lutheran Church dating from 1512…At Schlitz we found marriage lists of young couples actually enroute to becoming Russian immigrants… The following lists were submitted to Dr. Karl Stumpp and are printed in more detailed form on page 498 of his book, “The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862.”

…Other marriages taking place in Schlitz during the years 1762-1767 follow. Although it does not state that any of these emigrated, some very possibly did (MY NOTES: This is in no way a complete list. The following contains only family names which may or may not be blood relatives. I will expand this list later on, need be.).

Joh. Conrad Habicht / Anna Elisabeth Weber
Joh. Friedrich Weber / Anna Marg. Heyl
Joh. Christian Thöt / Anna Maria Weber
Jean Francois Obry / Anna Elis. Becker
Lorenz Becker / Anna Elisabeth Dickert
Joh. Jacob Wagner / Anna Elis. Greitzer
Joh. Georg Becker / Anna Marg. Kroh

Needle in a Haystack

AHSGR, Work Paper No. 9, October 1972

Genealogical Records On The Volga Germans
By Harm H. Schlomer

(Excerpts)
(Page 49)
In the years before World War I, Volga Gemran emigration lists were on file in Moscow and Saratov, but very few of our grandparents took the trouble to consult them. Needless to say, all of us fervently hope that these emigration lists still exist somewhere in the Soviet Union. They constitute the most important source of information on our background. Archives in Germany merely give us the names of perhaps 25% of the families who left for the Volga in the 1760’s. Such material does not tell in what colony these people settled….

…I found an extremely interesting document, dated October 30, 1766, in the library of Büdingen Castle. It was a report sent to the count by a court official notifying him that twenty of his subjects from the village of Düdelsheim and five from the village of Rohrbach had emigrated to Russia after paying off all their debts and taxes. Many of the names of these people sounded so familiar to me that I compared them with the names given by Jacob Volz for the colony of Balzer. In this manner I discovered that twelve families from Düdelsheim, including people named Bender, Calus, Eurich and Scheidt, as well as two from Rohrbach named Grassmück and Weber, had all arrived in Balzer in the summer months of 1767. In orther words, their place of origin was not the town of Isenburg but instead two small village [sic] in the “Grafschaft” or earldom of Isenburg- Büdingen….

Most of the names in the Stumpp Emigration Lists come from German sources…

…Those of us with such common German names as Müller, Schmidt, Becker, Koch and Weber will have the most difficult time of all. Dozens of people with these names will appear in the emigration lists. On the other hand, some Volga German family names are very unusual….

Monday, January 26, 2009

Volga Village Life

AHSGR, Work Paper No. 6, May 1971

The Pacific Northwesterner
Volume 8
Fall, 1964
Number 4

Inland Empire Russia Germans
By Harm H. Schlomer

(Excerpts)
(Page 58)
The homes were heated with a combination of two kinds of fuel. The “Lenne” tree was cut into cord wood for heating. The long burning fuel, however, was made from a mixture of horse manure, straw and water, compressed in forms and dried in squares. Sunflower growing was one of the main crops. In one larger village there were twenty-two (Oelmuehle) oil mills producing cooking oil. The sunflower seed was peeled. The kernel was ground to a pulp, heated and compressed. The oil would then run out of a tube at the base of the compressed container. The colonists used sunflower oil exclusively for cooking purposes.

Making pig sausage was a specialty among the colonists. The hogs were cut up, the pieces run through a sasuage grinder, then seasoned expertly with salt and pepper. Success in following the recipe included frequent tasting to get the flavor “just right.”…

On the plains (Wiesenseite) (MY NOTES: Brunnentahl) of the Volga, watermelons and Zuckermelon, like catelopes, were important crops. The summers were warm and the season right to mature large delicious melons. Wheat, rye and barley were the principal crops. The housing conditions were crowded. Up to eighteen people lived in one house. The father, mother, children and the oldest children with their wives or husbands often shared one house. Harmoney was maintained by strict training – that each member of the household must respect the rights of every other member….

Dr. Conrad Weitz, in 1913 (MY NOTES: The year the Ehlenbergers were told to flee while they could), knew that war in Europe was about to break out. Like others before him, he left on a limited pass. The Russian government sent him a telegram upon his arrival in Belmont, New York, to return immediately to report for military duty. Instead, Conrad proceeded to Endicott, Washington. The Russian government located him in Colfax. He received a second telegram to report for duty. Roy LaFollette, Conrad’s attorney in Colfax, helped him take out his first naturalization papers. This stopped the Russians…. (MY NOTES: You can see why the Ehlenbergers still feared what Russia might do, even though they had returned to America. There are several stories in this article about Germans who avoided the Russian military draft in this method—leaving on limited passes and never returning. Many came to America because the land parcels were continually being divided and became too small to be profitable.)

(Page 60)
Among the established families of the Inland Empire from the Volga colonies at Ritzville, Odessa, Endicott and Colfax, one will find the family names Becker… Wagner… Weber… These, and others, are folks who first answered the call of Catherine II, in July 1763, to come to Russia to colonize the Volga regions….