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
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
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
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
Among Other Items…
AHSGR, Work Paper No. 13, December 1973
Research In Hesse
By Arthur and Cleora Flegel
(Excerpts)
(Page 26)
Among other items at Schlitz, we found copies of historical transcripts of the 1762-1767 emigrations. Excerpts from these articles in the original German with English translations follow (MY NOTES: I have included only excerpts in English.):
“…On the 8th of April, the first group of people left from Queck and Rimbach in the Schlitzerland for Russia. The man received 15 Kreuzers and his wife 10 Kreuzers daily stipend. This stipend was supplied by the Russian Commisars who had established recruitment stations throughout all of Germany and more specifically in Hess.” If the writer of the daybook reports that at that time the first people emigrated from our immediate area and refers specifically to Queck and Rimbach, it can be assumed that others also followed them. Unforunately more detailed information which would be of interest to us is missing as to the numbers and names of the emigrants….
…He writes in detail, “Well, I intend to list daily, every caravan of people passing through this district intent on leaving Germany for Russia with the reasons, for otherwise, no one can understand or comprehend why the people are leaving for a foreign land. The treks are composed of German people who gathered at Büdingen under the Russian Commission and have been accepted as immigrants to Russia. On the 13th of May, the first transport moved through Schlitz. Also farmers form the Schlitz area secretly joined the treks leaving their possessions and stating that those in authority were too demanding and the work too oppressive. Within the 7 caravans through Schlitz, an estimated 500 people per trek are happily looking forward to finding a better land than this. In reality, they are no better than swindlers. Mostly such, along with some who are leaving with heavy hearts because of their burdensome debts. The children no longer mind their parents but want to emigrate for Russia. Even the farmers no longer want to work. The cost of living continues to rise, also the money is stolen out of one’s purse due to the money devaluation….” No, it was the terrible economic distress which at that time drove the people from their beloved Hessian homeland. The Seven Years War, 1756-1763, brought with itself unusually difficult conditions into the Upper Hesse and Schlitzerland. – during the course of this war, 160,000 troops were quartered in Schlitz. – Weissbeck wrote, “Here is great distress with bread and money. On the 12th of April, bread was requested from Fulda and an entire wagonload of bread came from there.”…
(Translations.) “The Russian Ambassador at Regensburg… furthered the recruitment efforts by the employment of two Agents… and in spite of all hindrances was able to send a large number of willing Emigrants from this area to Russia. In February 1766, the Elector of Mainz brought to the attention of the Hessian government the promotional activities of the agents. –This overwhelming emigration would result in a depopulation of the area. –Thus, he pleaded for the checking of this imminent danger…. Through reference to ordinances of 1630, 1658, and 1697, secret emigrations were threatened with a punishment of confiscation of all possessions. – On the basis of this survey, a statement was sent to all courts, dated April 11, 1766, covering the following provisions: Emigration without specific approval would be punishable by confiscation of property. Those eager for emigration are to be under surveillance. Proceeds from previous sale of goods will be seized. Lazy and indolent subjects may, with rare exception, be permitted to leave after fulfillment of all obligations and payments of outstanding taxes, must however, forego any thought of possible return and acceptance. Borders would be carefully watched to prevent anyone from secretly leaving or an agent from sneaking in. – Anyone observing a Russian Agent operating in the principality of Darmstadt and reporting him, would receive 12 Florins reward. Subjects who have made themselves indebted to the recruitment would be subject to imprisonment.
A list of requests for departure lie among the articles of the State Archives. For instance, one Johan Adam Walther of Dauernheim wrote “I have not so much property as 15 alb is worth, (Ed. Note: Impossible to translate “alb”. Conjecture: possible error in original transmittal, could mean 1 Kalb – 1 calf.) – even if one should include his bed, to which all people hereabout will witness. Since I no longer can provide for my children with the day’s wages, I am determined to migrate to Russia where I can find livelihood through my own efforts.”
