Nicolaus Austgen of Bech bei Remich [Luxembourg] married on 26 December 1760 in Kirshnaumen to the widow Margaretha Schneider [née Hensgen (some documents record this surname as Hensjen, Hensien, Hennesienne)]. Her deceased husband was Gabriel Schneider. [See Schneider Family.]
The births of the following children born to Nicolaus Austgen & Margaretha Hensgen are recorded in the parish register of Kirschnaumen: (1) Catharina, born 18 October 1761; and (2) Nicolaus, born 24 November 1762.
The death of Michael Austgen, son of Nicolaus Austgen, is recorded in the parish register of Kirschnaumen on 22 September 1762 at the age of 9. His mother is believed to be his first wife Margaretha Bruck. Margaretha Schneider née Hensgen is believed to have been his third wife.
Nikolaus Astian, a farmer, his wife Margaretha, son Nikolaus (age 5), and [step-]children (Johannes [Schneider], age 19; Susanna [Schneider], age 16; Anna [Schneider], age 13) arrived in the Volga German colony of Kamenka on 6 July 1765. They are recorded on the 1767 census of Kamenka in Household No. 43.
Nikolaus Astian (age 50), his wife Margaretha (age 54), and son Nikolaus (age 13) are recorded on the 1775 census of Kamenka in Household No. 39.
Nikolaus Astian and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Kamenka in Household No. Km080.
The 1767 census records that Nikolaus Astian came from Luxembourg.
There are no known surviving male lines of this Astian family among the Volga German colonies.
- 1775 Kamenka Census (Household No. 39).
- Mai, Brent Alan. 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga: Economy, Population, and Agriculture (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1999): Km080.
- Parish register of Kirschnaumen.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 2 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2001): 226.
Brent Mai
Cilian (Wolgadeutsche.net Forum)