Johann Sebastian Gerck, son of Johann Heinrich & Catharina Gerck, was born on 30 April 1725 in Müs. Bastian [sic] Gerck from Müs and Magdalena Helwig from Landenhausen were married on 12 November 1752 in Blankenau.
Sebastian Gerk, a farmer, his wife Anna, and children (Johann, age 15; Maria, age 10) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 20 May 1766 aboard the Russian galliot Catharina Eleonora under the command of Skipper Peter Röder.
Sebastian Gerk, a farmer, his wife Magdalena Halbich [Helwich], and children (Kaspar, age 16; Katharina, age 14; Zacharius, age 1) are recorded on the 1767 census of Köhler in Household No. 35. They had settled in Köhler on 21 August 1767.
Joseph Gerk and his family are recorded on the 1857 census of Köhler in Household No. 163 along with a note that they relocated to the colony of Pfeifer in 1857.
Heinrich Gerk and his family are recorded on the 1857 census of Köhler in Household No. 216 along with a note that they relocated to the daughter colony of Mariental in 1852.
Peter Gerk and his family are recorded on the 1857 census of Köhler in Household No. 218 along with a note that they relocated to the daughter colony of Mariental in 1852.
Valentin Gerk and his family are recorded on the 1857 census of Köhler in Household No. 219 along with a note that they relocated to the daughter colony of Mariental in 1852.
The 1857 census of Josefstal records the families of Peter & Christian Gerk from Köhler.
Heinrich Gerk from Köhler and his family are recorded on the 1857 census of Marienfeld.
The Oranienbaum passenger list records that Sebastian Gerk came from the German region of Pfalz while the 1767 census records that he came from the German region of Fulda.
- 1857 Josefstal Census (Household No. 8, 37).
- 1857 Köhler Census (Households No. 163, 216, 218, 219).
- 1857 Marienfeld Census.
- 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): Kl07, Kl15, Kl42.
- Parish records of Blankenau.
- Parish records of Müs.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 2 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2001): 368.
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010): #174.
Christina Reiche
Ted Gerk
Brent Mai
Entry from the parish register of Müs recording the birth of Johann Sebastian Gerck on 30 April 1725.
[30 hujus legitimus Fl Joannis Henrici Gerck et Catharinae conjugum Joannes Sebastianus, levante viri honesti Heinrici Gerck hospitis in Kleinlüder legitimo filiolo Joanne Sebastiano. Translation: 30 [April] legitimate son of the couple Johann Heinrich Gerck and Catharina: Johann Sebastian, godfather is the little legitimate son Johann Sebastian of the honorable man Heinrich Gerck, landlord in Kleinlüder.]
Source: Dr. Christina Reiche, Bischöfliches Generalvikariat, Bistumsarchiv, Fulda.
Entry from the parish register of Blankenau recording the marriage of Bastian Gerck and Magdalena Helwig on 12 November 1752.
[Blank. In hujate Ecclesia matrimonialiter conjuncti sunt Bastian Gerck ex Müs et Magdalena Helwigin testantibus origine […] ex Landenhausen, testantibus Georgus Schmitt et Georgus Gerck, Actu d. 12 9bris. Translation: Blank[enau] In this church are married Bastian Gerck from Müs and Magdalena Helwig from Landenhausen, witnesses are Georg Schmitt and Georg Gerck, done 12 November.]
Source: Dr. Christina Reiche, Bischöfliches Generalvikariat, Bistumsarchiv, Fulda.