Ernst and Anna Margaretha Gerlach
Johann Ernst Gerlach and his wife Anna Margaretha Heeg were married on February 10, 1752, in Meerholz. His birth and baptism records have not been found at the time of writing this article. She is the daughter of Georg Heinrich Heeg and Christina Seltzer. The baptisms of five children are recorded in the Meerholz records: Johann George, born March 21, 1753, Georg Philipp, born May 5, 1755, an unnamed daughter born February 4, 1758, Anna Catharina, born April 20, 1759, Anna Elisabeth, born April 10, 1762 (died October 16, 1764), and Ernst Heinrich, born June 4, 1765 (he died before the family arrived in Russia).
In 1766, the Gerlachs decided to accept the offer described in Catherine's Manifesto and migrate to Russia. They first made their way to Büdingen, a recruitment center and gathering place for Russian colonists. The family sailed with other colonists from the north German port of Lübeck and arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia, on July 19, 1766. They were passengers aboard the Russian pink Novaya Dvinka under the command of Lieutenant Perepechin.
Over a year later, the family was among the founders who arrived in Norka on August 15, 1767, and are recorded there on the 1767 Census as Household No. 124.
In 1766, the Gerlachs decided to accept the offer described in Catherine's Manifesto and migrate to Russia. They first made their way to Büdingen, a recruitment center and gathering place for Russian colonists. The family sailed with other colonists from the north German port of Lübeck and arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia, on July 19, 1766. They were passengers aboard the Russian pink Novaya Dvinka under the command of Lieutenant Perepechin.
Over a year later, the family was among the founders who arrived in Norka on August 15, 1767, and are recorded there on the 1767 Census as Household No. 124.
Sources
Hein, Maggie. Research in German parish records. (The Meerholz church records include a Familienbuch, or family book, a family register that was a genealogical summary issued in Germany by the local civil registry upon marriage, and contained data on birth, marriage, and death of the couple as well as the birth data of any children stemming from the marriage.)
Idt, Andreas and Rauschenbach, Georg, Deutsche Kolonisten Im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum Und in Den Siedlungsorten: Die Kuhlberg-Listen, 2. Auflage (Moskow: 2024): 495.
Mai, Brent Alan, and Dona B. Reeves-Marquardt. German Migration to the Russian Volga (1764-1767): Origins and Destinations. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2003. p. 74. Print.
Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767 Kolonien Laub- Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Print.
Parish records of Meerholz accessed on Archion.de
Meerholz (Meyers Gazetteer Online)
Idt, Andreas and Rauschenbach, Georg, Deutsche Kolonisten Im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum Und in Den Siedlungsorten: Die Kuhlberg-Listen, 2. Auflage (Moskow: 2024): 495.
Mai, Brent Alan, and Dona B. Reeves-Marquardt. German Migration to the Russian Volga (1764-1767): Origins and Destinations. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2003. p. 74. Print.
Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767 Kolonien Laub- Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Print.
Parish records of Meerholz accessed on Archion.de
Meerholz (Meyers Gazetteer Online)
Last updated May 29, 2025