VGI Updates

Renault Tranzhan was born about 1786 in the French village of Clerdrie [?].

He served as a soldier in the 48th Infantry Regiment of Napoleon's Army. He fought against the Russians and was captured.

Milovidov records that as of 1814 his father, mother, and two sisters were still living in Clerdrie [?].

He is recorded among the captured Napoleonic soldiers who were settled among the Volga German colonies, and on 23 July 1814 was assigned to the household of Georg Haag in the colony of Preuss.

On 24 November 1814, he married Klara Uhrich [from Schuck].

Maria Elisabetha Meyer, daughter of Johann Barthold Meyer & Maria Sophia Rausch, was born 1 April 1739 in Überau. 

German families preparing to move to Russia gathered in the village of Büdingen, and her marriage to Johannes Buxbaum is recorded in the parish register of Büdingen:

"Johannes Buchsbaum from Sprachbrücken & Maria Eliesabetha Meÿer from Reicheim [Reinheim] married on 25 April 1766." [See Buxbaum Family.]

Johann Wiesner, a gloves maker (Handschuhmacher), his wife Margaretha, and son Johann (age 2½) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 22 August 1766 aboard a galliot named Die Vergoldete Weintraube (The Guilded Grape) under the command of Skipper Joachim Hermann Andersen.

Johann Wiesner, his wife Margaretha Maria, and children (Johann, age 3; Anna Maria, born in route) are recorded on a list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

It is not known in which colony they settled.

Valentin Wiegand, a single carpenter (Zimmermann), arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 22 August 1766 aboard a galliot named Die Vergoldete Weintraube (The Guilded Grape) under the command of Skipper Joachim Hermann Andersen.

Valentin Wiegand is recorded on a list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

The Oranienbaum passenger list records that Valentin Wiegand came from the German village of Gersfeld.

Widow Anna [Reis], her sons (Johannes, age 17; Konrad, age 12), and daughter Maria & son-in-law Johann Ries arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 2 August 1766 aboard the English frigate Love & Unity under the command of Skipper Thomas Fairfax.

Anna [Reis], sons (Johannes, age 17½; Conrad, age 12), daughter Anna Maria & son-in-law Johannes Reiss [sic] are recorded on the list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767 along with a note that mother Anna [Reis] died in route.

Konrad Mai, a farmer, his wife Maria, and son Johann (age 4) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 22 August 1766 aboard a galliot named Die Vergoldete Weintraube (The Guilded Grape) under the command of Skipper Joachim Hermann Andersen.

Conrad Mey and his wife Maria Elisabeth are recorded on a list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

It is not known in which colony they settled.

The Oranienbaum passenger list records that Konrad Mai came from the German region of Darmstadt.

Joseph Altvater and his family are recorded on the 1834 census of Hölzel in Household No. 54 along with a note that he had been a prisioner of war and received permission to relocate to Hölzel [from where?] in 1825.

His death is recorded on the Hölzel parish register on 28 June 1848 and notes that his parents are Bernhard Altvater & Katharina Jakowska. He had been married 3 times: (1) to Anna Roppelt who died 19 March 1831; (2) on 25 June 1832 to Katharina Graf who died 3 May 1840; and (3) on 16 July 1844 to Katharina Rolhäuser née Redel.

Kaspar Kaiser, a farmer, and his wife Anna arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 22 August 1766 aboard a galliot named Die Vergoldete Weintraube (The Guilded Grape) under the command of Skipper Joachim Hermann Andersen.

Caspar Kayser [sic] and his wife Anna Maria are recorded on a list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

It is not known in which colony they settled.

The Oranienbaum passenger list records that Kaspar Kaiser came from the German region of Darmstadt.

Johann Schmidt arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 26 August 1766 aboard a snow-brig named Die Jäger (The Hunter) under the command of Skipper Gabriel Will.

Johann Schmidt is recorded on a list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.

It is not known in which colony he settled.

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