Seeking information on the Maertz family from Staritsa
The Volga Germans (sometimes called Saratov Germans) lived in settlements founded in the Volga River Valley of Russia, where more than 30,000 German Lutherans took up residence between 1764 and 1772.
The Volga Germans: Immigrants in the Land of Their Birth
My grandfather’s parents came from Laub and Reinwald - they married in Three Oaks, Michigan, on May 2, 1916. Their children were born in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Laub was a “mother colony” (also known as Tarlyk, Weidenfeld, Chkalovsk, and now Chkalovskoye). It was founded as a Lutheran colony in 1767 and was part of the Warenburg Parish by 1770. The Laub settlement started with 68 families from Darmstadt, Mecklenburg, Denmark, and Wurttemberg in Germany. Many of the immigrants from this settlement went to Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Fresno, California; various parts of Michigan; as well as Nebraska and Montana.
Reinwald was also a “mother colony” and was originally called Hornus, and then Staritsa (meaning Oxbow Lakes) by decree of the government, but was also known as Stariza, Starica, and now Staritskoye. It was founded in 1766 as a Lutheran colony. It was part of the Rosenheim Parish until 1820, when it became part of the Reinhard Parish. The first Volga settlers in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, were from Reinwald.
My great-grandfather was Peter Marz (1893-1954). My grandfather claimed his father was adopted, so it may not have been his birth name (he originally spelled it Marz with an umlaut over the a, the WWI draft registrar spelled it Mertz, and their children used Maertz). He claimed his mother’s maiden name was William on their marriage certificate and that both parents lived in Russia (but no William family is in the Volga records - possibly Wilhelm or Wilmann).
His wife was Marie Elizabeth Demler (1897-1983). Marie’s father was Peter Demler and her mother’s maiden name was Herman. She had a brother Peter Demler (1890-1969, wife Katherine) who lived in Michigan. Possibly also a brother George (d. 1963, wife Ann) who lived in Wisconsin.
The census info for the mother colonies that would help me find the overlap between the immigrants and their parents and grandparents was lost in a fire.
I’m looking for any connections to these families - notes in journals, books, or posts, reconstructed census records from Russia, family Bibles of distant relations, etc.
The comments are open or shoot me an email: info@justfactsllc.com
Also, if you think you could be a cousin, my genetic genealogy info is available at WikiTree.
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