Schilling, Samara, Volga & Schilling, Saratov, Volga

Schilling Web Site

Gary Martens M405

Combined report for Alt-Schilling, Konstantinovka, Neu-Schilling I, Neu-Schilling II, and Schilling.

I received eight inquires for the Schilling villages (except Alexandertal) during the past year. I have been able to provide at least some information to all of these inquires.

The Schilling database continues to grow slowly, currently with 6200 people in the database. One family chart was received during the year for a family that lived in Schilling / Konstantinovka.

Schönchen, Samara, Volga

Schoenchen Web Site

Terri Dann

Denise Grau

There has been little interest shown in Schoenchen this past year although we have received a few inquiries.

We have obtained a copy of the Schoenchen 1857 census that Kevin Rupp has for sale. His village report mentions that he has also acquired some Schoenchen marriage records as well.

We're not aware of any surname charts in existence or on order for Schoenchen families.

Schöndorf, Samara, Volga

Schoendorf Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

See Neu-Yagodnaya for combined report.

Schönfeld, Samara, Volga

Schoenfeld Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

See Pobochnoye for combined report.

Schöntal, Samara, Volga

Schoental Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

See Neu-Yagodnaya for combined report.

Schuck, Saratov, Volga

Lola Stattelman

This has been a busy year. I have provided information on the following families: Kress, Hochnadel, Sieben, Edelman, Kloberdanz, Artzer, Ingenthron, Falkenstein, Berger, Kohlman, Appelhans, and Rohleder. 

I have received the 1850 census of the village of Schuck, and I am in the process of having it translated.

Schwab, Saratov, Volga

Schwab Web Site

Rolene (Eichman) Kiesling B334

Schwab is one of the smaller villages with very little activity. Since my last report, I have received ten queries, only eight of which were specifically addressed to Schwab.

I have not received any new family charts or family data regarding Schwab. I am hopeful that perhaps some may be received soon.

In addition, I am editor for the Lower Volga Villages Sheet. It is published in May and November and covers the villages in the two parishes of Galka and Stephan.

Seewald, Saratov, Volga

Nicholas & Barbara Bretz B296

See Rothammel for combined report.

Shcherbakovka, Saratov, Volga

Shcherbakovka Web Site

Janet (Laubhan) Flickinger F224

Janet's Germans from Russia Research

I have had email queries from several different individuals throughout the year and have helped them the best that I could either with information from my files and database or suggesting that they contact a named person who is also researching the same name. 

The main things that I have done this year to promote ongoing research in the Volga Villages, and Shcherbakovka in particular are: 

1. Donated a total of $300, or $100 for each of the three years of census copies that are now becoming available (1834, 1850, and 1857) 

2. Previously, Kathy O'Malley and I have taken each of the surname charts that we have received for our village, extracted all of the information, and entered it in a Family Tree Maker database. In anticipation of receiving the new censuses, I merged each of these individual databases into one. Then I went through the 1798 census, found each person in this database, and made note of the information from the 1798 census. Upon receipt of the translated version of the 1834 census, I worked through it line by line to do the same thing with that information. Brent Mai has emailed me that the translation of the 1857 census has been completed and it is on the way to me as I write this report. I will immediately do the same thing with this census. Brent and I have found that the method I used on the 1834 census proved to be a good way to proof read it and that is why I will be starting immediately on the 1857 census, to serve as proofreading before the copies that have been ordered by our village descendants are mailed out.

