Germanic Genealogy Journal, Vol. 20, No.3 Fall 2017

“There Once Was a Town,” by Roger P. Minert, PhD., A.G.

There simply must be something left – a foundation, broken bricks, cobblestone, something.  The search for his friend’s family (Fred Froehlich of Logan, Utah) in the Bavarian village of Silberhof was challenging. Records were not available.   Extensive searching of various maps indicated where the village had once existed.

The German government had ordered evacuations of the 40 square mile area so the U.S. Army could establish a training area in 1938. The Wildflecken Training Range was occupied by the Army as part of their South German occupation zone and used as a gunnery range until 1994.

The Wildflecken Training Area is located directly north of Bad Bruckenau and immediately west of Wildflecken. It is 30 miles east-northeast of Frankfurt/Main, 25 miles north of Wurzburg, and 14 miles south-southeast of Fulda. The area measurers 7.08 miles north-south and 6.92 miles east-west at the widest points. The official location of Silberhof is 9 degrees, 52 minutes East longitude and 50 degrees, 22 minutes North latitude.

Towns within the Widflecken Training Area include; Altglashutten, Borrenberg, Ebertshof, Kippelbach, Neuglashutten, Reussendorf, Rotherain, Schmelzhof, Silberhof, and Werberg.

Apparently the phenomenon of disappearing villas was common. Fortunately in most cases the records of parish churches or civil registrars in those towns still exist and the work of compiling family histories can continue.

A list is being compiled of towns, villages, and settlements in the Federal Republic that have been removed from the maps – literally destroyed without a trace

Dr. Minert details his consultation with experts at the FHL, libraries around the U.S. and Germany and numerous publications.

Germanic Genealogy Society, PO Box 16312, St. Paul, MN  551116-0312

www.ggsmn.org

Thanks for the support.

Dee Hert

Membership Chair

RootsTech

For information on RootsTech, check out this website.

https://www.rootstech.org/

Alexanderhöh

NAMES

Alexanderhöh, Alexandrhöh, Alexanderdorf, Alexander-Hey, Alexandrovka, Uralsk

LOCATION

46°51' E 51°16' N

HISTORY

      Alexanderhöh was a daughter colony that originally consisted of two colonies--one named Alexanderdorf and the other named Höh. The two colonies were located next to one another on opposite sides of the Nachoi River (Nachoistrom), a tributary that branched off the Greater Karaman River (Großer Karaman Fluß) east of Mariental. Alexanderdorf was founded in 1848 by 19 families from the mother colonies of Schwed, Schäfer, Urbach, Stahl am Karaman, and others.
      Höh was founded later (evidently 1860) by colonists from the mother colonies of Schwed, Stahl am Karaman, Rosenheim, Fischer, Enders, and others. About the same time (i.e., in the first half of 1860), the names of the two colonies were combined into Alexander-Höh, which from then on became the name of the combined daughter colony.
      According to the 9th Revision for Stahl am Karaman, the following families moved to Alexanderdorf: Michael Stahl (b. 1794), Konrad Stahl (b. 1797), Johannes Zitzer (b. 1773), Friedrich Zitzer (b. 1801), Heinrich Seibel (b. 1793), Friedrich Elberg (Ölberg?, b. 1810), and Christian Elberg (Ölberg?, b. 1814).
      In 1877-1878, 10 families departed for America.

CHURCH

      The Lutheran church in Alexanderhöh was built of wood in 1888 in the Kontor Style. It reportedly seated 800 parishners.
      The congregation in Alexanderhöh is part of the Lutheran parish headquartered in Weizenfeld where there was a resident pastor.

Caucasian Line

NAMES:  Caucasian Line (North Caucasus)

HISTORY:  The Caucasian Line describes one of the fortified frontiers established in Russia to guard and expand the borders of the empire. The Caucasian Line began in 1735 with the construction of a fortress at Kizlyar, near the Caspian Sea. In response to the 1739 treaty between Russia and Turkey, a series of fortresses were then constructed from Kizlyar eastward along the front range of the Caucasian Mountains eventually reaching the mouth of the Kuban River as it enters the Sea of Azov.

As a result of the Russo-Turkish War (1768-1774), the Russians began expansion into the North Caucasus region. Count Pavel Potemkin, cousin of Grigori Potemkin who was a favorite of Catherine the Great, was named viceroy over the Caucasus and arranged for the expansion of the Caucasian Line. According to Dietz, by a decree of 27 October 1778, a number of colonists were relocated to the Caucasus in settlements that were being established along the Caucasian Line. There are many families in the 1798 Census of the Volga colonies that are noted to either be or have been "on the Caucasian Line."

