German Proverbs

If you want to know yourself, offend two or three of your neighbors.

Love your neighbor, but don't pull down the fence.

One foe is too many and a hundred friends are too few.

Real friendship does not freeze in winter.

Presents keep friendships warm.

Better an honest enemy than a false friend.

Merry Christmas

On December 14th our local chapter of AHSGR had our Christmas celebration.  It was fabulous!  For those of us who are far away, there's nothing better than getting together with seldom seen friends.  We share our common heritage and great food.  My favorite was the delicious ham prepared by the Ansleys, who also arranged for the beautiful little church we met in.  As we remember the birth of our Savior, it is also good to remember friends. Thanks to all of you!

Gluckstal Colonies

If your research takes you to the Gluckstal Colonies you will want to check out the link below.

The FHL has some publications and may be purchasing additional in the future.

The team working this project is a perfect example of what can be accomplished when we collaborate on a common cause.

www.glueckstal.net/index

Norka Colony Poll Tax Census 1834

Dee found some interesting information on this at the following website.  Check it out.

https://feefhs.org/erg/norka-colony-tax-census

Chapter Christmas Party

When: Saturday, December 14, 2019

Where:  Springville Community Presbyterian Church
              245 S 200 E; Springville, UT

Menu: 
Ham, provided by Ansley's
Turkey, mashed potatoes, and gravy, provided by the Hert's
Drinks: Provided by Ansley's
Tableware: Provided by Ansley's.
Items needed: salads, rolls and butter, fruit, desserts, etc.  

Please reply to all so we know what you are bringing.

Clothing: Come casual in your dirndls and lederhosen.
Entertainment:  Watch for further announcements.
Family:  Everyone welcome, let us know how many. Friends welcome anytime. Grandkids, of course.

Remember:
Toys-for-Tots:  We are gathering news toys and new books, unwrapped.  Also wrapping paper appreciated.
Food Drive:  On-going, bring non-perishable items.

ALEXANDERDORF, SOUTH CAUCASUS

AHSGR MAP13, Quadrant J-6, 41 49 N. 44 47 E.

It is imperative that we carefully locate the correct village of interest as there are numerous villages with the same or similar name.  Locate longitude and latitude along with maps.

The Caucasus is located between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, also  including the Greater Caucasus mountain range, which has historically been considered a natural barrier between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.  The area contains Mount Elbrus, at 5,642 meters.

The Russian military established the Caucasus Line in 1735 then built numerous forts to protect their newly acquired land from Turkey.  In 1739 a treaty was established between Russia and Turkey.  The Russian government encouraged German peasants to relocate and establish villages in the Caucasus.

Black Sea immigrants also relocated to the Caucasus in the second half of the 19^th century.   Need movement records.

The fertile soils of the Caucasus drew numerous families from various locations to the Caucasus.  Volga families relocated as family land was lessened by numerous sons; new farms were essential. Need movement records.

I have a few names of villagers, but am needing additional information to ensure we know as much as possible about these individuals and families. Parish locations would be helpful. Caucasus data is scarce; need census, Presbyterian and Catholic Church records, military and English publications. 

The Family History Library has publications in Russian, need translators.

Please contact me if you have additional information on this village.  

Thanks for the support.

Dee Hert

deeehert@gmail.com

VC: Alexanderdorf and numerous other villages

Greetings!

This is a reminder that the next chapter gathering is this Saturday, October 19, at  the Presbyterian Church:

245 South 200 East
Springville, Utah

Meeting starts at 9:00, then we clean the yard.  Church members are rewarding us with lunch, and member Annette Adams will give a presentation. Family welcome!

Please bring yard equipment; rakes, shovel, gloves, clippers; we also need branch cutting tools.  Mark your tools so you can readily identify them. 

Please bring: Empty printer cartridges and canned food for the food drive.  

Toys for Tots: New children's toys and books--unwrapped.  They also accept wrapping paper.

Chapter Library: Come see the library, you will be pleased and they do accept donations.

The next meeting will also be at the church, the annual Christmas Party, December 14.

Caucasus Records, Book Report

It is common knowledge that access to Caucasus data is challenging, but every now and then we have a glimmer of hope. One of my life goals is to access records at the Family History Library, at least once a week. 

The book, The German Colonists in Georgia (Elisabethtal-Asureti: 1818-1941), by Ekaterine Udsulaschwili is a treasure; it lists surnames and extensive data on numerous villages.  The book is copyrighted, but I would be willing to do limited look-ups.  Page 53 pictured a sample of a Russian document, a Lutheran church record.  The list of the Germans born in the years 1871-1921 in the Colony Elisabethtal, Province Tbilisi, who belonged to the Holy Lutheran Church Parish, is preserved in the Central Historical Archive of the Republic of Georgia. Archival Holding 458; Inventory -/; Book Number 462; total pages 347.

