Tips & Tricks to Track Your German Russian Ancestors...Sources, Sources, Sources In Russia

Once you have exhausted all of the sources in the Americas, you are ready to reach out to sources in Russia.

How do you locate relevant resources in Russia?  You can obtain records directly for a fee. However,  unless you are fluent in Russian, the language can be a challenge.

The good news is that many documents have already been purchased from the Saratov and Engels archives.

So it is best to find out what has already been located, then supplement your records with purchases if needed. To discover what has been located, let's check out Books and Historical Societies.

There are five books I recommend to help you on your genealogical journey.

1) Emigration from Germany to Russia in Years, 1763 to 1862, with Maps by Karl Stumpp  (Pictured above)
This book is the guide to all of the emigrations from Germany to Russia and the maps alone are extraordinary.


2) Einwanderung in die Wolgageiet 1765-1767 by Igor Pleve
These four volumes list the movements to the Volga colonies, including most places of origin.  It is written in German and Russian, but with a little translation help, this is a valuable resource for all Volga Germans.

3)  The Immigration of German Coloniest to Denmark and Their Subsequent Immigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766 by Dr. Alexander Eichorn and Dr Jacob  and Mary Eichhorn.
Without this book, I would have never learned about my 5th great grandfather, Johann Conrad Reimer. He was a tailor who traveled to Denmark with his wife, Johanna and two children, and his servant, seraching for greener pastures in Russia.  Unfortunately, he passed away in Denmark before he embarked on his travel. But, this informtion led me to my 6th great grandfather, Hans Georg Reimer, and my Reimer Germanic origins in Freudental.

4) 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga, Economy, Population and Agriculture Volume 1 and 2, by Brent Alan Mai

These volumes are so helpful because the 1798 census helps us track many settlers who 

may have moved after they originally settled in a village, like my Herzog ancestors who settled in Balzer but moved to Reinwald before 1798.

5) German-Russian Handbook, A Reference Book for Russian German and German Russia History and Culutre, by Ulrich Mertens.
This book has so much information, I have not yet absorbed even a quarter of it!  However, it has fascination information, including citing the martyrdom of my friend Judy Gareis's relative. It's a comprehensive compilation of all of the villages and photographs and maps...nearly 800 pages of information.

These and many more research items are available for purchase or borrowing from private researchers.  Also, you can use the Interlibrary loan system to gain access to some of these books.

Our next source stop will be the organizations and historical societies who have additional, vast resources.

©2019 Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski