People > Founders
The Founders of the Colony of Norka
Norka was one of the 104 original colonies (mother colonies) established on the Volga. The colony was organized directly by the Russian government and was known as a "Crown colony." This reference was meant to distinguish government organized colonies from those settled by private recruiters.
After more than a year of difficult travel from their homelands, the first colonists arrived at the banks of the Norka River on Wednesday, August 15, 1767. This group contained the majority of the first settlers.
After more than a year of difficult travel from their homelands, the first colonists arrived at the banks of the Norka River on Wednesday, August 15, 1767. This group contained the majority of the first settlers.
In the remaining days of August and the month of September, more immigrant families continued to arrive in Norka. Four more transport groups arrived on August 18th, August 26th, September 2nd and September 22nd. The 1767 census revision shows that there were 218 households comprised of 738 people living in the colony at the end of December 1767 (738 males and 357 females).
The colonists were primarily of the Reformed faith, although a small group of Lutherans and two Catholic households were also listed in the 1767 census. The majority of the colonists had origins in the County of Isenburg or the Duchy of Hessen. Norka is a rare example of a colony where the majority of the colonists came from the same region within the German speaking lands of Western Europe. Historians believe that this cohesiveness allowed colonies like Norka to more quickly establish sustainable economic activity.
Among the first settlers there were 65 guild craftsmen, 4 soldiers, 3 shoemakers, 2 weavers, 1 tailor, and a rare professional teacher.
Norka was one of the last colonies established. It's founding in August 1767 occurred several years after the first colonies were settled in 1764.
The map below shows the documented places of origin for the heads of household that settled in Norka and were recorded in the 1767 census. The area shaded in light gray represents the approximate boundaries of the former county of Isenburg where many Norka families originated.
Please contact us if you have information on the origin of other families which have not yet been documented on this page.
The colonists were primarily of the Reformed faith, although a small group of Lutherans and two Catholic households were also listed in the 1767 census. The majority of the colonists had origins in the County of Isenburg or the Duchy of Hessen. Norka is a rare example of a colony where the majority of the colonists came from the same region within the German speaking lands of Western Europe. Historians believe that this cohesiveness allowed colonies like Norka to more quickly establish sustainable economic activity.
Among the first settlers there were 65 guild craftsmen, 4 soldiers, 3 shoemakers, 2 weavers, 1 tailor, and a rare professional teacher.
Norka was one of the last colonies established. It's founding in August 1767 occurred several years after the first colonies were settled in 1764.
The map below shows the documented places of origin for the heads of household that settled in Norka and were recorded in the 1767 census. The area shaded in light gray represents the approximate boundaries of the former county of Isenburg where many Norka families originated.
Please contact us if you have information on the origin of other families which have not yet been documented on this page.
