Two Rusch families arrived together at the port of Oranienbaum from Rostock on 25 September 1766 aboard a ship named Anna Maria under the command of Skipper Johann Lemke. They both settled in the Volga German colony of Grimm. Their relationship to each other, if any, needs further research.
(1) Samuel Rusch, a farmer, his wife Anna, and children (Helena, age 20; Georg, age 9; Katharina, age 8; Christian, age ¾) arrived in Oranienbaum.
The parish register of Schilling records the birth of Sophia Barbara Rusch, daughter of Samuel Rusch & Margaretha Schröder, on 25 May 1767 on the Oka River while en route to the colonies.
Samuel Rusch (age 68), his wife Anna Margaretha, and children (Friedrich, age 18; Johann Georg, age 12; Dorothea, age 10; and Christian, age 4) are recorded on the 1767 census of Grimm in Household No. 22.
Samuel Rusch and his family are recorded on the 1775 census of Grimm in Household No. 106.
In 1788, Adam Christian Rusch moved from Enders to Dobrinka. Christian Rusch is recorded on the 1798 census of Dobrinka in Household No. Db41.
Daniel Rusch, son of Christian Rusch, and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Dobrinka in Household No. 51.
Ludwig Rusch, son of Christian Rusch, and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Dobrinka in Household No. 131.
Johann Friedrich Rusch and his brother Georg Adam Rush, sons of Ludwig Rusch, and their families moved from Dobrinka to Oberdorf in 1852.
Johann Friedrich Rusch and his brother Georg Adam Rush, sons of Ludwig Rusch, and their families are recorded on the 1857 census of Oberdorf in Household No. 23 & 24.
Bernhard Rusch, son of Christian Rusch, and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Dobrinka in Household No. 132.
Johannes Rusch, son of Christian Rusch, and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Dobrinka in Household No. 133.
Johann Georg Rusch, son of Christian Rusch, and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Dobrinka in Household No. 134.
In 1790, Friedrich Rusch and his family moved from Anton to Enders.
Son Georg Rusch from Grimm is recorded on the 1798 census of Enders in Household No. En13. Daughter Dorothea Rusch is recorded on the 1798 census of Grimm in Household No. Gm045 married to Johann Heide.
(2) August Erdmann Rush, his wife Katharina Engel, and children (Anna, age 22; Ernst Christian, age 20; August Erdmann, age 10¼; Christina, age 8) arrived in Oranienbaum.
August Hartmann Rusch (age 70), his wife Katharina Engel (age 40), and children (Ernst Christian, age 20; August Hartmann, age 12½; Christina, age 8) are recorded on the 1767 census of Grimm in Household No. 24.
August Hartmann Rusch and his family are recorded on the 1775 census of Grimm in Household No. 107.
August Rusch from Grimm is recorded on the 1798 census of Enders in Household No. En11.
Theobald Rusch from Enders and his family are recorded on the 1862 census of Gnadendorf.
Heinrich Rusch from Enders and his family are recorded on the 1862 census of Gnadendorf.
Christian Rusch from Enders and his family are recorded on the 1862 census of Gnadendorf.
Ernst Rusch from Grimm is recorded on the 1798 census of Grimm in Household No. Gm093.
The Oranienbaum passenger list records that both Samuel Rusch and August Erdmann Rusch came from the German region of Mecklenburg. The 1767 census records that both Samuel Rusch and August Hartmann Rusch came from the German region of Pommern (Pomerania).
- 1775 Grimm Census (Households No. 106 & 107).
- 1850 Dobrinka Census (Households No. 65, 168, 169, 170, 171).
- 1857 Dobrinka Census (Households No. 71, 72, 179, 180, 181, 182).
- 1857 Oberdorf Census (Households No. 23, 24).
- 1862 Gnadendorf Census.
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Auswanderung deutscher Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766 (Moscow: Idt & Rauschenbach, 2019): 35.
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Deutsche Kolonisten im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum und in den Siedlungsorten: Die Kuhlberg-Listen (Moscow: Idt & Rauschenbach, 2024): 893-894.
- 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): Db41, En06, En11, En13, Gm093, Mv0015, Mv0538.
- Parish register of Schilling.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 2 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2001): 76.
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010): #7454, #7455.
Brent Mai
Habermann (Wolgadeutsche.net Forum)