Journey to the Homeland Tour
– Ukraine & Germany
North Dakota State University Libraries sponsored tour

23 May – 2 June 2006

Biographies of Tour Group Members

* Identifies Deceased

Marie Tandeski Delizonna, San Jose, CA

Ancestral villages: Baden and Selz (Kutschurgan District), Kleinliebental, and Franzfeld (Liebental District).

I am the eleventh of fourteen children born to Margaret Fix and Thomas Tandeski. My family lived in the farming communities of Selz, Odessa, Esmond and lastly Maddock, North Dakota.

While growing up, we were referred to as “Roosians” by others and I never knew whether I was Russian or German although my parents and their friends and relatives usually spoke German when they got together.

I went to high school at Maddock, Drake and Halliday, North Dakota. Then on to Interstate Business College in Fargo, ND. At the age of 19, I decided to leave the freezing cold state of North Dakota and seek my future in San Francisco.

Here I met my husband, who was from St. Paul, MN, and after several years of working in San Francisco, he decided to open a law practice in San Jose. When he decided to open his own firm I went to work as deputy sheriff to help pay the mortgage. Before my five children were grown, I decided to return to college and get my teachers credential. I taught for 15 years and retired in 2001.

A few years ago on a visit to Fargo, we went to an Arts & Crafts Fair and here I learned about the Germans from Russia. As I learned more and more about this unique group of people, I was able to more fully understand my background. Since then I have traveled to North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Salt Lake City, and even to Poland to try and trace my ancestors.

From my research and if I am tracing the right family, I have learned my maternal ancestors probably came from the Alsace area; they arrived in Baden about 1804. They left Russia in 1889 and 1891. But like many other Germans from Russia, much of their history has been lost to time so it is now my challenge to try and piece together their history.

I have had a wonderful life and feel blessed that I am able to join with the others on this Homeland Journey – 2006 adventure!

Gary Haar, Boise, Idaho

Ancestral Villages: Friedenstal, Crimea (Haar); Hoffnungstal (Aldinger), Bessarabia; Neudorf (Hieb) and Kassel (Pietz) (Glueckstal District)

I was born at Bowdle, South Dakota on 12 November 1944. In 1951 my family moved to Gettysburg, South Dakota, where I went to school until 1962. In 1962 before my senior year of high school my family moved to Triumph, Idaho. In 1963 and 1964 I attended the University of Idaho at Moscow, Idaho.

I was a Communications Technician in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1969. While in the Navy, I attended the European Division of the University of Maryland. After being discharged from the Navy, I attended Boise State University, receiving a BA degree in Business Administration and Computer Science.

In September 1972 I went to work for the Idaho State Auditor’s Office. I transferred to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare 1 October 1974, where I worked for 27 years. On 1 October 2001, I transferred back to the State Auditor’s Office, which now was called the State Controller’s Office. At the State Controller’s Office, I was the Operations Manager for the State Data Center until 31 August 2004, when I retired.

Family History

In 1804 my 4x-great-grandfather Johann Andreas Haar immigrated to Crimea, the route traveled was – Ulm, Baden – Wuerttemberg; Wien (Vienna), Austria; Radziwillow; Ovidiopol, Ukraine; Odessa, Ukraine; Eupatoria, Crimea.

My 3x-great-grandfather Johann Georg Haar was born 4 November 1798 at Bissingen, Baden – Wuerttemberg, Germany. He died 9 December 1844 at Friedental, Crimea.

My 2x-great-grandfather Jakob Haar, with his family, immigrated from Friedental, Crimea on 16 June 1875. My great-grandfather David was two years old when they arrived in America on the vessel Cimbria, in New York from Hamburg, Germany.

The reason I want to go to the Ukraine and Germany is to learn more about my family history.

Peggy Sinnemaki Haar, Boise, Idaho

Ancestral Villages: Friedenstal, Crimea (Haar); Hoffnungstal (Aldinger), Bessarabia, Neudorf (Hieb) and Kassel (Pietz) (Glueckstal District)

Peggy grew up on a dairy farm in northern Idaho. After college, Peggy taught school for several years, and then moved on to Boise Cascade working in the computer department. In 1970 she went to work for the Idaho State Controller’s office and stayed there until her retirement. She retired July 31, 2000 after many years of service as the Administrator of the State Payroll/Personnel System.