Below is a complete list of the 218 households living in Norka at the time of 1767 census. This census was taken shortly after the founding of the colony and is sometimes referred to as the "First Settlers List." Please note that only the heads of household, and their spouse, are shown on the list below. Follow the links to more information about these households and their confirmed places of origin.
House- hold No. |
Heads of households listed in the 1767 census of Norka |
Prior Place of Residence Provided by Colonists During the 1767 Census of Norka |
Confirmed Place of Residence Prior to 1766 Migration to Russia |
1 |
Konrad and Elisabeth Müller |
Hessen |
? |
1a |
? |
||
2 |
Nicolaus and Katharina Elisabeth Schilling |
Hessen |
? |
3 |
Johann Heinrich and Maria Sibylla Lorei (Lohrei, Lohrey) |
Isenburg |
? |
3a |
Konrad Hahn |
? |
? |
4 |
Jacob Anna Gertrude Pluket (Plouquet) |
Isenburg |
|
5 |
Hessen |
Oberzell/? |
|
5a |
Just Köhler (Kahler, Keller) |
? |
? |
6 |
Isenburg |
||
6a |
? |
||
6b |
Isenburg |
? |
|
7 |
Isenburg |
||
8 |
Johannes and Anna Katharina Hamburger |
Isenburg |
? |
9 |
Johann Jacob Wilhelm |
Isenburg |
? |
10 |
Isenburg |
||
10a |
? |
||
10b |
David Stein |
Isenburg |
? |
11 |
Isenburg |
||
12 |
Isenburg |
||
12a |
Margaretha Bäcker (Becker) |
Isenburg |
? |
13 |
Wolf Ditrich and Katharina Bien (Bihn) |
Isenburg |
|
14 |
Johannes and Magdalena Hammer |
Hessen |
? |
15 |
Isenburg |
||
16 |
Isenburg |
||
17 |
Johann Heinrich and Elisabeth Bachmann |
Hessen |
? |
18 |
Andreas and Margaretha Nolde (Nolte) |
Hessen |
? |
19 |
Isenburg |
||
20 |
Isenburg |
||
21 |
Ernst and Anna Maria Müller |
Isenburg |
? |
22 |
Johannes and Henriette Julianna Schäfer |
Isenburg |
? |
23 |
Johannes Henkel and Maria Elisabeth Lapp (née Hard) |
Isenburg |
|
24 |
Konrad and Eva Elisabeth Preisendorf |
Isenburg |
|
24a |
? |
||
25 |
Peter and Anna Margaretha Georg |
Isenburg |
? |
26 |
Isenburg |
||
26a |
? |
||
27 |
Martin and Anna Ross |
Isenburg |
?/Büdingen |
27a |
Isenburg |
||
28 |
Friedrich and Katharina Holler |
Bayreuth |
? |
29 |
Georg and Anna Barbara Just |
Isenburg |
? |
30 |
Martin Albrecht and Margaretha ? |
Isenburg |
|
31 |
Isenburg |
||
32 |
Isenburg |
||
33 |
Susanna Elisabeth Griess |
Isenburg |
? |
34 |
Isenburg |
||
35 |
Isenburg |
||
36 |
Isenburg |
Lorbach |
|
37 |
Isenburg |
||
38 |
Isenburg |
||
18a |
Hessen-Darmstadt |
? |
House- hold No. |
Names shown in the 1767 census of Norka |
Listed Origin |
Confirmed Origin |
39 |
Isenburg |
||
40 |
Nicolaus and Magdalena Henkel |
Isenburg |
? |
41 |
Jacob and Katharina Bauer |
Isenburg |
? |
42 |
Isenburg |
||
43 |
Caesaria (Holy Roman Empire) |
? |
|
44 |
Melchior and Eva Margaretha Helwig |
Isenburg |
? |
45 |
Ludwig and Katharina Elisabeth Fink |
Darmstadt |
? |
46 |
Peter and Katharina Elisabeth Ebel |
Isenburg |
? |
47 |
Isenburg |
||
48 |
Isenburg |
||
49 |
Isenburg |
||
50 |
Isenburg |
||
50a |
Isenburg |
? |
|
51 |
Isenburg |
||
52 |
Heinrich and Anna Margaretha Messer |
Isenburg |
? |
53 |
Isenburg |
||
53a |
? |
||
54 |
Isenburg |
||
55 |
Isenburg |
||
56 |
Isenburg |
||
57 |
Isenburg |
||
58 |
Isenburg |
||
59 |
Isenburg |
||
60 |
Ulrich and Magdalena Schmidt |
Hanau |
? |
61 |
Isenburg |
||
61a |
Johann Heinrich Hoesch |
? |
? |
62 |
Joseph and Marianna Kornborn |
Isenburg |
|
62a |
Isenburg |
||
63 |
Andreas and Anna Dorothea Heinrich |
Isenburg |
? |
64 |
Peter and Elisabeth Roth |
Kurpfalz |
? |
65 |
Isenburg |
||
66 |
Ernst and Catharina Traut (Draut, Traudt) |
Isenburg |
|
67 |
Konrad and Anna Maria Fischer |
Isenburg |
|
67a |
? |
||
67b |
Konrad Reich |
? |
? |
68 |
Johannes and Eva Maria Sauer |
Isenburg |
? |
69 |
Georg Wilhelm Glass |
Frankfurt am Main |
? |
70 |
Heinrich and Katharina Fischer |
