Schönchen, Samara, Volga

Schoenchen Web Site

Terri Dann

Denise Grau

We have received and responded to inquiries regarding the surnames SAUER, WASINGER, and MUNSCH.

Several photos were added to the Schönchen web site.

Schöndorf, Samara, Volga

Schoendorf Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

Schoendorf, located 65 miles ESE of Saratov, was founded in 1855. Mostly folks from Jagodnaya Polyana settled Schoendorf, although there were many settlers from Pobochnoye.

There has been very little activity this year with the Schoendorf village.

Schönfeld, Samara, Volga

Schoenfeld Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

Folks from Pobochnoye founded Schoenfeld in 1857, some sixty miles southeast of Saratov. It grew and prospered until emigration took many of its people to Russell, Hoisington, and especially Otis, KS, starting in the late 1870s. Emigration ceased c. 1918.

I have received fewer inquiries during the past year regarding Schoenfeld. I no longer publish the Pobochnoye Newsletter.

One item of interest this year is the correspondence with Waldemar Weigandt of Hamburg, Germany. His family was deported from Schoenfeld in 1941 to Kazakhstan. After many years of brutal hardship, the family gradually recovered. Waldemar was born c. 1949. His training in the Russian school system was as an electrician. Several years ago, c. 1992, the family was able to emigrate to Germany.

Waldemar has long wanted to immigrate to the U.S. and has visited the area around Ontario, Canada twice. He had planned to visit San Antonio, TX, in August 2004, but due to paperwork requirements by the U.S., he has not been able to do so. He had to get a paper from the Kazakhstan police authorities stating that he is not a criminal. The Kazak authorities state that the Russians were in charge when Waldemar lived there, so they will not issue such a paper. The Russians say that it is a Kazak matter. Waldemar is caught in the middle without clearance papers. He will not be able to visit the U.S. this year. He is seeking employment in his electrical trade.

Schöntal, Samara, Volga

Schoental Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

Schoental, located 65 miles ESE of Saratov, was founded in 1855. Mostly folks from Jagodnaya Polyana settled Schoental, although there were many settlers from Pobochnoye.

There has been very little activity this year with the Schoental village.

Schuck, Saratov, Volga

Lola Stattelman

During the past year, I completed the following:

• Provided Schuck Census information to Carlos Albereto of Argentina on the following surnames: Burghardt, Breit, Heinrich, Kress, Rolheiser, Kohlman, Derr, Schmidt, and Kammerer.
  
  
• Provided Schuck Census information to Stephan Appelhans on the following surnames: Sieben, Freihaut, Zum, Beilman, Derr, and Gotte.

I have not heard from either person letting me know if my information was helpful to them.

Schwab, Saratov, Volga

Schwab Web Site

Rolene (Eichman) Kiesling B334

Schwab is one of the smaller villages on the Lower Volga. It was founded in 1767 and by 1772 had a population of 187. By 1912, its population had grown to 2,295, but by 1926 had decreased to 1,133.

In the last year, I have had 11 queries, all of which have been answered with due diligence.

Apart from being Village Coordinator for Schwab, I am the editor of the Lower Volga Villages Sheet, which covers the villages in the two parishes of Galka and Stephan. Since I took over for Kathy O'Malley a few years back, I have published it twice yearly, usually November and May, which had been Kathy’s scheduled publication dates.

Seewald, Saratov, Volga

Nicholas & Barbara Bretz B296

See Rothammel village for combined report.

Solodyri, Volynsk, Volhynia U

Dr. Richard Benert B160

I have not sent a report because I haven't done a blessed thing regarding Solodyri. I've gone off on other topics, such as the Deportation of 1915, and some translating projects. I have no plans to concentrate on Solodyri in the immediate future, but I am always happy to know if someone else is working in this area.

Stahl am Tarlyk, Samara, Volga

Paul E Koehler K287 / L

I have had four inquiries this past year. The information flow has been rather slow. I do have over 17,000 entries in the Stahl am Tarlyk database.

