Three Hirchenhein families migrated to Russia, two of them confirmed to be from the German village of Hain-Gründau. Their relationship to each other, if any, needs additional research.
(1) Heinrich Hirschenhaÿn, son of Carl Hirschenhaÿn from Hain-Gründau, and Anna Maria Dietrich, daughter of Peter Dietrich from Mittelgründau, were married in Hain-Gründau on 8 August 1765.
Johann Herchenhein, a farmer, and his wife Anna arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 9 June 1766 aboard an English frigate named Love & Unity under the command of Skipper Thomas Fairfax.
They arrived in the Volga German colony of Messer on 18 June 1767. They are recorded on the 1767 census of Messer in Household No. 46. The surname in Russia appears to be Hergenhein.
The Oranienbaum passenger list records that Johann Herchenhein came from the German region of Isenburg.
(2) Maria Elisabeth Hirchenhaÿn, the daughter of Conrad Hirchenhaÿn, was born on 2 September 1734, in Hain-Gründau. Elisabeth Hirchenhaÿn and Jacob Repp were married in Büdingen on 11 April 1766. Johann Jacob Repp, the son of Johann Heinrich Repp, was born on 10 March 1728 also in Hain-Gründau.
They settled in the Volga German colony of Huck. [See Repp Family.]
(3) Widower Kaspar Herchenhein arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 9 June 1766 aboard an English frigate named Love & Unity under the command of Skipper Thomas Fairfax along with the family of Michael Hartwig. The above referenced Johann Herchenhein was also aboard this ship.
Johannes Herchenhein is recorded on the 1767 census of Norka in Household No. 166 along with the Ludwig Batt. [See Batt Family.]
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Auswanderung deutscher Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766 (Moscow: Idt & Rauschenbach, 2019): 29.
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Deutsche Kolonisten im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum und in den Siedlungsorten: Die Kuhlberg-Listen (Moscow: Idt & Rauschenbach, 2024): 243.
- Mai, Brent Alan. 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1999): Ms36.
- Parish register of Hain-Gründau.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 3 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2005): 142.
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010): #1635, #1732, #1735.
Maggie Hein
Brent Mai