In 1899, a group of immigrants from Yagodnaya Polyana who had originally settled in Pine Island, New York, arrived in Oshkosh and settled in what became known as "the West Side." This encompassed an area bordered by the Fox River, Eagle Street, and Witzel Avenue.
In 1900, a larger number began to arrive directly from Yagodnaya Polyana, many working for Paine Lumber Company that manufactured sashes and doors. By 1930 about 400 families from Yagodnaya Polyana had settled there.
The following Volga German families are known to have settled in Oshkosh, Wisconsin:
Arnold
Axt from Jost
Bafus from Yagodnaya Polyana
Bellinder from Köhler
Buchhammer from Rosenberg
Dahmer from Reinwald
Diel
Dreiling from Herzog
Dummler
Eichorn from Dönhof
Felker
Fischer
Geier
Gerlitz
Gorr
Grosch from Grimm
Hahnemann
Hartmann
Heinbigner from Frank
Hergert from Yagodnaya Polyana
Kleweno from Yagodnaya Polyana
Kloberdanz from Rothammel
Koch
Koerner from Katharinenstadt
Kromm
Lahnert
Langlitz from Yagodnaya Polyana
Lautenschlager from Yagodnaya Polyana
Leinweber from Yagodnaya Polyana
Lichtenwald from Franzosen
Litzenberger from Yagodnaya Polyana
Luft from Yagodnaya Polyana
Machleit from Yagodnaya Polyana
Merkal
Morasch from Yagodnaya Polyana
Ostwaldt
Peppler from Hussenbach
Pfaffenroth from Yagodnaya Polyana
Pfeffer
Puhl from Sewald
Repp
Rothermel
Ruder from Wittmann
Ruhl
Scheuermann from Yagodnaya Polyana
Schlager
Schlegel from Dönhof
Schmick from Yagodnaya Polyana
Schuhart
Sinner
Spang
Starkel from Norka
Treise from Stephan
Völker
Wagner
Wamboldt from Wiesenmüller
Weigandt
Weitz
- Lautenschlager, Peggy A. The West Siders: The Development and Disintegration of the Volga German Community in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. B.A. Thesis, Lake Forest College, 1977.
- Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlement in the United States (Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974): 55.
- USA Settlement List (Patricia Miller)
- 1910 Federal Census of Oshkosh (Patrice Miller)
- Oshkosh Vital Records Index (Oshkosh Public Library)
- Riverside Cemetery (findagrave.com)
Oshkosh, Wisconsin (Wikipedia)