Isenburg |
? |
71 |
Johannes and Elisabeth Margaretha Scharf |
Isenburg |
? |
71a |
Johannes Kraft |
Darmstadt |
? |
72 |
Isenburg |
||
73 |
Isenburg |
||
74 |
Wilhelm Hirstein |
Hessen |
? |
75 |
Isenburg |
||
76 |
Isenburg |
||
77 |
Isenburg |
||
78 |
Daniel and Anna Maria Weigandt |
Isenburg |
? |
78a |
Julianna Kaiser |
Isenburg |
? |
79 |
Isenburg |
House- hold No. |
Names shown in the 1767 census of Norka |
Listed Origin |
Confirmed Origin |
80 |
Margaretha Schäfer |
Isenburg |
? |
81 |
Isenburg |
||
82 |
Susanna Jacoby |
Isenburg |
? |
83 |
Konrad and Anna Maria Fischer |
Isenburg |
? |
84 |
Johannes and Anna Margaretha Scheidemann |
Isenburg |
? |
85 |
Georg Ernst and Anna Barbara Henkel (Hinkel) |
Isenburg |
|
85a |
Anna Katharina Gutfeld |
? |
? |
86 |
Isenburg |
||
86a |
? |
? |
|
87 |
Isenburg |
||
88 |
Hessen |
Oberzell/? |
|
89 |
Konrad and Anna Cunigunde Spiecker |
Isenburg |
? |
90 |
Isenburg |
||
90a |
Magdalena Eberhardt |
? |
? |
91 |
Abraham and Albertina Elisabeth Koch |
Bieber |
? |
92 |
Isenburg |
||
93 |
Isenburg |
||
94 |
Isenburg |
||
95 |
Thomas and Maria Katharina Hoffmann |
Isenburg |
? |
96 |
Isenburg |
||
97 |
Lorenz and Anna Elisabeth Hergenräder (Hergenroder) |
Isenburg |
? |
97a |
Wilhelm Jäger (Yeager) |
? |
? |
98 |
Adam and Anzitonia Preis |
Isenburg |
? |
99 |
Adam and Maria Magdalena Schleucher (Schleuger) |
Isenburg |
? |
100 |
Konrad and Margaretha Elisabeth Frank |
Isenburg |
? |
101 |
Isenburg |
||
102 |
Johannes and Anna Margaretha Müller |
Stolberg |
? |
103 |
Adam and Katharina Reichert |
Isenburg |
Hesseldorf? |
104 |
Philipp and Rosina Bruhn (Brun) |
Kurpfalz |
Kellenbach/Ruschberg |
105 |
Adam and Maria Barbara Söder (Seder) |
Kurpfalz |
? |
106 |
Daniel and Maria Elisabeth Jacoby |
Kurpfalz |
? |
107 |
Just and Magdalena Kaiser |
Isenburg |
? |
108 |
Isenburg |
||
109 |
Johannes and Anna Margaretha Giebelhaus |
Magdeburg-Ilsenburg |
? |
110 |
Friedrich and Amalia Knippel |
Darmstadt |
? |
111 |
Valentin and Sibilla Prester |
Isenburg |
? |
112 |
Just Eisenhut |
Isenburg |
? |
113 |
Peter and Anna Margaretha Keller |
Isenburg |
? |
114 |
Isenburg |
||
115 |
Michael and Katharina Stürtz |
Isenburg |
? |
116 |
Isenburg |
||
117 |
Kaspar and Elisabeth Margareth Schleuning |
Stolberg |
? |
118 |
Johannes and Magdalena Milling |
Isenburg |
? |
118a |
Susanna Dietz |
? |
? |
118b |
Johannes Bartel |
Isenburg-Büdingen |
? |
119 |
Isenburg |
||
120 |
Isenburg |
||
121 |
Heinrich and Katharina Breitesten |
Isenburg |
? |
121a |
Heinrich Gedde (Gette) |
? |
? |
122 |
Isenburg |
||
122a |
Elisabeth Wolf |
Mainz |
? |
House-hold No. |
Names shown in the 1767 census of Norka |
Listed Origin |
Confirmed Origin |
123 |
Isenburg |
||
124 |
Isenburg |
||
125 |
Schwarzenfels |
||
126 |
Heinrich and Margaretha Führer |
Hessen |
? |
127 |
Hessen |
||
128 |
Hessen |
||
129 |
Adam and Klara Elisabeth Koch |
Isenburg |
? |
130 |
Nicolaus and Anna Margaretha Vögler (Fegler, Faigler) |
Isenburg |
Radmühl |
130a |
Anna Margaretha Schneider |
Isenburg |
? |
131 |
Johannes Huck and Anna Maria Kratzenberger |
Hessen |
|
132 |
Peter and Maria Elisabeth Bott |
Hessen |
? |
133 |
Heinrich and Anna Katharina Brehm |
Hessen |
? |
134 |
Konrad and Susanna Margaretha Goury? |
Zweibrucken |
? |
135 |
Hessen |
||
136 |
Johann Heinrich and Maria Sibilla Moritz |
Hessen |
|
137 |
Hessen |
Oberzell/? |
|
138 |
Heinrich and Elisabeth Mosbach |
Hessen |
? |
139 |
George and Anna Katharina Giel |
Hessen |
? |
140 |
Jacob and Anna Katharina Hohmann |
Hessen |
? |
140a |
Johannes Blum |
Hessen |
? |
141 |
Hessen |
Weichersbach/Züntersbach |
|
142 |
Heinrich and Elisabeth Brenzel |
