Village Coordinator Reports 2007
Villages G-L
VC Newsletter Editor Michael Frank
| G | H | J
| K | L |
Glückstal Colonies Research Association
Glueckstal Web Site
Glueckstal Colonies Research Association Report (For the villages of
Glueckstal, Neudorf, Bergdorf, and Kassel, and their daughter colonies.)
The big news for the Glueckstal Colonies Research Association is that
another book is well on the way. Editor Homer Rudolf reports that a release is
planned prior to the 2008 joint convention of AHSGR and GRHS in Casper,
Wyoming (July 27 - to Aug. 3).
It now appears that the book will be more than 600 pages, and will include
a CD-ROM or DVD containing additional data. A variety of old records from New
Russia have now either been processed or have recently become available
including:
1) Church records of the late 19th and early 20th centuries
2) Migration records from 1818-1832
3) Early records of immigration to the U.S.
4) Resident lists and village maps for many Gluckstal villages, representing
the period from ca. 1920-1944 5) Martyrology records regarding Glückstalers
during the 1930s.
Other general topics that are in process:
1) Post 30-Years-War immigration from Switzerland to German regions, and
subsequently to New Russia
2) Immigration to New Russia after an interim stay in Hungary - or in
Poland
3) Education
4) Music
5) Pre-homesteading government land surveys.
Work continues on points of origin, ship passenger lists, GEDCOM files,
military history, religion, and the light and dark sides of the lives of
Gluckstalers.
One of the most exciting things that has happened is that, from a good
number of people, we have received and will be receiving family memoirs of
time spent in the Black Sea colonies, and possibly the trek to Poland in 1945,
exile in Siberia and the Urals, eventual return to Germany and/or immigration
to the U.S. and Canada.
Also newsworthy, the state Historical Society of South Dakota presented
GCRA with the Governor's Award for History, in the group category, at the
annual luncheon in Pierre on April 12. Long time GCRA members and supporters,
Marv and Del Paulson attended the luncheon and received the award on behalf of
GCRA. The award was given in recognition of the members of the Glückstal
Colonies Research Association who have contributed to South Dakota history in
the territorial and pioneer periods, by the documentation of the ancestry and
lives of the many South Dakotans who descend from a group of ethnic Germans
who colonized the Glückstal Colonies in South Russia before coming to
America. This group of unpaid volunteers has researched and produced
historical materials well known to our GCRA members. GCRA has presented six
books to the Society Archives in Pierre for use by their patrons.
For the Bundestreffen in Wiesbaden, Germany, this year, GCRA translated its
brochure into the German language. GCRA members who attended that meeting in
May, 2007, included Thomas and Janice Huber Stangl, Harold Ehrman, Homer
Rudolf, and Robert and Margaret Aman Freeman, along with Jerry and Pat Aman,
who live in Germany.
GCRA also continues to place its publications, including the twice-yearly
newsletter of 64 pages, in various archives throughout North America, Europe
and Ukraine.
Submitted by Margaret Freeman and Homer Rudolf
Gnadenfeld, (Neu-Moor/Moor), Samara, Volga
Gnadenfeld Web Site
2007 Village Report for Gnadenfeld
Gnadenfeld, (Russian name Kirovskoye), a small "daughter" colony
of Moor, was located in the Samara Province, on the weisenseite (meadow side)
of the Volga, Quadrant E-5, Map #6 (Stumpp). It was in the District of
Krasny-Kut.
Due to its small population, I do not receive many inquiries. This past
year I did assist two people researching Gnadenfeld families, and several
people seeking information on families from the "mother" colony of
Moor, (Russian name Klyuchi).
I continue to collect surnames from Gnadenfeld and the "mother"
colony of Moor, including ship records, declarations of intent, naturalization
records, census records and obituaries.
Irma A. Waggoner
Village Coordinator, Gnadenfeld
Graf, Samara, Volga
See Ober-Monjou, Samara, Volga for combined report.
