Schell (Herzog)
Valentin & Ottilia Schell had several children, each born in the German village of Lütter: (1) Johann Georg, born 3 October 1731; (2) Maria Barbara, born 9 September 1733; (3) Johann Valentin, born 15 February 1738; (4) Johann Balthasar, born 17 November 1741; and (5) Johann Peter, born 9 September 1744. The mother Otillia died in Lütter on 14 September 1761 at the age of 62.
This Johann Balthasar Schell, son of Valentin, is believed to be the one who immigrated to Russia.
Balthasar Schell, a merchant (Kaufmann), his wife Dorothea, and son Andreas (1-month) are recorded on the 1767 census of Herzog in Household No. 1 along with a note that he is serving as the colony's mayor (Vorsteher). They had settled there on 14 July 1766.
In 1786, Balthasar Schell and his family moved from Herzog to Semenovka.
Dorothea Schell, widow of Balthasar Schell, and their children (Johannes, age 18; Anna Margaretha, age 11) are recorded on the 1798 census of Semenovka in Household No. Se56.
The 1767 census records that Balthasar Schell came from the German village of Steinau in the Fulda region and that his wife came from the German village of Weilburg.
- 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): Se56, Mv0818.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 2 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2001): 87.
Max Weinbinder
Brent Mai
Entry from the parish register of Lütter recording the birth of Johann Balthasar Schell on 17 November 1741.
Source: Max Weinbinder.
Entry from the parish register of Lütter recording the death of Ottilia Schell on 14 December 1761 (age 62).
Source: Max Weinbinder.