Before 1815, Bassenheim was located in the Rhin-et-Moselle Department in France which included the area of Kurtrier. Following the Napoleonic Wars, this region became part of the German Rheinland, at that time ruled by Prussia.
Anton Steinecker, a farmer, and his wife Maria arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 11 June 1766 aboard the snow-brig named Der Jäger under the command of Skipper Gabriel Will.
They settled in the Volga German colony of Preuss on 15 July 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 100.
In 1788, Mattias Steinecker moved from Preuss to Seelmann.
The 1767 census records that Anton Steinecker came from the German village of Bassenheim in the Kurtrier.
Johannes Weber, a farmer, and his wife Regina Klara arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 11 June 1766 aboard the snow-brig named Der Jäger under the command of Skipper Gabriel Will.
They settled in the Volga German colony of Preuss on 15 July 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 102.
The widow of Johannes Weber and their children (Johannes, age 16; Anna Maria, age 12) are recorded on the 1798 census of Preuss in Household No. Ps50.
Nikolaus Zerfas, a farmer, his wife Elisabeth, and children (Stephan, age 10; Maria, age 5; Johann, age ¼) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 11 June 1766 aboard the snow-brig named Der Jäger under the command of Skipper Gabriel Will.
They settled in the Volga German colony of Preuss on 15 July 1767. His wife Elisabeth died 21 September 1767. The remaining family members are recorded on the 1767 census of Preuss in Household No. 59. By the 1798 census, they were living in the colony of Dehler.
Michael Nickel and his wife Maria Johanna arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 12 September 1766 aboard the snow-brig Frei Gebruder under the command of Skipper Minzberger.
Michel Nickel and his wife Maria Johanna are recorded on the list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.
They settled in the Volga German colony of Leitsinger on 19 August 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 53.
Andreas Kelberg, a farmer, and his family arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 25 July 1766 aboard the snow-brig named Maria Sophia under the command of Skipper Johann Bauert.
They settled in the Volga German colony of Preuss on 16 August 1767. Andreas died 9 November 1767. His widow Barbara and their children are recorded on the 1767 census of Preuss in Household No. 110.
The 1767 census records that the Kelberg family came from the German village of Burglengenfeld in the Kurpfalz.
Until 1777, Burglengenfeld was in the Duchy of Pfalz-Neuburg. In 1777, the border in the area shifted and Burglengenfeld found itself in Bayern (Bavaria).
Wilhelm Thomas, a farmer, settled in the Volga German colony of Philippsfeld on 3 August 1767. He is recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 7 along with his new bride and 1-month-old son, Johann Michael.
In 1786, Wilhelm Thomas and his family moved from Philippsfeld to Fischer.
Friedrich Thomas from Fischer and his family are recorded on the 1862 census of Gnadendorf.