Grimm, Saratov, Volga
Grimm Web Site
Grimm Mail
List
Grimm Village report
There was a slight increase in requests for Grimm data this year, around
twenty, but we received bad news from Dick Kraus about a month ago. Igor Pleve
informed him than he cannot complete the 14 surname charts that have been on
order since the year 2000 even though he had promised us repeatedly that the
charts would be completed "by the end of the year". Reason given was
that the church records are not available, but Igor has told us many times
that those records were available. Dick Kraus has returned our $250 per chart
deposit and, of course, none of this was Dick's fault, but we are saddened and
don't know which way to go next.
Ken Leffler, Grimm Village Coordinator
Güldendorf, Grossliebental, Odessa, Kherson
The research for Güldendorf by Odessa has slowed down considerably this
year with the closure of the Odessa Regional State Archive. In the past, I
have purchased a number of documents pertaining to various people or events
from the village. I continue to search for and add to the obituary file but I
only include those who were born in the village.
Curt. Renz
Village Coordinator for Güldendorf, Odessa
Herzog, Saratov, Volga
Herzog Web Site
See Fischer, Saratov, Volga for combined report.
Hoffnungstal, Akkerman, Bessarabia
Concerning the continuing research of the people from Hoffnungstal in
Bessarabia, I am in the process of going back over several rolls of FHC
microfilm of family books for the village. When I initially extracted data
from family books more than 20 years ago, I didn't footnote the page or frame
of the data location and in order for a more accurate verification of the
research, I have undertaken this revision.
I have also decided to go back over the points of German origin for each
family and make a photocopy of the church record. This will necessitate a trip
to Salt Lake City as it will be less expensive to go there rather than to
order the number of microfilm to do this project.
Curt. Renz
Village Coordinator for Hoffnungstal, Bessarabia
Holstein, Saratov, Volga
Holstein Web Site
Report for the Village of Holstein
I had 15-20 contacts this year, including one from Argentina, one from The
Netherlands, two from Germany, and one from the village of Holstein. I
received a Kelln family compilation from a researcher in Canada. A copy will
be placed in the Holstein village file at AHSGR.
I enjoyed connecting the Holstein families using the first settlers list in
Pleve's book and the 1798, 1834, 1850, and 1858 censuses. Information from the
1816 census was included in the 1834 census. There are only two original
Holstein families for whom I don't have enough information to make all
connections through the 1858 census.
I am copying material that needs to be placed in the village file at AHSGR.
I hope to have that finished for the next convention.
Edith Bottsford
Village Coordinator for Holstein
Huck, Saratov, Volga
Huck Web Site
Huck Village 2007 Report
I received a surprising number of inquiries from researchers in Germany and
Argentina this year about their ancestors from Huck. Fortunately I usually can
provide some assistance to answer their questions. Thank goodness for online
translator programs or I would have no method of reading or responding to
messages in German and Spanish. I get a great deal of pleasure working to help
e-mail requests like those. Some of those researchers have little information
other than the names of their parents and (sometimes) grandparents. The
equivalent of the Ellis Island ship passenger list site would be a boon for
researchers in South America.
The Huck web site hasn't exactly flourished this year. Previously there was
a page entitled "Surnames From Huck (and source of record)" and its
intent was to list surnames in the databases of Huck researchers, even though
those names were not the surname of interest to the owner of the database.
While I thought this would provide additional splinters of data to other
researchers, the idea didn't work because persons visiting the Huck site would
confuse that page with another entitled "Surnames Being Researched".
After replying to many messages that the "Surnames From Huck" page
was not a direct link to a person actively researching a particular name, I
removed it from the site. The title obviously didn't work and while there was
text on the page explaining what the data was, the page was too confusing.
Our researchers continue to wait for the discovery of records from the 1858
to 1888 period. Reports of some isolated records from the period are being
investigated, but progress is slow. The plan to obtain a copy of the complete
1834 and 1857 census records continues to move sideways because the original
data has not been received for translation. Our two-year wait is less than
others who have been waiting for records but we remain hopeful the data will
be received soon.
