Other Sites and Materials of Interest
Quick Jumps |
Emigration Lists from Germany to Poland and Prussia
Family Search Site on Württemberg Emigration and Immigration Seems to include mainly emigration to the Americas.
The South Prussian Colonies 1802 - 1806 by Martin Schiewe Courtesy of the Odessa Digital Library. Includes references to sites of origin in Würtemberg where many Prussian settlers came from.
Landesarchiv Baden-Würtemberg (German) Emigration from southwest Germany.
Reiner Kerp's Resources for Migrants to South Prussia (German)
Map of emigrants from Würtemberg to west Prussia. 1776-1786 (German) To zoom in on the map left click (holding) on your upper left corner and drag the mouse to your desired lower right corner. Then release the mouse button. You can then drag your cropped box throught out the map to see the zmagnified region.
Zug nach Polen (PDF) (German) Details on the Öschelbronner train to Poland in 1803. by Karl-Heinz Eisner
Some of Our SGGEE Member's Personal Web Sites
Ed Brandt's Genealogical Books and Pedigree Data This site includes information about the Genealogical Guide to East and West Prussia. Ed's work on updating the lineages is progressing slowly, but he says there will be future changes and additions. The original website was established to publicize the many genealogy-related books he wrote or co-authored and this theme continues. Mr. Brandt passed away in early 2013 so it is not known if the books are still available or if the site will be maintained by others.
Harald Bresch and Prazuchy To continue into the site after you connect to the Prazuchy home page, click on the text "English Version" located immediately below the image of the church tower. Inside you will find navigation buttons that take you to information about residents, history, maps, stories and more about Prazuchy. It is a great site, but be prepared to encounter some text in the German language.
Reiner Kerp and Familie Kerp-Grohnert. Personal site of the Kerp-Grohnert families which includes several family links to the Sompolno / Babiak region. This is a German language site with good navigation links between the Liste der Nachnamen (List of the Surnames), the Namensindex (Name Index) and individuals in the Ausgewählte Familien/Personen (Selected Families/Persons) page.
Edwin Koeppen's Family History Page. In the mid 1800’s, ancestors of these families migrated to and established themselves in communities in Volhynia (Wolhynien), Ukraine. In the early to mid 1900’s, as a result of conflicts and oppression, many family members perished while others fled and secured safe havens in Western Europe, USA, Canada, China and Australia.
Irene Koenig's Genealogische Webseiten This is a Volhynian web site authored by Irene and Gerhard Koenig and written in German. The links on this page that have a small English flag following the German text signify those which are written in English. The Koenigs have also created a WIKI page for adding more information.
Virginia Less The Story of the Harbin, China Lutheran Refugees.
Donald Miller In the Midst of Wolves. The history of German Baptists in Volhynia, Russia from 1863-1943. Also Under Arrest, Repression of the Russian Germans in the Zhitomir Region, Ukraine, in the 1930s and other works of Donald N Miller
Jack Milner - Destination: Yellow Grass Relates the family stories of three brothers born in Poland between 1841 and 1851. The three moved with their families from Poland to the Russian controlled Province of Volhynia during the 1870's and early 1880's. The Fred Altwasser Sr. family came to Canada in 1894 followed in 1905 by the family of his brother Gottlieb. Their brother August and his family remained in Volhynia.
Dave Obee's Family History Page Dave has collected extensive information on the German Baptist colonies in the Neudorf area of Volhynia, in the Ukraine. His personal family tree includes names such as Weiss, Scheffler, Tiedtke, Reschke, Tiede, Menzel, Hartmann, Schindler, and Boehnert. Villages include Iwanowitsch, Solodyri, Pulin, Neudorf, Florowka, Skolobow, Rogowka, and Wjasowitz; all are near Zhitomir. Click on his "Site Map" link for a complete overview of contents.
William (Bill) Remus and The History of the Germans in Farming Villages Near Kiev Russia Bill's web pages contain a lot of information about the history of the Nineteenth Century German settlements in Volhynia and Kiev Russia. The information, with links, is organized into four segments: Old Volhynia, Romansdorf, Central Volhynia and West Prussia.
Edith Riske and Edie's Attic. Edith introduces her web page with "Hi! I'm Edie. I'm getting ready to explore my attic. There are eighty years of memories, experiences, hobbies and history here. Please join me, and let's reminisce together." Edith is a most interesting lady. You should read her life story if you have not yet done so. At 80+ she is still one of our more prolific suppliers of data for the web site.