Peggy’s family is not German – her family migrated from Finland in the early 1900s. She however shares Gary’s interest in genealogy and is interested in the Ukraine from the aspect of researching the Haar ancestry.

Rudolph Michael (Mike) Hager, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Ancestral villages: Strasburg, Elsass, Georgental, Selz, Baden, Mannheim and Kandel (Kutschurgan District); Krasna, Bessarabia

I was born at Harvey, ND August 23, 1929 to Mike and Felicitas (Krenzel) Hager from Orrin, Pierce County, ND. I grew up on a farm in southern Pierce County populated almost entirely by fellow German-Russians who came from the Kutschurgan Colonies near Odessa, in what was then in South Russia, but is now in the Republic of Ukraine. I did not speak English until I began school. My five siblings and I were very close to both sets of grandparents while growing up. All four lived relatively long lives.

Our family farmed in the lake region of southern Pierce County where I attended school in a one-room school house and went on to graduate from high school at Balta, ND in 1946. I was always curious about the origins of our people, but was never able to any real answers regarding our family’s pre-Russian history. I asked so many questions and listened in on all conversations about Russia, to the point of being a nuisance. (When later exposed to the works of Stumpp, Height, and Giesinger, I was off and running.)

I attended the North Dakota State School of Science at Wahpeton where I studied Radio and Electronics, and took a job in late 1949 with B & B Electric at Rugby, ND until I was drafted into the Army in January 1951. After I finished my hitch in the Army, which included a year in Korea, I went to work for Dakota Broadcasting Company as Assistant Station Engineer at KCJB in Minot, ND where we opened the first television broadcasting station in the Dakotas.

I departed North Dakota in the autumn of 1953 and took a job with Boeing Aircraft in Seattle until November 1954, when I moved to Florida to work on the Guided Missile Testing Range for RCA. I worked at various overseas tracking sites for five years, and then transferred to a NASA contract with the company.

In 1962, I joined The Collins Radio Company as a prototype field engineer and spent nearly five years in Japan, Vietnam, and Australia, involved in the development of “state of the art” naval communications for the Far East Command.

In April of 1968, I came to Albuquerque where I built and operated “The Barn Dinner Theatre” on the backside of Sandia Mountain. It became a popular landmark that served food and presented live professional stage comedies in a country atmosphere.

I sold my business in 1981 and went into real estate investment in Arizona and Nevada. In 1998 I began to retire from all business activity. Now, fully retired in Albuquerque, I have been able to pursue genealogy to my heart’s content.

I have a daughter, Michelle, and three grandsons in their twenties, who all live nearby.

Natalie Rose Weber Hansen, Marysville, Washington

Ancestral Villages: Kassel (Glueckstal District)

I was born January 27, 1936 in Isabel, South Dakota to Jacob Weber and Irene E. Bock Weber. My dad, Jacob Weber, was born in Kassel, Russia November 22, 1893, a German from Russia. He came to the U.S.A. when he was 17 years old. I think he went to North Dakota where his sister Katherine Reich lived. In 1917 he went to Isabel where he obtained a homestead 25 miles northwest of Isabel. He married Mom in 1920 in Isabel. Mom was born in Klemme, Iowa, but her grandparents come from Dannstadt near Heidelberg, Germany.

In October 1936, my family moved to a small dairy farm near Sultan, WA. I lived there until the fall of 1954 when I entered a school of nursing in Everett, WA. After graduating and getting my RN license, I worked 5 years at a TB sanatorium in Seattle.

I was married to Bernard Hansen on May 9, 1959. We had three children and lived in the Bothell, WA area. I did not work for about 12 years, but finally started working part time for the school district as a school nurse. I also worked part time as a staff nurse at Evergreen Hospital. I worked at Inglemoor High School for 21 years. The last 8 years were full time as their nurse. I retired in 1998.

My husband Bernard retired in 1992 because of problems associated with M.S. He died suddenly July 6, 2002 from a dissecting aortic aneurysm. I have kept busy with volunteer activities with the Cancer Center, mentor programs, hospice programs and the Red Cross. I also play piano at my church part time. I have 6 grandchildren and really enjoy spending time with them and of course my children.