About ten people attended the village night at the Modesto Convention. Numerous items and people were discussed. It was a lively session.

In the village file, at Lincoln Headquarters, is now a copy of the Brudershaft (Brotherhood prayer meetings) which contains 272 years of history. This religious activity was very much a part of our ancestors' lives along the Volga River. I made this presentation at the Modesto Convention, and 100 people attended it.

We have discontinued the der Stahler news letter due to a lack of new information for this village.

Strassendorf, Samara, Volga

Strassendorf Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

Strassendorf was founded c. 1857, some 70 miles ESE of Saratov. The settlers seem to be a collection of people coming from neighboring villages and not a single "Mutterkolonie".

Richard Popp of Little River, KS, whose parents came from Strassendorf, remains interested in the history of the village. We have recently conversed about Strassendorf and its people.

Straub, Samara, Volga

Sharon White

Early in 2004, I became the Village Coordinator for Straub.

During this year, I received inquiries on the following Straub surnames: Schwabenland, Seher, Winter, Will, Karle, and Rudolph.

While attending Village Night at the AHSGR Convention in Modesto, I met six people whose ancestors came from Straub. They promised to send me the information they have concerning their ancestors.

I started a Straub database this year, and since I live near Salt Lake City with access to many records, I have been gathering all of the information I can on Straub families.

 I have also published a Straub newsletter, available for five dollars per year (two issues).

I would appreciate receiving obituaries, genealogies, birth records, photographs, concerning surnames from Straub. I am hoping to hear from more Straub families.

In the future, I also plan to develop a Straub web site.

Vakarskii Khutor, Glückstal, Odessa, Kherson

See Glückstal Colonies Research Association

Vollmer, Saratov, Volga

David Easterday E106

The village of Vollmer currently has no nucleus of descendents who are members of AHSGR and are interested in or capable of conducting any comprehensive research projects. Compared with some of the groups I have been reading about, we have not even begun.

Apparently, the only cohesive groups of Vollmer emigrants settled in South America and Canada. Moreover, not many, if any, have joined AHSGR. As far as I can tell, there are only scattered individuals in the US, Germany and CIS who claim Vollmer as their ancestral village.

The year 2004 has been a typical year. I received about five inquiries concerning family names. In one case, my ability to fill in a missing blank was greatly appreciated. Typically, I did not receive any input.

Just recently, I joined a group to obtain and translate the 1834 Vollmer census. It should be available in several months. Copies will be available through a proprietary source.

In an effort to stimulate interest in Vollmer genealogy, I am advertising for individuals to form groups, for the commissioning of surname charts of family names of mutual interest. Vollmer names that I would personally contribute for are: Hergenreder, Dietzel, Stang, Schmidt, Vollmer and Schönfeld.

I intend to start a web site, and I will be contacting many other members for suggestions.

On a positive note, I am planning to be a much more effective coordinator in the coming year. This, after spending the past four and a half years contending with multiple myeloma and permanent lung damage. I have been in complete remission since August of 2000 but have not been fit enough to do everything that I would like.

I am anxious to see my annual report for 2005 to see how much we have accomplished.

Warenburg, Samara, Volga

Warenburg Web Site

Sharon White

Ronald E. Brott B310

Submitted by Sharon White.

During the past year, I have been working on the following items:

• I have had inquiries about the following Warenburg families: Andreas, Leisle, Stumpf, Diener, Kinzel, Boos, Kramer, Kaiser, Kisling, and Funkner.
  
  
• I am compiling a Warenburg database and have received the following Warenburg genealogies: Kramer, Leisle, Bier, Constanz, Kinzel, and Eisner. I have also received photographs and other items of interest of some Warenburgers.
  