Research In Hesse
By Arthur and Cleora Flegel
(Excerpts)
(Page 26)
Among other items at Schlitz, we found copies of historical transcripts of the 1762-1767 emigrations. Excerpts from these articles in the original German with English translations follow (MY NOTES: I have included only excerpts in English.):
“…On the 8th of April, the first group of people left from Queck and Rimbach in the Schlitzerland for Russia. The man received 15 Kreuzers and his wife 10 Kreuzers daily stipend. This stipend was supplied by the Russian Commisars who had established recruitment stations throughout all of Germany and more specifically in Hess.” If the writer of the daybook reports that at that time the first people emigrated from our immediate area and refers specifically to Queck and Rimbach, it can be assumed that others also followed them. Unforunately more detailed information which would be of interest to us is missing as to the numbers and names of the emigrants….
…He writes in detail, “Well, I intend to list daily, every caravan of people passing through this district intent on leaving Germany for Russia with the reasons, for otherwise, no one can understand or comprehend why the people are leaving for a foreign land. The treks are composed of German people who gathered at Büdingen under the Russian Commission and have been accepted as immigrants to Russia. On the 13th of May, the first transport moved through Schlitz. Also farmers form the Schlitz area secretly joined the treks leaving their possessions and stating that those in authority were too demanding and the work too oppressive. Within the 7 caravans through Schlitz, an estimated 500 people per trek are happily looking forward to finding a better land than this. In reality, they are no better than swindlers. Mostly such, along with some who are leaving with heavy hearts because of their burdensome debts. The children no longer mind their parents but want to emigrate for Russia. Even the farmers no longer want to work. The cost of living continues to rise, also the money is stolen out of one’s purse due to the money devaluation….” No, it was the terrible economic distress which at that time drove the people from their beloved Hessian homeland. The Seven Years War, 1756-1763, brought with itself unusually difficult conditions into the Upper Hesse and Schlitzerland. – during the course of this war, 160,000 troops were quartered in Schlitz. – Weissbeck wrote, “Here is great distress with bread and money. On the 12th of April, bread was requested from Fulda and an entire wagonload of bread came from there.”…
(Translations.) “The Russian Ambassador at Regensburg… furthered the recruitment efforts by the employment of two Agents… and in spite of all hindrances was able to send a large number of willing Emigrants from this area to Russia. In February 1766, the Elector of Mainz brought to the attention of the Hessian government the promotional activities of the agents. –This overwhelming emigration would result in a depopulation of the area. –Thus, he pleaded for the checking of this imminent danger…. Through reference to ordinances of 1630, 1658, and 1697, secret emigrations were threatened with a punishment of confiscation of all possessions. – On the basis of this survey, a statement was sent to all courts, dated April 11, 1766, covering the following provisions: Emigration without specific approval would be punishable by confiscation of property. Those eager for emigration are to be under surveillance. Proceeds from previous sale of goods will be seized. Lazy and indolent subjects may, with rare exception, be permitted to leave after fulfillment of all obligations and payments of outstanding taxes, must however, forego any thought of possible return and acceptance. Borders would be carefully watched to prevent anyone from secretly leaving or an agent from sneaking in. – Anyone observing a Russian Agent operating in the principality of Darmstadt and reporting him, would receive 12 Florins reward. Subjects who have made themselves indebted to the recruitment would be subject to imprisonment.
A list of requests for departure lie among the articles of the State Archives. For instance, one Johan Adam Walther of Dauernheim wrote “I have not so much property as 15 alb is worth, (Ed. Note: Impossible to translate “alb”. Conjecture: possible error in original transmittal, could mean 1 Kalb – 1 calf.) – even if one should include his bed, to which all people hereabout will witness. Since I no longer can provide for my children with the day’s wages, I am determined to migrate to Russia where I can find livelihood through my own efforts.”
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
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….
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….
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….
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