Donna Neiffer Larson, Dodge City, Iowa

Ancestral Villages: Neudorf (Neiffer); Bergdorf (Ahl); “Neidorf”, Cherson (Neiffer),
and Tiraspol (Mittleider)

I was born on April 6, 1943 in Everett, Washington.

My father, Jacob John Neiffer (baptized as Johann Jakob) was born on March 21, 1899 in Neudorf, South Russia. He came to the US with his parents and two younger brothers in 1913. His father, Martin Neiffer, was born in either Neudorf or Cherson, Russia, and his mother, Elizabeth Ahl, was born in Bergdorf, Russia.

My mother, Pauline Mittleider, was born in Washburn, North Dakota on September 27, 1903, three months after her parents and 5 siblings arrived at Ellis Island. Her father, Theobald Mittleider was born in Tiraspol, and her mother, Magdalena Rohrbach was born in Odessa, Russia.

I lived in rural Snohomish County, WA until I was 10 years old when my father died. My mother and I moved to Sultan, WA where we lived until my mother’s death in 1957. I moved to Seattle where I lived with an older sister and attended high school, graduating in 1961.

I married Tom Larson in 1961 and we moved to California. We have no children.

In 1961, I began working for the government doing various types of office work. We lived in several different states over the next 25 years as I worked my way up to management level and was an office manager at the time of my retirement in 1987. Following my retirement, we moved to Texas but spent summers in my husband’s hometown, in Iowa. In 1995, we decided to make our home in Iowa on a permanent basis.

I began researching my family history as I wanted to learn why my parents always said I was German, yet my father and all of my grandparents had been born in Russia. In 2003, I completed a family history about my mother’s parents, their 16 children and their descendants. A cousin and I also planned a family reunion in North Dakota to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the arrival of Theobald and Magdalena Mittleider at Ellis Island. It was attended by more than 80 Mittleider descendants from 18 states. I am now working on compiling my father’s family history as well as organizing materials regarding my husband’s family.

I am a member of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society in Bismarck and am very active in my local Genealogical Society where I am a past president and currently the treasurer. Our society is very interested in preserving our local records. I have written two grant applications which were approved and have allowed us to microfilm and preserve over 50,000 pages of newspapers dating back to 1854. We currently have another grant to allow us to preserve the old county probate records which were to be discarded. I have a special interest in preserving the local records as my husband’s family has lived in the county for five generations and in the state of Iowa since it was a territory.

I have a dual purpose in joining the Journey to the Homeland Tour:

1. I have always wanted to see my father and grandparents’ homeland, and
2. I will be able to meet my second cousin, Helmut Mayer, who lives in Waiblingen, just outside of Stuttgart.
Our families had lost contact in 1925 when my paternal grandmother died. Helmut was interested in establishing contact with his American cousins, and with the help of his friends, Jan & Tom Stangl, we were put in touch with each other in 2004. I am looking forward to visiting with him and if possible, with another cousin, Erna Schmalz who lives in Winsen, Germany.

I am excited about my upcoming trip and am certain it will be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Patricia Rae Lewis, South Beach, Oregon

Ancestral Village: Kamarouka (Kassel) (Glueckstal District)

I was born in Shawano, Wisconsin to a family with a long history of living in Wisconsin. I am traveling with my husband, Lavern Weber, as he visits the village, Kassel, where his father was born. For me, this is an opportunity to see an area of the world I’ve never seen and to share the trip with many who have roots in this area.

I grew up in Tucson, Arizona, lived many years in St. Paul, Minnesota, moved to Melbourne, Australia for nine and a half years and now live in Newport, Oregon. I have a science background and did research on the physiology of reproduction and lactation. I retired when Lavern did so we could have more time together and perhaps travel as we are now doing. I volunteer as a member of a community group which educates people about diabetes; I am active in breastfeeding support activities and do literacy tutoring for adults.

* Arlis (Wagner) Lundgren, Sartell, Minnesota

Ancestral Villages: Hoffnungstal, daughter colony of Glueckstal District; Berlin, Neuburg, Gueldendorf (Liebental District)

I was born in the Mercer, ND area and grew up on a farm 12 miles south of there. My parents were Fred & Louise (Fischer) Wagner. I had 2 brothers and 1 sister.

I was educated in a one-room school for the first eight grades and graduated form Mercer High School in 1959. I attended Minot State College and taught for six years (2 years in Washburn, ND and 4 years in Minot).

I was married to Jerry Landgren from Mora, MN in 1963 and we had 4 children.

We had lived in the St. Cloud, MN area for 35 years. I raised my children and then went to work for a travel agency as a tour director and a tour planner (one-day tours). I have worked in that field for almost 20 years.

Some of my interests are sewing, reading, genealogy, antiques, and of course, being a grandmother to 8 grandchildren.

I have traced back 8 generations on my father’s side, but so far I am only back to my great grandmother on my mother’s side (Fischer’s from the Hebron, ND area!). I got started too late and most all the knowledgeable members have passed away.

I am so excited about the trip and can hardly wait.

Michael M. Miller, Fargo, North Dakota

Ancestral Villages: Straßburg (Kutschurgan District) and Krasna, Bessarabia

Michael writes, “My first visit to the villages of Straßburg and Krasna in June of 1994 is an experience I shall never forget. I was especially touched by the warmth and friendship of the local villagers. I returned to Odessa and to the home of the late Antonina (Welk) Ivanova in the village of Selz in December 1995, where I completed a cassette tape interview in German. Antonia died in October, 1998

Michael was raised in Strasburg, North Dakota, learning to speak English and German. His college degrees are from Valley City State University and the University of North Dakota. He has been on the North Dakota State University Libraries staff since 1967, where he compiled the annotated bibliography, Researching the Germans from Russia, published by the Institute of Regional Studies, NDSU, 1987.

He serves as Bibliographer of the Germans from Russia Heritage Collection, NDSU Libraries. Since 1999, he has been an executive producer with Prairie Public Television, Fargo. The award winning Germans from Russia documentary series includes: 1) The Germans from Russia: Children of the Steppe, Children of the Prairies (1999); 2) Schmeckfest: Food Traditions of the Germans from Russia (2000); 3) Prairie Crosses, Prairie Voices: Iron Crosses of the Great Plains (2002); and 4) A Soulful Sound: Music of the Germans from Russia (2005).

He has visited Odessa and the former German villages since 1994 including the 12th Journey to the Homeland Tour for 23 May – 2 June 2006.

Darlene E. Brown Robertson, Hayward, California

Ancestral Villages: Hoffnungstal, Odessa, daughter colony of Glueckstal District, Berlin, Neuberg and Gueldendof (Liebental District)

I was born in Hayward, CA on September 1, 1942. I am the oldest daughter of Frieda Wagner Brown.

My mother was born in Mercer, ND February 19, 1912. Her parents, my grandparents, came to the United States on March 25, 1902. Their names were Johannes and Karolina Wagner. They were both 25 years of age. They traveled with their son Johannes. They homesteaded in Mercer, ND.

I first became interested in my heritage after my North Dakota relatives printed out our family history. The book goes back to the year 1754. My family was still in Germany at that time. I was able to visit in 2004 the town where they came from and where they were married. It was an incredible experience.

I am now a member of the American Heritage Society of Germans from Russia. The Golden State chapter is located in Redwood City, CA. The meetings are every other month. My mother, age 94, is also a member. There is so much to learn at these meetings. I enjoy them very much.

I am very excited about this journey and to be able to travel with my cousin Arlis makes it all the better. Both parents of Arlis are Germans from Russia.

Donald R. Schmitt, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Ancestral Villages: Glueckstal and Bergdorf (Glueckstal District)

Born on September 18, 1934, to Henry Schmitt and Bertha (Weisz) Schmitt, on a farm near Long Lake, in Bergdorf Township, McPherson County, South Dakota.

My father was the son of Johann Schmitt, and Fredericka (Laemmle) Schmitt, born July 4, 1895, on the homestead, which my grandfather, Johann, obtained on their arrival in the spring of 1892, from Bergdorf, South Russia, by way of Southampton, England.

My grandparents, along with 2 sons, Johann (Jr) and Jacob arrived at Ellis Island on April 7, 1892 on the ship named ‘Lahn’. On a manifest, I found, and also in a census of the Glueckstal area, in Odessa, the last name was spelled Schmidt and then changed to "tt", sometime after their arrival here.

Johann spent 5 years in the Russian Army, with some saying he played Flugelhorn in the Czar’s Army band.

