MARIENFELD, Saratov, Volga

Rosemarie Krieg Dinkel

I don't have anything to report on either villages, Rohrbach or Marienfeld. With all the information on the Internet there isn't much for me to work on at this time. At one time, I did get snail mail queries regarding Rohrbach....not even that anymore. I volunteer at the local LDS library, and there are a few people coming in that are Ger-Rus and I help them connect to their villages.

MARIENTAL, Samara, Volga

Mariental Web Site

Thelma Mills

My Mariental web page will have an interesting life story from a cousin of mine living in Germany. I have been requesting her life story for several years, and I did receive it this year. Also there will be photos of Mariental. These will be added as soon as Patrice gets caught up.

I also have in my possession, two different books about Mariental. They are written in the German language, and I am presently trying to get one of them translated. The other is being translated, but I do not have permission to include any of the information from the book in my web page. The book that I purchased, is written by Anton Schneider and is titled: "Aus der Geschichte der Kolonie Mariental an der Volga."

There are many surnames mentioned in it. I found this book through the information I received from Denise Grau and her husband. Many, many, thanks to them.

The other book is entitled: Mariental - Sowjetskoje and It is written by Peter Hermann and Joseph Gossnitz. This book is owned by Elmer Dreher of Hays, and the translation is being done by Connie Leikam, also of Hays. I received information about this book from Gerald Schmidt. Again, many thanks to him for this information. The last I heard, the translation is not quite half done. I am anxious to get the completed transcribed book.

In between these projects, I have also been collecting Obit's from the e-Lists and other resources, and hope to (one of these days) be able to spend some time on researching those. I have received many requests for help from various searchers, and have been able to help some of these. As I continue to collect information, I should be better equipped in the future to handle your requests. I have, during the year, purchased several books for my library that I will be able to use as reference material.

MOOR, Saratov, Volga

Moor Web Site

Irma A. Waggoner, W098

Wayne Bonner

Research progresses for the Moor and Balzer colonies. Additional families have been added for the 1834, 1850, and 1857 revisions (census). We have also added some new church record abstracts that were ordered by individuals.

Our web page is still online. We hope to expand the information on it in the coming months Moor does not have a newsletter, but any new Moor information is placed in the Balzer newsletter. Many of our subscribers have ancestry in both colonies. (read also: the Balzer site, above)

We have found a few Moor marriages in the Isenburg region of Hesse. A number of people have volunteered to help read and translate the old script. It is often difficult to read, but the results are truly amazing. A gentleman in the Budingen area has contacted us and has supplied us with photographs of the nearby villages including Dudelsheim, Rohrbach, and Diebach.

We look forward to big achievements in the coming year.

NEU-SCHILLING I & II Samara, Volga

Schilling Web Site

Gary Martens M405

See Schilling

NEU-STRAUB, Saratov, Volga

Neu-Straub Web site

Lillian Larwig

We have the 1857 census of Neu-Straub for the KEIL and HEINTZ names. We have shared this information with several people who have been able to make connections in their research.

There is a Neu-Straub website that Patrice Miller set up. We ask anyone who has connections with Neu-Straub to contact us so we can compare information.

We've found a lady, originally from New York State, who is researching the Keil name. We are related but have not been able to connect that one generation. Have also come to the conclusion, that the HEINTZ name is spelled differently in other areas of the United States but almost have to be the same families as legal papers signed by a minister/preacher for a Heintz document has the same minister/preacher name on another document where the name is spelled Heinitz. Both documents were from Neu-Straub. The Russian to English translation of the marriage certificate we have is spelled Heintz which is the spelling they used in the U.S. after arriving here in 1913. If you Heintz or Heinitz have any comments to add to this theory of spelling, contact me.

NIEDER-MONJOU, Samara, Volga

Nieder-Monjou Web Site

Carolyn & John Gorr

This year we put to rest the rumor that Nieder-Monjou was used for firewood or is lying deep beneath the lapping waves and currents of the Volga River. Through the GR grapevine, we heard that fellow VC Tim Weeder was headed to the Volga on a John Klein tour. We emailed Tim, who we have traded information with before, and asked if he would please take a photo of Nieder-Monjou while there. Not only did he provide photo proof (10 of them) of the colony's existance but he drew a map of the village while there. Tim deserves an award for going above & beyond.

Database & Photobase
If the people who visit the Volga, yearly, take a leaf from Tim Weeder's book and begin taking photos of villages other than their own-AHSGR and we village coordinators would have a good photo base of what is actually left of the Volga villages. Photo documentation of the location should become part of the quest for information.

Unfortunately, Nieder-Monjou looks a bit run down. These houses, after all, have been standing there for a century or so and basically neglected for the past 60 years-so what can we expect? However, the grass around each house was green this spring and the bushes that bloom were doing what comes naturally. Tim told us that no Germans lived in the village and that not many Russians are still there, either.

The ANSCHUTZ family still awaits their research. The Anschutz family has produced a couple of notables since arriving in Kansas in 1878. One is Wendall Anschutz, KCTV news anchorman (Kansas City) who was named Kansas Broadcaster of the Year in 1972. The other notable is Philip Anschutz who entered the Kansas Business Hall of Fame during 2000. The family is from Russell, KS. Anschutz owns interest in the Union Pacific RR and owns 40 percent of Qwest Communications. His Anschutz Corp. has ownership interest in major soccer teams in Chicago and Denver as well as in the LA Kings and Lakers basketball teams. The Anschutz Foundation recently gave $60 million to the University of Colorado Medical Center. You can read more at http://www.cjonline.com/stories/020900/bus_halloffame.shtml

As village coordinator we are continually interested in gathering village records from the Russian Archives. It takes dollars to get records and if anyone reading this report wants to help purchase census records for certain surnames in the village of Nieder-Monjou please contact me. (address at the top of this report).

NORKA, Saratov, Volga

Robert Benson B504

Jerry Krieger K175

Joanne Kreiger K254 [Charts] Norka Database

Krieger's Root Cellar / Jerry Krieger Norka Newsletter is now in it seventh years of publication. John and Marcella Wark began the newsletter and published volumes I (1996) and II (1997). Jerry Krieger then took over the duties and published volumes III (1998) through VI (2001). The first issue of volume VII