I enjoy reading the yearly reports from other coordinators because they
often give me ideas of something to try for Huck. I've been busy this year but
vow to spend more time for the village next year.
Dennis Zitterkopf
Husaren, Saratov, Volga
Husaren Web Site
2007 Village Report Husaren (Yelshanka), Saratov, Russia Sheri Rose and
Alexander Rollhauser, Village Co-coordinators
It has been an exciting and enjoyable first year. We have steadily been
adding new information to our database. Alexander has been working on several
projects this year.
He has been adding church book information monthly. He has compiled
specific information, i.e., deaths, births and marriage information for many
families from Husaren. Here is a sampling of his collection:
1804
Geboren/born Maria Ursula Neumann
Am/on: Dec. 23
Getaufaft/ Baptized on Jan. 1
Eltern/ Parents: Johannes Neumann & Maria Margarita born Schell
Taufpaten/ Godparents: Anton Rollheiser and his wife Maria Ursula (Priest?)
This is an interesting entry as it says only one child Barbara left,
however he had children Alive here in America.
1889
Gestornben/ died: Michael Rollheiser
Am/ on: August 7th
Alter/ Age: 69 years old
Hinterbliebene/ the bereaved: His wife Katherina born Schiefelbein, Schoenfeld
so stands in book, and his child Barbara age 19.
Alexander has compiled nearly 330 entries such as these from 1804-1917. He
has also obtained 1858 census information for about 35 families.
Recently Tanja Schell has found Sergie Dukart in Omsk, Siberia, Russia on
her last visit. He has an older aunt who was born in Husaren. I am hoping to
have a village map put together at some point in time.
There are not many requests from anyone. There are only a handful of active
researchers for the village. The surnames most researched are Rollhauser,
Kamlowsky, Braun, Dukart, Neumann and Schiefelbein.
Alexander also started a website for the village. The exciting thing about
our site is that it is in three languages. Alexander speaks Russian and
German. I speak only English and a little Spanish. Tanja Schell translates for
me from English to German for Alexander. Gabriel Spahn of Argentina translates
to Spanish.
It has been a very rewarding experience so far.
Sheri Rose
Village Co-coordinator
Der Bericht für Husaren, Gebiet Saratov in Russland für das Jahr 2007
Dorfkoordinatoren: Sheri Rose und Alexander Rollhäuser
Das vergangene erste Jahr unserer Arbeit an diesem Projekt war sehr schön
und aufregend. Unsere Datenbank wurde stets mit neuen Informationen
angereichert. Alexander beschäftigte sich gleich mit mehreren Projekten.
Jeden Monat fügt er neue Angaben aus den Kirchenbüchern hinzu. So weit hat
er verschiedene Angaben zu den Geburten, Trauungen und Totenmeldungen für
viele Familien aus Husaren dazugegeben.
Hier erstmal ein Auszug daraus:
Das Jahr 1804 Geburt: Maria Ursula Neumann Datum: Der 23. Dezember, die
Taufe: Der 1. Januar Eltern: Johannes Neumann und Maria Margaretha, geb.
Schell Taufpaten: Anton Rollheiser mit Frau Maria Ursula Priester: Keine
Angaben
Hier noch ein interessanter Auszug. Der Mann soll eine einzige Tochter
namens Barbara hinterlassen haben, dabei hatte er mehrere Kinder, die nach
Amerika gingen und sich dort niederließen:
Das Jahr 1889 Gestorben: Michael Rollheiser Datum: Der 7.August Alter: 69
Hinterbliebene: Ehefrau Katarina, geb. Schiefelbein, Schönfeld (sic!) und
Tochter Barbara, 19
Bisher fügte Alexander bereits um die 330 solcher Angaben aus den Jahren
1804 bis 1917. Außerdem fand er Informationen zu nahe 35 Familien in Husaren
in der Volkszählung aus dem Jahre 1858.
