Philipp Heinrich Appelhans, son of Johannes Rutger Appelhans & Anna Maria Schuster, was married in St. Lambertus Catholic Church in Bechtheim on 25 November 1738 to Anna Katharina Hueff, daughter of Johannes Georg & Anna Barbara Hueff. She was born ca. 1722 in Waldenbach (Bavaria?).
The parish record in Bechtheim records the marriage of Philipp Heinrich Appelhans and Anna Katharina Hueff in Latin:
"Die 25 Novembr. Praemissris trinis proclamationibus in festo S. Catharinae Virg. et martyrius Coram facie eccla. paroch. Bechth. matrimonius Saacramenta Devinius fuit honestus Adolescens Philippus Appelhans, Rudgeri Appelhans Civis kujatis honesti et Anna Maria conjug. fil. legit.: - cum pudica et virtuosa virginie Anna Catharina Hueffin, nata ex honesties parentibus Joes [for 'Johannes'] Gregorio Hueff p.m. [for 'piae memoriae'] et Anna Barbara conjugibus in Waldenbach Terridorius Smi Electorius - Principis Bavaria fuit hoc sponsa ancilla famula occonomica apud gratious D. D. Rheineck p duos annos in nro [for 'numero'] kujate oppido testes fuerunt Rodgerus Appelhans pater sponsi et Antonius Appellhans frater sponsi copulavit pastori ordinarius quorum Adoles. Matrium larga benedictione foecundet D: T.O. Maximus."
[Translation: "On November 25th [1738] on the feast of St. Catharine, virgin and martyr [this most likely refers to St. Catharine of Alexandria, whose feast day was originally celebrated on November 25th], after the proclamation of the marriage banns three times, the holy sacrament of matrimony was pronounced in the presence of many witnesses in the parish church of Bechtheim between the virtuous young man, Philipp Appelhans, legitimate son of the respected local citizen, Rudger Appelhans, and his wife, Anna Maria, and (with) the virtuous and respectable young maiden, Anna Catherina Hueff, born of the respectable parents, the affectionately-remembered [that is - recently deceased] Johannes Georg Hueff and his wife, Anna Barbara, in Waldenbach in [the territory of] the Elector and Leader of Bavaria; the bride was a servant and hand-maiden in the house of the beloved D. D. Rheineck for a period of two years; witnesses were Rudger Appelhans, father of the bridegroom, and Anton Appelhans, brother of the bridegroom; married by the ordinary pastor, D:T.O. Maximus, and may the marriage of these young people be filled with bountiful blessings."]
The baptisms of the following children born to Philipp Heinrich Appelhans & Anna Katharina Heuff are recorded in the parish register of Bechtheim: (1) Charlotta Katharina, baptized 22 August 1740; (2) Anton, baptized 13 May 1743, died 15 August 1743; (3) Adrian, baptized 6 September 1744; (4) Johann Nikolaus, baptized 3 September 1747; (5) Johannes Peter, baptized 24 July 1750; and (6) Maria Elisabeth, baptized 14 June 1754.
Heinrich Appelhans, a farmer, his wife Katharina, and children (Johann, age 20; Peter, age 18; Maria, age 14) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 16 August 1766 aboard a snow-brig named Neptunus (Neptune) under the command of Skipper Johann Graap.
Heinrich Appelhans died shortly after arriving in Russia and his widow remarried to Johann Heinrich Kress.
Johann Heinrich Kress (age 40), a blacksmith (Schmied), his wife Katharina [widow Appelhans] (age 45), children (Elisabeth, age 15; Anna Maria, age 12; Joseph, age 10), and stepchildren (Nikolaus Appelhans, age 21; Johann Peter Appelhans, age 19; Elisabeth Appelhans, age 15) are recorded on the 1767 census of Rothammel in Household No. 2. They had arrived in Rothammel on 21 August 1767.
Katharina Müller née Appelhans (age 54) and her family are recorded on the 1798 census of Sewald in Household No. Sd33.
Nikolaus Appelhans (age 51) and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Rothammel in Household No. Rt04.
Peter Appelhans (age 48) and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Rothammel in Household No. Rt03.
Maria Elisabeth Schechtel née Appelhans (age 45) and her family are recorded on the 1798 census of Schuck in Household No. Su32.
The 1834 census of Rothammel records that between 1816 and 1834, Martin Appelhans moved from Rothammel to Volmer. However, he does not appear on the 1834 census of Volmer. He is recorded on the 1850 census of Herzog (but is not there in 1834).
The Oranienbaum passenger list records that Heinrich Appelhans came from the German region of Worms.
- Extracts of Church Records for the Appelhans and Allied Families: St. Lambertus Church, Bechtheim, Rheinhessen, Germany, 1676-1779 by Steve Drescher, High Point, North Carolina (August 2002).
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Auswanderung deutscher Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766 (Moscow: Idt & Rauschenbach, 2019): 34.
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Deutsche Kolonisten im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum und in den Siedlungsorten: Die Kuhlberg-Listen (Moscow: Idt & Rauschenbach, 2024): 736.
- 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): Rt03, Rt04, Rt28, Su32.
- Parish register of Bechtheim (LDS Film #1044836).
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 4 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2008): 81.
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010): #5886.
Steve Drescher
Brent Mai