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Village Coordinator Reports 2000
Villages A-L
| A | B | D
| E | F | G | H
| J | K | L |
Villages M-Z
| M | N | O
| P | R | S | Y |
VC Newsletter Editor Carolyn Gorr
ALEXANDERTAL
(Neu-Schilling),
Saratov,
Volga
Richard
A.
Kraus
In
the
upcoming
year,
we
will
make
biennial
reports
on
what
we
know
about
Alexandertal,
its
people
and
their
descendants
available
via
email
to
all
interested
parties.
Tables
we
have
already
begun
for
these
reports
include
one
each
on:
- the
1858
Alexandertal
census,
- German
locations
from
which
the
families
came
and
migration
of
the
families
within
Russia,
- immigration
to
the
US,
and
- location
of
descendants
in
the
US.
The
first
reports
are
planned
for
January
and
July
2001.
Anyone
wishing
to
receive
them
should
email
me.
Names
of
families
known
to
have
been
in
Alexandertal
are:
Beisel,
Daniel,
Graff,
Haas,
Helzer,
Hoffmann,
Keller,
Koch,
Kraus,
Krel,
Lekei/Loeppke,
Maul,
Meier/Meyer,
Reil,
Sattler,
Schmidt,
Schreiber,
Schultz,
Sinner,
Strackbein,
Steher,
Vorster,
and
Weinberg.
Romig
/
Romich
may
have
been
there.
The
earliest
familes
(1853)
moved
there
from
Schilling,
the
mutter
kolonie,
but
Alexandertal
families
also
had
been
in
Beideck,
Grimm,
Norka,
Stahl-am-Karaman,
Doenhof,
Kutter,
and
Messer
among
others.
Also
in
the
upcoming
year,
we
hope
to
help
start
a
file,
to
be
stored
in
Lincoln,
full
of
advice
and
help
precise
locales
of
Volga
families
origins
in
Germany.
The
advisability
of
such
a
file
was
demonstrated
when
I
went
this
month
to
Germany
to
visit
Kraus
ancestral
lands.
ALT
DANZIG,
Kirovograd
and
NEU
DANZIG,
Nikolayev
Curt.
Renz
Not
much
has
transpired
this
year
with
new
discoveries.
A
few
documents
have
come
to
light
via
new
archival
listings
from
Odessa
but
no
attempt
has
been
made
to
obtain
them.
Currently
there
are
223
obituaries
in
the
Alt
and
Neu
Danzig
file
along
with
about
30
letters
from
the
villagers
sent
to
America
that
were
published
in
German
newspapers.
These
are
currently
being
translated
into
English.
I
continue
to
look
for
additions
in
these
areas.
A
hand-drawn
map
of
Neu
Danzig
was
sent
to
me
several
years
ago
and
a
professional
cartographer
is
in
the
process
to
converting
the
drawing
into
a
map
of
the
village.
ANTON
Betty
Muradian
The
year
2000
has
turned
out
to
be
very
exciting
as
far
as
gathering
information
on
Anton.
This
past
year
a
young
man,
who
now
lives
in
Germany
and
whose
family
was
from
Anton,
sent
an
email
to
ask
about
the
village
of
Anton
and
his
family
name,
NAZARENUS.
After
several
emails
back
and
forth,
we
decided
we
would
try
to
make
up
a
map
with
the
Luftwaffe
aerial
reconnaissance
photo
acquired
from
the
US
National
Archives,
and
the
knowledge
that
his
uncles
had
of
Kukkus.
The
map
will
have
the
names
of
the
villagers
from
1940,
the
year
they
were
removed
from
Anton
by
the
Russian
Government.
I
sent
them
a
large
working
map
of
Anton
that
I
had
drawn
from
a
slide
which
was
projected
on
paper
on
the
wall.
This
slide
was
made
from
the
photo
of
the
1942
Luftwaffe
flyover
of
Anton.
The
Nazarenus
family
returned
the
map
(to
me)
with
most
of
the
house
occupants
identified,
as
remembered
from
1941.
Now,
the
map
has
to
be
refined
and
printed.
If
anyone
has
a
question
on
villager's
names
from
that
time
I
will
try
to
answer
it.
We
hope
to
have
the
map
printed
in
the
future,
after
his
uncles
conclude
they
have
surnames
rather
than
nicknames
used
by
them.
Also
on
my
agenda
is
adding
the
Anton
story
to
the
internet.
Anyone
with
questions
or
information
on
Anton
may
contact
me
either
by
mail,
fax
or
email.
ATMAGEA
/
Atmadscha,
Dobruja,
Romania
LaVerne
Graf
We've
not
been
active
this
past
year.
When
I
attend
the
San
Jose
1998
AHSGR
convention
I
participate
in
Village
Night
and
handed
out
packets
of
info.
I
also
wrote
a
description
of
Atmagea
for
my
husband
Al
Graf's
and
my
visit
to
Atmagea
in
1972.
I
also
translated
an
article
about
Atmagea
from
German
to
English
from
the
Heimatbuch
der
Dobrudscha.
I
submitted
both
to
Lincoln
for
VC
archives.
BALZER
Balzer
Web
Site
Wayne
Bonner
The
Balzer
Newsletter
is
alive
and
well.
The
issues
were
behind
at
the
beginning
of
the
year,
but
have
now
caught
up.
We
are
still
compiling
the
1857
census.
To
date
about
65
percent
has
been
obtained
piece
meal
from
Russia.
Our
web
site
is
also
maintained
and
has
a
lot
of
information.
The
highlight
of
the
year
was
Darrell
Weber's
trip
to
Balzer,
providing
us
with
a
most
interesting
commentary
of
life
along
the
Volga
River,
along
with
fascinating
photographs.
He
visited
a
German
Russian
museum
in
Balzer.
This
is
the
first
mention
we
have
ever
heard
of
such
a
facility.
Darrell
also
mentioned
that
the
local
authorities
have
an
index
file
on
former
German
Russian
residents.
Publication
of
the
First
settlers
list
was
a
welcome
source
of
new
information.
Darrell
account
of
the
trip
to
Balzer:
This
summer
in
July,
we
(my
wife,
son
and
I)
had
a
chance
to
visit
Balzer.
We
were
impressed
with
the
countryside.
There
were
large
grain
fields,
sunflower
fields
and
potato
fields.
The
area
was
green
and
it
reminded
us
of
the
midwest.
We
did
learn
that
the
name
Balzer
does
not
apply
to
the
town
because
it
has
its
own
Russian
name,
Krasnoarmeysk.
When
we
arrived
in
the
town,
we
could
see
that
Balzer
is
no
village
but
rather
a
town
of
over
10,000
people.
We
did
find
the
area
where
the
old
village
of
Balzer
was
located.
The
wooden
houses
are
still
there.
However,
one
also
has
to
convert
the
old
German
names
on
the
map
of
Balzer
to
the
present
Russian
street
names.
This
turned
out
to
be
no
small
task
but
eventually
someone
was
found
that
could
convert
several
of
the
street
names.
The
old
German
houses,
normally,
had
interesting
shutters.
There
was
a
small
museum
that
had
a
display
on
the
Volga
Germans.
We
drove
about
10
miles
to
see
the
Volga
River.
It
was
quite
wide
and
that
was
probably
because
of
the
dams
down
river.
There
were
more
villages
and
towns
on
the
East
side
of
the
river
as
compared
to
the
West
side
(Balzer
side).
On
the
way
to
see
the
Volga,
we
passed
through
Anton
which
is
located
in
a
valley
with
rolling
hills
around
it.
Anton
was
still
a
small
village.
We
also
visited
the
village
of
Moor
and
it
was
also
small
and
probably
hasn't
changed
much
in
the
last
100
years.
Balzer
has
a
number
of
industrial
companies
and
is
in
a
more
vigorous
economic
area.
In
the
computer
database
for
Balzer,
we
are
comparing
the
data
from
the
two
recent
books
(Pleve
and
Mai).
It
would
be
great
if
we
could
obtain
the
lost
Balzer
census
for
early
1800.
BERGDORF,
Glueckstal,
Odessa,
Kherson
[See
Glueckstal
Colonies
Research
Association]
BORODINO
/
Bessarabia
Judy
A.
Remmick-Hubert
The
Borodino
web
site
is
going
strong
and
keeping
me
very
busy.
The
collection
of
Borodino
families
is
huge
and
with
all
these
families
are
Included
photographs.
The
regular
mail
delivers
fewer
and
fewer
inquiries
since
so
many
people
are
researching
on
the
internet.
I'm
too
busy
to
create
a
newsletter,
however,
I
try
to
make
up
for
it
by
placing
everything
I
can
on
my
site.
Within
the
year,
however,
I
do
plan
on
making
a
booklet
which
holds
all
this
data
for
those
who
visit
our
various
organizations
and
NDU
can
see
all
of
the
site
on
paper.
There
is
more
than
just
names,
there
are,
also,
stories,
letters
and
list
of
emails
by
those
who
have
written
requests,
sent
me
information
and
sources
for
families
and
historical
notes
on
history.
Often
times
the
pages
load
slowly
but
I
think
the
larger
photographs
are
worth
people's
time.
Again,
I'd
like
to
thank
everyone
who
has
helped
make
my
site
to
be
better
and
better
with
each
click
of
the
computer
keys
/and,
or
the
pen.
BRUNNENTAL
(Kriwojar)
Brunnental
Web
Site
Sherrie
(Gettman)
Stahl
This
past
year
we
have
continued
to
add
family
information
to
our
database
of
over
24,000
names.
We
have
had
more
inquiries
of
descendants
from
Brunnental
who
are
now
living
in
Germany,
so
having
a
website
has
helped
gather
more
information.
We
still
have
"old
newsletters"
for
sale
($2.50
each),
and
copies
of
the
"Re-Settlement
List
for
Brunnental",
which
is
$10.00.
This
includes
families
moving
from
Kolb,
Walter
and
Norka
to
Brunnental.
We
do
not
yet
have
records
showing
the
families
from
Frank
to
Brunnental.