3. I attended the National Convention of AHSGR in Oklahoma City in Aug. 2005. Village Night was wonderful. This was the first convention that I had attended since the death of Kathy O'Malley (our fearless leader). She always contacted the organizers for a separate room because it can get pretty crowded with other groups and we usually have a pretty good turnout since we combine the group to include 9 villages in the Lower Volga (Shcherbakovka, Galka, Dreispitz, Dobrinka, Holstein, Kraft, Stephen, Mueller and Schwab). I emailed Marianne Long, in Oklahoma City, who seemed to be in charge of everything and asked for a separate room. I never heard back, so a few days before the convention, I emailed again and she told me that we had been assigned the "Red Carpet Room". I am not a very good "leader" but I knew that we needed a plan. Ed Hoak, (President of AHSGR) is a descendent of several lines from our Volga villages. Ed had just returned from Russia, so I emailed him to see if he would be willing to share something about the trip. His comment was that he would "say a couple of things", but didn't want to present a program because one or two of the others on the trip were scheduled to speak at the convention. We were so lucky to have Ed, as it really kept everybody interested and talking. There were about 30 in attendance, including a lot of people from Oklahoma who had never attended a convention before. I think that we must have had the best location of all the villages with the most attendance. Although a lot of those attending had never attended a convention before, they seemed very comfortable to speak up and share with the group. It's a good thing that Ed only agreed to a "few comments" because it was scheduled to end at 10 p.m., and it was 11:30 by the time we got to our room. No one wanted to leave. I thanked Marianne later for the private room and she said that we were the only group to ask, so it was no problem to grant our wish. 

4. I attended the Kansas Roundup of AHSGR in Topeka, Kansas September 30-October 1, 2005. Then on October 2, I presented a report about the two conventions to my local chapter (Post Rock Chapter) in Russell, Kansas. 

5. I have extracted the church records for Dubuque Lutheran Church in rural Russell Co., Kansas this year. This is about the 6th Lutheran Church, mostly located in Russell Co. that I have extracted. Quite a few immigrants settled in Russell County and I am doing all that I can to save important records on file in Russell. 

6. While attending the Oklahoma City Convention, in the village file for Shcherbakovka, I found a 12-page letter, written in German, apparently addressed to Timothy Montana dated May 1993 and February 1994. I have sent a copy of the letter to Arlene Rolfs in Geneso, Kansas who has graciously agreed to translate it to English for me. She reports that it is about half done at this time. It appears to be listing people who lived in the village. Upon receipt of the translation, I will send a copy of it to Lincoln for inclusion in the Village File.

Solodyri, Volynsk, Volhynia U

Dr. Richard Benert B160

I've been working on the Deportation of 1915 from Volhynia, but have done nothing related to my village of Solodyri.

Stahl am Tarlyk, Samara, Volga

Paul E Koehler K287 / L

I have received twelve inquiries during this past year. I was able to help three of these with the information for which they were looking.

It is always a joy to be able to help someone find answers to their search for their ancestors.

The Stahl am Tarlyk database continues to grow and now has over 8000 entries.

I received the Haar chart from Judy Xanthos of the Southern California Chapter and these names have been added into the database.

Strassendorf, Samara, Volga

Strassendorf Web Site

Laurin Wilhelm W022 / L

See Pobochnoye for combined report.

Straub, Samara, Volga

Sharon White

I have had the following inquiries this year about Straub families: Diel, Scharton and Schwabenland.

I bought the two "Index to Kirchenbote Obituaries" books (original book and supplement book) from the Central Washington AHSGR chapter. The Central Washington chapter has 41 obituaries for sale of people born in Straub. The obituaries are in German and contain a lot of information on the entire family. The index books contain basic information about the people: birth date and place, death date and place, spouse and parents' names.

I was able to copy Emma Schwabenland Haynes' book "Descendants of Johann Konrad Schwabenland" which I found on microfilm. The book is about Emma's father who was born in Straub in 1871. Johann Konrad Schwabenland and his parents and siblings left Straub in 1891. The book contains information on the entire Schwabenland family. The chapter "Life in Straub, 1871-1891" is of interest to anyone who has Straub ancestors. I will put this information in my newsletters so that people will know what life in Straub was like.

I continue to gather information about people from Straub by obtaining obituaries, ship lists, declarations of intent and biographies. I would appreciate information on more of the original settlers.

I have the names of 13 of the original settlers in Straub. I have the place of origin in Germany of all of them.

The Straub newsletter is $5 for two issues.

I would appreciate receiving copies of genealogies, biographies, photographs, obituaries, etc. of anyone born in Straub to add to my database or for use in my newsletter. I have had some donations of photographs, obituaries, and genealogy information this year that I appreciate very much.

Susannental, Samara, Volga

Susannental Web Site

Kerry S. Thompson

Susannental Mail List

The Susannental Village database now consists of 5,337 individuals and 1,955 families.