Außerdem haben wir neulich Kontakt mit Sergey Dukart in der russischen
Stadt Tomsk in Sibirien aufgenommen. Er hat eine ältere Verwandte, die in
Husaren geboren wurde und dort aufgewachsen ist und nun in Deutschland lebt.
Wir versuchen uns mit der Frau ins Kontakt zu setzten, um Hilfe bei der
Zeichnung einer Karte von Husaren zu bitten.
Soweit hatten wir nicht viele Anfragen bezüglich den Familien aus Husaren.
Es gibt einige Familienforscher, die sich hauptsächlich mit den Familiennamen
wie Braun, Dukart, Kamlowski, Neumann, Rollhäuser und Schiefelbein
beschäftigen.
Alexader eröffnete eine Webseite für Husaren. Das tollste an ihr ist die
Tatsache, dass sie in 3 Sprachen geführt wird. Alexander spricht Deutsch und
Russisch, ich, Sheri Rose, Englisch und ein wenig Spanisch, Tanja Schell hilft
mir manchmal mit den Übersetzungen aus dem Englischen ins Deutsche und
Gabriel Spahn aus Argentinien fertigt unsere Übersetzungen auf Spanisch ab.
Mit freundlichen Grüßen,
Sheri Rose
Hussenbach, Linevo Ozero, Saratov, Volga
Hussenbach Web Site
Hussenbach 2007 Village Report
Requests for Hussenbach (Linevo Osero) information have been very light
this year. However, I have received requests for the following:
Russia - Leis
Propp, Fuchs, Tittel, Dietel
Denmark - Keif/Kaib
Germany - Leis (2 contacts here)
Argentina - Waigandt, Mohr, Ditter, Taag, Littke
U.S. - Haun, Helzer, Schwabair
Louise Potter
VC Hussenbach, Linevo Osero
Johannestal, Berezan, Odessa, Kherson
Johannestal Web Site
Village Report for Johannestal (Beresan, Odessa)
This has been a rather quiet year as far as queries are concerned: I
received only three. I made several small updates to my Johannestal website
(see above) and one large one. I linked the list of the early settlers to
entries in the Stumpp book and the 1858 census.
Working with the Beresan District Odessa Regional Interest Group, most of
the available birth, death, and marriage records from the Nikolaev archives
have been translated and placed on the web. Thus there are now 1833-1885, and
1899-1917 BMD records available for Johannestal.
Ray Heinle
Village Coordinator, Johannestal
Josefstal / Schwabe Khutor, Saratov, Volga
Josefstal Web Site
Edward R. Gerk G054
621 Grandview Road
Kelowna, BC V1V 2C8
Canada
tgerk@shaw.ca
2007 Annual Report for Josefstal
There is not much to report for Josefstal this past year. I am working on
revamping the entire web site in order to place more material online.
I have had no requests this year, probably because my cousin in Germany and
I try to be proactive and contact as many people as we can as soon as we get
their names.
We are both working on a book on the history of Josefstal, which we hope
will be ready next year (2008). It will be in German.
We've received a large number of documents from the archives, including now
from the Communist era. I am being very careful with these because they are
not necessarily "accurate", although any dealing with birth
information is still useful.
Ted Gerk
Village Coordinator for Josefstal
Jost, Samara, Volga
Jost Web Site
Jost Village Report
"The remains of Jost are just mounds where the houses were knocked
down. All is overgrown with grass," reported by the Laub Village
Coordinator on her visit to Jost.
I didn't have much to go on when I became the Jost Village Coordinator in
August 2006. But information is slowly coming in and being added to the
database as time permits with information gathered from obituaries, census
records, and ship lists. I have also added the 1798 Jost census and Jost birth
records 1794-1810. So far, there seems to be a gap from about 1810 forward
to1850. I hope to acquire any 19th century census records, but that may be a
long time coming. I welcome your suggestions.
