VGI Updates

Widower Friedrich Leil [sic], a cobbler, and his children (Sibilla, age 19; Konrad, age 18) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 19 July 1766 aboard a barque named Fortitudo (Fortitude) under the command of Skipper John Scott.

Fridrich Löhl [sic] and his children (Sibilla, age 22; Conrad, age 20) are recorded on the list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

They settled in the Volga German colony of Norka. They are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 186.

Johann Heinrich Burbach, son of Johann Georg Burbach & Susanna Verneuler, was born in Obersotzbach and baptized on 14 May 1722 in the nearby parish church located in Unterreichenbach.

Johann Heinrich married Anna Justina and the baptisms of at least three children (each born in Obersotzbach) are recorded in the parish register of Unterreichenbach: (1) Melchior, baptized on 17 December 1747; (2) Johann Heinrich, baptized 23 August 1753; and (3) Lorenz, baptized 30 September 1756.

Johann Jakob Urbach, a farmer, his wife Anna Katharina, and children (Christina, age 7; Johann Christian, age 4; Anna Elisabeth, age 2) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 21 July 1766 aboard a snow-brig named Mercurius under the command of Skipper Christian Heinrich Abelßen.

They settled in the Volga German colony of Urbach on 13 July 1767.  They are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 1 as the colony's mayor (Vorsteher). The colony was named after him.

Ernst Wilhelm Urbach, son of Carl & Anna Catharina Urbach, was baptized in Büdingen on 9 November 1732. He married there on 18 July 1754 to Catharina Elisabetha Ropplebein(?), daughter of Wolff Heinrich Ropplebein(?).

They had four children who were baptized in Büdingen: (1) Maximilian, 11 November 1754; (2) Willhelmina, 23 October 1757; (3) Johann Philipp, 21 March 1762; and (4) Johanna Magdalena, 25 August 1765.

Konrad Olf, a farmer, and his family arrived from Lübeck at the port in Oranienbaum on 4 July 1766 aboard the galliot Die Fortuna with skipper Peter Stahl at the helm.

They settled in the Volga German colony of Galka on 27 July 1767 where they are recorded on the 1767 census in Household No. 59.

The 1767 census records that they came from the German village of Grosshausen near Darmstadt.

There are no known surviving male lines of this family among the Volga German colonies.

Widow Katharina Knaub and her children (Katharina Friedrika, age 17½; Johann Konrad, age 14; Ludwig, age 12; Johann Heinrich, age 10; Philipp Peter, age 8; Magdalena, age 1½) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 21 July 1766 aboard a snow-brig named Mercurius under the command of Skipper Christian Heinrich Abelßen.

On the same ship arriving in Oranienbaum were Valentin Traub and his wife, Eva.  Eva died at some point during the journey to the colonies, and Valentin married the widow Katharina Knaub.

Anton Herdt, a farmer, and his wife Anna arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 9 June 1766 aboard an English frigate named Love & Unity under the command of Skipper Thomas Fairfax.

They settled in the Volga German colony of Messer on 18 June 1767.

Anton Hardt, a farmer, and his wife are recorded in Messer on the 1767 census in Household No. 58.

Widower Anton Hardt and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Messer in Household No. Ms02.

Valentin Benzel, a farmer, his wife Anna, and son Jakob (age ¾) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 16 August 1766 aboard a snow-brig named Neptunus (Neptune) under the command of Skipper Johann Graap.

They settled in the Volga German colony of Kautz on 3 August 1767. They are recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 17.

In 1790, Ulrich Benzel moved from Kautz to Kolb.