Germanic Origins
Have you wondered where your family lived in Europe before migrating to Russia in the 1760s?
Below are a number of resources that may be useful in determining their origins in Western Europe:
"German Migration to the Russian Volga 1764-1767: Origins and Destinations" by Brent Alan Mai. Many of
the sources in it are German marriage and baptism records of colonists prior
to their immigration to Russia.
"Transport of the Volga Germans From Oranienbaum to the Colonies on the
Volga 1766-1767" by Brent Alan Mai is a very good resource, documenting the
travel from Germany to Russia.
"Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Immigration to the Volga
Region)" Volumes (Band) 1- 4 by Igor Pleve has the original settler's lists for each of the original colonies. It is available from AHSGR.
"Lists of Colonists Arriving in Russia in 1766 - Ivan Kulhberg's Reports" by
Dr. Igor Pleve will be released for sale by the AHSGR this summer.
The Center for Volga German Studies has a growing "Origins" section that provides very useful information.
AHSGR also has a German Origins Project that provides a wealth of information.
The Odessa 3 website http://www.odessa3.org/search.html is one of my
favorite resources. Try entering your ancestor's surname into the "Query
String" box and then hit the "Submit Query" button. Try this with every
possible "Data Category" other than the Bessarabian Collection (you might be
interested in Ship and immigration records, Gedlist Files, War Records,
etc.).
I also like AHSGR's surname list at http://www.ahsgr.org/gedlist.htm as well
as their surname charts at http://www.ahsgr.org/surname_charts.htm which may
have the research of other members interested in the same surname.
But, once you find the village, where do you go from there? Germany' didn't exist when our ancestors left there for Russia. It was the Holy Roman Empire composed of many Germanic Kingdoms, Provinces, Duchys, City States, etc. There were no civil records kept at that time so you must use church records. Not all villages were large enough to have a church so you need to find the Church Parish for your particular village and religion.
The best way to do that is with the "Map Guides to German Parish Registers". This is a series of 45 volumes covering ALL of the German, by Kevan M. Hansen and sold through "Family Roots Publishing Co <www.GermanMapGuide.com >.
The books list Lutheran, Catholic, German Reformed, Mennonite, etc. Parishes to find the right church for your village. From these, it lists the microfilm number that is available from the Family History Library (LDS) < www.familysearch.org > The films are available from your local Family History Center. The Parish Guides also list sources in Germany where you can get help.
Huck was primarily a Reformed Village and their Parish was in Norka. Most of the original settlers in Huck (Pleve's "Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet" Vol 2) only listed Isenberg as their origin, which was common for people of the Reformed Faith. Isenburg had a large percentage of German Reformed Churches. Finding the right village in Isenberg may require help from some of the sources in the "Guides Books".
The Principality of Isenburg was a large part of the Grand Duchy of Hessen, Vol I, of the Guide Books. B?dingen was the capitol of Isenburg.