I am the AHSGR Village Coordinator for the village of Elisabethtal, among 24 other villages. How do I acquire these records?  I consulted with FHL Research Specialist Ellie Vance, and she advised I contact Greg Nelson who is in charge of library acquisitions. I sent a message to Greg Nelson and am awaiting his reply. Watch for updates to this story.

Dee Hert

Caucasus Research Group

This group will collaborate with each other to gather and share data of the North and South Caucasus,  which comprises an area of thousands of miles.  Russian records are a challenge, but I now have a new contact looking into record access. I started a database years ago once I discovered Caucasus materials are scattered in numerous publications, on-line sources, and organizations. I have devoted extensive hours at the FHL reading and studying the fascinating history of this area.  Numerous Germans from Russia traveled to and from the Caucasus, some on hunting forays, military, and new settlements.  These families were members of numerous religions and nationalities.

I have researched all publications by Dr. Mai and others, looking for village movement to the Caucasus. It's amazing how many people made the trek with families, babies, elderly, household goods, and farm equipment.  Hardy stock. 

Eventually data will be placed on wikipedia.  I intend to create a page for this data. The FHL staff are aware of my goals and often direct me to new sources. They listen to requests for new research purchases. If you are interested in learning about this subject and wish to join me in this search, please let me know.  My goal is to spend Wednesdays (at least) at the library. Come and join the search.  Many projects await attention, some small and some large.

Thanks for your support!
Dee Hert

FHL Class Update

19 Nov , 11:30, Germans from Russia Finding Records for Black Sea

21 January, 11:30, Germans from Russia Published Record and Indexes for Volga Germans

18 February, 11:30 Germans from Russia Finding Records for Volga Germans

17 March, 11:30 Germans from Russia Tracing our Family to Germany.

Schedules can and will change, all classes presented at 11:30 MST.

Our seminar, week of Oct 21-25

§  8:45-9:45 = Dutch

§  10-12 = German

§  Break

§  1-2 = Latin

§  2:15-3:15 = Polish

§  3:30-4:30 = Russian

https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Family_History_Library_Classes_and_Webinars 

Check It Out

I found this to be an interesting site. It is a project completed by BYU; the subject material is similar to classes conducted at the Family History Library.

immigrants.byu.edu/resources/records#

This link will take you to an incredible Utah resource for research of all types.  The Utah Genealogical Society is a professional organization offering classes and webinars on a variety of subjects. They also provide a monthly newsletter to member.

  

Look into this site for education and enjoyment.  Often the staff at the FHL are speakers.

https://ugagenealogy.org/index.php

  

Family History Classes

Here are the first in a series of specially designed classes for our Germans from Russia research.  

If the library see's we are serious about this type of research, it will continue. If n they will redirect their efforts.

18 June, Germans from Russia, Emigration from Germany to Russia

16 July, Germans from Russia, Locating the Town with Websites and Gazetteers

Hopefully, some of you can take advantage of this opportunity!

Maps

For those of you who appreciate maps as much as I do, you will find this link interesting.  The maps are part of the Salt Lake County Digital Archives.

https://slco.org/digital-archives/records-online/loadCollections/?a=p17270coll3

  

Updates for Your Calendar

June 15, Chapter Picnic

July 23-27, AHSGR Convention

Aug 3-4, North Dakota GR Convention

Aug 6-10, East European Research Conference (research at the FHL)  

Early bird registration open now.

FEEFHS.org

Aug 17, 10:00, Chapter meeting at Sandy Library

January 12-17, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. 

SLIG.ugagenealogy.org

May 2019, Village Coordinator of the Month

Shari Stone

Hussenbach

Shari Stone has been co-coordinator for Hussenbach for five years. 

“It has opened a whole new world for me. I hadn’t realized the vast amount of info I could get,” Shari said. “Once your name is on the list as a Village Coordinator, you start getting emails and info from people all over the world. You become a hope for people that they can find family.”

Shari has been doing genealogy since the age of 17 when she met an old couple who shared stories of their heritage. Prior to meeting them, she had loved history, but hadn’t really understood that her family was German from Russia. After listening to this couple and realizing that the community in Montana where she grew up was German from Russia, she realized the significance of her heritage. In her role as a VC, she’s now also helping her own family research their genealogy.

She advised AHSGR members who are researching their heritage to contact their VC first before they decide there’s nothing out there and get frustrated. “Chances are resources exist and their VC can direct them to those resources,” Shari said. “VCs can give a life line by sharing what resources they have and building from there.”