There have been a number of inquiries for Jost surnames over the past year,
including Axt, Bischel, Flach, Fuchs, Horn, Meisner, Metzler, Reinhardt,
Rudolph, Schafer, Schledewitz, Stier, Tag, and Wenig. Among the seekers are
several Jost descendants in Germany who just recently left Russia. Amazingly,
one of these German contacts is a direct link to my grandmother; another is a
direct link to an aunt whom I was able to pass along to my cousin. It is a
small world. These individuals have contributed relevant translations from the
Russian memory lists, family photographs and histories. My German is improving
with the help of Babelfish and a good German-English dictionary.
The newly revised Jost website can be found above and is in place thanks to
the help of a young descendant. I have posted ship list extractions, memory
list extractions, and family photographs. The site has been well received and
has generated several new contacts.
I've also created the RUS-SAMARA-JOST mailing list through Rootsweb to more
easily keep in touch with Village descendants and share information.
Jost is beginning to come alive!
BETH MUELLER (Rohn) DAVENPORT, Jost VC
JOST-Popovkina -Stier, Wenig, Ehoff, Schwimle
LAUB-Tarlyk -Merk
STRAUB-Skatovka -Schwabenland
KUKKUS-Wolskoje -Herzog
ENDERS-Ust Karaman -Mueller, Schneider, Maier
SCHILLING-Sosnovka -Mueller
BALZER-Goloi Karamysch -Roehrig
WALTER-Grechinnaya Luka -Rohn, Gies, Lichtenberg, Rets/Dietz
Kamenka, Saratov, Volga
Kamenka Web Site
Village Coordinator Report for Kamenka A Volga Colony
There have been many requests from Argentina this past year. Some I have
been able to help after translating the messages with Babelfish. I receive
quite a number in English from South America as well. There is the timeframe
between the 1850 Kamenka census and the time that their grandparents left
Kamenka or another village, which creates the problem in their ancestral
research.
From the EWZ records I have extracted the names of those that list their
place of birth as Kamenka. This has proven to be most interesting since some
of the people came to the U.S. as Displaced Persons whom I have met at AHSGR
conventions. A person who attended the AHSGR convention in Hays, Kansas last
June is listed in the EWZ files whose parents were born in Kamenka.
The file that I used for extraction is: http://www.odessa3.org/collections/war/ewz/ewzindex.html
The EWZ Antraege (Applications) files consist of over 400,000 applicants
for naturalized German citizenship by ethnic Germans during 1939-1945.
I have available the 1834 and 1850 Kamenka census. The First Settler Lists
of 1767 and the 1775/1798 Kamenka censuses are available from AHSGR.
Respectfully submitted,
Rosemary Larson
Kassel, Glückstal, Odessa, Kherson
See Glueckstal Colonies Research Association for combined report.
Kautz, Saratov, Volga
Kautz Web Site
Village Report for Kautz, 2007
Michael Frank, VC
This year I published Volume 9 of Unsere Leute von Kautz (Our People
from Kautz) on compact disk. It contains 212 indexed pages. With the many
clickable charts, reports, and lengthy individual pages within these 212
pages, the actual count is over 2,700 pages. The previous 10 volumes of ULvK,
published by Elaine Frank Davison, also reside on the disk (Volume 3 consists
of 3 separate volumes). I mailed approximately 80 CDs to those interested in
Kautz with whom I had communicated over the last six years and who had
previously ordered either charts or earlier versions of the Kautz CD. During
the preparation of this volume, I received a lot of new material from these
same people and a lot of positive feedback from this effort.
The new volume contains:
A tribute to the life of Elaine Frank Davison, previous Kautz Village
Coordinator, photos growing up, unpublished writings.
A pictorial of Johann Conrad Frank and Eva Elisabeth Schreiner (my
great-grandparents) and their eight children and multitudes of grandchildren.
Kautz Village Map (good quality scan) with resident families listed.
Amazing Kautz Pictures from Dan and Pat Bing taken May, 2007.
Wonderful memories of growing up by many individuals.
Photographs of German-Russian bands in Walla Walla, Washington.
All the 22 known first families of Kautz, their descendant and genealogy
charts (as currently known) and other biographical information related to
these families.
