There are three Biel men that arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 19 July 1766 aboard a galliot named Concordia under the command of Skipper Jakob Bauert. They settled in the Volga German colony of Schwab on 8 July 1767. They appear to all be brothers (the last two are recorded as such), but their relationship to each other, if any, needs further research.
(1) Johann Georg Bill [sic] & Maria Catharina Plonquet from Wolfferborn were married on 26 March 1766 in the Lutheran Church of Büdingen.
Georg Biel, a farmer, his wife Katharina, and his sister Katharina (age 30) arrived in Oranienbaum.
Johann Georg Biel, his wife Anna Katharina, and daughter Maria Katharina (age 2-months) are recorded on the 1767 census of Schwab in Household No. 12.
The widow of Georg Biel and his descendants [including sons Johann Heinrich, age 29; Johannes, age 22] are recorded on the 1798 census of Schwab in Household No. Sb10.
The death of Johann Heinrich Biehl in 1827 is recorded on the 1834 census of Schwab in Household No. 8.
Karl Ludwig Biehl, son of Johann Heinrich Biehl, and his family [from 1857 Schwab Household No. 10] are recorded on the 1857 census of Friedenberg.
The death of Johannes Biehl in 1829 is recorded on the 1834 census of Schwab in Household No. 82.
(2) Heinrich Biel, a farmer, and his wife Katharina, arrived in Oranienbaum along with his brother Wilhelm (age 20) [below].
Johann Heinrich Piel [sic] from Katharinenstadt and his family [sons: Johann Friedrich, age 20; Johann Gottlieb, age 15) are recorded on the 1798 census of Hockerberg in Household No. Hb13. This is believed to be the Heinrich Biel recorded arriving in Oranienbaum.
Johann Gottlieb Biehl and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Hockerberg in Household No. 36.
Johann Friedrich Biehl and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Hockerberg in Household No. 40.
(3) Wilhelm Biel (age 20) arrived in Oranienbaum with his brother Heinrich [above].
Johann Wilhelm Biel, a farmer, and his wife Anna Margaretha are recorded on the 1767 census of Schwab in Household No. 13.
Wilhelm Biel and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Schwab in Household No. Sb09 (sons: Johann Heinrich, age 25; Johannes, age 21; Konrad, age 19; Wilhelm, age 16; Andreas, age 14; Kaspar, age 12; Peter, age 5).
The death of Johann Heinrich Biehl, son of Wilhelm Biel, in 1840 is recorded on the 1850 census of Schwab in Household No. 7.
Georg Wilhelm Biehl, son of Johann Heinrich Biehl, and his family relocated to the daughter colony of Erlenbach in 1852.
The death of Johannes Biehl, son of Wilhelm Biel, in 1829 is recorded on the 1834 census of Schwab in Household No. 82.
The death [date not recorded] of Konrad Biehl, son of Wilhelm Biel, is recorded on the 1834 census of Schwab in Household No. 86.
The death of Wilhelm Biehl, son of Wilhelm Biel, in 1853 is recorded on the 1857 census of Schwab in Household No. 102.
The death [date not recorded] of Andreas Biehl, son of Wilhelm Biel, is recorded on the 1834 census of Schwab in Household No. 87.
Kaspar Biehl and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Schwab in Household No. 67.
The death of Peter Biehl, son of Wilhelm Biel, in 1840 is recorded on the 1850 census of Schwab in Household No. 98.
The Oranienbaum passenger list records that both of these Biel families came from the German region of Isenburg. The 1767 census records that they came from the German village of Ranstadt.
- 1857 Friedenberg Census.
- 1834 Hockerberg Census (Households No. 36, 40).
- 1857 Hockerberg Census (Households No. 23, 24, 35).
- 1834 Schwab Census (Households No. 7, 8, 61, 65, 67, 77, 82, 83, 86, 87).
- 1850 Schwab Census (Households No. 7, 8, 9, 10, 78, 87, 98, 102, 104, 121, 124, 128).
- 1857 Schwab Census (Households No. 7, 8, 9, 10, 78, 87, 98, 102, 104, 121, 124, 128).
- 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): Sb09, Sb10.
- Mai, Brent Alan and Dona Reeves-Marquardt, German Migration to the Russian Volga (1764-1767) (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2003): #462.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 4 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2008): 130.
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010): #2610, #2611.
Brent Mai