Glueckstal Colonies Research Association

Freeman, Margaret. "Glueckstal Colonies Research Association." FEEFHS Quarterly, Spring/Summer 1999, 65-67.

[One of the primary goals of FEEFHS is to promote public awareness of member societies and their publications, services and activities. This piece on the Glueckstal Colonies Research Association (GCRA) .. is the first of what will become a regular feature of the FEEFHS Quarterly: articles highlighting FEEFHS member societies. - Managing Editor]

In 1987, three friends, Gwen Pritzkau, Carolyn Wheeler, and Margaret Freeman, found themselves discussing plans to start a group to research the ancestry of all families in the Glueckstal Colonies of South Russia. These four villages included: Bergdorf, Glueckstal, Kassel and Neudorf, as well as the daughter colonies of Klein Bergdorf, Klein Neudorf, New GlueckstaL, Krontal, and Marienberg (others were added later). This trio had done enough research on their families to be aware of the extensive intermarriage among the residents of the villages, and the movement from one village to another, so researching all simultaneously seemed to be a good approach.

They asked another friend, Arthur Flegel, a well-known Russo-German researcher and certified genealogist, to advise. Various members of both the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, and the Germans from Russia Heritage Society also offered encouragement. As with other organizations, the group learned as it grew, handling startup problems, the costs of a business license needed to obtain a bank account, and the endless details involved in a tax-exempt status. Now the group has grown to a large circle of volunteers who are generous with their time and expertise.

Our "GCRA Newsletter" first appeared in late 1987. GCRA has now published twenty-two issues. Through the efforts of many hardworking members, GCRA has also published several books, including "Glueckstal Colonies Marriages," "Glueckstal Colonies Births and Marriages, 1833-1900," "Glueckstal Colonies Deaths, 1833-1900," and The 1858 "Glueckstal Colony Census." The data for the books on marriages, births and deaths was found in the records of the St. Petersburg Consistory, available on microfilm at the Family History Centers of the LDS Church. All were translated and authenticated by our members: the book on births and marriages alone has over 22,000 authenticated entries. We are currently working with North Dakota State University Libraries, Fargo, who published the books on birth, marriages, and deaths, to translate and publish the books in German. We are indebted to Harold Ehrman, who designed the books, coordinated the collection of data from members, did the necessary programming to prepare the manuscript, and produced the computer files for publication. He also maintains the GCRA web site.

A primary focus of GCRA has been to develop cooperative relationships with the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, part of the Institute for Regional Studies, North Dakota State University Libraries in Fargo, North Dakota.

NDSU not only published the GCRA books, but now has laminated maps available of the colonies. They also provide the site and facilities for the GCRA LISTSERV - an unmoderated, free exchange Internet site for the sharing of data. Information about our group is available at the FEEFHS web site, and GCRA is listed as the village coordinator at both the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia and the Germans from Russia Heritage Society sites.

As 1999 begins, the group has reached a membership of four hundred individuals, throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. With our dues and gifts, we have been purchasing data from Ukrainian and Russian archives, (with the exception of the 1858 census which was purchased jointly by AHSGR and GRHS) which is translated and published, and our goal is to continue doing so as long as there is data to obtain. As part of our outreach program, GCRA will join with FEEFHS and IGS for a September 1999 Workshop Day. We plan to continue making Glueckstal presentations at the annual conventions of the Germans from Russia societies.

Membership in GCRA is based on a calendar year, and currently the annual fee is $20.00. For that price, a member receives two newsletters a year (in 1998 GCRA published 64 pages of research materials) and an annual update giving the list of members and the lines they are researching in both a straight research list and a cross index. As data becomes available, it is duplicated and sent out to members via snail-mail, fax, and e-mail, which complements the extensive personal communications among the members themselves.

GCRA will continue publishing source data such as Declarations of Intent for US Citizenship for McIntosh County, North Dakota, Campbell, McPherson, (in process) and several other counties of South Dakota, excerpts from English language community newspapers, and social items and translations from German language newspapers of the Dakotas. The capstone is GCRA's publication of the authenticated origins in Germany of those who lived in the colonies, complete with the FHL microfilm numbers, primarily the work of Gwen Pritzkau. Putting family descendants in touch with each other has been successful, and we are pleased that these research efforts typically result in finding many points of mutual interest that the researchers have allowed us to publish in the "GCRA Newsletter."