The Ship record database now consists of 563 individuals and 62 families migrating in the years 1903-1917 through the ports of Galveston, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, and Ellis Island.

The Village members Social Security Death index database consists of 804 individuals.

I have gathered 164 obituaries of village members.

I have located 241 individuals in the Montana, California, and Michigan death indices.

I have also completed a search of the WW1 Draft Registration cards where I have located 131 individuals.

I have conducted an exhaustive search of the Russian Germans in Big Horn County, Wyoming in the 1910-1930 censuses, which includes 115 families.

I continue to track village members following immigration with census records from the 1910-1930 censuses.

In my research efforts, I have also located information on families from the neighboring villages of Meinhard and Kind.

This year a village member made a trip to Russia to the villages of Sussanental and Kind and provided us with digital pictures from the villages. We have also received information from the Engels archive from the same individual on the following surnames - Wasmuth from Susannental, Pickelhaupt from Kind, Langolf from Brokgauzen and Baskatovka, Holzer from Bazel.

Major Village surnames include:

Bader Hergert / Hergett Keksel Kober Korbmacher Langolf Lehman Loeber / Laber / Lober Meinhardt Michel

Roth Runk Schaeffer / Shaefer Schmidt / Smith Ungefug Wasmuth Wegner / Wagner Werner Winterholler / Winterhalter

Tarutino, Akkerman, Bessarabia

Arthur E. Flegel F010 / L

See Alexanderfeld, North Caucasus for combined report.

Unterdorf, Saratov, Volga

Unterdorf Web Site

Larry Miller

I just agreed to serve as a VC a few weeks ago, so I'm unable to provide anything at this time. As I obtain all the files and other information I need, I hope to create a website for Unterdorf.

Vakarskii Khutor, Glückstal, Odessa, Kherson

See Glückstal Colonies Research Association

Volhynia

Leona Janke J030 / L

I am still available for help regarding Volhynian questions, translations or whatever. I had some health issues, which put me out of commission for a while, but I'm back. Since so much of the Volhynian info is in German it would be nice (wonderful) if we could find some translators among the Volhynians to do some translating for AHSGR.

We need more Volhynian material in our AHSGR Library. The Board is currently working on getting "The German Question" in the Black Sea Region and in Volhynia translated. The author is Dietmar Neutatz. This is a 468-page book that deals with the years 1856 to 1914. However, there are many projects that are just a few pages that would be of interest to Volhynians and not an overwhelming challenge to translate.

Vollmer, Saratov, Volga

Submitted by David Easterday E106

I answered three inquiries from new correspondents.

Several AHSGR members expressed interest in the Vollmer 1834 census to be completed soon.

Of greatest significance, I located a capable and willing person to assume Village Coordinator responsibilities beginning January 2006.

Warenburg, Samara, Volga

Warenburg Web Site

Ronald E. Brott B310

Sharon White

Report from Sharon White:

I have had inquiries about the following Warenburg families this year: Klamm, Lorenz, Roth, Leisle, Kinzel, Kaiser, Trippel, Funkner, Stumpf and Reitz.

I bought the two "Index to Kirchenbote Obituaries" Books (original book and supplement book) from the Central Washington AHSGR chapter. The Central Washington chapter has 42 obituaries for purchase of people born in Warenburg. The two index books have basic information about the people: birth, death, spouse, and parents' names.

I continue to gather information about people from Warenburg by obtaining obituaries, ship lists, church records, declarations of intent and biographies. I have been looking at a lot of microfilm available at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

I have the names of 93 of the original Warenburg settlers. I have the place of origin in Germany for 81 of them. I will put this information in my next newsletter.

My Warenburg newsletter is $5 (for two issues).

I welcome any information about people from Warenburg (biographies, obituaries, photographs, photographs, etc.) I would appreciate copies of these items to use in my newsletter or to add to my Warenburg database. I have had photographs of Warenburgers, a photograph of Warenburg, and genealogy information given to me this past year that I appreciate very much.

