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People > Founders > ​​​​​​​​​Anna Apollonia Schäfer

Anna Apollonia Schäfer

Anna Apollonia Schäfer was born in Pferdsbach and baptized in the parish church in Wolf on January 14, 1722. Her parents are Johann Adam Schäfer and Maria Margaretha Lapp from Pferdsbach Maria Margaretha is the daughter of Caspar Lapp. Johann Adam and Maria Margaretha were married on October 12, 1712 in Wolf. Anna Apollonia’s godmother is Anna Apollonia Stoll. 

Anna Apollonia had an illegitimate son, Johann Christian, born about 1750. His baptism record was not found in the Wolf parish.
 
Anna Apollonia had an illegitimate daughter, Anna Catharina. She was born in Pferdsbach and baptized in Wolf on February 15, 1754. She claimed to be born in Büdingen in 1752 according to the Norka 1834-45 Family Register.

Both of Anna Apollonia's children took their mother’s family name of Schäfer. The father’s surname is not documented in the parish records.

Pferdsbach was located near Büdingen, a recruiting center and gathering point for colonists migrating to Russia. The village was abandoned in 1847 and no longer exists. 

In 1766, Anna Apollonia decided to accept the offer described in Catherine's Manifesto and migrate to Russia. Several other interrelated families from Pferdsbach, Wolf and Büdingen also became Russian colonists.

The Schäfer's sailed with other colonists from the north German port of Lübeck aboard the Russian ship “Vologda” and arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia on July 28, 1766. They were recorded as farmers of the Reformed faith from Isenburg. Apollonia is recorded as a widow.

Over a year later, Anna Apollonia, Johann Christian, and Anna Catharina were among the founders who arrived in Norka on August 15, 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 Census as Household No. 37. The Schäfer's were living adjacent to other households from Pferdsbach and Wolf. 

Anna Catharina married Johann Heinrich Walter about 1773.

Anna Apollonia and Johann Christian are listed as Household 188 in the 1775 Census of Norka. 

Johann Christian married Elisabeth Haas about 1780.

It is not known if Anna Apollonia married again. She probably died before the 1798 Census.

Sources

Hein, Maggie and Schreiber, Steven. 

1834-45 Norka Family Lists, Household 103.
​
Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg. Saratov, Russia: Saratov State Technical U, 2010. Page 309. Print.

Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767 Kolonien Laub- Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Vol. 3, Page 238, Household 37. Print.
Last updated August 16, 2022
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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    • Notable Norkans
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  • Community
    • Village Life
    • Entertainment
    • Agriculture
    • Climate
    • Homesites
    • Geographical Description
    • Government
    • Social Structure
    • Health
    • Education
    • A Land of Ethnic Diversity
    • Cottage Industries >
      • Sarpinka
      • Mills
    • Language
    • Population
    • Military Service
    • Crime and Punishment
  • History
    • Timeline
    • Origins of the Colonists
    • Catherine's Manifesto 1763
    • Why go to Russia?
    • Recruitment 1766
    • Planning 1764-1766
    • Marriages Prior To Emigration 1766
    • Voyage to Russia 1766 >
      • Ship Transport 1766
    • Journey 1766-1767
    • Founding of Norka 1767
    • Early Years 1767-1769
    • Norka 1769
    • Pallas Report 1773
    • Pugachev Raid 1774
    • Norka 1775
    • Norka 1798
    • Norka 1811
    • Napoleons Soldiers
    • Norka 1834
    • Daughter Colonies 1850s >
      • Neu-Norka
      • Oberdorf
      • Brunnental
      • Rosenfeld (am Jeruslan)
      • Neu Hussenbach (Gaschon)
    • Privileges Lost 1871-1874
    • Immigration 1875-1924 >
      • To the United States >
        • Colorado
        • Ft Collins Colorado
        • Globeville Colorado
        • Mason City, Iowa
        • Culbertson, Nebraska
        • Lincoln, Nebraska
        • Sutton, Nebraska
        • Burlington, Oklahoma
        • Weatherford, Oklahoma
        • Canby, Oregon
        • Portland, Oregon
      • To Canada >
        • Duffield, Alberta
        • Ponoka, Alberta
        • Spruce Grove, Alberta
        • Stony Plain, Alberta
        • Vegreville, Alberta
        • Arcola, Saskatchewan
      • To Germany
      • To South America
    • Famine 1891-1892
    • Norka 1898
    • War & Turnoil 1904-1906
    • World War 1914-1918
    • Revolution & War 1917-1922
    • Soviet Rule 1918-1941
    • Famine 1921-1924
    • Famine 1932-1933
    • The Great Terror 1936-1938
    • Deportation 1941
    • Repression 1941-1956
    • Cultural Loss 1957-2006
    • A Culture in Peril
    • Recent Times
  • Traditions
    • Food and Drink
    • Clothing
    • Holidays >
      • New Year
      • Fastnacht
      • Lent
      • Easter
      • Ascension Day
      • Pentecost
      • Founder's Day
      • Harvest Festival
      • Jahrmarkt
      • Christmas
      • Anniversaries & Birthdays
    • Crafts
    • Games
    • Folk Medicine
    • Superstitions
    • Nicknames
    • Folk Music
    • Church Music
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johann Baptist Cattaneo
      • Lukas Cattaneo
      • Emanuel Grunauer
      • Friedrich Börner
      • Christian Gottlieb Hegele
      • Christoph H Bonwetsch
      • Gottlieb N Bonwetsch
      • Wilhelm Staerkel
      • Woldemar Sibbul
      • David Weigum
      • Friedrich Alexander Wacker
      • Emil Pfeiffer
    • Church Practices >
      • Baptism
      • Confirmation
      • Weddings
      • Communion
      • Prayers
      • Parochial Certificates
    • Church Buildings
    • Church Organs
    • Bell Tower
    • Brethren Movement
  • Resources
    • Family Research
    • Research Resources >
      • Arrival Records 1766
      • Descendant Charts
      • German EWZ Records
      • Soviet Gulag Records
    • Maps
    • Glossary
    • Bibliography
    • Periodicals >
      • Die Welt-Post Letters
      • Sonntagsblatt der Omaha Tribune
    • Related Links