Bitter (Lauwe)

There are two Bitter families from the village of Arheilgen that migrated to the Volga German colony of Lauwe. Their relationship to each other, if any, needs further research.

(1) Johann Peter Bötter, son of Johann Heinrich Bötter & Anna Gertraud Eckel, was born about 1706, probably in Arheilgen, today a district in the north of the city of Darmstadt, in Hesse. He married on 18 December 1744 in the Evangelical Church of Arheilgen to Anna Barbara Heidelbach, daughter of Johann Heinrich Heidelbach.

They had eight known children, each baptized in Arheilgen: (1) Elisabetha, born 23 April 1745, baptized 25 April 1745; (2) Johannes, born 8 July 1746, baptized 10 July 1746; (3) Johann Carl, born 28 March 1749; (4) Anna Gertraud, born 21 November 1751; (5) Johann Heinrich, born 18 May 1756, baptized 23 May 1756, died 11 July 1757; (6) Johannes [again], born 2 November 1758, baptized 5 November 1758; (7) Johann Philipp, born 17 September 1761, baptized 18 September 1761; and (8) Elisabetha Katharina, born 29 July 1764, baptized 1 August 1764.

Johann Peter Bitter, a farmer, his wife Anna Barbara, and children (Karl, age 19; Katharina, age 13; Johann, age 8; Johann Philipp, age 3) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 8 August 1766 aboard the Danish galliot Der Engel Rafael with Skipper Ehlert Kongsted at the helm.

Peter Pitter [sic], his wife Barbara, and children (Carl, age 20; Catharina, age 18; Johannes, age 8) are recorded on the list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

The family arrived in the colony of Lauwe on 5 September 1767, where they are recorded on the 1767 census in Household No. 46. By the time of 1798 Lauwe census, son Johannes is recorded in Household No. Lw02, and son Johann Carl is registered in Household No. Lw21.

(2) Johann Georg Bötter was born and baptized on 22 April 1738 in Arheilgen. He was the son of Georg Jacob Bötter & Elisabetha Stork. He married Johannetta Maria Mösser, daughter of Johann Peter Mösser, on 22 April 1761 in Arheilgen. They had three known children, each baptized in Arheilgen: (1) Johann Joseph, born 25 July 1761, baptized 26 July 1761, died 5 August 1761; (2) Elisabetha, born in 1762; and (3) Anna Barbara, born 10 April 1765, baptized 12 April 1765.

Johann Georg Bitter, a farmer, his wife Margaretha Elisabeth and son Johann Nikolaus (age ¼) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 25 July 1766 aboard the snow-brig named Maria Sophia under the command of Skipper Johann Bauert.

Johann Pitter [sic], his wife Honetta, and daughters (Elisabeth, age 6; Barbara, age 1½) are recorded on the list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

On 5 September 1767, they also settled in the Volga German colony of Lauwe, where they are recorded on 1767 census in Household No. 47.

This surname is most often spelled as "Bitter" in Russian and American records and also some family lines use the surname "Bitters".