Georg Friedrich Arni was born on 3 October 1720 and baptized on 5 October 1720 in the Göbrichen Lutheran Church. His parents were Hans Michael Arni (born 6 January 1691) and Margaretha [surname unknown]; his grandparents were Hans Jakob & Barbara Arni.
Georg Friedrich Arni married on 11 December 1753 in Göbrichen to Christina Barbara Knodel, daughter of Markus & Anna Barbara Knodel. She had been born on 18 February 1732 in Lienzingen.
They had three children, each baptized in Göbrichen: (1) Anna Maria, born 13 August 1756; baptized 14 August 1756; (2) Johann Ludwig, born & baptized 25 September 1757; and (3) Anna Maria [again], born 31 August 1760.
Georg Friedrich and his family immigrated to Denmark (Schleswig-Holstein), departing from Altona on 7 June 1762 under the leadership of Christoph Paquet. They arrived in the city of Flensburg, Duchy of Schleswig, on 12 June 1762 with only two of their children. At some point after their arrival in Denmark one of the children died. Only Anna Maria (born 31 August 1760) survived there. A new baby was born in 1762; they named him Ludwig. The Arni family lived in Denmark until October 1765.
They then immigrated to Russia. During the journey to the Volga German colonies, a son was born at the end of 1765; they named him Friedrich.
They arrived in Galka on 12 April 1766. The Arni family is recorded there on the 1767 Census in Household No. 33.
Georg Friedrich moved to Shcherbakovka in 1788 and died there at some point before 1798. His son Friedrich, after paying his debts and receiving a passport, moved with his family to Sarepta. Johann Balthasar Arni (Arne), born in 1772, is recorded on Galka the 1798 census in Household No. Gk24.
In 1825, Baltharsar Arne and his son moved from Galka to Shcherbakovka.
Georg Jakob Arne from Shcherbakovka and his family are recorded on the 1857 census of Gnadentau.
- 1834 Galka Census (Household No. 33).
- 1834 Shcherbakovka Census (Household No. 72).
- 1857 Gnadentau Census.
- Eichhorn, Alexander, Jacob Eichhorn, & Mary Eichhorn. The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766 (Deiningen, Germany: Steinmeier, 2012): 303, 336, & 671.
- 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): Db02, Gk24, Mv0661, Mv2790.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 2 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2001): 27.
Corina Hirt
Brent Mai