Pastor Gottlob Koch, son of Jakob Koch & Anna Höschele, was born 2 March 1861 in Gnadental (Bessarabia). On June 15, 1887, he was married to Elise König.
He studied theology at the University of Dorpoat (Estonia) and was ordained 6 September 1887 in Saratov.
Pastor Koch served the parishes of Weizenfeld (1887-1923) and Orenburg (1923-1931). He was arrested in 1929, but released. He was again arrested in 1931 and exiled to Siberia where he is reported to have died. However, according to historian Karl Stumpp, Pastor Koch returned to the Volga region in 1938 and was still living in 1941.
- Koch Gottlob (wolgadeutsche.ru) [Online]
- Schnurr, Joseph. Die Kirchen und das religiöse Leben der Russlanddeutschen – Evangelischer Teil (Stuttgart: AER Verlag Landsmannschaft der Deutschen aus Rußland, 1978): 151, 197.
Pastor Gottlob Koch.
Source: wolgadeutsche.ru