VGI Updates

There are four different Becker families who settled originally in the Volga German colony of Walter.

Johann Konrad Becker, a single farmer, arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 16 August 1766 aboard a galliot named Frau Diederika (Lady Diederika) under the command of Skipper Johann Joachim Lunau.

This is presumed to be the same Konrad Becker (age 20), a farmer, who is recorded on the 1767 census of Walter in Household No. 90 along with his uncle Philipp Stang who had arrived in Oranienbaum on the same ship.

Several translation errors have created a difficult documented history for the Benner family that settled in Walter.

Konrad Benner [erroneously recorded as Binder], a farmer, his wife Magdalena, and sons (Johann, age 15; Johann Nikel [sic], age 10½; Wilhelm, age 5) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 16 August 1766 aboard a galliot named Frau Diederika (Lady Diederika) under the command of Skipper Johann Joachim Lunau.

Johannes Baumgärtner, son of Johannes Christoph Baumgärtner & Eva Nachbar, was born in Lützelsachsen and baptized in the nearby Reformed parish church at Weinheim on 10 September 1727.

Johannes & Anna Catharina Baumgärtner had two children who were born in Lützelsachsen and baptized in the City Church (Stadtkirche) of Weinheim: (1) Anna Maria, baptized 7 February 1755; and (2) Anna Margaretha, baptized 18 November 1757.

There appear to be two separate Bähr families in Yagodnaya Polyana

The Johann Christoph Bähr family arrived in Yagodnaya Polyana on 16 September 1767, where they are listed on the 1767 Census in Household No. 6.

The 1767 census records that Johann Christoph Bähr came from the German region of Isenburg.

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

Martin Becker, his wife Julianna, and children (Johann, age 12; Gertrude, age 6; and Conrad, age 2½) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 20 August 1766 aboard a galliot named Catharina Eleonora under the command of Skipper Peter Rehder.

Martin Bäcker, his wife Anna Julianna, and children (Johann Peter, age 12; Gertrude, age 7) settled in Norka on 2 September 1767. They are recorded there on the 1767 census of Norka in Household No. 203.

Johann Philipp Bäcker, his new wife Johannette, and her children Georg Bauer (age 16) and Katharina Bauer (age 8) arrived in the Volga German colony of Norka on 26 August 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 census of Norka in Household No. 180. Johanette was the widow of Georg Bauer.

The 1767 census records that Johann Philipp Bäcker was a craftsman (Handwerker) from the German region of Kurpfalz.

Through the years, this surname has taken a variety of spellings including Backer, Becker, and Baker.

Widow Margaretha Bäcker from the area of Isenburg arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 9 August 1766 aboard the pink Slon under the command of Lieutenant Sergey Panov along with her nephew Nikolaus Müller and his family.

They are recorded on the 1767 Census of Norka (Household No. 12).

This is one of four apparently unrelated Bäcker families that settled in Norka.

There do not appear to be any surviving male descendants of this Bäcker family.