In a biography written by a cousin of my father, Jacob Schmitt, near Dickenson, ND, writes that our ancestors were of German descent and originated near Bielsberg, Wuertemburg, Germany. He also writes, in the late 1700’s near the turn of the century, they immigrated to South Russia and settled in the village of Bergdorf.

There we find great grandfather Jacob (1828-1860) married to Elisabeth Wolf (1830-abt 1865). They had 8 children.

Great great grandfather was Gottlieb Schmidt (1791-?) & Maria Justina Pfeiffer (1796-1876).

On my mother’s side, her parents were Phillip Weisz (1877-1955) and Carolina Schumacher (1877-1962).

Phillip’s father was also Phillip (1839-1894) born to Johannes Werner (1804-) and Elizabeth (last name unknown so far). Johannes Werner died and Elizabeth married Christoph Weisz, who adopted Phillip and in our ancestral tree he is now known as Phillip Werner Weisz.

My grandmother Carolina Weisz’s father was Andrew Schumacher. He was featured in an article in “LIFE” magazine issued Aug. 2nd, 1937.

After attending grade school in a one-room school house and after graduating from high school, I spent one year at Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa and then finished my education at South Dakota State University with a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. My wife and I owned our pharmacy for 20 years, after which I managed a K-Mart Pharmacy for 20 years in Sioux Falls, SD.

We had 3 children, all married; one daughter and two sons and have 6 grandchildren.

I now am semi-retired; I am still working part time at Cigna Tel-Drug.

Marjolaine Kay (Anderson) Schmitt, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Born November 15, 1939 in Nobles County, Worthington, MN.

Father – Fordyce Andrew Anderson (11/30/1916 – 05/08/1990)
Born in East Chain, MN
Father – Andrew Lars Anderson (06/02/1879 – 07/17/1925)
Father – Lewis Lars Anderson, born in Oslo, Norway 12/06/1846
Mother – Mary E. Carter from England
Mother – Sophia Anna Johnson (09/02/1982 – 07/14/1953)
Father – John Johnson (06/02/1847 – 1914)
Mother – Emma C. Lindstrom (04/07/1857 – 04/21/1939)

Mother – Catharine Bertha Jacobsen (03/15/1918 – 12/ /1939)
Born in East Chain, MN
Father – Martin Kristen Jakobsen (09/01/1884 – 1972)
Born in Haderis, Haderup parish, Denmark
Father – Kristen Sougaard Jakobsen (09/01/1854 – 11/01/1922)
Born in Haderis, Haderup parish, Denmark
Mother – Birthe Marie Katrine Neilson (04/03/1862 – 06/01/1946)
Born in Horsen, Denmark
Mother – Kirstine Pedersen (1885 – 1945) born Hogild Resen parish, Denmark
Father – Lars Christen Pedersen

I have been a registered nurse since 1960 and still work occasionally at Avera McKennan Hospital for Ask-A-Nurse (a telephone triage service).

Lavern J. Weber, South Beach, Oregon

Ancestral Village: Kamarouka (Kassel) (Glueckstal District)

I was born 7 June 1933, a son of Jacob Weber. Jacob was born in Kassel, 22 November 1893. He fled in 1910, being 16 years old. He had two full sisters. The first was Katharina Reich, married to Adam Reich. They lived in Wishek, ND most of their lives. The second sister was Christina Neiffer and she lived near Sultan, WA. Katharina Reich helped my mother after my birth in Isabel, SD. My great grandparents were Johann Weber and Katharina Ketterling. Johanna died when my father (Jacob) was one and a half years old. It is this bit of history which sparked my interest in a visit to Kassel. My mother was born in Iowa, but grew up in Minnesota and then moved to Isabel, SD. My father was interested in homesteading. He ran a cream station until the depression when the family moved to Sultan, WA, where he dairy farmed.

After high school, I went into a partnership with my Dad on the dairy farm. US farming was changing negatively for small farms, so I went to Everett Community College, then to Pacific Lutheran University receiving a BA degree. Then to the University of Washington and earned a MS and PhD in the field of pharmacology/toxicology. I taught in the Medical School at the University of Washington before moving to Corvallis and Oregon State University in 1969. In 1977, I become the director of the Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, OR until 2002 when I retired.

I have four grown children and four grandchildren. My father died in 1984, and my mother in 1997.