Kraus (Stahl am Karaman)

There are 3 Kraus families recorded on the 1767 census that are presumed to be related because they all came from the German region of Dienheim and because once they got to Russia, they moved back and forth together between the colonies of Dönhof (on the Bergseite) and Stahl am Karaman (on the Wiesenseite).

(1) Johannes Kraus, son of Hans Adam Kraus, was born 13 September 1737 in Eckarts and baptized there on 14 September 1737. He married 9 February 1762 in Roßbach to A. Kath. Ritter. She died, and Johannes remarried to Anna Sabine Schnärr, daughter of Johannes Schnärr, a carpenter in Zeitlofs. [See Schnärr Family.]

Johann Kraus (age 28), a farmer, his wife Anna, son Adam (age not recorded), and mother Anna arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 19 July 1766 aboard a galliot named Kronshlot under the command of Skipper Ivan Kunakovskii.

They settled in the Volga German colony of Stahl am Karaman on 22 June 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 43 along with the orphaned siblings Johann Schnärr (age 13) and Michael Schnärr (age 8) who had arrived in Oranienbaum on the same ship. The 1767 census does not record a relationship between the Kraus and Schnärr families. [Research reveals that the Schnärr brothers are also siblings of Johann Kraus's wife.]

The death of Johannes Kraus in 1808 is recorded in Stahl am Karaman.

Both the Oranienbaum passenger list and the 1767 census record that Johann Kraus came from the German region of Dienheim.

(2) Hans Adam & Mechtilda [sic] Kraus were married 15 May 1736 in Eckarts. They had the following children: [a] Adam, born 29 January 1739 in Eckarts; [b] Anna Katharina, born 29 Jan 1744; [c] Buckhard, born about 1746 in Eckarts; [d] Johann Caspar, born 1750-1751 in Weißwenbach; and [e] Johannes, born 13 September 1754 in Weißenbach.

Widow Magdalena Kraus and her children (Adam, age 26; Katharina, age 24; Burghard, age 20; Johann, age 16½; Johannes, age 14) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 19 July 1766 aboard a galliot named Kronshlot under the command of Skipper Ivan Kunakovskii.

[a] Adam Kraus (age 25), a farmer, his wife Margaretha, and brothers (Burkhard, age 21; Johann Kaspar, age 16; Johannes, age 13) are recorded on the 1767 census of Stahl am Karaman in Household No. 37. They had arrived in Stahl am Karaman on 22 June 1767.

The death of Adam Kraus is recorded on 7 May 1794 in the parish register of Stahl am Karaman.

[b] Anna Katharina Kraus married on 29 January 1766 in Weißenbach to Johann Adam Schneider.

Johann Adam Schneider, a farmer, his wife Anna Katharina, and daughter Katharina (age 4-weeks) are recorded on the 1767 census of Stahl am Karaman in Household No. 36.

[c] Burkhard Kraus (age 21) and his brothers are recorded on the 1767 census of Stahl am Karaman in Household No. 37. 

The widow of Burghardt Kraus and her son Wilhelm (age 20) are recorded on the 1798 census of Schilling in Household No. Sg003 along with a note that Wilhelm has lived in the colony of Dönhof since childhood.

[d] Johann Kaspar Kraus (age 16) and his brothers are recorded on the 1767 census of Stahl am Karaman in Household No. 37.

Johannes Krause [sic], son of Adam Kraus, is recorded on the 1811 census of Stahl am Karaman in Household No. 10 along with a note that he relocated to the colony of Fischer in 1801.

[e] Johannes Kraus (age 13) from Stahl am Karaman and his son are recorded on the 1811 census of Fischer in Household No. 26.

The 1767 census records that Adam Kraus came from the German region of Dienheim.

(3) Jakob Kraus (age 32), a farmer, and his wife Dorothea settled in the Volga German colony of Stahl am Karaman on 22 June 1767. They are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 49.

The 1767 census records that Jakob Kraus came from the German region of Dienheim.