Guido Schulz and The Karlswalde Web Pages. Guido Schulz, a TV and Radio journalist living in Berlin, Germany developed his interest in the former village of Karlswalde, Volhynia when he realized he knew very little of his own family history. He quickly learned about the absence of church books and difficulties with archives, especially in Ukraine and Russia. The result of his research is the Karlswalde Web Pages with a navigation tool bar that links you to his family's Volhynian background, historical information, maps, photos and other valuable research.
Dwayne Tiede's Website Dwayne says "I have built a website to try to link with other relatives that may be related to myself". The Volhynian section focuses on the area around Prutowka, a Germanic colony with both Lutheran and Baptist citizens. Prutowka (also known as Neuheim) is about 39 km (24 miles) west of Zhitomir. A nearby village called Derman is also of interest. Some of his ancestors' names are Tiede, Mueller, Muenchs, and Krueger. There is a nice section of photographs of Prutowka and area taken during a trip in 2002.
Litz Family Russia to Winnipeg This detailed history and genealogy presented by SGGEE member Rhonda Simpson includes the Litz, Kroeing, Jeske, and Radons families. The migration from the Zhitomir district of Volhynia to Winnipeg, Manitoba is included.
Lipinsky Family History of the Lipinsky family of West Prussia. Includes a lot of info about Kashubians and their heritage.
Leichnitz Family Small but well researched family is documented in this website created by Werner Leichnitz and our member, Earl Schultz. Available in German or English.
Ships Records
Canadian Passenger Ship Indexing Project by the Nanaimo Genealogical Society. This project is underway and only a few years are completed to date.
History
The German Colonies in Volhynia by Mykhailo Kostiuk
Originally published in Ukrainian, this work is a reliable introduction to German colonists in Volhynia, and one for which their English-speaking descendants have been waiting.
Eduard Kneifel Books
The family of this former Lutheran pastor has made several of his historical books available on line (German language only).
Listing of Volhynia Land Laws, 1864-1915
Dick Benert has made a listing of the Volhynia Land Laws as he has researched them pertaining to Germans in the Southwest Provinces, Kiev, Podolia and Volhynia, 1864-1915 (mostly based on descriptions in Dietmar Neutatz, "Die 'Deutsche Frage' im Schwarzmeergebiet und in Wolhynien", Stuttgart, 1993).
Prussian emigration records in Polish archives
A discussion of what resources are available about people who migrated out of Poland.
Upstream Vistula - German Genealogy along the Vistula
This is an excellent web site that will help all people interested in the history and the living conditions of German settlers in this area of Central Poland.
Area of German Settlement in Middle, Eastern and Southeastern Europe
(Outside the boundaries of the German Empire of 1871).
Former German Territories
Territories originally within the German Empire that were transferred to other national jurisdictions after WWI and WWII. These include Pommern (Hinterpommern), Posen, Preußen, Northern Ostpreußen, Southern Ostpreußen, Westpreußen (including Danzig) and Schlesien (excluding Kreis Hoyerswerda and parts of the Kreise of Rothenburg/Oberlausitz and Görlitz west of the Oder-Neisse Line).
Germans in Russia and other C.I.S. States
CIS stands for Central Independent States and generally refers to the collection of states now independent which were once part of the Soviet Union.
Galizien German Descendants Thousands, perhaps millions of people around the world are descended from the German-speaking settlers of the Austro-Hungarian province of Galicia (Galizien). This site is designed to share what is known about the people, settlements, and the fates of these people.
Escape From The "Red Paradise" A Journey Of Thousands Of Miles From Communist Slavery To Freedom. Written in Portuguese and translated into English by Erica Margita Neumann. Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Forced Labor Camps in the Soviet Union
A site which notes the history of forced labor camps and gives a glimpse of records available.
About EWZ Microfilms This link takes you to Dave Obee's Family History site. Click on "Einwandererzentralstelle (EWZ)".
List Servers/Mailing Groups
GER-Rus ListservAddress a message to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.NODAK.EDU
Leave the subject line empty.
Send 1 line text which reads:
SUBSCRIBE GR-GENEALOGY <YOUR FIRST> <YOUR LAST NAME>
Nothing else
There is another list which deals with heritage and culture. Follow exactly the same procedure except substitute the word HERITAGE for GENEALOGY in the text.
Ger-Poland-Volhynia Mailing List
Hosted by Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe
Newsletters
GenDobry Newsletter geared to ethnic Polish research but great for info about Poland and genealogy research tips. Edited by William "Fred" Hoffman, co-author of several books on Polish research.