DOBRINKA
Dobrinka
Web
Site
Rolene
(Eichman)
Kiesling
Researching,
entering
data
and
reading
films
to
connect
LOWER
VOLGA
families.
Reading
Canada
Crossing
Soundex
Films
and
others
to
find
families
and
working
with
researchers.
Dobrinka
needs
more
family
researcher
input
to
find
more
relatives.
DONHOF
Karen
Kaiser
One
of
my
goals
is
to
collect
family
histories
from
the
Donhof
area.
I
have
been
trying
to
compile
a
file
of
histories
from
people
who
have
contacted
me
throughout
the
year.
I
am
also
collecting
charts
from
Donhof
descendants
and
adding
to
my
file
every
year.
I
have
also
tried
to
answer
letters
and
emails
from
Donhof
researchers
and
currently
have
both
to
answer
from
the
last
few
weeks.
In
addition
to
family
charts,
I
have
a
file
of
obituaries
from
many
of
those
born
in
Donhof.
Ed
Ring
of
Greeley,
CO,
in
particular,
has
been
very
helpful
in
sending
obituaries
for
those
in
the
Greeley,
Ft.
Collins,
Windsor,
and
Loveland
areas
of
Colorado.
Windsor,
CO
was
a
particularly
large
settlement
area
for
immigrants
from
Donhof
in
the
early
part
of
the
1900's.
I
also
have
some
church
records
from
the
Windsor,
Ft.
Collins,
and
Greeley
areas
that
have
birth,
death,
and
marriage
records
for
Donhof
descendants.
I
have
visited
the
Windsor
area
this
past
summer
and
did
some
personal
interviews
on
families
from
Donhof.
I
would
appreciate
any
information
that
other
Donhof
researchers
would
be
willing
to
share.
DREISPITZ
See
Lower
Volga
Villages
FISCHER
HERZOG
Fischer
Web
Site
Roger
A.
Toepfer
The
interchange/exchange
of
data
and
general
assistance
for
Fischer/Herzog
continues
to
be
handled
through
the
Fischer
and
Herzog
web
sites
and
has
been
a
very
successful
means
of
assisting
our
fellow
members.
(Jerry
Braun
is
Webmeister
for
the
Herzog
Web
Site).
As
Webmeister,
for
the
Fischer
Home
Page,
I
have
included
a
site
for
the
Village
of
Katharinenstadt,
[Fischer/Katharinenstadt]
(My
Mother's
side
are
descendants
of
Katharinenstadt).
With
this
bond,
I
have
coordinated
information
of
queries
regarding
Katharinenstadt
members.
Also,
queries
for
other
villages
have
come
in,
and
we
attempt
to
assist
them
by
posting
the
queries
on
the
"queries
page"
of
our
site.
We
have
had
2,362
visits
to
the
Fischer/Katharinenstadt
site
since
January
1,
1999.
Of
these
visits,
there
were
60
requests
for
family
research.
These
queries
ranged
from
surname
connection
of
individuals
within
the
Fischer/Herzog/Katharinenstadt
census
reports,
to
gaining
additional
information
to
be
added
to
our
homes
page.
The
Home
Site
has
been
a
source
of
inspiration
to
many
of
our
visitors,
such
as:
a
couple
who
are
"travel
writers"
for
International
Travel
News,
visited
Saratov
on
a
cruise,
and
first
heard
of
the
Volga
Germans.
After
visiting
the
Fischer/Katharinenstadt
site,
they
are
now
hoping
to
return
for
another
visit
to
the
Volga
in
order
to
do
additional
research
for
inclusion
in
a
subsequent
article.
We
have
also
been
in
contact
with
families
now
located
in
Germany:
THIEBACH
(Germany);
UBERT
(in
the
Netherlands);
WERNER
(Germany);
and
Klaus
SCHAEFER
(Fritzlar,
Germany).
In
addition,
a
cousin,
(a
new
contact
of
my
lineage,
living
in
Wisconsin),
found
my
website
and
has
been
providing
me
with
information
of
former
Fischer
residents
that
now
live
in
Wisconsin.
Wisconsin
seems
to
be
the
preferred
location
of
a
group
of
former
Fischer
residents
that
left
Russia
in
the
1890's
-
early
1900's.
It
includes
TOEPFER,
GAUS(S),
THIERBACH,
SCHAEFER,
DORR,
LANG,
FRIEBUS,
etc.
My
relative
also
provided
me
with
a
data
base
for
Milwaukee,
WI.
of
a
Marriage
Index
pre-1907
from
which
I
have
downloaded
20
TOEPFER
marriages
from
1800
to
1897.
The
names
that
came
up
for
Katharinenstadt
that
were
looking
for
connections
were;
WERNER
(from
Germany),
WELTZ,
RUPP,
SCHMIDT,
PFEIFER,
SUSDORF,
BEIDEK,
JEAGER,
KARLIN,
etc.
Names
connected
to
Herzog
queries:
DREILING,
JEAKEL,
etc.
The
data
requests
and
general
exchanges
are
answered
through
my
email
services
"and/or
snail
mail".
The
Web
Site
at
present
consists
of
twenty-one
pages
of;
History,
Personal
Stories,
Maps,
Surname
Lists,
Ship
Lists,
etc.
The
web
site
contains
links
to
the
AHSGR
Home
Page,
the
Herzog
Home
Page,
and
a
link
to
most
all
of
the
other
VC
Web
Sites.
I
have
procured
the
following
surname
searches
from
Russian
researchers:
BRAUN,
GAUS,
KARLIN,
TOEPFER,
WELTZ.
There
many
additional
surname
searches
that
have
been
procured
by
other
VCs,
or
AHSGR
members,
and
a
very
comprehensive
list
of
over
31
surnames
and
the
persons
that
purchased
the
searches
are
posted
on:
the
Fischer/Katharinenstadt
Home
Page:
Roger
Toepfer
the
Obermonjou,
Webmeister:
Kevin
Rupp,
the
Herzog
Home
Page,
Webmeister
Jerry
Braun.
The
website
addresses
can
be
found
by
logging
onto
the
Fischer/Katharinenstadt
Home
Page
or
the
AHSGR
Home
Page.
Contact
me
or
the
other
VC's
by
email
for
arrangements
of
acquisition.
There
may
be
a
possible
outdated
web
page
address
on
my
home
page
as
I
have
procured
a
new
computer
and
have
not
transferred
all
of
my
files
to
it,
as
a
consequence,
I
cannot
edit
my
web
pages
and
update
my
website.
Log
onto
the
AHSGR
Home
page
if
you
have
a
problem
from
my
listing.
The
only
one
that
I
am
aware
of
as
being
incorrect
at
present
is
for
Paulskoye.
(There
is
no
"dot"
between
index
and
paulskoye.)
The
following
is
correct.
GLUECKSTAL,
GLUECKSTAL,
Odessa,
Kherson
Glueckstal
Web
Site
Margaret
Freeman,
F052
Glueckstal
Colonies
Database:
Glueckstal
Colonies
Research
Association
Includes
colonies:
Bergdorf,
Glueckstal,
Kassel,
Neudorf,
Grigoriopol,
and
Hoffnungstal.
The
Glueckstal
Colonies
Research
Association
is
pleased
to
report
that
its
fifth
book
is
now
available:
"Marienberg,
Destiny
of
a
Village."
This
book
joins
the
acclaimed
Glückstal
Colonies
Births
and
Marriages,
1833-1900,
Glückstal
Colonies
Deaths,
1833-1900,
and
the
1858
Census
of
Glueckstal.
(All
are
available
from
the
Germans
from
Russia
Heritage
Collection
at
NDSU.)
Published
in
both
German
and
English,
the
Marienberg
book
contains
the
EWZ
records
of
the
Marienbergers
who
arrived
in
Poland
in
1944,
and
numerous
letters,
some
of
which
have
never
been
published,
and
others
from
the
"Eureka
Rundschau"
written
by
Marienbergers
and
their
relatives
in
the
famine
years
of
the
twenties
and
thirties.
Many
names
are
mentioned,
and
many
villages
in
the
Dakotas
as
well
as
in
Russia.
The
book
gives
an
excellent
picture
of
the
concerns
on
both
sides
of
the
Atlantic
during
that
period
of
time.
Several
reviews
and
the
purchasing
procedure
is
available
at
the
NDSU
web
site.
Our
energetic
Glueckstallers
have
embarked
on
a
program
to
celebrate
the
200th
founding
of
the
Glueckstal
Colonies
with
a
combined
book/video.
Plans
were
laid
at
the
GRHS
Convention
this
summer,
and
various
committees
are
established
under
the
direction
of
Homer
Rudolf.
The
guiding
committee
includes
Gwen
Pritzkau,
Tom
and
Jan
Stangl,
Jim
Klein,
Michael
M.
Miller
and
Harold
Ehrman
who
will
once
again
edit
the
volume.
Connie
Dahlke,
Mike
Rempfer,
and
Rev.
Ross
Merkel
also
have
major
responsibilities.
Fundraising
is
in
charge
of
Barbara
Horn
and
Penny
Raile,
so
that
additional
filming
can
be
included,
of
the
villages
in
Ukraine
and
Moldova
as
well
as
in
the
Dakotas.
Publishing
the
"GCRA
Newsletter"
continues.
In
1999,
64
pages
of
data
was
presented
to
members
and
selected
archives.
The
group
continues
to
purchase
information
from
the
Odessa
archives
as
it
is
offered,
and
continues
to
publish
this
in
their
newsletter.
Much
is
in
the
cue
waiting
to
be
published.
GRIMM
Grimm
Web
Site
Ken
Leffler
The
past
year,
was,
again,
rather
slow
on
the
research
front
due
to
lack
of
new
data
out
of
the
archives
in
Russia.
That
is
until
it
was
reported
by
Dr.
Eisfeld
at
the
annual
convention
in
Lincoln
that
some
church
records
had
been
released
from
a
70
year
political
hold
to
the
archive
in
Saratov.
These
records
are
in
bad
condition
and
in
need
of
restoration
prior
to
any
data
extraction.
The
Grimm
group
took
up
a
collection
on
Ancestry
village
night
for
the
restoration
of
the
Grimm
church
records
which
Dr.
Eisfeld
said
were
among
the
released
documents...
We
are
in
contact
with
Russian
researchers
to
do
that
effort.
Village
Ancestry
night
in
Lincoln
was,
as
usual,
fairly
small
but
we
did
have
a
new
attendee.
The
old
faithful
were
there
and
as
enthusiastic
as
ever,
possibly
more
so
by
the
Eisfeld
announcement.
A
Russian
researcher
has
responded
affirmatively
to
a
request
for
a
family
surname
chart
on
Schmick
which
he
returned
the
deposit
for
in
the
past,
due
to
lack
of
data.
I,
personally,
have
ordered
the
Leffler
and
Zulauf
charts
recently
but
have
no
response
to
date.
I
believe
the
Schaefer
chart
will
also
be
ordered
in
the
near
future.
I
have
made
a
renewed
effort
to
enter
what
data
I
have
in
the
data
base
and
it
is
now
over
13,000
entries..
I
have
been
in
contact
and
exchanging
data
with
Gerhard
Lang
in
Magdeburg
Germany
who
has
been
able
to
get
some
census
related
data
out
of
the
archive
in
Engles.
In
order
to
improve
communications
among
the
Grimmers,
especially
those
with
e-mail,
I
set
up
a
Rootsweb
mail
list
and
we
are
now
able
to
communicate
with
the
entire
group
very
quickly
and
easily.
I
would
recommend
that
each
VC
consider
doing
this
IF
enough
of
their
members
have
e-mail.
All
of
my
members
have
been
very
helpful
in
submitting
what
they
do
have
and
we
will
keep
on
plugging
away.
GNADENFELD
This
is
my
first
year
as
a
Village
Coordinator.
Besides
being
the
VC
for
Gnadenfeld,
I
am
working
with
Wayne
Bonner
as
VC
for
Moor
(Klyuchi).
I
researched
the
history
of
both
Gnadenfeld
and
Moor
and
they
have
been
included
in
the
AHSGR
Web
Site.
If
anyone
has
made
trips
to
either
colony,
we
would
appreciate
any
photos
or
information
for
these
village
files.
Gnadenfeld,
also
known
as
Neu
Moor/Moor,
was
a
small
"daughter
colony",
on
the
weisenseite
side
of
the
Volga,
with
many
of
the
families
coming
from
the
"mother
colony"
of
Moor,
also
some
from
Balzar,
Hussenbach,
Norka,
Donhoff
and
possibly
other
colonies.
There
are
no
known
published
lists
of
families
from
either
Gnadenfeld
or
Moor.
I
have
been
collecting
data
of
families
from
these
two
colonies
from
family
charts
at
AHSGR,
ship
records,
declarations
of
intent
and
naturalization
records,
bible
records
etc.
I
also
have
a
copy
of
the
1775
and
1798
census
for
Moor,
which
lists
the
first
families
to
settle
there.
Through
email
queries
and
contacts
made
at
the
AHSGR
village
night,
I
have
been
able
to
help
several
people
with
their
research.
I
would
appreciate
copies
of
any
family
charts
or
church
and
census
records,
which
have
been
ordered
for
families
from
Gnadenfeld
or
Moor
to
include
in
these
village
files.
At
present
I
am
trying
to
obtain
the
1855
settlement
list
for
Gnadenfeld.
GULDENDORF
Curt.
Renz
Most
of
my
efforts
in
recent
years
has
been
working
with
this
village.
Through
AHSGR,
I
was
able
to
purchase
birth
and
death
records
from
1851.
Births
go
through
1889
and
deaths
through
1891.
These
include
missing
years
in
the
St.
Petersburg
films
plus
additional
years
beyond
the
current
scope
of
the
St.
Petersburg
films.
I
have
been
able
to
purchase,
with
the
assistance
of
several
other
interested
parties,
the
church
book
for
the
village
from
1829
through
1849.
This
document
provides
an
incredible
wealth
of
added
data,
heretofore
unknown
and
acts
as
a
credible
springboard
back
into
Germany.
The
1858
census
for
the
village
has
been
translated
and
published.
Currently
there
are
410
obituaries
in
the
file
for
this
village
and
more
than
125
letters
from
villagers
that
were
published
in
German
newspapers
are
currently
being
translated.
Of
the
110+
original
founding
families,
and
not
including
the
7
who
came
from
Prussia
and
1
from
Hungary,
I
have
been
able
to
verify
76
families
German
points
of
origin,
along
with
LDS
film
numbers
as
an
assist
to
the
researcher.
HERZOG
Roger
A.
Toepfer
Jerry
Braun
See
Fischer
HOLSTEIN
Holstein
Web
site
The
Holstein
database
now
has
about
11,000
names,
thanks
to
the
Holstein
descendents
who
have
shared
their
family
information.
Many
from
Holstein
immigrated
to
Canada
and
many
Canadian
communities
published
histories
of
their
communities.
I've
obtained
two
of
the
history
books
and
will
try
to
identify
and
obtain
histories
from
areas
with
large
Volga
German-Russian
populations.
I'm
webmaster
for
the
Lower
Volga
Village
Project
which
centers
on
the
parishes
of
Galka
and
Stephan.
People
who
have
toured
their
ancestral
villages
in
recent
years
have
shared
their
village
pictures
for
the
web
pages.
Presently,
there
are
pictures
and
descriptions
of
Dreispitz,
Holstein,
Dobovka
and
Kraft.
Pictures
of
what
is
left
of
Mueller
will
be
on
the
web
pages
before
long.
HUCK
(Splaunucha)
Huck
Web
Site
Dennis
Zitterkopf
I
agreed
in
November
to
assume
the
VC
role
previously
performed
by
Delores
Schwartz.
Since
then,
we've
established
a
web
site
that
includes
a
history
of
the
village,
a
listing
of
researchers
using
e-mail
(I
hope
to
expand
this
to
include
persons
that
only
use
the
postal
service,
but
I
must
first
contact
them
by
snail
mail),
an
archive
of
the
Die
Huckere
newsletter
published
by
Delores
in
1997
and
1998,
a
special
topics
page
and
identification
of
surname
charts
for
the
village.
We
now
have
16
persons
listed
on
our
researcher
page
working
on
39
surnames.
We
are
also
discussing
projects
that
we
may
begin
in
2001.
Compared
to
some
of
the
other
village
web
sites,
we
barely
exist
-
but
for
us
it
is
a
start
and
we
look
forward
to
continued
success
as
new
records
are
discovered.
HOFFNUNGSTAL-BESSARABIA
Curt
Renz
Dale
Wahl
continues
to
publish
a
newsletter
and
has
begun
a
photo
file
to
accompany
documents
already
secured.
The
current
obituary
file
contains
225
for
Hoffnungstal.
Letters
formerly
published
in
German
newspapers
are
currently
being
translated
in
English.
HUSSENBACH
(Linevo
Osero)
Louise
Potter
P051
Even
though
the
Hussenbach
Review
is
no
longer
in
publication,
this
year
has
been
busy
for
both
Paul
Lais
and
Louise
Potter.
Every
few
days
there
are
queries
to
be
answered
about
the
villages
and
are
responded
to
as
quickly
as
possible.
Back
issues
of
the
Hussenbach
Review
are
available
for
$2.50
each
as
well
as
the
Table
of
Contents
for
the
entire
five
year
period,
also
for
$2.50.
Order
from
Louise
Potter.
Paul
remains
the
village
coordinator
for
Hussenbach,
Gaschon,
which
is
on
the
east
side
of
the
Volga
in
the
Province
of
Samara
and
Louise
is
the
village
coordinator
for
Hussenbach,
Linevo
Osero
on
the
west
side
of
the
Volga
in
the
Province
of
Saratov.
Louise
also
maintains
the
databank
for
both
villages
of
which
there
are
several
thousands
of
names.
Eight
village
charts,
which
were
ordered,
are
included
in
the
databank:
JORDAN,
LAIS,
MUCK,
PROPP,
RIEL,
STENZEL,
SCHATZEL,
SUPPES.
These
charts
are
also
available
from
AHSGR
for
$25.00
members,
$62.50
non
members.
Several
charts
have
been
ordered
and
not
yet
received,
Fromm,
Rommel,
Rothenberger
that
are
known.
If
other
charts
have
been
ordered
that
pertain
to
either
Hussenbach
it
would
be
appreciated
if
you
would
let
Paul
or
Louise
know.
Also,
if
other
village
information
has
been
ordered,
i.e.,
church
records,
census
records,
etc.
from
Russia
please
let
the
coordinators
know.
At
the
present
time
we
have
the
1798
census
for
Linevo
and
the
1857
census
for
Gaschon.
A
list
of
pastors
for
Linevo
Osero
has
been
entered
on
the
Hussenbach
web
page.
Our
thanks
to
Sherry
Stahl
who
does
an
excellent
job
of
maintaining
our
web
page!
Thanks
also
to
Brent
Mai
for
the
1798
Census
of
the
German
Colonies
along
the
Volga,
it
has
been
so
very
helpful.
The
coordinators
are
always
looking
for
new
information
about
the
villages
and
welcome
any
and
all
queries.
HUSSENBACH
(Gaschon)
Hussenbach
Web
Site
Paul
Lais
See
Linevo
Osero
report
above.
JOSEFSTAL
Edward
Gerk
Currently
negotiations
are
continuing
for
material
from
the
archives
in
Volgograd,
where
the
complete
village
files
are
held.
Captured
war
documents
now
available
in
the
National
Archives
have
produced
some
additional
family
information.
A
family
database
is
now
being
established
for
the
village,
based
on
material
collected
in
the
last
15
years,
including
the
original
settler
list
as
recorded
in
the
1857
census.
The
task
continues...slow
and
methodical.
