How do Origins in Russia define us? Colonia Baron and San Jose, La Pampa, Argentina

San Jose Church

As many of you know, I visited Argentina last November.  When we traveled to the German from Russia villages in La Pampa, Dr. Elio Krank and his lovely wife, Roxana Appelhanz, were our hosts and guides.  They shared their heritage and opened their home in Colonia Baron to us. Dr. Krank spoke German and Spanish, and Roxana spoke both of those languages plus English. Needless to say, if you have heard my sporadic German or Spanish, despite all of my pre-planning with Pimsleur language program, I was grateful for their patience and understanding of my poor attempts at Spanish. 

La Pampa was settled by many Black Sea and Volga Germans from Russia. Part of every research trip includes a visit to the local cemetery.  One of my favorites was the cemetery at San Jose.

San Jose Cemetery

As a life member of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and the German Russian Heritage society, I understand the differences between Black Sea and Volga. Depending on perspective,  there can be some major gulfs and some true bonding between these groups who immigrated to Russia. The Volga Germans responded to Catherine the Great’s Manifesto II over 250 years ago.  The Black Sea Germans responded to Alexander II re-issue of the manifesto in 1803. That is the first difference but not the last.

When I entered the cemetery, Dr. Krank explained that the Volga Germans were buried on the left and the Black Sea settlers were buried on the right.  I am familiar with Catholics and  Lutherans being buried in separate cemeteries.  It was a first for me to see one cemetery with a walkway down the center, and family lots split by origin in Russia.

Volga Germans buried on the left, Black sea Germans on the right.

Head stone for Cristina Hollmann geb. Sauer   Gebohren in Jahr 1879 bei vollmer, Russland

While I learned much during my time with the Kranks, I look forward to reading Dr. Krank's book Colonia San José, El Atrio del Paraíso. Written in Spanish, it is my next step to working toward fluency in the language. Estudio mucho, pero apendir un poco. Maybe I can change that.

South America Here I Come!

Today I experienced a South American adventure. My vacation was over weeks ago, but does that have to stop me from having an adventure this weekend?

It began with an email from the Volga German Roots web list. Gerardo Waimann of Buenos Aires, Argentina, a descendant of Volga Germans from Russia, sent us the following message:

“Dear members of the list:

Under the auspices of the German Embassy in Argentina, the Provincia Bank has published 3 magazines (of tourism and history) about the 3 Catholic colonies of the district of Coronel Suarez: Santa Trinidad (also named Colony I), San Jose (Colony II) and Santa Maria (Colony III).

The digital edition of these 3 publications can be downloaded (at no cost) with a click from the following URLs:
*Santa Trinidad
* San Jose
* Santa Maria
Another possibility to download them (in two steps, a little more complicated for non-speakers of Spanish) is from the Volga German website of Raul Wagner:
Santa Trinidad:
San Jose and Santa Maria:

Best regards to all the VG cousins in the northern hemisphere.”

Coronel Suarez was one of the many places I visited in Argentina in 2008. When I saw this email and checked out the links, I knew I had some more exploration to do. I settled into my chair and decided to turn on television and relax next to my dog, Harrison, while I read the magazines.



As I turned on PBS , I saw Bob Ross finish a painting. I checked the next PBS channel. I normally do not watch or know what is on television Saturday morning, but I wanted some background noise as I read my email and kept company with my dog Harrison who rested in his crate. He had a hectic week as he underwent surgery, a Femoral Head Ostectomy also known as FOH.

One of the things I didn’t mention about my vacation was the Harrison incident. During a routine nail clipping, the technician called and told me Harrison had sprained his ankle. When I picked him up from the appointment, he was noticeably limping and in pain.
Since I was unable to get him to my vet on Saturday, we had to wait until Monday to have radiograms.

The ultimate diagnosis was hip dysplasia and arthritis, a chronic condition. Harrison is only ten months old so the doctor recommended a specialist review his x-rays to determine if surgery was needed.

No matter what happened when his nails were trimmed, the provider mishandled the communication and situation. They did ultimately offer to pay for my vet visit. The check has not arrived in my mailbox but I have not lost hope of receiving it. Corporate America is slow to move on reimbursements.

