There are two Kraus families that settled in the Volga German colony of Reinwald on 14 July 1766. The 1767 census records that both of them came from the German village of Stolberg in Sachsen (Saxony) although their relationship to each other is not noted.
(1) Martin Kraus (age 44), a craftsman (Handwerker), and his family are recorded on the 1767 Reinwald census in Household No. 19.
Martin Kraus and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Reinwald in Household No. Rw16.
The death of Martin Kraus in 1799 is recorded on the 1811 census of Reinwald in Household No. 16.
Michael Kraus, son of Martin Kraus, is recorded on the 1811 census of Reinwald in Household No. 16 along with a note that he relocated to the colony of Hockerberg in 1800.
Ludwig Kraus, son of Martin Kraus, is recorded on the 1811 census of Reinwald in Household No. 16 along with a note that he relocated to the colony of Stahl am Karaman in 1802 [sic].
Ludwig Kraus from Reinwald and his sons are recorded on the 1811 census of Stahl am Karaman in Household No. 25 along with a note that he had arrived in Stahl am Karaman from Reinwald in 1801 [sic].
Jakob Kraus from Reinwald and his son is recorded on the 1811 census of Stahl am Karaman in Household No. 24 along with a note that he arrived in Stahl am Karaman from Reinwald in 1805.
(2) Johannes Kraus (age 25), a farmer, and his wife Margaretha (from the German village of Mannheim in the Kurpfalz) are recorded on the 1767 Reinwald census in Household No. 33.
Johannes Kraus and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Reinwald in Household No. Rw20.
In 1793, Johann Ludwig Kraus, son of Johannes Kraus, moved from Reinwald to Krasnoyar.
Ludwig Kraus from Reinwald and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Krasnoyar in Household No. Ks005 along with a note that he is in Reinwald working as a shepherd with his wife and sons.
Adam Kraus [son of Johannes Kraus] is recorded on the 1834 census of Reinwald in Household No. 121 along with a note that he and his family relocated to the colony of Schwed in 1818. Adam Kraus and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Schwed in Household No. 36 along with a note that they had arrived in Schwed from Reinwald in 1819.
The death of Adam Kraus in 1843 is recorded on the 1850 census of Schwed in Household No. 68. Following his death, there are no known surviving male lines of this Kraus family in Schwed.
- 1811 Reinwald Census (Household No. 16).
- 1811 Stahl am Karaman Census (Households No. 24, 25).
- 1834 Reinwald Census (Household No. 121).
- 1834 Schwed Census (Household No. 36).
- 1850 Schwed Census (Household No. 68).
- 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): Ks005, Rw16, Rw20, Mv2414.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 4 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2008): 34, 38.
Brent Mai