Johannes Michael Volk, a mason (Maurer), his wife Katharina, and daughters (Christina, age 13; Katharina, age 6) are recorded on the 1767 census of Katharinenstadt in Household No. 85. They had settled there on 27 August 1766.
Michael Volk and his daughters (Katharina, age 21; Christina, age 14) are recorded on the 1776 Katharinenstadt Grundbuch [Land Register] in Household No. 142 along with a note that he deserted the colony in 1775. Another added note records that he died in 1780.
The 1767 census records that Johannes Michael Volk came from the German village of Benshausen in Sachsen (Saxony). The 1776 Katharinenstadt Land Register records that he came from the German village of Benshausen in Sachsen (Saxony).
There are no known surviving male lines of this Volk family among the Volga German colonies.
- 1776 Katharinenstadt Grundbuch [Land Register] (Household No. 142).
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 2 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2001): 294.
Brent Mai