Skip to main content

VGI Updates

Faust (Balzer-2)*

Maria Charlotta Faust, daughter of Johann Peter & Anna Faust, was born 4 December 1746 in Roth.

She married Johann Georg Blitz. Georg Blitz, a farmer, and his wife Maria Charlotta [Faust] are recorded on the 1767 census of Balzer in Household No. 72.

Georg Blitz and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Balzer in Household No. Bz030.

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

Fritz, Ben

Benjamin James Fritz, son of Roger Arlin Fritz & Gretchen Elizabeth Moore, was born 29 March 1981 in San Jose, California.

Ben Fritz, a professional baseball pitcher, was drafted by the Oakland Athletics in the 1st round of the 2002 draft of Major League Baseball. He played in the Athletics organization from 2002 to 2007. He then spent 2 years with the Detroit Tigers organization.

He joined the San Diego Padres organization as a coach in 2015 and since 2020 has been their bullpen coach.

Ben's Volga German ancestors came from the colony of Friedenfeld.

Gropp (Balzer)

Johannes Kropp [sic], son of Johann Henrich Kropp, was baptized 18 December 1707 in Wolf. He married in Aulendiebach on 16 February 1741 to Anna Catharina [surname not recorded].

The baptism of a son to Johannes & Anna Catharina Gropp is recorded in the parish register of Aulendiebach: Johann Conrad, baptized 1 March 1755.

Subscribe to VGI Updates