On Tuesday, three anxious weeks later, the specialist contacted us. The verdict was surgery. I was nervous when I dropped him off for surgery yet Dr. Drager increased my comfort level. Now that Harrison has been back home for two days, I am still nervous. So, as I watch Harrison slowly heal, I am thrilled to have a South American adventure.

From Travelscope to Rudy Maxa’s World to the Seasoned Traveler and Passport to Adventure, my mind soared across the countries. Their excursions in Argentina from Buenos Aires to Mendoza and from Chile to Peru inspired me.

As I watched some of the brief histories, I wondered why we do not learn more of about South America in school. Why do we focus on European and North American history? Didn’t the Spanish, French and English explorers settle in the southern hemisphere, too? Why does the United States act as if they were the only country to import slaves? Why can’t North Americans instinctively draw a relatively accurate map of the countries in South America? Why don’t we know our southern neighbors better? For that matter, why don’t we understand Canada better? When I traveled to Argentina, one of my fellow tourists said, “I always thought Canada was one of the United States.” I laughed until I realized she was serious.

When I see wonderful shows like those on PBS today, I understand how much I need to learn despite my knowledge of Canada as a country composed of provinces and separate from the United States. During Harrison’s recuperation over the next six to eight weeks, I will have ample opportunity to continue to explore the South American continent from the comfort of my chair. And to dream of that next trip. I have my eye on the wine country of Mendoza.

July 4, 2011 - Independence and Intrigue

My grandfather, Fred Herzog, was born on July 4, 1882 in Reinwald, Russia. He gained his independence on April 9, 1907 when he arrived in Philadelphia aboard the Haverford. He traveled alone and his destination was Wisconsin. Like many immigrants, he came to live with other German Russian families on Erie Ave. in Sheboygan.

He lived with the Reimer's who were also from Reinwald. In 1913, he married their youngest daughter, Sophie, who was widowed in 1912 and left with two small children. He accepted the children as his own which tells us much about his character. He and Sophie are in the picture above, one of the three photographs I have of him.

Fred was always a mystery to me. His death certificate shows his birthplace was in Reinwald, Russia and lists his parents as Casper Herzog and Marvin Kauger as does his obituary in The Sheboygan Press. Yet, I could never connect him directly to the 1857, 1850 or original settler's Censuses for Reinwald. There are plenty of Herzog's listed, I simply never got close enough to 1882 to build the complete line.

The ship’s manifest lists Fred’s birthplace as Haviza, Russia. I assumed this was a mistake, but one can never be certain with these records. I searched for Haviza and found nothing that matched. Could it have been a temporary place he stayed in Russia while he earned enough money to travel to America? Or, could it have an illegibly written version of Starista, the Russian name for Reinwald?

Fred died in 1941 when my mother was only fourteen. She was so young she never asked for details about his life in Russia. I do know she was his “little angel” as he called her that the last time he saw her when she was in her beautiful white confirmation dress.

On Saturday when I chatted on facebook.com with my friend Ale Müller of Argentina, he mentioned the village of Rosenfeld. Ale and I share family ties to Reinwald. We have known each other online since my trip to Argentina. Ale told me some of his family moved from Reinwald to the daughter colony Rosenfeld as families grew and needed to expand to new land. He shared a copy of the 1862 Rosenfeld census* with me. Could this census be my link back to the Herzog's in the 1857 census? I skimmed through the pages and saw Herzog's and Reimer's among the recognizable Sheboygan family names.

On page 7, there are three Herzog families listed as follows:


Household # 20

Name.............Relationship to Head of Household.....Age
Peter Herzog.......Head..........................30
Margaretha Wagner......Spouse............29
Magadelena ...........Daughter..................5
Anna Katherina......Daughter.................3
Christina..................Daughter................½
Georg Andreas.........Brother...................23
Margetha Enders.....Sister-in-law..........21
Kaspar......................Nephew.....................1

Household # 21
Name...................Relationship to Head of Household.....Age
Friedrich Herzog........Head....................43
Magdelena Gauger.....Spouse.................40
Karl..............................Son.......................21
Maria Elisabeth Gauger....Daughter-in-law......19
Jakob...........................Son........................18
Katharina....................Daughter...............13
Maria Katharina.........Daughter................7

