VGI Updates

Deines, Siegmund

Siegmund "Sig" Deines was born to George Henry Deines & Lydia Dorsch in Russell, Kansas, on 29 March 1909. He was an inventor and spent his career with Teledyne Water Pik in Fort Collins, Colorado. He holds several patents including Patent Number 4077569 for the invention of the pulsator that is now common in most shower heads.

Sig was married to Clara Kaiser in 1932 and they had 3 children. He passed away on 27 September 1981 in Fort Collins. His father was born in the Volga German colony of Kratzke; his mother in Schwab.

Deines, Brian Lee

Brian Lee Deines, son of Alan John Deines & Anne Marie Kopack, was born on 22 November 1955 in Stettler, Alberta. He is an acclaimed Canadian children’s book illustrator who has been nominated for the Governor General’s Award for Illustration, the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award and the Lillian Shepherd Memorial Award, among others. He has illustrated such varied titles as The Hockey Tree, On a Snowy Night, The Road to Afghanistan and The Vimy Oaks: A Journey to Peace.

Kloberdanz, Timothy J. & Rosalinda (Appelhans)

Timothy J. Kloberdanz was born 22 October 1948, the son of John C. and Elizabeth (Sewald) Kloberdanz. His grandparents and parents were Volga German sugar beet farmers who lived along the South Platte River, near Sterling, Colorado. It was a world of colorful old country nicknames, dialect-rich proverbs, mysterious customs, delectable food ways, and haunting stories.

Büchsenschütz*

Johann Heinrich Büchsenschütz, son of Johann Michael Büchsenschütz, married in Rückingen on 2 June 1763 to Catharina Elisabeth Straub, daughter of Johannes Straub. They had two children in Rückingen: (1) Catharina Elisabeth, born 26 April 1764; and (2) Maria Catharina, born 22 December 1765, died 6 January 1766.

Langendiebach, Kr. Main-Kinzig, Hessen

Mai / Maÿ (Kolb)*

Johann Adam Maÿ was born 12 October 1749 in the German village of Langendiebach.

Adam Maÿ, servant of Heinrich Büchsenschütz, arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 9 June 1766 aboard a ship named Die Perle under the command of Skipper Gerhardt Hermann Thomsen.

He settled in the Volga German colony of Kolb on 13 May 1767 and is recorded there on the 1767 census in Household No. 25 as a day-laborer (Lohnarbeiter).

Adam Maÿ is recorded on the 1798 census of Kolb in Household No. Ko17.

Hill, Jerry

Gerald Alan "Jerry" Hill, son of Adam Hill & Eleanor Dorothy Wacker, was born 12 October 1939 in Lingle, Wyoming. He was a professional American football player, playing with the Baltimore Colts from 1961 to 1970. He played in Superbowls III and V.

Meerholz, Kr. Main-Kinzig, Hessen

Today, Meerholz is administratively part of the town of Gelnhausen.

Originally designed as a private chapel for the castle inhabitants, the lords of the house of Isenburg-Meerholz, the Schlosskirche (Castle Church) was expanded and in 1744 became the parish church for the local inhabitants as well.

Gerlach (Norka)

Johann Ernst Gerlach married on 10 February 1752 in Meerholz to Anna Margaretha Heeg. She had been born there on 15 November 1727.

The baptisms of six children are recorded in the Meerholz records: (1) Johann Georg, born 21 March 1753; (2) Georg Philipp, born 5 May 1755; (3) an unnamed daughter born 4 February 1758; (4) Anna Catharina, born 20 April 1759; (5) Anna Elisabeth, born 10 April 1762, died 16 October 1764; and (6) Ernst Heinrich, born 4 June 1765.

Baumann (Huck)*

Bernhardt and Anna Bauman had four children whose baptisms are recorded in the Spielberg parish register: (1) Maria Elisabeth, baptized 26 December 1755, died 2 May 1756; (2) Anna Elisabeth, baptized 3 April 1757, died 26 December 1758; (3) Eva Elisabeth, baptized 4 February 1759; and (4) Anna Catharina, baptized 20 November 1763.

Bernhard Baumann, a farmer, his wife Anna, and children (Philipp, age 15; Eva, age 8) arrived from Lübeck at the port in Oranienbaum on 19 July 1766 aboard a snow-brig named Christina under the command of Skipper Jacob Stappenberg.

Subscribe to VGI Updates