Excellent scanned copies of all 20 oversize Kautz surname charts obtained
from Russia.
Known Kautz births (1767-1939) by Date, by Name, and by Family.
Kautz births (1767-1800), most individuals listed with a descendant chart.
Kautz Deaths (1872-1918) by date and family from Igor Pleve.
Deaths recorded in the Kautz database 2000-2007, by date and name.
From the Kautz database, Dietel and Hussenbach births, and all Russian
births by name and village.
Kautz family photographs not previously published.
Family charts, more recent family photographs, interviews, Confirmation
photos.
Citizenship documents, postcards, and obituaries.
Audio clips of my grandmother, Maria Catharina Knaub, and aunt Elaine Frank
Davison.
Snippets of copies of church records (1600's to 1700's) from the Frank
ancestral village, Schriesheim, Germany.
Scores of family photos of my great-grandparents their descendants.
Other Information:
With the help of data from Gary Martens I helped to identify Benzel as a
first-family-of-Kautz surname and worked his information into the Kautz
database.
I communicated with Ida Frank whose grandfather was born in Kautz in 1896.
Her brothers and sisters and families now reside in Hanover, Germany having
emigrated from Kazakhstan. Photos and story appear on the compact disk.
Helped Dan and Pat (Bethke) Bing with a Kautz compact disk, Kautz village
map, and video of Elaine & George Davison's 1991 trip to Kautz, in
preparation for their trip to Kautz in May, 2007. Dan and Pat captured
wonderful photographs and have great and bittersweet memories from their trip.
Many obituaries related to Kautz descendants were processed. Most were
submitted by Henry Schmick. Henry and others continue to perform a great
service in making these obituaries available on the GV listserv.
I have requested a page count of Kautz records at the Volgograd archives
from Mila via Gary Martens. With a page count, I should know the cost of
acquiring these more-recent Kautz documents before placing an order.
Brent Mai has informed me that there are Kautz records from 1834.
Considerations are being made for their purchase and translation.
Answered about 20 queries for the year regarding Kautz. I typically send
descendants charts and other information with each reply. Almost all are
handled via e-mail. Some need information from the Kautz database. Others
request surname charts and/or the compact disk. Most provide additional
information about their families.
This year brought sadness with the death of my uncle, George Frank, of
Walla Walla, Washington on August 7, 2007. He is the last of his brothers and
sisters to pass on, the eighth of nine children of Johann Conrad Frank and
Maria Catharina Knaub who were born and married in Kautz. His passing was well
attended and wonderfully received and brought many Frank cousins and friends
together for the celebration of his life. George was very supportive of
genealogical research on behalf of Kautz descendants.
Klosterdorf, Swedish Colonies, Nikolaev and Kherson
See Swedish Colonies, Nikolaev and Kherson for combined report.
Köhler, Saratov, Volga
Koehler 2007 Village Coordinator Report
My name is David Haspert and I will be taking over from Joe Gareis as the
Co-Village Coordinator (VC) for Koehler.
For the last five years I have been working mostly with Barb and Nick
Bretz, the other Village Coordinators for Koehler, researching the families
from the village. Together, with the help of many family members, we have
accumulated a database of over 20,000 descendants and their spouses. This
would include records going back to Russia, and the families that immigrated
to America, Canada, Argentina, Germany, and other countries.
In an effort so save our ancestral records, we are accumulating historical
and vital records. This would include birth, marriage, death, cemetery,
immigration, and naturalization records. With the help of family members, over
700 obituaries are included. We would very much like to hear from you as well.
See the e-mail addresses above to contact me or Nick and Barb Bretz.
The AHSGR is doing something similar to this at the national level through
the Save Our Ancestral Records or SOAR program. If we can secure funds, we are
hoping to have the Russian church records (births) transliterated this year
David Haspert
Co-Village Coordinator, Koehler
Kolb, Saratov, Volga
Village Coordinator Report for Kolb
As VC for the village of Kolb, I have not been able to attend the annual
conventions for several years due to family health problems. I miss the
village nights and the connections with other researchers.