KAMENKA
Kamenka
Web
Site
Rosemary
Larson
The
address
for
the
website
was
changed
during
the
year.
Thanks
to
Patrice
Miller
for
taking
over
the
technical
production
of
the
KAMENKA
Home
Page.
The
inquiries
about
Kamenka
are
responded
to
in
a
timely
manner.
The
information
has
been
updated
periodically.
KAUTZ
-
(Werschinka)
Kautz
Web
Site
D.
Michael
Frank
My
accomplishment
this
past
year
was
to
obtain
more
family
genealogy
charts,
but
they
are
not
all
in
the
database
as
yet.
On
12
Mar
1999,
the
last
seven
genealogies
we
had
ordered
were
received.
These
include:
NEUBAUER/NEIBAUER,
SCHUHMAN/SCHUMAN/SCHUMANN,
WEBER,
KLEIN,
STAHLIE,
HERMONY
AND
MICHEL/MICHAEL,
families
from
Kautz.
I
now
have
18
surname
charts,
which
include
FRANK,
SCHREINER,
REITER/REUTER,
GRADWOHL/GRATWOHL,
POPP,
NEIBAUER/NEUBAUER,
SCHUMANN,
WEBER,
KLEIN,
STAHLIE,
HERMONY
AND
MICHEL/MICHAEL
families
from
Kautz
(Werschinka).
I
still
have
two
more
genealogies
on
order,
which
are
the
FRANK
family
from
Hussenbach
(continuation
of
the
Frank
family
from
Kautz),
and
the
FUCHS
family
from
Hussenbach,
on
order
for
Rose
Mary
Guenthner
of
Laurel,
MT.
Hopefully
they
will
both
be
coming
within
the
next
few
months.
Donations
have
dropped
considerably
to
help
me
pay
for
these
charts,
so
I
am
now
making
exact
copies
of
these
valuable
surname
charts
available
@
$35.00
each.
When
I
have
received
enough
money
to
reimburse
me
for
all
of
my
expenses
in
purchasing
these
charts,
they
will
then
all
be
donated
to
AHSGR.
KOLB
Thelma
J.
Sprenger
What
has
been
accomplished
for
Kolb
research
this
year?
- I
continue
to
get
requests
for
help
on
family
research
for
Kolb
and
also
some
other
villages.
Most
inquiries
I
have
been
able
to
help,
others
are
directed
to
someone
else
who
may
be
able
to
help.
- Continue
to
collect
obituaries.
- Received
a
surname
chart
for
my
maternal
line
of
PHENNING.
This
line
came
to
Kolb
from
Norka.
Was
very
happy
to
get
this.
- Attended
convention.
Village
night
is
always
interesting.
We
have
a
small
but
dedicated
group
who
share
their
finds
every
year.
- Acquired
a
Standard
Atlas
of
Adams
County
Washington.
Compiled
and
published
by
Geo.
A.
Ogle
&
Co.,
Publishers
&
Engravers,
Chicago
1912.
This
atlas
includes
a
plat
book
of
the
Village,
Cities
&
Townships
of
the
County.
A
real
treasure!
- Added
some
books
to
our
collection.
Sam
Sinner-The
Open
Wound,
and
the
2
volume
1798
Census
of
the
German
Colonies
Along
the
Volga.
We
now
have
in
our
town
a
historical
repository
started
by
the
descendants
of
the
1882
wagon
train
settlers.
Some
of
those
18
families
were
from
Kolb.
The
1882
group
and
our
local
AHSGR
often
share
ideas
and
some
of
us
belong
to
both
organizations.
I
enjoy
the
VC
duties
and
look
forward
to
this
next
year.
KRAFT
Don
Schimpf
See
also:
Lower
Volga
Villages
website
Since
volunteering
for
the
position
of
village
coordinator
for
Kraft
this
spring,
I
have
been
assembling
a
list
of
known,
(or
potential),
researchers
and
their
address(es)
looking
for
surnames
with
ties
to
the
Lower
Volga
Area.
This
data
is
tabulated,
giving
the
names
and
addresses
of
the
researchers,
then
their
surnames
of
interest.
We
have
concentrated
on
the
village
of
Kraft,
but
do
not
limit
our
sharing
of
information
to
that
one
village.
We
currently
have
79
folks
on
this
mailing
list.
We
are
able
to
correspond
with
more
than
half
of
these
by
email.
We
try
to
update
the
list
and
send
a
copy
to
those
on
it,
monthly.
Special
attention
is
given
to
those
who
have
data
to
share.
We
also
maintain
a
list
of
charts
with
surname
ties
to
Kraft
-
those
charts
on
hand
as
well
as
those
in
the
process
of
being
prepared
by
him,
(to
prevent
duplication
of
effort).
I
try
to
answer
questions
about
Kraft
names,
or
route
the
query
to
someone
who
might
be
able
to
help.
We
constantly
seek
to
broaden
our
data
base,
based
on
the
theory
that
the
more
information
we
have
to
share,
the
better
off
we
will
all
be.
I
can't
report
any
great
breakthroughs-at
least
none
of
which
I
know.
KRASNOJAR
and
REINWALD
Susie
Weber
Hess
Most
of
the
year
has
been
spent
scanning
all
my
paper
files,
(pictures,
letters,
maps,
documents
and
whatever
else)
onto
disk
so
they
can
be
stored
in
less
space.
Several
letters
in
my
possession
dated
back
several
years
and
the
letter
writers
are
now
deceased.
Some
of
the
descendants
of
these
people
have
now
expressed
interest
and
have
become
involved
with
AHSGR.
A
lot
of
the
letters
shared
unique
information
and
stories.
They
have
been
forwarded
to
the
appropriate
family
members,
who
gratefully
appreciated
receiving
the
letters.
Numerous
hours
have
been
spent
loading
about
1000
obituaries
from
the
Chicago
area.
I
have
spent
hours
providing
information
to
my
cousin
George
Valko
who
continually
receives
letters
from
Germany
and
Russia.
The
letter
writers
are
Volga
Germans
that
have
now
resettled
in
Germany
or
are
living
in
Russia
and
have
broken
the
lines
of
non-communication
that
has
existed
for
too
many
long
years.
I
have
spent
many
hours
working
with
new
contacts
collecting
information
and
encouraging
them
to
become
an
active
part
of
AHSGR.
Projects
for
this
next
year
include
working
more
with
others
and
computerizing
the
data
from
Fred
Zitzer's
extractions
of
the
1910
census
of
Germans
from
Russia
that
settled
in
Sheboygan
Wisconsin.
KUKKUS
Betty
Muradian
Plans
are
being
made
to
make
a
Kukkus
web
page
to
be
included
on
the
AHSGR
web
site.
A
book,
Kukkus,
a
German
Village
on
the
Volga,
can
still
be
purchased
from
the
Central
California
AHSGR
Museum
in
Fresno,
CA.
People
who
have
visited
the
Kukkus
area
in
recent
years
are
asked
to
please
share
their
thoughts
on
the
area
and
also
send
in
recent
pictures
of
Kukkus.
This
will
be
added
to
the
Kukkus
collection.
A
database
on
Kukkus
with
many
names
is
done
by
Eleanor
Sissell.
KUKKUS
VILLAGE
DATA
BASE
REPORT:
Eleanor
Sissell,
Kukkus
Village
Data
Base
Coordinator
asissell@pacbell.net
This
past
year,
there
were
inquiries
that
were
answered
as
soon
as
they
arrived.
The
Kukkus
book,
"Kukkus,
a
German
Village
on
the
Volga,"
is
still
being
printed
and
sold
by
the
Central
California
AHSGR
Museum
in
Fresno,
CA.
In
the
last
year,
a
concerted
effort
was
made
to
acquire
photos
of
Kukkus
from
people
who
had
made
the
trip
to
Kukkus
to
visit
the
village
of
their
ancestors'
homes.
These
photos
are
being
added
to
the
photo
bank
for
Kukkus.
A
Kukkus
web
page
is
under
construction
and
will
be
available
on
the
internet
soon.
Several
people
have
been
very
generous
in
sharing
the
photos
of
their
trips
to
Kukkus.
These
photos
will
be
used
in
the
Kukkus
website.
The
photos
give
a
poignant
view
of
what
is
left
of
the
village
of
our
ancestors.
Anyone
with
information
or
questions
on
Kukkus
may
send
them
to
me
either
by
direct
mail,
fax
or
email.
LOUIS
Thelma
Mills
See
report
for
Mariental
LOWER
VOLGA
VILLAGES
Lower
Volga
Villages
Web
Site
Webmaster:
Edith
Bottsford
Research
Coordinator:
Gary
Schulz
Publications
and
Web
Resources:
Janet
Laubhan
Flickinger
Web
site:
http://www.angelfire.com/ks/gerrus/index.html
Treasurer
&
Russian
Research
Contact:
Peter
&
Faye
Schantz
Obituary
Project:
Rachel
Smith
September
2000
Do
you
have
ancestors
who
lived
in
one
of
these
colonies
in
the
two
Lutheran
Parishes
of
Galka
or
Stephan?
1.
Dobrinka
2.
Dreispitz
3.
Galka
4.
Holstein
5.
Kraft
6.
Mueller
7.
Schwab
8.
Shcherbakovka
9.
Stephan
If
so,
check
for
your
surnames
at
our
web
site.
Alphabetical
lists
of
all
residents
from
these
villages
that
are
in
the
1798
Russian
census
are
listed
there.
Also
see
the
hundreds
of
obituary
summaries,
and
links
to
Janet's
Resources
where
you
will
find
thousands
of
extractions
from
Passenger
Manifests
of
Germans
from
Russia
who
immigrated
to
this
country.
They
are
listed
by
the
port
and
date
of
arrival,
and
the
name
of
the
ship.
There
are
pages
for
each
of
the
nine
individual
colonies,
and
a
Village
Coordinator
or
Contact
is
listed
for
each
colony.
Some
sites
include
reports
of
trips
to
Russia,
and
photos
of
the
villages.
Others
show
photos
of
early
residents,
reports
by
descendants,
and
letters
from
former
residents
who
have
moved
to
Germany
or
Siberia.
The
Kraft
site
has
an
aerial
view
of
that
village,
showing
its
neighbor
Catholic
village
of
Goebel.
The
Dobrinka
and
Galka
sites
have
links
to
additional
research
done
by
their
volunteers.
Because
there
was
a
great
deal
of
movement
from
village
to
village,
you
may
want
to
view
several
sites.
During
the
1860's
a
large
number
of
daughter
colonies
were
started.
Many
people
from
our
mother
colonies
moved
to
colonies
in
the
Rosenberg
Parish
southwest
of
our
area,
and
to
the
Lower
Jeruslan
River
Villages
on
the
east
side
of
the
Volga.
There
are
links
to
these
sites.
This
year
a
number
of
additional
Family
Tree
Charts
were
received.
They
include
HOHWEILER
from
Stephan,
HILDERMANN
from
Holstein;
and
BECKER,
LAUBHAN,
KRAFT,
OBLANDER,
REISIG,
STRICKER,
and
WASENMULLER
from
Shcherbakovka.
NEB
and
SCHULZ
charts
from
Kraft
were
donated.
They
are
also
available
for
purchase
for
$35.
A
DALINGER
Chart
from
Galka
and
Tscherbakowka/
Shcherbakovka
and
Rosenberg
is
available
from
Dick
Kraus,
Village
Coordinator
of
Alexandertal.
A
FRITZLER
Chart
from
Grimm
was
received
from
John
Groh.
A
number
of
Ancestrasl
Charts
have
also
been
donated,
including
one
for
SCHMIDT
and
STEINERT
from
Kutter
and
Shcherbakovka.
The
charts
for
BECKER
and
WASENMULLER
also
include
a
supplement
of
those
moving
to
the
daughter
colony
of
Eckheim.
Some
of
the
information
on
these
two,
comes
up
to
1924.
Information
on
the
mother
colonies
only
comes
up
to
1865
in
most
cases.
These
charts
vary
a
great
deal
in
size
going
from
about
70
to
over
500
names.
Costs
range
from
$350
to
over
$800,
depending
on
the
time
required
to
prepare
the
chart.
The
cost
of
a
chart
does
not
necessarily
relate
to
its
size.
Tracking
an
individual
surname
may
involve
researching
numerous
villages
if
the
people
moved.
If
there
is
limited
information
available
on
the
village
where
they
relocated,
the
track
can
be
lost.
All
the
information
from
these
charts
has
been
entered
into
our
village
databases,
which
now
include
over
50,000
names.
Links
are
made
with
information,
which
we
have,
but
the
success
of
this
depends
on
how
much
research
has
been
done
on
a
given
surname.
We
are
cooperating
with
Doris
Evans
on
her
project
to
register
these
charts,
and
we
work
with
other
village
coordinators
in
sharing
information
on
common
surnames
whenever
possible.
Jayne
Dye
has
ordered
a
WUNSCH
chart
from
Galka.
Edith
Bottsford
has
ordered
KELLN
from
Holstein.
Ed
Hoak
has
ordered
GRITZFELDT
from
Holstein.
Additional
charts
can
be
ordered
when
the
$250
deposit
fee
is
advanced.
It
may
take
three
years
or
longer
to
receive
some
charts.
There
was
a
good
representation
of
our
group
at
the
AHSGR
Convention
in
Lincoln
in
June.
A
table
in
the
Genealogy
Room
was
set
up
displaying
books
for
sale,
research
resources,
Village
Newsletters,
and
the
Family
Tree
Charts.
We
staffed
this
table
during
much
of
the
Convention.
Hart
Postlewaite
of
the
Golden
Gate
CA
Chapter
set
up
a
Computer
Room,
that
was
most
helpful.
Since
his
trip
to
Russia
last
year,
he
has
collected
photographs
of
villages
and
people
who
were
born
in
the
villages.
He
has
put
these
on
Compact
Disks
and
donated
copies
to
AHSGR
and
to
all
Chapters
and
Village
Coordinators
who
are
interested.
A
computer
was
set
up
where
these
photos
could
be
viewed
village
by
village.
Edith
Bottsford
has
used
some
of
these
photos,
as
well
as
others
she
has
collected,
on
our
WEB
pages.
Our
group
was
able
to
meet
in
a
separate
room
for
Village
Night!
A
one-page
description
of
the
Lower
Volga
Villages
project,
a
Village
Night
Survey
form,
and
a
blank
Ancestral
Chart
and
Family
Group
Chart
were
distributed.
Janet
Flickinger
distributed
a
5-page
hand
out
on
her
research.
Copies
of
books
available
for
purchase,
some
Family
Tree
Charts,
and
sample
village
newsletters
were
available.
There
were
about
60
who
attended
part
of
the
evening,
including
some
from
the
Rosenberg
Parish
who
dropped
by.
We
had
short
talks
by
Ed
Hoak
who
has
been
to
Stephan
and
wants
to
go
again.
John
Klein
who
has
conducted
14
tours
to
Russia.
Mary
&
Charles
Hockenbarger
who
visit
with
a
descendant
of
Dreispitz
who
now
lives
in
Canada.
Janet
Flickinger
who
told
a
little
about
her
research.
Rachel
Smith,
obituary
project
chairman
Edith
Bottsford
who
maintains
our
WEB
pages.
Other
Village
Coordinators
and
volunteers
who
were
there
were
introduced:
Jayne
Dye
who
led
the
Galka
and
Schwab
group
Don
Kutchera
met
with
those
interested
in
Stephan
Wilann
Sefton
met
with
the
Dobrinka
group
We
broke
into
village
groups.
Some
of
us
were
there
until
11:30,
and
some
people
left
by
8
or
9.
Of
the
approximately
60
Village
Survey
Forms
that
were
distributed,
only
8
were
returned!
Some
promised
to
mail
them
later.
Another
year,
we
need
to
have
a
sign
up
sheet
at
each
door
or
table,
so
we
get
a
list
of
those
attending.
The
opportunity
to
visit
AHSGR
Headquarters
and
the
Library
was
very
much
appreciated.
I
was
disappointed
that
the
Periodicals
files
are
years
behind
in
cataloguing
our
Village
Newsletters,
which
I
have
sent
them
for
the
last
seven
years.
Some
family
histories
that
were
donated
two
years
ago
are
not
yet
catalogued.
I
hoped
to
update
these
files,
but
was
not
allowed
to
do
so.
Village
Files
in
the
Genealogy
Room
were
checked.
There
is
no
established
system
where
files
can
be
cross-referenced.
There
was
a
note
in
the
Dreispitz
file
referring
to
the
Glenn
Mueller
file.
The
Shcherbakovka
file
had
one
copy
of
a
recent
village
newsletter.
The
Kraft
file
did
not
include
the
1998
report
by
the
Kraft
Contact.
I
left
some
additional
material
for
the
Kraft
Village
File
with
Tracy
Wright.
Janet
Flickinger
left
copies
with
Ann
Trouten
of
the
resource
materials
which
she
has
developed.
Rachel
Smith
left
her
Steinle
family
history
from
Dreispitz.
I
left
with
Tracy
Wright,
a
brief
family
history
written
by
Emma
Born.
By
working
together
with
this
cluster
of
nine
villages
and
sharing
material,
we
have
been
able
to
obtain
a
significant
amount
of
additional
information.
We
wish
to
thank
all
of
those
who
have
volunteered
and
made
this
a
successful
year.
MARIENFELD (Volga)
Rosemarie Krieg Dinkel
Church Records are not available for this village. Hopefully, someday we will find these important records, to help us know
more about Marienfeld. As you know, it is difficult to be VC for a
village that we can't get information on. There aren't too many
descendants of this village that I know of. Hopefully, more people
will get in touch with me, and I can better serve this village.
MARIENTAL
Mariental Web
Site
Thelma Mills
It seems that I never have too much to write about, but I have been
busy working with my files, and trying to publish a web page. The web
page has been published, but I have much more to add to it. Patrice
Miller is helping me with the web page and I have sent her more
information.
I also have requested to be the Village Coordinator for the village of
Louis, as that village is where my people first settled, then moved to
Mariental (where my Dad was born). I will eventually have a web page
for Louis, also.
I have received interesting information from Gerald Schmidt, and also
Frank Jacobs concerning Mariental. They have been a great help and
much appreciated by me. Their information will eventually be on my web
page also.
I will be going to Arizona again this winter, but I will be taking a
laptop along with me, so I will be able to work on my two Villages. It
is so exciting to me (fairly new at this yet and still get excited
about finding information on the people of my Village), and hopefully
I will be able to help more families find their ancestors.
I did attend three days of the National at Lincoln, NE this year, had a
great time and found more information. I received two family books
concerning some of the surnames I am interested in. I am hoping to get
family books for the surnames of Mariental and Louis, if written and
available.
I have all of the surnames cataloged along with emails received asking
for information concerning certain surnames. I had them all on the
computer, but when it crashed, I lost a lot of my information, so now
I also keep paper files. I don't feel like trusting the computer at
the moment.
Now I will be working on new ideas and gathering more research
material as I run across it. I have purchased both Volumes of the
"1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga" by
Brent Mai. They are a great reference.
I also am still trying to get a chart on the Mariental KINDERKNECHT's
from Russia, but am having a delay at the present time.
I have enjoyed this year as Village Coordinator for Mariental.
MERKEL
Darrell W. Kautz
I have assembled two books regarding Merkel, with the kind courtesy of
many descendants, several professional researchers, and an extensive
bibliography of source material. These two volumes represent several
years of research and contain several hundred photographs maps and
documents, each. I even had several German and Russia archives and
libraries, searched for photographs, etc..., a very expensive, and,
mostly fruitless, endeavor. The appendix of these books contain
information we know on Merkel born kinsman, including data from six or
seven surname charts. I have not, personally kept a data base,
per se, though I have collected information for such an endeavor, and
would appreciate anyone interested in taking on such a task. I have an
extensive collection of family materials in my archives.
IN THE SHADOW OF A BELL TOWER: A Social History of the Volga Germans
from the Former Colony of Merkel, Russia: A comprehensive Story in
Pictures, Maps and Documents. 1999, (316 pages) $34.90 plus $3.40
shipping and handling.
BEYOND THE GATES: A Tribute to those Uprooted Emigrants from Merkel,
Russia and neighboring colonies Whose Insight Sought Freedom in
Foreign Lands. A Memorial to Those Who Stayed Behind. 2000, (425
pages) $37.90 plus $3.40 shipping and handling.
I hope to have a web page within a year, and am currently gathering
material for three related books, if resources to print these should
become available. I have already located at least thirty pages of
specific information for a third volume on Merkel. I am currently
assembling a book of translated material from "Die Welt
Post" newspaper. This is very specific resource material
pertaining to numerous villages in the region, based, mostly, on the
articles of Merkel born journalist, Alexander Bauer, (who also wrote
for "Dakota Freie Presse").
Samuel D. Sinner informed me of the existence of Mr. Bauer's
Neuigkeitsquelle (News Source) series that ran from December 1924 to
December, 1929, ending abruptly at that time. These articles were to
keep North and South American kin abreast of situations in their
homeland. Very specific family information was included, not only what
these individuals were doing in their home villages, but, also, who
their kin were in American, and, what was going on in the social and
political scene in the Volga region.
Villages covered, to some degree, include: Merkel, Krazke, Kautz,
Dietel, Norka, Messer, Kutter, Beideck, Balzer, Degott, Neu-Balzer,
Neu Doenhof, Doenhof, Hussenback, Frank, Kolb, Rothammel, Seewald,
etc...., as well as Kamenka and Saratov. To date, thanks to a Siberian
born, Merkel kinsman, we have about one fifth of these articles
translated. I have written some histories of what was going on at the
time.
I intend to include several famine letters from about 1917 to 1934,
pertaining to various villages, mostly, of the Dietel Parish, because
these are the villages I have researched. I also have some 1920s
Confirmation records for the Dietel Parish, and hope to acquire a few
of Bauer's "Dakota Freie Presse" articles. Samuel Sinner is
helping me to locate similar material. I am attempting to find out
what happened to Mr. Bauer through the Engels and/or Saratov archives.
Thirdly, I am still working on a Kautz Family book, which, due to
extensive size, vast expense of publication, and limited market, may
never get produced.
I do work full time, have two young children, and have many other
interests, and hobbies. Although willing to give my time, I can not
afford to put any more of my own money into this project, having
already sunk thousands of dollars, that I will never recover, into
these projects. I owe it to my family to stop this nonsense. From here
on, I will only do what outside resources allow me to do. I will
accept donations of time and expertise, as much as I would accept
monetary supplement (I have only collected a little over $200 in
donations since I started, but, am thankful for anything I receive).
However, I am grateful for the translation services of Eugen Wittmann,
and, for material collected, organized, and shared, by any of several
dedicated researchers.
MESSER
Bob Weigand
Greetings to all other village coordinators from MESSER (UST-ZOLIKHA).
I have been the VC for Messer since the Seattle Convention in 1992.
This has been a slow year. The data base has 1,735 names and 637
marriages. I have updated the village history from new data received
this year. This village was established on July 7, 1766 with 397
residents and in 1926 the town population consisted of 3,575
residents. The farm land allocated to this village wasn't good for
farming, so this village was known for its industry. At one time there
were more than 600 sarpinna (a type of cloth similar to gingham)
weavers.
I have a mailing list of forty eight names for Messer of which eight
do not belong to AHSGR but have submitted data for the data base. At
the 2000 convention in Lincoln, we had eleven people in attendance at
the village night program from Messer and Moor. I have updated a
comparison of the Messer 1775 and 1798 census records in alphabetical
order.
This year, I have had 2 inquiries about Messer, both by email. This
was down from 11 last year. The families that were being researched
were; LEHR, NAGEL, REISPICH and ROTH. I have answered all inquiries
but to the people who are not members of AHSGR. I send a surname list
of my data base and the Messer village history and I tell them about
AHSGR and if they join I will send them the details of my data base. I
never hear from them again.
MOOR
Moor Web Site
Irma A. Waggoner, W098
Wayne Bonner
Many contacts have been made this past year with Moor researchers via
the Internet and snail mail. Darrell Weber visited Moor on his trip to
the Volga region, providing us with photographs of the town as it is
today.
A few more church and census abstracts were received from Russia.
There is still not enough information to establish a separate
newsletter for Moor so for now all new information will be published
in the Balzer newsletter.
See also GNADENFELD report
MUELLER
Mueller
Web Site
Bill Wiest
I now am happy to report that Brian Ebel, to whom I had given what
information I had about getting to the site of the former village of
Mueller, has returned with an excellent report. He found the place,
took lots of excellent photos, and made careful observations, all of
which I understand he is submitting to AHSGR and to Kathy O'Malley,
editor of a village newsletter that includes Mueller.
The last query I received was from Brian Ebel of Ottawa, Ontario. I
supplied some maps (three different ones) to help Mr. Ebel make his
way to Mueller when he visits the Saratov area villages in September.
He promised to take photos and maybe there'll finally be some to share
with AHSGR. I myself, having traveled to Saratov area 4 times, have
never been to Mueller (Müller) in spite of valiant attempts to get
there. Always we were rained out, making the roads too muddy to drive
on. Our travel agent, Mr. Douglas Grimes of MIR Corporation in Seattle
had visited there once in advance of our trip in 1995. He said the
former village had been completely abandoned, that what was left of
past structures (including what was probably a cemetery) was sloughing
off the cliff and falling into the Volga River (now a lake, with water
levels much higher than was historically the case for the river).
NEU-STRAUB
Neu-Straub
Web Site
Lillian Larwig
As village coordinator for the village of Neu-Straub (Skatowka), I
have been in touch with several who also have connections with Neu-Straub.
One found her relative on my Russian census. The census I have is from
1857 on the HEINTZ and KEIL name only from Neu-Straub I am willing to
share information in this census.
With family charts I received from a friend, I was able to connect a
NUSS family researcher with a member of his family and fill in the
blank area of his family chart. The Nuss name is not from my village.
I would ask anyone who is researching names from the village of Neu-Straub
to contact me so I would have that information available and hopefully
make connections with other families.
Using the Family Tree Maker, I have compiled a KEIL-HEINTZ-DICK
history book. At a summer family reunion of persons from these three
families, I talked about the information I already had and asked if
anyone was interested in a book if I had it printed. Fifty people
asked for a book.
That was thrilling but what was even more interesting, it was the
third and fourth generation of the original German-Russians who showed
the most interest. I had five extra copies printed and they were sold
before I got the books back from the printer. The book has 193 pages
with the German-Russian history dating back to Catherine the Great -
why our families left Russia and why they came to Oklahoma - history
of the church these original homesteaders became charter members of -
photo's of these first families - stories from family members of 'what
grandma told me' and some photo's of the following generations.
Neu-Straub researchers, keep in touch as we strive to help each other.
NEU-YAGODNAYA
See Schoendorf
NIEDER-MONJOU
Nieder-Monjou Web Site
Carolyn & John Gorr
The most exciting news regarding Nieder-Monjou research, during this
past year, is the photo of the village church and surrounding houses
received from Steven Grau of TX who is doing ANSCHUTZ/ANSCHUETZ family
research. This photo was hanging on the wall of David E. ANSCHUTZ'
house in Kansas. David immigrated in 1923. The photo comes to us
courtesy of Mike Grau. Steven Grau (brother to Mike) has on order the
ANSCHUTZ family genealogy.
No real break through in information gathering regarding the village
during the year 2000. However, we did get an email query from a man in
South Africa whose ancestors went there in the 1880s. He told me there
are Ger-Rus in South Africa but not in large consentrated areas that
he knows about. Also received a query from Australia searching the
STEINPREIS surname. The person making the query said his Steinpreis is
the only one in the Australian phone books. Without email and the
Internet we would probably not get these queries from overseas.
UK query re GEBAUER surname. Nieder-Monjou homepage is now linked to a
site that lists all GEBAUERs in the world.
No one from Nieder-Monjou showed up at Village Night during AHSGR
Convention 2000 at Lincoln. The 2001 convention will be in Denver, CO
- let's see some of you Nieder-Monjou folks from KS & CO at the
2001 convention, please.
OBERDORF
Oberdorf Web
Site
Teri Helzer
The following delineates the achievements of Oberdorf in the past
year:
- Obtained 1857-58 Census data for the following
Oberdorf families: DAUBERT, GRAUBERGER, MEIER, SCHIMPF, SCHMER,
ASMUS, FRITZLER, STEHLE, SHAFER, and SCHNEIDER
- Expanded the Oberdorf web presence by translating the Oberdorf
site to Spanish with the assistance of Elena Mercedes Vega and her
husband, Jorge.
- Enhanced the Oberdorf web site with additional pages: 1857-58
Census, Migration, Ships, Surname Contacts, Gedlist Data, and
Reminiscences.
- Added approximately 20 additional names to the Oberdorf research
email list.
- In collaboration with Richard McGregor, VC Rosenberg, initiated
the Rosenberg Parish database. Heide Langenbeck is performing
input.
- Established a Village File for Oberdorf at AHSGR headquarters.
- Published all Oberdorf correspondence on a private web site, and
provided confirmed Oberdorf researchers access to the
correspondence.
My goals for Oberdorf are:
- Continue to collect Oberdorf data and make that data available to
Oberdorf researchers. The Rosenberg Parish database will be a key
element in this endeavor, since there was much movement of the
families in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Since the
parish records have not been located, it is necessary to use all the
family data collected by the village coordinators to link the families
and hopefully create that final link back to the 1857-58 Census.
- Attract and encourage new Oberdorf researchers to share their data.