  
• I have received eight pages of Warenburg Memories as told by Marie Leisle Doering, who was born in Warenburg in 1926. The Warenburg Memories are on the Warenburg website under Stories.
  
  
• During Village Night at the AHSGR convention in Modesto, California, I met five people with Warenburg ancestors. They promised to send me their genealogies, photographs of their Warenburg ancestors, obituaries, etc.
  
  
•  I started a Warenburg newsletter. The cost is $5.00 per year for two issues.
  
  
• I would appreciate receiving birth records, obituaries, genealogies, photographs or other items of interest concerning people who were born in Warenburg.
  
  
• I have been in contact with Rev. Olav Panchu who travels from Saratov to Warenburg once a month to conduct church services. I am hoping to receive more information about Warenburg from him.

Wittman (Soloturn), Samara, Volga

Kevin Rupp R311 / L

I have been getting a few more censuses for various names for the colony of Wittmann from Russia. I have the 1890 family list. I do get a few inquires from the colony.

 I also maintain a web site for this colony.

Yagodnaya Polyana, Saratov, Volga

Yagodnaya Polyana Web Site

Kris Ball B465 / L

Elizabeth A. Meyer M368

Patrice (Morasch) Miller M410
Database coordinator

The village of Yagodnaya Polyana is blessed with many descendants and former residents who actively work to preserve its history. Three of those are Kris Ball, Patrice Miller, and Elizabeth Meyer who continue to answer numerous queries from our newsletter and web site. We are also fortunate to have many from our village who visit Yagodnaya Polyana and Germany, and keep in touch with relatives from the village, and who share their stories with us. Their contributions keep the village history alive, though very few German-Russians are living there today.

Elizabeth Meyer interviewed Viktor and Maria Scheuermann, former villagers. Viktor's family had been deported to Kazakhstan from Yagodnaya Polyana. They returned to Yagodnaya Polyana in 1968 and in 2000, they completed their journey by settling in Germany. They were one of the few remaining German-Russian families in Yagodnaya Polyana, and graciously welcomed many visitors from the US and Canada into their home.

Usu Leut, our village newsletter, continues to be published twice annually. Our Spring issue covered the deportation from Yagodnaya Polyana to Kazakhstan in 1941. We also reported on a nearby colony, Neu Straub, through our Yagodnaya Polyana contacts.

Kenny Stugart makes trips to Germany, Saratov, and Yagodnaya Polyana. From information he has found at the archives, Patrice Miller constructed a chart of Yagodnaya Polyana births in the early part of the 20th century. Kenny also keeps in touch with relatives who have immigrated to Germany, and he sent us a wonderful picture of the 1941 school staff in front of the Yagodnaya Polyana schoolhouse (complete, of course, with Stalin's portrait looming darkly over the group in the background).

Richard Scheuerman led a tour to Siberia. The tour included lectures by Dr. Scheuerman concerning the region and about Yagodnaya Polyana. Patrice and Kris met Richard's son, Karl, at the 2004 Convention in Modesto. Karl has visited Yagodnaya Polyana twice and speaks Russian. He and Dr. Pleve (who remembers Karl's dad fondly) had great conversations in Russian at the convention. Richard also published a book this year entitled Palouse Country, A Land and Its People, Oral History Edition.

Beth Simmons from Loveland, Colorado, is writing her doctoral thesis about the heavily German-Russian area of the Colorado Front Range. It is of interest to our village, as it follows the history of the Lahnert family and its descendants, as well as documenting the people of the region. She hopes a documentary will develop from this project, and a CD copy of her wonderful paper has been donated to AHSGR headquarters in Lincoln.

Village Night at Modesto was well attended. We shared stories, books, pictures, and marveled at all the new material continuing to be discovered. We were very encouraged at some of the discoveries coming out of the Saratov Archives, such as the Yagodnaya Polyana kulak deportation lists.

Zug (Gattung), Samara, Volga

Kevin Rupp R311 / L

See Graf for combined reports.