Lais / Leis (Hussenbach)

Johann Nicolaus Leiß, son of Johann Jost Leys (22 April 1693-6 July 1759) & Eva Maria Waither (10 September 1695-June 1759), was born 14 March 1721 in Lißberg.

Johann Nicolaus Leiß, citizen and tailor (Schneider) in Lißberg, married Anna Margaretha Liebegott, daughter of Johann Philipp Liebegott of Effolderbach.

The births of the following children to Johann Nicolaus Leiß & Anna Margaretha Liebegott are recorded in Lißberg: (1) Johann Conrad, born 20 November 1746; (2) Johann Jacob, born 6 December 1750; (3) Anna Juliana, born 7 March 1752; and (4) Johann Henrich, born 24 January 1756.

There are several Lais families that settled in the Volga German colony of Hussenbach. They arrived together from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 15 September 1766 aboard the snow-brig Die Frau Dietrika under the command of Skipper Joachim Friedrich Luhn.

(1) Johann Nikolaus Lais, a farmer, his wife Anna Margaretha, and children ([a] Johann Jakob, age 17; [b] Julianna Maria, age 15; [c] Johann Heinrich, age 11) arrived in Oranienbaum.

[a] Jakob Leis [some translations erroneously record this surname as Lenz] and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Hussenbach in Household No. Hs102.

The death of Jakob Leis in 1807 is recorded on the 1811 census of Hussenbach in Household No. 102.

The 1811 census of Hussenbach records in Household No. 102 that Heinrich Leis, son of Jakob Leis, moved from Hussenbach to the colony of Kratzke in 1798.

Georg Heinrich Laas and Johann Peter Laas and their families are recorded on the 1834 census of Kratzke in Households No. 39 & 45.

Johann Peter Laas [sic] from Kratzke and his family are recorded on the 1857 census of Ährenfeld.

[b] Julianna Maria Lais is recorded on the Hussenbach 1798 census in Household No. Hs047 as the wife of Samuel Dewald.

[c] Heinrich Leis and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Hussenbach in Household No. Hs026. The death of Heinrich Leis in 1809 is recorded on the 1811 census of Hussenbach in Household No. 26.

(2) Widow Eva Barbara Lais and her son Konrad (age 20) arrived in Oranienbaum. She is believed to be the Barbara Luis [sic], widow of a craftsman (Handwerker), who arrived in the Volga German colony of Walter on 25 August 1767 and is recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 86. The 1767 census records that Barbara Luis came from the German village of Lißberg in the Hessen-Darmstadt region. There do not appear to be any surviving male lines of this Lais family among the Volga German colonies.

(3) Johann Lais, a single farmer, arrived in Oranienbaum. This is believed to be Johann Konrad, the oldest son of Johann Nikolaus.

Konrad Lais is recorded on the 1798 census of Hussenbach in Household No. Hs066.

Konrad Leis and his family are recorded on the 1811 census of Hussenbach in Household No. 66.

The death of Konrad Laiß, age 74, is recorded in the parish register of Hussenbach on 21 June 1820. The death on 12 December 1818 of Anna Katharina [née Kreutzer], wife of Konrad Lais, is recorded on the parish register of Hussenbach.

Research by Igor Plehve reports that the Andreas Lais recorded on the 1798 census of Hussenbach in Household No. Hs124 is the son of this Johann Konrad.

(4) Friederika Lais, a single woman, arrived in Oranienbaum. She is recorded in Hussenbach on the 1798 census in Household No. Hs038 married to Johann Karst.

(5) Konrad Leis (age 11), illegitimate son of widow Sophia Raque who is living in Hussenbach, is recorded on the 1798 census of Kratzke in Household No. Kr36.

Konrad Leis and his family (including his Raque half-brothers) are recorded on the 1834 census of Hussenbach in Household No. 101.

The Oranienbaum passenger list records that each of these Lais families came from the German region of Darmstadt.