OBER-MONJOU
Ober-Monjou Web Site
Kevin Rupp
I continue to receive census information from the different Volga
German colonies from Russia, but I am trying to center mostly
on the colony of Ober-monjou. During the past year I have added the
family names of SP…TTER, STECKLEIN, DOERFLER, UNREIN, as well as
some marriage and birth confirmations. There is a group of us working
together so that we do not duplicate our research from Russia which
helps in cutting down on expenses. The most exciting news recently, is
my contact with an older couple from Russia who were originally from
Obermonjou and sent to Siberia. I have received a photo of the
catholic church from them which was destroyed in the 30's. A friend of
mine did a tape interview of this couple. My hope is to translate
these tapes and possibly have an article in the journal. This may be a
small step but this couple mentions the names of EXNER, LEIKER, KLAUS
and DECHANT all common family names here in Hays, Kansas.
I really must say that this area is really blessed with people who are
willing to share what they have found on their families.
PAULSKOYE
Paulskoye
Web Site
Timothy C. Weeder W372
I received only one inquiry from within the United States this past
year, but several inquiries from abroad from individuals who now
reside in Germany. I continue to collect as much historical and
genealogical information that I can about Paulskoye and her former
inhabitants.
I would like to report that AHSGR possesses the 1834 Village Census
(8th Revision) which is not listed anywhere for purchase. This census
has not been translated from Russian into English, but for a fee AHSGR
will translate specific surnames.
I would like to also document that I have a RAGAS chart for the
surname JOST (YOST). Interested persons can contact me for specific
inquiries.
The Paulskoye website continues to provide a basic orientation to
visitors and attracts viewers from around the world. Incidentally, the
web site was updated this past year.
Finally, next year I am planning a second visit to Russia, including
the former village of Paulskoye (known as Pavlovka today).
PFEIFER
Pfeifer Web Site
Rosemary Larson
Thanks to Patrice Miller a homepage was accomplished during the year
for the village of PFEIFER.
Photos were made of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi and
interesting items are detailed.
The 1798 census surnames are shown; emigres to the State of Kansas and
South America and a history of the village has been posted. Inquiries
are responded to in a timely manner.
POBOCHNOYE
See Schoendorf
REINWALD
Susie Weber Hess
Most of the year has been spent scanning all my paper files,
(pictures, letters, maps, documents and whatever else) onto disk so
they can be stored in less space. Several letters in my possession
dated back several years and the letter writers are now deceased. Some
of the descendants of these people have now expressed interest and
have become involved with AHSGR. A lot of the letters shared unique
information and stories. They have been forwarded to the appropriate
family members, who gratefully appreciated receiving the letters.
Numerous hours have been spent loading about 1000 obituaries from the
Chicago area. I have spent hours providing information to my cousin
George Valko who continually receives letters from Germany and Russia.
The letter writers are Volga Germans that have now resettled in
Germany or are living in Russia and have broken the lines of
non-communication that has existed for too many long years. I have
spent many hours working with new contacts collecting information and
encouraging them to become an active part of AHSGR.
Projects for this next year include working more with others and
computerizing the data from Fred Zitzers extractions of the 1910
census of Germans from Russia that settled in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
ROHRBACH
Rosemarie Krieg Dinkel
In Denver we have a Black Sea Interest Group, that meets once a month.
Half of us are from the Rohrbach/Worms area. As Village Coordinator
for Rohrbach, I try to take any new material that is available to
these meeting. With so much information on the Internet, there isn't
as much snail mail going on regarding the descendants of this village.
At one time, I would receive three to four inquiries a month. Of
course those were the days I was the only VC for Rohrbach.
ROSENBERG
Rosenberg
Web Site
Richard McGregor
This has been a quiet year again although with the wonderful help of
Teri Helzer the website for the village is now up and running. It can
be accessed from the AHSGR site through the Volga Villages link, or
directly on the URL listed above.
The website contains history, photos and data - quite a bit of
material is available there. Family data is not on the site but there
is a message board and an email connection through which Rosenberg
descendants can contact me for information.
One Newsletter has been sent out during this period, and another is in
progress - mainly collections of emails and letters from folk with
Rosenberg connections. I am hoping that the next Newsletter will be
accessible from the website. Also in progress is a database of those
born in Rosenberg which is being compiled by Heide Langenbeck along
the lines of the one already completed by Teri Helzer for Oberdorf.
As always I would be delighted to hear from anyone with connections to
the village.
ROSENTAL, CRIMEA
Judy Klee
Rosental VC Newsletter 2000
Rosental Greetings,
A first year volunteer here, with an original settlement of sixty-one
families, according to Karl Stumpp's census. The group had set out for
Hungary, five families from Wurttenburg and fifty-six from Baden, all
Catholics, who instead went to Rosental, Crimea. Question: Was
Rosental named after one of the settlers or was it named after the
wild roses in the area?
Glad I went to Heritage Fest-2000 May 5 & 6 in Los Angeles. The
work of the Village Coordinators who spoke was inspiring. Detailed
histories, years of research and many surname data bases of 20,000+
names, (the Rosental Village surname data base consisted of one
surname before the Klee contribution of 50 additional, but some of
those were from surrounding villages). I enjoyed meeting Ken Leffler,
who has given this "newbie" online help learning the ropes.
Later on that same month Aubrey Marttheller generously offered to
share his Rosental files. It was then I realized I NEEDED a new
computer, for I was lacking a genealogy program and every down or up
load I made had to be directed to my daughter in Arizona, then sent to
me by snail mail. So the purchase was made, with the addition of a
genealogy application.
Shared success this year: Note first that the following excerpt is
from a letter shared by Charles Klee. He is the son of the letter's
author Michael Klee (now 96) who was born in the village of Less,
Crimea. Michael is the second son of Joseph Klee born 1875 in Rosental,
Crimea and his wife Sophia Schroeder (b. 1877 in Krontal, Crimea).
An excerpt from the 1971 letter,
"Sept. 27, 1910 Joseph KLEE and Sophia SCHROEDER (and family)
started the long journey to America, the first ride was on a wagon
from a small village called Ivermbei, to Simpheropol. There we stayed
over night, early next morning We all got on a train, for the first
time. This train took us to the Baltic Sea, about a 3 day train ride.
We landed at some seaport, there and again we had to stay there for a
few days, till a ship could take us on our journey. We got on a small
Russian ship and this took us to Hull, England. Then we had a train
ride that took us to Liverpool, England. We stayed there for 9 days
till another ship picked us up and then we were on our way to the good
U.S.A. It took 9 days to see land again (ship's manifest records show
they left Liverpool, England 29 Oct 1910 on the SS. Megantic and
arrived 6 Nov 1910 in Quebec, Canada). We got on a train in Chicago
and a few days later we got to Hebron, North Dakota Nov. 9, 1910. Next
morning Uncle Mike Schroeder (Sophia Schroeder's brother) picked us up
with a wagon & took us to his home, there we stayed till March 14,
1911. By that time Joseph Klee, had taken up a Homestead, Pat. No
650679, and had built a 14'x16' shanty on it, for the family of 7 to
live in."
Shared ideas: Web site, Ships of your immigrant ancestors and links to
the ships' histories. http://www.kinshipsprints.com/
.
And to all, Good Hunting.
ROTHAMMEL
Nicholas and Barbara Bretz
We have just become the new Rothammel Village Coordinators due to the
resignation of Bernice Williams. We aren’t as knowledgeable about
the village as Bernie but will do our best to learn and help others in
their research. We wish to thank Bernie for having served us for so
many years. Her dedication in collecting information and passing it on
to us is certainly appreciated.
One of our goals is to enter all the Rothammel information into a
database so that we have that information readily available. It will
be interesting to discover how the many families are intertwined
through marriage. We would appreciate receiving each member’s
Rothammel data to complete this project.
Rosi and Tim Kloberdanz have offered to begin a Rothammel Web Page,
and Kathy Jones has offered to set up a Rothammel LISTSERV. We will be
working on those items within the next few months.
While at headquarters recently, we noticed that census information for
some later years had been placed in the village file. They were
donated by Shirley Arendt and Kathy Jones. Included are the Applehanz,
Lauer, and Kloberdanz surnames.
The following Surname Charts have been ordered by members: APPELHANS,
BASGAL, BIEBER, FRANK, GERTIE, KAISER, LECHMAN, and MATZA. The last
communication from Russia stated that they would begin working on the
village of Rothammel in November of 2000.
SCHOENDORF, SCHOENFELD, SCHOENTAL, NEW YAGODNAYA, STRASSENDORF and
POBOCHNOYE
Strassendorf Web
Site
Laurin Wilhlem
2000 Village Coordinator Report
- Research and correspondence is down for these villages, all once
located some 65 miles SE of Saratov. Older descendents are less
able to correspond; many have died. Younger descendents seem not
very interested in researching their family history.
- I have corresponded with GerRus descendents in Argentina and
Brazil this year, with minimum success. Few people there speak
English or German; my Spanish is limited. I found one lady in
Entre Rios Province, Argentina, who claimed to be a descendent of
Schoenfeld folks.
- In June 1999 we brought from Nuremberg, Germany to San Antonio,
TX, Otto Felker to visit his aunt (dad's sister) and uncle George
and Elizabeth (Felker) Popp in Hoisington, KS. They came to Kansas
in 1913. We also visited his first cousin in Denver. We visited an
elderly lady in Albuquerque. Her parents were born in Schoendorf
and Strassendorf. Otto was born in Schoendorf in 1926 and deported
to Kazakhstan in 1941. He was forced to work in the coal mines
near Chelyabinsk, Siberia for 50 years. He got to Nuremberg c.
1995. Otto has helped to locate some other Germans from Russia,
now living in Germany.
- Research in Saratov: Since some of the church books "had
been found", including Pobochnoye, a request was made in March to get copies of those pages listing the births
of three of my Wagner uncles and an aunt, born in 1886, 1888, 1890
and 1892, but nothing has sent yet-(in five months).
- Research in Lincoln: A request to look up my great grandfather
(George) Philipp Wagner in the Pobochnoye 1834 and 1857 censuses
was made in early July. No research information yet.