The library and office of the Glueckstal Colonies Research Association is at 611 Esplanade, Redondo Beach, California, 90277-4130, and is open by appointment only. The following is a list of some of the workers and their projects for our group of villages:

BERGDORF, (Russ: Kolosowa, now Beregovoye), Odessa Province; Stumpp map No. 2, Quadrant B-4, 47 20 N 29 34 E; Dianne Ladd, 249 El Cerrito Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93305-1326, (DLadd623@aol.com); Richard B. Wolff, 3403 3 Avenue, Castlegar, BC, Canada V1N 2R5 (rwolff@selkirk.bc.ca)

BIRSULA, (Russ: Kotovsk/Kuyalnik), Odessa Province, Jan Huber Stangl, 1106 South Sterling Blvd., Sterling, Virginia 20164 (tstanglsr@aol.com), Murray Gauer, 1045 Quayside Drive, #1102, New Westminister, BC, Canada 604-525-1037 (morbeus@uniserv.com) See Nesselrode.

DREI BRUNNENTAL, Odessa Province Paul Oberlander, 5135-45th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55417-1624

GLUECKSTAL, (Russ: Glinnaya, now Glinnoye) Odessa Province Stumpp map No. 2, Quadrant A-5, 47 12 N 29 22 E: Marvin Hoffer, 105 Carroll Trail, Lewiston, MT 59457-3206 (mjhoffer@tein.net) Richard Sandmeier, 13245 Grove Way, Broomfield, CO 80020-5221 (rsandm@aol.com)

KASSEL (Russ: Komarowka, now Velikokomarovka), Odessa Province Stumpp map No. 2, Quadrant B-5, 47 05 N 29 37 E Lloyd L. Ketterling, 4115 - 7th Place NW, Rochester, MN 55901-7528 (lketter@infonet.isl.net) Carolyn Wheeler, 13065 Westport St., Moorpark, CA 93021-2946 Dennis Roth, 8535-136th Avenue, SE, Newcastle, WA 98059-3407 (deroth@uswest.com) Allyn Brosz, 3416 Oliver Street, Washington, D. C. 20015-2554 (abrosz@DGS.dgsys.com)

KLEIN BERGDORF, Duane Stabler, 4544 North River Run, Savage, MN 55378-2973 (dstabler@bigfoot.com)

KLEIN NEUDORF, Duane Stabler, 4544 North River Run, Savage, MN 55378-2973 (dstabler@bigfoot.com)

LATER COLONIES, Odessa Province, also Bessarabia Curt. Renz, 1018 Wheeler Avenue, Ames, IA 50010-4267 (crenz@email.ames.k12.ia.us)

MARIENBERG, Odessa Province Stumpp map No. 2, Quadrant B-2 Dianne Ladd, 249 El Cerrito Dr, Bakersfield, CA 93305-1326 (DLadd623@aol.com), Jan Huber Stangl, 1106 South Sterling Blvd., Sterling, Virginia 20164 (tstanglsr@aol.com)

MICHELSTAL, Odessa Province Paul Oberlander, 5135-45th Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55417-1624

NESSELRODE, Odessa Province, Jan Huber Stangl, 1106 South Sterling Blvd., Sterling, Virginia 20164 (tstanglsr@aol.com), Murray Gauer, 1045 Quayside Drive, #1102, New Westminister, BC, Canada V3M 6C9 604-525-1037 (morbeus@uniserv.com) See Birsula.

NEU-BERESINA, (Russ: Malaya Siminovo) Odessa Province Stumpp map No. 2, Quadrant C-5 Michael Rempfer, 1543 S. Washington St., Bismarck, ND 58504-6406

NEUDORF (Russ: Karamanowa, now Karamanovo), Odessa Province Stumpp map No. 2, Quadrant A-4: Gregory Dockter, 414 Browning Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58501-1004 Carol Neumann, P. O. Box 1376, Ocean Park, WA 98360-1376 (carneu@willapaybay.org) Herbert H. Tabert, 7930 S. Mountain Oaks Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84121-5940 (711741114@compuserve.com)

WAKARSKIJ-CHUTOR, Odessa Province, Parish of Kassel Stumpp map No 2, Quadrant poss. B-5, 47 04 N 29 56 E Herb Poppke, 3015 NW Market St., Apt. B117, Seattle, WA 98107-4227

HUNGARIAN RESEARCHER, Joy R. Fisher, 8057 Nardian Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045-2545 (joy.fisher@ucla.edu)

POLAND RESEARCHER, Ed Schulz, 712 Jamaica Way, Bakersfield, CA 93309-2317

OVERALL DATA COORDINATOR, Herbert H. Tabert, 7930 S. Mountain Oaks Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84121-5940 (71174.1114@compuserve.com)

PUBLICATIONS, Harold Ehrman, 1267 Palisades Drive, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272-2152 (hmehrman@ehrman.com)

OVERALL ADVISOR, Gwen Pritzkau, 3092 West 12600 South, Riverton, UT 84065

Reprinted with permission of Margaret Aman Freeman, Glueckstal Colonies Research Association, Redondo Beach, California.