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People > Founders > ​​​​​​​​​Johann Jacob and Anna Eva Schmer

​Johann Jacob and Anna Eva Schmer

Johann Jacob Schmer was born on April 9, 1728 in Heddersdorf, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Hessen, Germany and baptized on April 11, 1728 at the parish church in nearby Frielingen. He is the son of Johannes Georg Schmer and Otillia Seebold who married in Frielingen in February 1727.

Anna Eva Glebe was born in nearby in Biedebach, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Hessen, Germany and baptized in the parish church in Obergeis on March 28, 1724. She is the daughter of David Glebe and Margaretha Will. Anna Eva was confirmed in at the parish church in 1737.

Johann Jacob and Anna Eva were married on Saturday, October 1, 1748 in Frielingen after their marriage proclamation had been read aloud the three previous Saturdays. Three children were born in Heddersdorf and baptized at the parish church in Frielingen:
​
  • Johann Georg - born October 25, 1749 and baptized on the 26th
  • Anna Gertrude - born September 25, 1752 and baptized on the 30th
  • Anna Catharina - born December 16, 1757 and baptized on the 20th
Picture
The Frielingen church, which dates to around 1600, is known for its pink exterior. Source: Evangelical Parish Kirchheim & Frielingen/Willingshain website.
In the spring of 1766, Johann Jacob and Anna Eva Schmer decided to accept the offer to settle in Russia that was described in Catherine's Manifesto.

The couple sailed with other colonists from the Baltic seaport of Lübeck aboard the barque “Fortitudo" commanded by John Scott and arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia on July 19, 1766. 

Over a year later, Jacob, Anna Eva, and their three children were among the founders who arrived in Norka on August 15, 1767 and are recorded there on the 1767 Census of Norka as Household No. 143.

Johann George married Anna Maria Hertner about 1773 and they had eight known children.

According to the 1775 census of Norka, Jacob was serving as a Beisitzer for the colony of Norka.

Anna Eva died before 1798. Jacob died in Norka in 1800.

Later census lists show that descendants of the Schmer family from Norka moved to the colonies of Neu-Beideck, Oberdorf and Unterdorf. 

Sources

Researched by Alexander Schmer and ​Steven Schreiber. 

Parish records of Frielingen, Heddersdorf and Obergeis available online at Archion.de.

Idt, Andreas and Rauschenbach, Georg. Auswanderung deutsche Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766 (Second edition). Moscow: 2019. Page 32.

Mai, Brent Alan. 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga: Economy, Population, and Agriculture (Volume 1). Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1999. Page 788, Household 191.
​
Pleve, I. R. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg. Saratov, Russia: Saratov State Technical U, 2010. Print. Page 237.

Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in Das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 3: Kolonien Laub- Preuss. Gottingen: Nordost-Institut, 2005. Print. Page 267.

Stumpp, Karl. The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862. 1997. Page 155.

The 1775 and 1798 Censuses of the German Colony on the Volga, Norka: Also Known as Weigand. American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1995. Household 4.

1858 Oberdorf, Saratov (Volga) Russia Census. American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, NE: 2016. Household 73. Page 12.
Last updated October 24, 2022
Copyright © 2002-2023 Steven H. Schreiber
  • Home
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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
    • Prayers
    • Baptism
    • Confirmation
    • Communion
    • Weddings
    • Funerals and Burials
  • Religion
    • Planning and History >
      • Norka Reformed Church 1767-1864
      • 1909 Norka Parish Report
    • Pastors >
      • Johann Heinrich Fuchs
      • Johann Georg Herwig
      • Johannes Baptista 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 >
      • 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
    • Related Links