- We are looking forward to the 2001 Convention in Denver. We hope
to renew old acquaintances and make new ones. We hope to advance
in our family research and grow in the knowledge of our heritage.
SCHOENCHEN
Schoenchen Web Site
Bertha Haas
There will be no report for Schoenchen this year, except that
Schoenchen, KS will be celebrating its 125th anniversary July 22,
2001. If all goes as planned, Bishop Werth of Siberia, whose parents
resided in Schoenchen, Russia, will attend.
SCHWAB
Schwab Web
Site
Rolene Eichman Kiesling
This is one of the smaller villages with less activity or interest
than most. It is included in the Lower Volga Villages Sheet published
by Kathy O'Malley. I also have ancestry from Shcherbakovka; Kathy and
I are in frequent contact.
I am still working on a database which consists of material received
from Lincoln, the 1798 census and data from my own personal
correspondence file. It has not yet been submitted to Lincoln, as I am
in the process of "polishing" it so that it meets their
specifications.
I have answered all queries, some of which, by necessity I have
referred to others. Many people send queries, when they do not know
the village. For example, they think that since their surname is
Schwab, that they might be from the village of Schwab, which of
course, is not always true.
I am the contact person and a source of information for the web site
listed above. I did not create it nor do I maintain it.
SCHWED [Zvonarevka]
Schwed Web
Site
Carolyn & John Gorr
Lots of activity with the Schweders this past year. My Schweder email
list numbers 35 and we've been operating for about two year. Although
we are diverse in the surnames we research, most of our members have
ALTERGOTT connections. We thought the arrival of the ALTERGOTT surname
search by Russian researchers would clear up many mysteries. Well, it did clear
up many mysteries but, it has managed to provide many new mysteries to
solve.
Schwed surname charts on order: HOPPE and WIEGEL.
This year we received two queries from USA folks who are related to
the GORR surname. One from NE the other from KS. The KS query turned
out to be a direct relation to an Aussiedler cousin that we correspond
with so we put them in touch with one another. Our Aussiedler GORR
said, never in his wildest dreams did he ever think his father's half
sister would be found after 65 years. He did not know Sophia GORRs
married name and neither did I until Curt Hanneman of Olathe, KS saw
our Schwed/GORR website and made his query. These are the stories that
bring joy to a village coordinator's heart.
The Nebraska query is still hanging as we cannot find a link to our
GORR surname chart even though we know that our GORR had a cousin Fred
in Scottsbluff, NE. More research is needed here.
Elder stories . . .
We received a taped interview of Dora CHRIST GERLINGER (1895-1990)
from her daughter, Lila. In the interview Dora talks about the Schwed
in which she grew up as a child. She gives nice details of everyday
life in the village at the turn of the century. Dora emigrated to
Chicago at age 17 where she joined her married sister. We also
rediscovered the story of Henry HOPPE (1897-1977) which was translated
by Ann Kraus Smith in June of 1983. His memories include the spring
thaws that raised the Bolshoi-Karaman River washing out the footbridge
to neighboring Stahl each year and the bareback horse racing enjoyed
by the young men of the village.
We published and delivered the information we have collected during
1998-1999 to AHSGR HQ, June 2000. It is a spiral bound book (about an
inch thick) and is in the Village File cabinet at Lincoln for easy
access to interested researchers of Schwed.
We had about 20 people at our table on Village Night at the AHSGR
Convention 2000 in Lincoln. Good information was shared within this
group.
SHCHERBAKOVKA
Janet Flickinger
See Lower Volga Villages
SOLODYRI
Once again, as usual, I have been doing virtually nothing about my
village of Solodyri in the past year. Sorry. Other projects have taken
precedence.
SUSANNENTAL
Susannental
Web Site
Kerry S. Thompson
Mail list:
To subscribe send an email message to
RUS-SUSANNENTAL-L-request@rootsweb.com
In the body of the message write the word - subscribe.
I have just completed my 1st year as village coordinator. During this
year I have:
- Published 2 newsletters
- Entered the names of 2,341 individuals born before 1960 into our
genealogical data base.
- Collected names and addresses of 50 people who are descendents
of the village in the states of Michigan, Wyoming, Montana,
Colorado, Texas, Missouri, Oregon, New Mexico, Ohio, Florida,
Oklahoma, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and Washington.
- Contacted Russian researchers as to records available for the village -
1st settlers list, 1798 Census, 1835 Census are available.
- Purchased the 1798 Census.
- Put together a data base of ship lists which includes 38
families who immigrated from Susannental.
- Located a village map listing heads of households for the
village in the early 1900s.
- Organized a data base for research of the Russian Germans in: a)
Big Horn County, Wyoming, b) Stillwater & Yellowstone Counties
in Montana and Sanilac
- Began a resource file of documents relating to our immigrant
ancestors containing copies of a) naturalization papers; b) ship
lists; c) birth records; d) death records; d) death certificates
and obituaries; e) bible records; f) life stories; g) pictures.
- Developed a web site and the beginnings of it online.
- Requested a listserve to allow residents to communicate with
each other.
It has been a great year and I have received wonderful help and
information from so many of Susannental's descendants!
YAGODNAYA POLYANA
Yagodnaya Polyana Web Site
Co-Coordinators:
Kris Ball &
Elizabeth Meyer
Database Coordinator:
Patrice Miller
Kris Ball attended the convention and we had about 15 YP descendants
at our table. Kris & Patrice worked this year to collect YP obits
from Fresno and Lincoln and estimate we have most of those obits
copied. We hope to create a cross-index for those names. One of our YP
people, Kenny Stuckart, went back to Yagodnaya this year. He has
put some new pictures on the site and recalls the adventure he had. He
made contact with a relative, Victor Stuckart, who lives in Saratov.
The 2 of them went back to YP together and visited the grave of
Victor's mother, one of the few German graves which is marked.
Victor's family was deported to Kazakhstan and returned to YP. Victor
works at the German Consulate in Saratov, located on the third floor
of the Volga Hotel. Through Kenny's selfless efforts, money was raised
to provide a computer to the Engels archive. Victor delivered it and
Mrs. Yerina was thrilled! We are proud of our YP generous descendants!
As the database coordinator for Yagodnaya Polyana, Patrice Miller
worked with descendants of the village to help them collect
information from Russia, make contact with other researchers and build
their family trees. This year, from Russia, three electronic
descendant trees were built for the surnames of FUCHS, LAUTENSCHLAGER
and YUNGMAN /JUNGMANN (1767-1857). Also the 1857 census was acquired
for VOELKER / VOLKER / FELKER and KONSCHU / KONSCHUH. Electronic or
printed copies can be obtained from Patrice with a $10-$20 donation to
purchased additional census extracts.
It was also discovered during the year that the 1880 Neu-Yagodnaya (a daughter colony of
Yagodnaya Polyana) census extracts are available. The following surnames, followed
by the number of households (which often have multiple generations)
were in that census: Arndt, Appel-6, Asmus-2, Bart-2, Baum, Befus-6,
Benner-5, Blok-2, Diesing, Dippel, Fischer-3, Fuchs-3, Gagwald,
Gerlitz-2, Gler-2, Gorr, Goetz-2, Gross, Hartmann-4, Herdt,
Hergert-12, Holstein-7, Jungmann / Yungman-2, Kaiser-3, Kleweno-6,
Koch-11, Konschu, Koppel, Kromm-2, Lauterschleger-3, Leinweber,
Lesser, Litzenberger-3, Luft-3, Machleid-4, Morasch-2, Mosebach,
Meiber, Mueller-2, Neubert-3, Okel, Ott, Pfafenroth, Repp-3, Rudy,
Ruhl, Rupp, Schaad-2, Schaefer, Scheuermann-6, Schneider-6,
Schneidmueller, Schreiner-3, Schuchart-7, Schweizer, Spanenberger,
Staitz, Stang-3, Stanius, Streier, Voelker / Felker-7, Weibert-2,
Weigant, Weitz, Wuertz, Zentner, Ziergibel-3.
Samuel Litzenberger also published "The Family Story of Adam
Litzenberger and Marie Elizabeth Gorr." Copies of this lovely
book can be purchased from Marsha Williams, PO Box 63, Lyons, CO 80540
email: sdywlms@rmi.net for $37.95
postpaid.
During the year, the LUST surname was thoroughly researched as well as
PFAFFENROTH/POFFENROTH of Calgary and some descendants of both
surnames can be traced back to the original immigrants to YP. A
portion of a church book for Yagodnaya Polyana was found which
included only births from 1904-1912. The information includes the full
name of both parents, full name of the child and birth date. Extracts
of these church record has been done for MORASCH, HELM and HAHNEMANN.
We have repeatedly asked if other
church books have been found for the village, but so far nothing else
has been located so there is still no information between 1857-1904.
Apparently hundreds of Volga church books have been returned to the
Engels archives and we are still hopeful that other church records for
Yagodnaya Polyana will be found someday.
William Schierman, long-time editor of "Usu Leut," the
newsletter of the YP people, delivered yet another issue in 2000. He
has been slowed down by health concerns, but has recovered nicely and
a second issue will likely be delivered later this year. Bill and
Marian's email address in Fort Collins, CO is bilmarscheirman@juno.com.
Bill & Marian will be at the AHSGR Convention in Denver next year.
Elizabeth was unable to attend the convention in Lincoln this year
because of other commitments. She has spent some time responding to
individual requests for information and translating documents. She's
located a LEINWEBER relative for an elderly pensioner from Yagodnaya
Polyana who now lives in Germany. All of her relatives were lost and
she is delighted to have made this contact. Elizabeth has spoken at a
couple of events explaining the general history of the Volga Germans
and the response her remarks has always been: "We had no
idea..." She's supporting Professor Eugene Miller's efforts to
document in film the current status of the Germans who remain in
Russia and she knows his work will bear fruit. She hopes to get to the
convention next year and meanwhile, will continue research. Elizabeth
can be reached at ElizMeyer@aol.com.
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