Hessen |
? |
143 |
Hessen |
||
144 |
Anna Regina Hassenblug (Hassenpflug) |
Hessen |
|
145 |
Georg and Katharina Elisabeth Zilg |
Hessen |
? |
146 |
Heinrich and Kunigunde Kern |
Hessen |
? |
147 |
Hessen |
||
148 |
Hessen |
||
149 |
Hessen |
||
150 |
Johann Heinrich and Maria Elisabeth Döring |
Isenburg |
? |
150a |
Johannes Hassenblug (Hassenpflug) |
Isenburg |
? |
151 |
Johannes and Anna Maria Ziegler |
Hessen |
? |
152 |
Nicolaus and Maria Elisabeth Prester |
Hessen |
? |
153 |
Nicolaus Guttperl |
Hessen |
? |
154 |
Hessen |
||
155 |
Johannes and Katharina Elisabeth Heuser |
Hessen |
? |
156 |
Friedrich and Maria Elisabeth Koch |
Hessen |
? |
157 |
Johannes and Anna Maria Arndt |
Hessen |
? |
158 |
Georg Wettläufer |
Hessen |
? |
158a |
Johann Heinrich Kaiser |
? |
? |
159 |
Hessen |
||
160 |
Hessen |
||
161 |
Saxony |
?/Wolf |
|
162 |
Jacob and Anna Maria Rusilije |
France |
? |
163 |
Konrad and Katharina Krüger (Krieger) |
Fulda |
|
164 |
Isenburg |
||
164a |
? |
||
165 |
Jacob Gideon |
Hessen |
? |
166 |
France |
? |
|
166a |
Isenburg |
? |
|
166b |
? |
? |
The record registering Johann Wilhelm and Anna Eva Schreiber in the colony of Norka (Household 135) as part of the 1767 Russian Census Revision. This census is commonly referred to as the "First Settler's List." Courtesy of Steve Schreiber.
House- hold No. |
Names shown in the 1767 census of Norka |
Listed Origin |
Confirmed Origin |
167 |
Isenburg |
||
168 |
Heinrich and Anna Margaretha Schindler |
Runkel |
? |
169 |
Joseph and Eva Elisabeth Legue (also Lechai - probably Lütke or Letke) |
Lille, France? |
|
170 |
Isenburg |
||
171 |
Isenburg |
||
171a |
? |
||
172 |
Isenburg |
||
173 |
Karl and Magdalena Lehr |
Isenburg |
? |
174 |
Zweibrücken |
||
175 |
Zweibrücken |
||
176 |
Ernst and Anna Margaretha Kleer |
Isenburg |
? |
176a |
Johannes Reuter |
? |
? |
177 |
Zweibrücken |
||
178 |
Isenburg |
||
179 |
Georg and Eva Elisabeth Hergert |
Isenburg |
? |
180 |
Johann Philipp and Johanette Bäcker (Becker) |
Kurpfalz |
? |
180a |
Georg Bauer |
? |
? |
181 |
Konrad and Anna Maria Heffeneder |
Schlitz |
? |
182 |
Jacob Nagel |
Isenburg |
|
183 |
Isenburg |
||
184 |
Isenburg |
||
185 |
Hessen |
||
186 |
Friederich Lehl |
Isenburg |
? |
187 |
Melchior and Anna Maria Schneider |
Isenburg |
|
188 |
Isenburg |
||
189 |
Isenburg |
||
190 |
Christoph and Gertrude Lipphardt |
Isenburg |
? |
191 |
Peter and Anna Maria Kaiser |
Isenburg |
|
191a |
Isenburg |
||
192 |
Just and Anna Margaretha Döring |
Stolberg |
? |
193 |
Johannes and Sabina Schnell |
Isenburg |
? |
193a |
Johannes Schröder |
Isenburg |
? |
194 |
Georg and Anna Margaretha Bauer |
Isenburg |
? |
194a |
Elisabeth Messer |
Isenburg |
? |
195 |
Isenburg |
||
196 |
Heinrich and Anna Maria Albrecht |
Isenburg |
? |
196a |
Johannes Bollender |
Erbach |
? |
197 |
Adam and Katharina Bach |
Isenburg |
? |
198 |
Isenburg |
||
199 |
Georg and Elisabeth Deis |
Isenburg |
? |
199a |
Johann Just Messer |
? |
? |
200 |
Isenburg |
||
201 |
Isenburg |
||
201a |
? |
? |
|
202 |
Isenburg |
||
202a |
Anna Dorothea Messer |
? |
? |
203 |
Martin and Anna Julianna Bäcker (Becker) |
Braunfels |
? |
204 |
Konrad and Anna Margaretha Dick |
Hanau |
? |
204a |
Christina Völker |
? |
? |
204b |
Elisabeth Meier |
? |
? |
205 |
Johann Heinrich and Elisabeth Kinzel |
Isenburg |
? |
206 |
Isenburg |
||
207 |
Eberhard and Anna Katharina Ansbach |
Isenburg |
?/Rohrbach |
207a |
Isenburg |
||
208 |
Ludwig Mertz |
Isenburg |
? |
208a |
Elisabeth Keier |
? |
? |
209 |
Christian Echenhuth (Eisenhut) |
Isenburg |
? |
210 |
Isenburg |
||
210a |
? |
||
211 |
Martin Meier |
Hanau |
? |
212 |
