Nikolai Bessi was born in approximately 1782 in Nancy, France.
He served as a soldier in the 17th Infantry Regiment of Napoleon's Army. He fought against and was captured by the Russians.
In 1814, he was settled in the Volga German colony of Bettinger.
Milovidov records that as of 1814 Nikolaus Bessi had three brothers and a sister still living in Nancy.
He is recorded on the 1834 Bettinger census in Household No. 127.
Milovidov records that Nikolaus Bessi came from the French city of Nancy where he had been merchant.
- 1834 Bettinger Census (Household No. 127).
- Belousov, S.V. "Prisoners of war of Napoleon's army in the Volga region: the arrangement, content, relationships with the local population." Bulletin of the Samara State University, No. 1 (Samara, Russia: Samara State University, 2006): 48-55.
- Milovidov, B. P. "Prisoners of War of the Napoleonic Army in the Saratov Colonies in 1813-1820: New Documents." (p. 56, #151)
- Report to Count Nesselrode about all French subjects who became Russian citizens. State Archive of the Russian Federation (F.109, O.119, D.90).
Brent Mai
Ivan Serov
Entry recording Nikolai Bessi on the 1834 Census of Bettinger.
Source: Brent Mai.