People > Notable Norkans > Johann Conrad Weigandt
Johann Conrad Weigandt
Johann Conrad Weigandt was one of the three Vorsteher (leaders) for the group of colonists that 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 pink named Slon (the Russian word for Elephant). The ship which 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, with the exception of Catharina, arrived in Norka colony on August 15, 1767. It is possible that Catharina either died in route to the Volga or she married during the journey and is shown in another household. Also living in the Weigandt household is an orphan, Thomas Bauer (age 10) and Karl Maul, a single male (age 20).
Weigandt served his fellow colonists admirably during the journey to Norka and in its early years of development. 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.
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 pink named Slon (the Russian word for Elephant). The ship which 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, with the exception of Catharina, arrived in Norka colony on August 15, 1767. It is possible that Catharina either died in route to the Volga or she married during the journey and is shown in another household. Also living in the Weigandt household is an orphan, Thomas Bauer (age 10) and Karl Maul, a single male (age 20).
Weigandt served his fellow colonists admirably during the journey to Norka and in its early years of development. 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.
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 March 15, 2016.
