Germans Emigrated to Russia?

Odessa German Russian Genealogical Library

Background
FamilySearch Wiki explains it best. There were four eras that provoked a mass exodus from Germany. Germans were searching for more acceptable conditions, and were escaping economic hardship, religious persecutions, crop failures, wars, military service, and high taxes.

By the 1760’s, the Russian czars offered the discontented Germans “free land, exemption from military service and taxation, an, to an extent, religious liberty.[1] Religious liberty wooed the Mennonites (1850’s), and with the assistance of several other waves of mass exodus, the population of Germans in Russia increased “to an estimated one hundred thousand” between 1763 and 1862.[2]

Many immigrants arriving in the United States from Europe were ethnic Germans who had immigrated to Russia in between 1765 and 1824 [3], and the Odessa German - Russian Genealogical Library assist the researcher in locating these ancestors’ records.

What Is Odessa?
The Odessa German-Russian Genealogical Library is a digital library that is dedicated to the search “of the millions of Germans who emigrated to Russia…now scattered throughout the world.”[4]

Along with an online search feature of the Odessa Library , there is a full complete library document index. The searchable database is placed in categories, i.e. church records/congregations, extracted obituaries, and even wonderful land records that are most useful, when searching for that German-Russian ancestor living in the USA.

Many US German immigrants took advantage of the open lands of the Midwest. And, the Land Records of Kansas, and the Dakota’s on the Odessa website provide detailed indexes of plat maps and extractions (KS) of the various popular German-Russian immigrant settlements.

Most researchers who have ancestors of German-Russian origins immigrating to the USA probably have already used Odessa German-Russian Genealogical Library. However, to highlight the benefits of this searchable website may assist those who are trying to find just a bit more on that beloved ancestor.

Also visit Researching Germans from Russia Ancestors?

Kathleen Brandt
a3genealogy.com
Accurate, Accessible Answers

[1] Oklahoma Historical Society’s Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture http://digital.library.okstate.edu/ENCYCLOPEDIA/entries/G/GE008.html; online access 11 May 2010
[2] ibid
[3] ibid
[4] About Odessa, http://www.odessa3.org/; online access 11 May 2010

Researching Germans from Russia Ancestors?

German Settlements in Russia

9 Great Resources for Genealogy

It wasn’t long ago that the a3Genealogy research team delved into the family history of a German family from Russia. In spite of being faintly optimistic, the research project was a success; a family story was uncovered, and supporting documents were unearthed.  Here are a few tips to ferret out your German ancestors who lived in Russia. 

Where to Begin

The True Northerner (Paw Paw Michigan, 6 Jul 1877, pg. 2

Learn the history. There are many books and internet articles on the colonization of the Lower Volga and the German settlements along the Black Sea.  But if you want a quick overview here’s an introduction to Germans from Russia.  Know that “thousands of people left Russia for Kansas in the 1870s and established large settlements in central Kansas from northern Topeka to Russell County.”  By understanding the history and migratory paths, researchers may uncover likely repositories of family documents.

Identify the approximate German Settlements on a settlement map. Be sure to understand the Colonization of the Lower Volga, and know that about 1/3 of the Germans died before reaching Russia. But even with those dire numbers by 1870 approximately 450,000 Germans had settled in Russia.  By 1914, there were over 2.4 million.

Follow Emigration from Russia / Immigration to USA Timeline.  When did your ancestor emigrate to America? By narrowing this timeframe, you may be able to identify which area/community in Russia your ancestor emigrated from. As mentioned in Familysearch.org Wiki,  in 1871 the Imperial Russian government repealed the manifestos of Catherine the Great and Alexander I resulting in German colonists being obligated to become subject to Russian military service after a ten-year grace period. This began the mass exodus out of Russia. Here's a basic timeline:

• 1872-1873 Several groups emigrate from the Odessa area to Nebraska and the Dakotas. Scouts from other Black Sea colonies and the Volga colonies investigate opportunities in America.
• 1874 The Imperial Russian government amended the 187l decree and instituted compulsory military conscription of German colonists immediately.
• 1874-1914 Thousands of German colonists emigrated from Russia to North and South America.
• 1917 Political unrest in Russia lead to two revolutions and the beginning of Soviet communist rule.
• 1919 The United States government enacts strict immigration laws which greatly slowed entrance of immigrants. Canada continued to receive German immigrants from Russia.
• 1920-1923 Famine in Russia. Over l50 thousand Volga Germans died of starvation.
• 1928-1940 German farms and property were confiscated by the state and forced onto collective farms.
• 1939-1945 The Second World War. Germany at war with the Soviet Union. Germans were persecuted and many moved to Siberia and central Asian republics. Many fled to Germany.
• 1992-1996 Many Russian Germans emigrated to recently unified Germany where they were offered citizenship.

9 Places to Research Your German From Russia Ancestral Records

Surname Chart prepared by Dr. Igor Pleve

Archives and repositories that may assist with your Germans from Russia research.

1. American Historical Society of Germans from Russia (AHSGR). Membership to this organization may prove to be quite valuable.  Be sure to visit the website as there is a collection of online resources to include over a half million ancestor list entries. Researchers may even stumble across their ancestors surname in the Ancestral Surname Chart Index leading to a surname chart prepared by Dr. Igor Pleve.  Be sure to also scour the journals, articles, and the passenger list index.
2. Germans from Russia Heritage Society. This site has an impressive members only Genealogy Database and Letter Archive.   
3. Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University, Portland. Be sure to check out the 2016 planned conferences, workshops and seminars held in cities across America – from California to Pennsylvania. This informative website also posts German Origins for Volga German families. Is your family listed?
4. Norka A German Colony in Russia. This website has samples of their online audio and photo collections.
5. United States, Obituaries, American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1899-2012, hosted by FamilySearch.org.
6. Black Sea German Research.  Was your family a German who settled along the Black Sea vs the Volga?  If so, be sure to visit this website as it hosts a database of over 2 million names.
7. North Dakota State University (NDSU) Heritage Collection. Although there are many local collections and repositories, the a3Genealogy researchers enjoy the one-stop resource of NDSU. The links provided may prevent a family researcher from hours of trawling the internet.
8. The Federation of East European Family History Societies (FEEFHS).  Did your German from Russia settle in Canada? This is a good place to begin your ancestral journey. The FEEFHS website offers about 20  resources for your Germans from Russia Canadian settlers.
9. Germans Emigrated to Russia - Odessa.  This 2010 a3Genealogy blog post is filled with history and helpful links.

Thanks to the following:

• Ryan Zachmann from Russell Kansas, a descendant of Volga Russians (and based on surname Zachmann may be Black Sea Germans on his paternal side). Ryan, my “seat-mate” on a flight to Kansas, reminded me that this blog post could be useful. 
• National Archives - Kansas City staff sponsored presenter Mike Meisinger, a Village Coordinator for AHSGR. As mentioned this organization houses a wealth of information. 

Kathleen Brandt

a3Genealogy.com

Accurate, accessible answers