Household # 22
Name...................Relationship to Head of Household.....Age
Kaspar Herzog............Head.............39
Christina Knaus..........Spouse..........37
Friedrich......................Son................19
Jakob...........................Son.................15
Katharina....................Daughter.......13
Gottlieb........................Son.................11
Martin..........................Son..................9
Maria Elisabeth..........Daughter.........7
Margaretha.................Daughter.........4
Kaspar.........................Son...................3

I focused on the two younger Kaspar boys, ages 1 and 3, who would perhaps be the one to have fathered a child born in 1882 since they would have been 21 and 23 years old respectively. Kasper Herzog, age 39, would be 59 years of age in 1882, which certainly makes him a possibility but not the most likely candidate.

I also noticed there is a pattern of Herzogs marrying Gauger women. By the way, Gauger, when written in Russian, begins with a K. Am I on to something here?

Well, it is back to the Reinwald Censuses for a comparison of the Rosenfeld household numbers to the Herzog household numbers. The intrigue continues and my research begins anew. Today in honor of my grandfather’s birthday, I will celebrate the friendship of people like Ale who keep the momentum of family research flowing. I will celebrate Independence and thank my grandfather for coming to America. And, I wish my grandfather a blessed anniversary of his birth wherever it actually took place.



*1862 Census of Rosenfeld am Nachoi in the District of Samara, Russia, Dated January 10, 1862. Translated by Brent Mai, Concordia University, Portland, Oregon.

Reinwald Research Update from Lincoln, Nebraska

Since Monday I have been at the 41st International Convention of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia in Lincoln, Nebraska.

As newsletter editor for the convention, I recorded the daily activities for print and blog distribution. You can link to the blog and get complete access to the convention workshops at http://ahsgrlincolnnebraska.blogspot.com/

I did get to the research library and bookstore here and will have much more to investigate when I return home. The biggest plus of this convention? I actually met others with Reinwald as their ancestral village and, naturally, they had ties to Sheboygan, Wisconsin. We may be able to build a better information base with this group.

More pictures to come after the banquet tonight.

Argentina adventure continues....

The GRHS convention was a wonderful experience and unfortunately was over too quickly. I already miss the friends I reconnected with and the new friends I made.

My presentation of "Building Our Ancestral Bridge to Argentina," was well received. I was pleased to meet many people who are curious to expand their family research into South America.

"Maggie Visits Argentina," is part of my desire to share family heritage with all ages. This new adventure is target to middle and high school readers but is the ideal way for adults to learn or polish up their language skills as the book is written in English, Spanish and German.

Here is a preview of Maggie's first international adventure:

As her grandparents connect to their ancestral past, Maggie tries to make friends for the future as she travels to her first foreign destination, Argentina.Maggie reads as much as possible before her trip yet when she arrives in Buenos Aires, she discovers language is just one of the many things she does not know about Latin America. It takes three languages...English, Spanish and German...to tell the story of exotic places, Argentine history and the friends Maggie meets on her exciting new journey.

To get full details on Maggie's experience or to order the book, click here http://maggiesadventure.blogspot.com/

Sympathetic symptoms....

I started to cough today. But, I don't think I am really sick. I believe I have sympathetic symptoms.

Let me explain. The latest audio book I am listening to during my commute is The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan. There are 10 discs and I am up to disc 8.

Before listening to this book, I thought I had an idea what the Dust Bowl was. However, I was mistaken. I knew the drought caused problems for farmers, but I had no idea of the scope of the dilemma. Dust pneumonia, death, and anxiety were a way of life in the 1930's in the southern plains. Loss of breath and blindness occurred. There was constant cough through the entire region. Dust infiltrated fields, houses, livestock and people.

A friend recommended this book because some settlers of the Dust Bowl shared my German Russian ancestry. I know my ancestors suffered in Russia. Unfortunately, those who moved to the Oklahoma and Texas experienced the horror of drought and dust.

This book is an outstanding collection of in-depth research which invokes gratitude for every breath you take whether your ancestry revolves around the Dust Bowl or not. My little cough is merely my sympathetic reaction to wanting to clear my lungs as I hear more and more of the dramatic struggle for survival. I will be just fine when I finish disc 10.