I get about ten to twelve requests per year. These requests are not always
for Kolb families but for the area in which I live. I am able to help about
half of them.
Kolb and Frank villages were situated close together so the information I
happen to get is shared with Doris Evans and she adds it to her Frank-Kolb
database. Some birth and death records for Kolb have been ordered from the
Volgagrad archives. We are anxiously waiting for them to arrive. The years
listed will hopefully fill in the missing links for some of us. I personally
hope to make the connections to my Koch families, for which there are dozens.
Thelma Koch Sprenger
Kolb Village Coordinator
Konstantinovka, Samara, Volga
Konstantinovka Web Site
See Alt-Schilling Saratov, Volga for combined report.
Kraft, Saratov, Volga
Kraft Web Site
Kraft colony had not had a full time coordinator for about 15 years. When I
assumed that responsibility in the spring of 2007, AHSGR was able to provide a
database containing 70 surnames and 264 individuals. We now have 446 surnames
and just over 3000 individuals. Virtually all of these individuals were either
born in Kraft or were living in Kraft when they immigrated to the Americas.
All entries are documented.
My priorities for the coming year are to continue to add to the database
and to try to re-identify other Kraft researchers. If it has been some time
since you tried to communicate with the Kraft Village Coordinator, I'd really
appreciate it if you would get hold of me. This, not only because I think I
can provide new information for you, but I'd like to add the documented
information you have to our database.
There were a number of people who helped me to hit the ground running, but
I'd particularly like to thank Dennis Zitterkopf and Janet Laubhan Flickinger
for their patience.
Ron Burkett, VC for Kraft
Kratzke, Saratov, Volga
Kratzke Web Site
See Ährenfeld / Aehrenfeld, Saratov, Volga for combined report.
Kronental, North Caucasus
See Alexanderfeld, North Caucasus for combined report.
Kukkus, Samara, Volga
Kukkus (Wolskaja) Village Report for 2007
During this past year there have been various requests for information. One
such request was from a small town just several miles away from me. The
request was for the book, "Kukkus, a German Village on the Volga".
The book is still available at the Central California Chapter of AHSGR in
Fresno. Our problem was that this person had never heard of the Fresno Chapter
or the AHSGR. So, it seems that we still have work to do to acquaint our
younger people with their past history. He had heard of the book from a
relative and his family has plans to go to Russia to visit their ancestral
villages on the Volga.
I am still requesting Kukkus photos from people who have visited Kukkus and
are willing to share their experiences with us. I thank the people who have
already participated in this project and have let those of us who will never
get to travel to the Volga, experience the thrill of seeing photos of the
village where our ancestors lived. In some instances, it is very poignant to
witness the slow demise of this German village, although the Russians who live
there now seem to take care of some of the homes. They have turned one home
into a small Russian Orthodox Church, not as imposing as the destroyed Kukkus
Church which once stood over the village. All the Kukkus photos will be placed
on CDs and sent to interested people for only the cost of the postage.
There might be positive news on the missing censuses of Kukkus. I received
a message from Brent Mai stating that he had received eight 1834 censuses,
Kukkus not included, but that the rest might be sent by the end of the month.
We will wait patiently for the translation of those censuses already received
and wait for the others, including Kukkus, to be received and translated.
Additionally, since DNA is becoming so important in tracing ancestors, has
anyone had their DNA studied, and if so, be willing to share the results with
the Kukkus genealogy researchers? In the future, DNA promises to be a very
positive tool for genealogy research, or at least an interesting pursuit.
I plan to visit Germany in early summer and travel with my Ohlberg relative
who was born in Russia, taught English in St. Petersburg, and now lives in
Germany. We plan to go to the villages where our ancestors lived.
Betty Muradian
Kukkus Village Coordinator
Kulm, Bessarabia
BESSARABIAN VILLAGES REPORT 2007
As is well known, the region known as Bessarabia no longer exists. Its
northern portion has become the small, impoverished nation, Moldova, while the
southern area is a part of Ukraine.
Since the fall of Communism, the originally resettled refugees for the most
part now in western Germany continue to keep a close watch over the region of
their origin. They have collected funds to refurbish important buildings and
have completely restored several churches, with the observation that while
they have no ulterior purpose in doing this, their altruistic viewpoint is to
make these beautiful edifices available as non-denominational houses of
worship for all peoples of all faiths to enjoy. Throughout the years, they
lead tours into the area to try to help raise the standard of living of the
current inhabitants. As an indication of their continual oversight, on
September 8 and 9, 2007 the fourth annual Market Days were again held at
Tarutino which encourages people from all over to bring goods for sale as it
was done a hundred years ago thereby helping bolster the region's economy.
Since the publication in 2005 of my comprehensive "Extended
Relationships of the Kulm, Leipzig, Tarutino Communities in Bessarabia,
Russia" many people were able to trace their family lines associated with
these villages. It has also generated correspondence from all over the USA,
Canada, Germany and other places on the globe. Some have augmented the
information they found thereby enhancing my database and providing additional
information for others searching their family lines.
July 15, 2007, I was invited to speak for the Bessarabian Flato Family
reunion that brought people from all parts of this country, Canada and Germany
to Lodi, California. This was an excellent and rewarding gathering for those
in attendance.
It is my hope and intention to maintain this Bessarabian connection as long
as my physical and mental capabilities permit, but considering my age, I will
gladly relinquish the work to anyone who may be willing to take it over.
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur E. Flegel
Leichtling, Saratov, Volga
Leichtling Web Site
www.leichtling.com
www.boydhouse.com/leichtling
2007 Village Report for Leichtling
Saratov, Volga River Area
This year has been a busy year for the Leichtling Website. Although inquiries
were low, we have worked hard to collect more information about the village
and names of those who lived in the village. Although inquiries were low,
people viewing the website has increased greatly. I attribute this to more
self help items on the website.
This year we completed the website village database. It is "on line"
and free at either of the websites listed above. The database consists of
everyone known to have ever lived in Leichtling. They are arranged in family
groups and are searchable. The database can be viewed in English, German or
Spanish.
In addition to this database, the 1767, 1834, and 1850 census records are now
online and available for viewing on the website also. It is in English and
indexed. There is also a cross index of families to each of those census
records
A "surname variation" list was added to the website also. This list
can be used to see how surnames were spelled differently throughout the
various censuses of the village. It is for Leichtling village only, but may
apply to others.
A "Move In and Out" list was also added. This list is of people
moving into and out of Leichtling throughout the years. Everyone in Leichtling
should be checked against this list. It may tell you to what village your
ancestor moved from Leichtling.
There is much more on the website.
Check it out!
Darryl Boyd
Leichtling Village Coordinator
Leipzig, Bessarabia
See Kulm, Bessarabia for combined report.
Lillienfeld, North Caucasus
See Alexanderfeld, North Caucasus for combined report.
Louis, Samara, Volga
Louis Web Site
Louis Village Report
My Village report on Louis is rather short. I do not have too many requests
for information for this Volga village. I did receive several pictures of
Louis from Viktor Kink, whose ancestors used to live there. One of the
pictures is the house where they lived. Another is of the beautiful Karaman
River by Louis. Viktor also wrote a few paragraphs about his people. I have
featured it all in my September Newsletter.
Most of the information that I receive (concerning my Villages) is usually
featured in my newsletters, sooner or later. I look forward to publishing the
newsletter, and many people have been so good about sending me pictures and
articles. These newsletters are also sent to AHSGR and appear in the
Mariental/Louis/Chasselois files there. I publish them every quarter. When my
daughter finishes her schooling on Web Page design, she will be adding all of
my newsletters to my web page. Hopefully this will occur during the next year.
The different censuses that I have on Louis are listed in the newsletters.
Thelma Mills
VC for the Volga Village of Louis
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