Professional Researchers
| SGGEE has no ties to the researchers listed below and is not responsible for the content found on their web sites. Further, we cannot guarantee that they are fair and reputable. We request that anyone who uses any of the listed services let us know if they had either a good or bad experience by contacting the Webmaster. Such comments can be added to this section in future updates. |
Discovering Roots
Research and travel guide service in central Poland. People who correspond on several Polish genealogy bulletin boards report that this is a good service to use. One of our own SGGEE members recommends this service. You can see his picture on the site's "Travel" page, first one on top.
PolGenResearch
This site offers research throughout Poland. The office is located in Turek so this company may be of special interest to those researching in former Russian Poland regions. Though some satisfied users are noted on other genealogy sites, we have had no feedback yet from any SGGEE users. One of our mailing list subscribers recommends this service and advises that they can access certain types of helpful records which have not yet been microfilmed.
Ed Brandt's Genealogical Books and Pedigree Data
This completely new site includes information about the Genealogical Guide to East and West Prussia. The original website was established to publicize the many genealogy-related books he wrote or co-authored and this theme continues. Ed provides genealogical consultation and services for deciphering and translating hard to read documents written in the German Gothic script. Please note the SGGEE disclaimer above before deciding to use this service.
EWZ Films Research
Many microfilms are available at the U.S. National Archives in Washington D.C. The EWZ microfilms are one of the series of films available from the Berlin Documents Center at the Archives II facility in College Park Maryland. The films are of records from World War II and include detailed data on many of the people of German ancestry who were taken west by the German government from Ukraine, Volhynia and Poland during World War II. Data found can include genealogy for several generations and photos of the people making the move. This link will take you to Tom Stangl and Janice Huber-Stangl who will do research in the films for $0.50 U.S. per page found and a donation for their efforts. SGGEE members have used the EWZ films site and report that they were fair and easy to work with.
Genealogy Pro
Please note the SGGEE disclaimer above before deciding to use this service.
Polish Genealogy
Webmaster Emil Krasnodêbski offers this site to represent a group of professional historians who are graduates of the Warsaw University. SGGEE asked Emil if they also researched German Lutheran records for Germans who lived in Poland as well as the Polish Catholic records. His reply: "Of course, I research them." Take a look at this Polish research group offering experience, professionalism and credibility. Of special interest is their Research Problems page. Please note the SGGEE disclaimer above before deciding to use their services.
Other Groups and Individuals with Polish and Volhynian Data
This site may be of interest to those of you with ancestry that tracks back through Posen. As part of a Polish Roots.com project, a group of volunteers have been transcribing data from old school records in the following Posen towns.
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Most of the names are Germanic but there are a moderate number of Polish and Jewish names throughout. Information for each name may include birthdate, birthplace, religion, father's name and occupation, and future careers. Some records only included names, but most contained more information.
LDS Church Family History Library (FHL)
This site provides access to a database that includes the IGI and Ancestral File for surnames. The link also lets you view the FHL Catalog of places and data available for those places. Also included is a database that helps you find the branch FHL that is closest to you.
Genealogy and Poland
Polish Roots Organization
AHSGR
A general and specific listing of German Russian Sites on the Internet.
West Prussian Land Records—1772-1773
South Prussia Land Registration Records 1793-1794
Reuben Drefs has compiled a database that contains 83 volumes of information from the 1793-1794 South Prussia Land Registration Records. Another section deals with research reports presently available in the archives of Warsaw, Gdansk, Poznan, Bydgosczcz and Torun.
Poznan Marriage Index
Volunteer project to index all marriages in Poznan / Posen province from about 1835-1884. Covers ALL ethnic groups and parishes.
One branch of the Dreger Family has a story about a their Volhynian German clockmaker ancestor and a special clock he built which was at Knott's Berry Farm for many years.
Books
The Story of a Preacher from Russia - by E.J. Bonikowsky
We are pleased to introduce the first book available by download on our website. It is presented unedited in its original form. Two small words of caution. It was written in the ethic of the day which may not be the same as today. Some descriptions of events may be disturbing to animal lovers and others. Also, the Baptists and Lutherans of the day were not known for being particularly friendly with each other. The severity of their animosity (which is not prevalent today) is not known but certainly there were complaints of mistreatment on both sides. This book is written from a Baptist perspective.
Though over 100 pages long, we have managed to reduce the file size to less than that of a standard SGGEE Journal so your download time will not be too long. Read it on your computer or print it out. Our thanks to the Bonikowsky family for allowing us to publish the book here.