Peter Sinner, son of Johannes Sinner, was born in Schilling on 10 April 1879. He began his career as an apprentice trader with the Reinecke Brothers flour mills in Saratov. He continued to study, and in 1898 passed the exam to become a teacher. He was assigned to the school in Enders. He became quite a proliferic writer. In 1927, he moved to Leningrad working both as a teacher and journalist.
Dr. Jerome "Jerry" Siebert received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1964 in Agricultural Economics. He was appointed as Cooperative Extension Specialist in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Berkeley in April 1966. During his tenure at Berkeley, he had a variety of assignments, most related to agricultural marketing with special emphasis on the California dairy and poultry industries.
Dr. Siebert, a Volga German descendant, has served as the president of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.
Moses Lake was originally called Neppel after the German town from which many of the early settlers had immigrated. In 1938, it was renamed in honor of Chief Moses of the Sinkiuse tribe. Many Volga Germans have settled in Moses Lake, Washington.
Specialist Jeremiah W. Schmunk, 20, an Infantryman assigned to Company C, 1st Battalion, 161st Infantry, a part of the 81st Armored Brigade, died July 8, 2004 as a result of hostile action near Baghdad. SPC Schmunk graduated from Warden High School in Warden, Washington in May 2002 and immediately joined and began training with the Washington Army National Guard. Before deploying with his unit in March 2004, Jeremiah attended Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Washington.
Sarepta was founded by the Herrnhutt Brethren (the Moravians) from Saxony in Germany. Dietz (pp. 407-414) outlines the special agreements that were negotiated with the Russian government to gain permission for the establishment of the colony. In August 1765, the first group of Moravian colonists arrived in Saratov. From there, they launched their search for an appropriate settlement location. They chose a location 28 versts south of Tsaritsyn where the Sarpa River flows into the Volga. On 23 August 1765, the Moravian brethren began laying out their new settlement.
David "Sweeney" Schriner, son of David & Katherine Schriner [originally Schreiner], was born in the Volga German colony of Kraft on 30 November 1911. He and his parents arrived from Hamburg at the port of New York City aboard the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria on 6 February 1912 - recorded as passengers in transit to Calgary, Alberta.
Father Raphael Loran was born in 1872 in Karlsruhe (Beresan Region). He studied theology at the Catholic Seminary in Saratov and was ordained in 1897.
He served from 21 January 1898 to 31 August 1898 as the vicar of the Catholic Church in Saratov as well as in Mariental. He then served in Schuck from 1901 to November 1904. He taught at the Central School in Katharinenstadt from 1904-1910. From 1910-1911, he served as a parish priest in the Catholic Church in Katharinenstadt.
Father Georg Rießling was born 26 August 1851 in the Selz (south Russia). He was ordained on 21 June 1877 in Semenovka. He also served in Köhler. In 1880, he was in Luzern. From 1882 to 1904, he served the parish in Katharinenstadt.
August Siebengar, son of Peter Siebengar, was born in Kamenka on 12 June 1888. He started medical school in 1909 at Kazan University, transfering to Saratov State University from which he graduated in 1914. He worked in a number of medical clinics and hospitals among the Volga German colonies, particularly in Balzer. From 1934 to 1938, he served as the head of the Second City Hospital in Engels.
Karl Dorsch, son of Peter Dorsch, was born in 1862 in Holstein. He was a teacher in the Central School in Grimm, serving as the Head Master from 1886 to 1916. He was denounced by fellow teachers for insulting the czar and removed from office and from the school. In January 1917, he was a teacher in a private gymnasium in Balzer.