NORKA
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People > Notable Norkans > Johann Conrad Weigandt

Johann Conrad Weigandt

Johann Conrad Weigandt was one of the three Vorsteher (leaders) for the colonists who settled in Norka in August 1767. While traveling from Germany to the lower Volga, each transport group was headed by one or more Vorsteher.

Weigandt (also Weigand) was part of a large group that sailed from Lübeck and arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia (now Lomonosov, near St. Petersburg) on August 9, 1766, aboard the Russia pink Slon (the Russian word for Elephant). The ship was commanded by Lieutenant Sergey Panov. Over forty families, primarily from the County of Isenburg, traveled together on this ship. Three Vorsteher are noted in this ship list prepared by Ivan Kulberg's clerks: Johann Conrad Weigandt, Johann Heinrich Brill, and Philipp Peter Roth. Kulberg represented the Russian government and was responsible for making lists of the colonists for the Chancery of Oversight of Foreigners. 

In 1766, Weigandt was a 31-year-old stocking maker of the Reformed faith from Isenburg. He arrived in Oranienbaum with his wife, Christina (age 22), and his three sisters, Catharina (age 40), Anna Maria (age 37), and Anna Margaretha (age 19).

The 1767 census notes that the Weigandt group, except Catharina, arrived in the Norka colony on August 15, 1767. It is possible that Catharina either died en route to the Volga or married during the journey and is shown in another household. Also living in the Weigandt household are an orphan, Thomas Bauer (age 10), and Carl Maul, a single male (age 20).

Weigandt served his fellow colonists admirably during the journey to Norka and its early development years. In his honor, the people originally named their new settlement "the colony of Vorsteher Weigandt" or simply "Weigandt." On February 26, 1768, the Russian government issued a command that all of the German colonies be given a Russian name, and from that point forward, "Norka" became the more commonly used moniker.

Weigandt is listed in the 1798 census as a 63-year-old widower living with his daughter, Catharina, son-in-law Ernst Bachmann, and four granddaughters.

Johann Conrad Weigandt lived a life full of adventure and hardship. His leadership skills helped make Norka one of the most successful of the Volga German colonies. He died in Norka in 1809 at the age of 74.

Sources

Koch, Fred C. The Volga Germans: In Russia and the Americas, from 1763 to the Present. University Park: Pennsylvania State UP, 1977. Print.

Mai, Brent Alan. 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga: Economy, Population, and Agriculture. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1999. Print.

Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg. Saratov, Russia: Saratov State Technical University, 2010. Print.

Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Kolonien Laub - Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Print.

Rye, Richard, trans. The 1811 Census Revision of the German Colony on the Volga, Norka. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1996. Print.
Last updated December 10, 2023
Copyright © 2002-2025 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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  • People
    • Founders
    • Personal Histories
    • Notable Norkans
    • Stories
    • Photo Identification
    • Photo Gallery
  • 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