As a VC, Shari is dedicated to finding resources for those she helps. She gave the example of a woman who she’s been helping for a year. “I finally found her great-grandfather’s obituary,” Shari said. “He died in 1996 and so I knew he had to have one, but I couldn’t find it. It was in Frankfort script and that’s why I didn’t see it at first, but I knew his sisters’ name and saw it in the script. Then I had someone help me with the script, and I found the obituary. I was so excited that I immediately called her. She was thrilled beyond words! This discovery has opened up a whole lot of more information, and now everything is starting to come together.”

From being a VC, Shari has realized, “We’re given this opportunity to do research that is so valuable for connecting families. To help someone else is very rewarding. I find it a great satisfaction.”

She would encourage anyone who is interested to definitely become a VC. It’s a bit time-consuming, Shari admitted, but stressed that if one has time they can help others to go beyond what they know. ”People appreciate the support. Sometimes they don’t want you do to do all the work; they just need direction, and then can have ownership in knowing that they found what they wanted.” 

Annotated Inventory of the Cases Handled by the Saratov Office of Foreign Settlers

Annotated Inventory of the Cases Handled by the Saratov Office of Foreign Settlers

Edited by I.R. Pleve

Translated into English by Dr. Mila Koretnikova

English Editing by Prof. Brent Mai

1723-1868

The inventory consists of the captions and information on the date and number of pages of the lost cases handled by the Saratov office of foreign settlers. The inventory contains short but very valuable precise information on the life of the German colonies, on the relations between colonies, their relationship with the surrounding settlements and the state, on the personal life of the colonists.

The compilers are hopeful that this publication will be interesting for historians and helpful for researchers who could derive a more truthful picture of historical events by collating the laconic information of the captions and the information in the fully-preserved documents.

An example of particular interest to me is case number 5830, page 209. Case of the drowned colonist, Heinrich Weiderspahn, from the colony of Walter, date July 28, 1826. It is noted that the case contained 9 pages.

I recommend this publication to anyone with research interest in the Volga area.  Keep in mind the colonists moved frequently, I noted mention of the Caucasus which was no surprise.

The villages are numerous; many chapter members will locate families.  I see names such as Dellos, Herdt, Stark, Gebel, etc.  Orphans are mentioned surprisingly often; keep in mind the death may only be that of the father, not both parents.

Permission was required for numerous activities, such as building a barn, relocating, and prohibition to sell certain merchandise. Deaths from drowning were frequent, summer and winter.

When I first started reading this material I noticed the village of Katharinenstadt mentioned often. I was hoping to locate the surname of Herdt, which would answer some long overdue questions.

The book was purchased at the AHSGR bookstore and is available for $20.00.

Dee Hert

Chapter Membership and Activities Chair

New Records, April 2019

FamilySearch has expanded their free online archives with an astounding 47.4 million new indexed family history records from all over the world. Also, check out the FamilySearch Blog. Use these wonderful resources!

Keep Track of Chapter Activities

President Shari Stone requested we keep track of all our chapter activities for the year.

These activities include:

Time spent on the newsletter, blog, Facebook, chapter agenda, scheduling meetings, advertising, etc.

Time spent working with chapter members and interested individuals on genealogy and family history.

Preparation time for classes at the Family History Library.

Projects for AHSGR and other similar organizations.

Chapter meetings and projects (minutes, budget, membership, Idaho project, distributing flyers, grant project.)

You will be surprised at how much time is spent on this important work.  If you have questions, please feel free to ask.

Write several articles for the newsletter, blog, and Facebook, then log your time. If you need a project call Dee.

If you need a form, contact Dee Hert.

Thanks for the support.

Your Help is Needed

I am asking you all to assist in gathering names of individuals and companies who may be inclined to donate to an education project.

Goal: To obtain funds for the purchase of numerous records in Russia and their translation.

This project has several steps, but first I need a long list of potential donors.

Possible names are noted at the end of educational television programs, such as Finding Your Roots, UEN programs, etc.  Keep this project in the back of your mind while reading newspaper articles; Utah has several generous individuals.  

Organizations may list specific projects or purposes, but do not eliminate their potential.

Think globally when gathering this data.

Thanks for your assistance, and keep track of your time.

Contact me with questions.

Dee Hert

Chapter Membership and Activities Chair

Reminder

RootsTech 2019

February 27- March 2, 2019

Chapter Meeting

Saturday, Feb. 2 at 10:00, Sandy Library
10100 S Petunia Way

We have a wonderful surprise guest speaker for this meeting.

Hope to see you there!

Another Generation of Germans from Russia

ge

Christmas Party

We had a wonderful get together for Christmas, with good food and Folk Dance Utah's great entertainment.  Special thanks to Pat and Shirley Ansley for the meat and the facilities.  Also, thanks to the Springville Community Presbyterian Church for letting us use their beautiful church. Chapter members collected toys and books that were donated to Toys for Tots, sponsored by the US Marine Corps Reserve. It's always special when we can meet and enjoy one another's company.