In 1809, a group of colonists from Sarepta and Anton settled in the colony of Karras near Pyatigorsk. Dietz continues to report that a number of colonists had moved to the Caucasus without authorization in 1850. They reported that 593 families had declared their desire to relocate to the northeastern shore of the Black Sea. Although the Kontora forbid this movement, the colony of Alexandrovskaya was founded there near the Nalchik fortress. By 1840, there were five German colonies in this area. The colony of Michaelsdorf was founded near Vladikavkaz in 1861. According to Dietz, 736 male and 567 female souls moved from the Volga colonies to the Causasus between 1838 and 1871.

In the second half of the 19th century, a wave of migration from the German colonies in the Black Sea region occurred and by the fall of the Russian Empire in 1917 there were more than 100 German colonies in the North Caucasus.

NORTH CAUCASUS COLONIES SETTLED BY VOLGA GERMANS

Alexandrovskaya
Johannesdorf
Kana
Karras
Michaelsdorf
Nikolayevsk

What Is Your Family Story

Author Karen Schutte, a second generation Volga German, shares her family's stories of immigration in a four volume set of historical novels.

Village Discussions

I have to say that the village meeting I attended was well worth the time.  I so appreciate the effort and resources that Nick and Barb Bretz shared with us.  I felt  my trip was worth it because of the connections I made in that meeting.  A third cousin that I'd never met before was extremely helpful and generous, giving me three family pictures and sharing a story I'd never heard. 

The Immigrant Woman

Norma Pipkin gave an outstanding presentation at the convention. She portrayed her great great grandmother, reenacting a time when Germans from Russia left to come to an unknown country to secure a better life.

Convention Cooking Classes

New Potatoes in Butter Cream Sauce

Maultaschen

Finding Your Ancestor's German Origins

Maggie Hein has a wealth of knowledge and gave many helpful hints for finding your ancestor's German origins.

The Storm

Welcome to the AHSGR Convention in Hays, Kansas.

Volga German Haus

This is a replica of the size and type of  home early Volga German settlers built. When the first immigrants arrived to establish their villages, they quickly constructed small dug-out sod shelters.The sod shelters were used until a more permanent house of native limestone rock could be built. The interior contains two rooms: a small room containing the  mud stove and the cooking utensils, and a large room that served as the living, dining, and sleeping area.

Kansas Artist

This guy is amazing!  He has studied the Volga villages that he paints and truly catches their spirit.  I enjoyed visiting with him, such an interesting character.  Thanks, Michael Boss, for your beautiful art.

Hays, Kansas

I was so thrilled to be in Hays for the AHSGR Conference.  We took some time to drive around the city and check out some of the sights.  What a wonderful place!  I especially enjoyed a look at the churches.

A Message from Dee Hert

Let's work as a group towards our research.  Many chapter members have suggested we conduct joint research, so this is not an original idea.  It's just the start of what I hope will be momentum towards a positive direction.

Lets work together towards our common goals.

This is what I propose:

1.  Think about your research needs, what do you want to accomplish?

2. Take notes, make comprehensive lists.

3. To prepare in advance contact me with your lists, such as a need to search a specific village, surname chart, etc.  I am aware of several previous requests to locate German origins. Add skills you would like to learn/perfect.

4. Need Skype?  We can make that available upon request.

5. A list of needed research resources will be composed, in the hope that eventually we can make necessary purchases.  Knowing this might influence purchase decisions.  Individuals are "considering" a generous donation towards record acquisition; their interest may be similar to our interests. 

6. Grants and similar programs wait to hear from us.

7. Caucasus.  Remember my request to share what you have regarding the Caucasus as I am developing a database of this information.

From this material I will determine if my library contains the necessary material, and if not I will contact members who agree to look-ups..  Also, another most valuable location of genealogical real estate is the Family History Library.  As stated before, I try to get to the library at least once a week, for myself and numerous other GR's who do not live in Utah.  My numerous requests for assistance to help other GR's stands, the stack of requests grows rather than diminishes.

I realize many of us do not live minutes from each other, thus I/we will be flexible to accommodate your schedule and needs.   I am finally retired after 30 years, and am willing and able to devote time as an on-going project.

Hopefully this is a long-term project and as we transition to new ideas, we will embrace one another's talents and abilities and leadership.

Family Search

Hey folks, just wanted to remind you to check out Family Search frequently.  It seems like there is  always a fun and new feature coming out, not to mention many new records for your research every day.  My new favorite is the Ancestor Photo Game, where you identify photos of your ancestors.  Of course I got them all right because I seem to spend as much time with the dead as the living!  I love the updates I receive on my pioneer ancestors and any connected stories.  The infographic they have created is fascinating.  It shows the average age your ancestors married, the countries of their birth, most common birth month, least common names, the percentage of ancestors who immigrated to another country, etc.  Also fun, the notifications that tell you that it's an ancestors birthday or anniversary, and includes their relationship to you.  Don't take my word for it, check it out for yourself!