Winkelmann

See Susannental

Wittman (Soloturn), Samara, Volga

Wittman Web Site

Kevin Rupp R311 / L

Wittman has had a good year. I have had a number of e-mails from Germany concerning this colony. I have received the 1834 heads-of-household. I have been obtaining many of these family lists for 1816 and 1834. We were also able to get the 1857 Wittman census, which researchers said was not available. These books were found listed under another colony. I also have the 1890 family list. We received the 1879 and 1881 marriage records this year. These records included the Schoenchen marriage records.

Yagodnaya Polyana, Saratov, Volga

Yagodnaya Polyana Web Site

Kris Ball B465 / L

Elizabeth A. Meyer M368

Patrice (Morasch) Miller M410

Report from Kris Ball:

Yagodnaya Polyana was fortunate to have another year of high activity. Three village coordinators serve the village: Kris Ball, Patrice Miller, and Elizabeth Meyer. This team approach works well for us, as we divide duties for the newsletter, and we also have copies of each others' digital records as a back up.

Among the three of us, one or more is usually able to attend the AHSGR convention each year. Kris Ball attended the 2005 AHSGR convention in Oklahoma City. Nine descendants from Yagodnaya and her daughter and granddaughter villages came to the table at Village Night. Queries continue to come in from around the globe, and we work to answer them to the best of our abilities. We have developed a document that we attach to queries listing general information about Yagodnaya and how to find resources about the village. It lists information about our newsletter, about websites with good information and records, and other helpful sources.

Newsletters for the past year include some discoveries about the fate of our ancestors. One of our village people helped obtain a list of families from Pobochnoye (a daughter colony) who were deported to Siberia in 1930. One descendant returned to Yagodnaya Polyana in 2004 and wrote of her visit for the newsletter, complete with pictures. Karl Scheuerman, son of Dick Scheuerman, also make a visit to Yagodnaya Polyana and was able to attend the 2004 convention in Modesto and share stories and pictures with us.

Copies of "Fremde Heimat" by Frau Alwina Maiber (born in YP) were obtained by Elizabeth Meyer and offered for resale for the first time in the U.S. The book tells of her struggles and heartbreak after deportation. She is working on a second book. Elizabeth took a trip to Siberia in the summer of 2005 and will be writing an article for our newsletter, Usu Leut, about her trip and her discoveries.

Frau Maiber also drew a 1941 village map from memory and indicated the houses of many families and locations of landmarks on the map. What a treasure to know who lived in each house right before the deportation! Elizabeth translated it from German to English for us and we will publish it in the next newsletter.

The newsletter also had stories on the Pfaffenroth and Daubert families, along with obits from descendants from Yagodnaya Polyana. We received and were given permission to print a picture of schoolteachers from 1941 in Yagodnaya Polyana. The picture was taken in the school, just a few months before deportation took place, and a large picture of Stalin hangs ominously above the group. Patrice Miller wrote an article on researching the Captured German Records, which are on the Odessa Digital Library.

We will have upcoming articles on Elizabeth's trip to Siberia, including some other exciting record discoveries we have been fortunate to receive. We have a memorial book from one of the work camps in Siberia, and it lists the names of those who died at the camp. It is in Russian, but one of our dedicated volunteers translated it for us and we plan to print the names of those who we know, or suspect, are from Yagodnaya Polyana.

We are indeed fortunate to have dedicated coordinators and volunteers who work to keep the memory of our ancestors alive.

Zug (Gattung), Samara, Volga

Zug Web Site

Kevin Rupp R311 / L

I have had a few e-mails this past year. I have received the 1834 head-of-families list. From this, I have received a number of family censuses for 1816 and 1834. The big news is that we have the 1857 Zug census coming this fall.  It was reported that this census was not available, but it was found in another book. I also have the marriage records for 1875.

Miscellaneous Items: I am working on the 1857 census for Luzern. I have the 1850 Katharienstadt census, but it not compiled. I had Rosemary Larson translate and compile the 1834 census of Pfeifer. She has also completed the 1850 census. Marriage records for Katharienstadt 1875, Louis 1890, Luzern 1875, Pfeifer 1850 will be available soon.

Web Site - I continue to update my site as much as possible. I changed computers this fall, so that set me back on updating, since I had to re-upload everything.

It's been an expensive year, but fun!!!