Johannes and Anna Dorothea Schwindt |
Isenburg |
? |
213 |
Just and Anna Katharina Völler |
Isenburg |
? |
214 |
Heinrich and Anna Katharina Müller |
Isenburg |
? |
215 |
Konrad and Louisa Schröder |
Isenburg |
? |
216 |
Isenburg |
||
217 |
Johannes and Gertrude Elisabeth Thilemann (Dillman or Tillman) |
Hessen |
? |
218 |
Heinrich and Anna Elisabeth Müller |
Hessen |
? |
Other Early Settlers in Norka
Some of the earliest settlers in Norka were not recorded in the 1767 census. It is likely that the people listed below arrived sometime after the 1767 census and before the 1775 census.
Notes: The "Prior Place of Residence" is derived from the 1766 Ship Arrival Lists and the 1767 Census of Norka. The "Confirmed Place of Residence" is based on documentation found in church or civil records. Alternative spellings are shown in italics.
Sources
German parish registers available online at Archion.de and FamilySearch.org.
Bauer, Reuben Alexander. One of Many. Edmonton, Alta.: 1965. Print.
Dietz, Jacob E. History of the Volga German Colonists. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Printed by Augstums Printing Service, 2005. Print.
Hein, Maggie. Research reports prepared from documentation in the German parish records.
Litzenberger, Olga. Deutsche Evangelische Siedlungen an Der Wolga. Trans. Johannes Herzog and Paul Höringklee. Nürnberg: HFDR, 2013. Print.
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. Print.
Mai, Brent Alan. Transport of the Volga Germans from Oranienbaum to Colonies on the Volga 1766-1767. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1998. Print.
Pleve, I. R., and Richard R. Rye. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001. Print.
Pleve, I. R. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg. Saratov, Russia: Saratov State Technical U, 2010. Print.
Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 3, Kolonien Laub- Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Print.
Sinner, Peter. "Orts und Flurnamen," from Deutsches Leben in Russland, January 1923. Print.
Soshnikov, Vladislav. Norka Settlement List, May 1999. Extracted from the Saratov Regional Archive (Group 28, inventory 1, item 19, sheet 242-285) and translated for J.W. and M.F. Wark)
Bauer, Reuben Alexander. One of Many. Edmonton, Alta.: 1965. Print.
Dietz, Jacob E. History of the Volga German Colonists. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Printed by Augstums Printing Service, 2005. Print.
Hein, Maggie. Research reports prepared from documentation in the German parish records.
Litzenberger, Olga. Deutsche Evangelische Siedlungen an Der Wolga. Trans. Johannes Herzog and Paul Höringklee. Nürnberg: HFDR, 2013. Print.
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. Print.
Mai, Brent Alan. Transport of the Volga Germans from Oranienbaum to Colonies on the Volga 1766-1767. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1998. Print.
Pleve, I. R., and Richard R. Rye. The German Colonies on the Volga: The Second Half of the Eighteenth Century. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001. Print.
Pleve, I. R. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg. Saratov, Russia: Saratov State Technical U, 2010. Print.
Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 3, Kolonien Laub- Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Print.
Sinner, Peter. "Orts und Flurnamen," from Deutsches Leben in Russland, January 1923. Print.
Soshnikov, Vladislav. Norka Settlement List, May 1999. Extracted from the Saratov Regional Archive (Group 28, inventory 1, item 19, sheet 242-285) and translated for J.W. and M.F. Wark)
Last updated February 2, 2023