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VGI Updates

Williamson Family

The children of LaMont Williamson & Pamella Marriott are international professional dancers. The children grew up in Australia and learned to ballroom dance from their mother who was a professional instructor.

Ashli Rose Williamson was born 23 August 1985 in Burbank, California. Ashli is a 10-time World Champion Dancer. Her dance partner is her husband Bjørn Bitsch.

Earle Marriott Williamson was born 16 January 1990 in Sylmar, California. He started his career dancing for Denmark, and is now a professional international dancer representing Ukraine.

Gretsch*

Melchior Gretsch arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 20 August 1766 aboard a ship named Der Friede (Peace) under the command of Skipper Hans Karck.

Melchior Gretsch is recorded on the list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

Johann Melchior Gretsch, a single cobbler (Schuhmacher), is recorded on the 1767 census of Katharinenstadt in Household No. 191 working as a day laborer (Lohnarbeiter). He had arrived in Katharinenstadt on 3 August 1767.

Teutschneureut, Stadt Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg

There is evidence of human settlement in the area of Neureut that dates back to the 5th and 6th centuries. When Huguenots from France moved into the area in 1699, the town of Welschneureut was founded. To differentiate itself, the old Neureut became Teutschneureut.

In 1935, Welschneureut and Teutschneureut merged, and the town became again known as Neureut. Today, it is administratively part of the municipality of Karlsruhe.

Dreiling, Nate

Nate Dreiling, son of Randy Dreiling & Cathy Younger, was born 27 October 1990 in Victoria, Kansas.

Dreiling played college football as a linebacker for Pittsburg State University.

He signed with the Green Bay Packers as a free agent in 2014 and later signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. He also played for the Omaha Mammoths of the FXFL.

Since then, he as coached with a number of institutions including Utah State University and New Mexico State University.

Nate's Volga German ancestors came from the colony of Herzog.

Dreiling, Dylan

Dylan Matthew Dreiling, son of Doug & Lindsey Dreiling, was born 17 April 2003 in Hays, Kansas.

He played college baseball for the University of Tennessee, and was named the College World Series Most Outstanding Player. Dreiling was drafted as an outfielder by the Texas Rangers in the second round of the 2024 draft.

Dylan's Volga German ancestors come from the colony of Herzog.

Auenheim, Kr. Ortenau, Baden-Württemberg

Auenheim is located a few kilometers north of Kehl along the German border with France - directly across the river from Strasbourg, France. Since 1975, Auenheim has been administratively part of the city of Kehl.

Historically, Auenheim was part of various configurations of the Lichtenberg family (Hanau-Lichtenberg) until 1736 when it fell Ludwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, the son of Charlotte of Hanau-Lichtenberg. When the Electorate of Baden was formed in 1803, it became part of its current territorial configuration.

Church:

Zimmerman, Zip

Francis Eugene "Zip" Zimmerman, son of William F. Zimmerman & Loretta Weaver, was born 30 April 1938 in Hays, Kansas. He died 13 October 2014 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Zimmerman was a professional photographer having served as the official U.S. Navy photographer for the Apollo 8 splashdown, and serving President's Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford as a personal White House Press photographer, traveling to historical summits, treaties, and countries with the presidents and their dignitaries.

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