“We shall hear the angels, we shall see the whole sky all diamonds, we shall see how all earthly evil, all our sufferings are drowned in the mercy that will fill the whole world.  And our life will grow peaceful, tender, sweet as a caress.”  –  

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov – The Books of Rachel 

“The years go by. The people keep on dying:
The famine on Ukraine is darkly lying,
Through every village of our lord’s domain,
Decay had fouled the prince’s stores of grain-
But he cares not; right merrily he drinks;
To sell the entire crop the rascal thinks.”

.Author: Taras Shevchenko, “The Prince”
Fortress of Orsk 1847
Translated by G.C. Andrusyshen and Watson Kirkonnell

The Zacharias Family Tree is a newly published online family tree and history.  At present, the site contains over 3000 names of the descendants of Wilhelm Zacharias born 1700 in Danzig.  Many branches of this family can be found today living in Canada, the United States, Europe, Russia, and South America.  The site also contains over 600 family histories, journals, pictures, maps, and documents.  Of special interest are the journals of Isaak Isaak Zacharias born February 22, 1868, Franz Isaak born August 1, 1843, the letters and journals of the Bernhard and Wilhelm B. Giesbrecht families, and a journal describing in detail the horrors of the summer of 1929 in Moscow, the forced transport back to the detainees’ settlements, and Collectivization.  This journal also describes the Russian refugees’ journey and survival in Paraguay.  Another highlight of the site is the 150 translated letters from Siberia written by members of the Franz Zacharias family between the years 1927 and 1979 to family in Canada.  Even though this story pertains to the extended Zacharias family other families whose relatives suffered similar fates may find the site of interest.

Our story begins with Wilhelm Zacharias born 1700 in Gross Werder Area, Danzig and who died February 17, 1760.  According to Karl Stump, the grandson of Wilhelm migrated from Prussia to Russia in 1788.  Rumour has it that this grandson walked from Danzig to Russia.  The rumour continues to imply that this grandson was the ancestor of all Mennonites with the surname Zacharias in Canada, the United States, Germany, Russia, and South America.  Genealogy has been one of my interests since the early 1980s.  This website was created so family members and other interested parties can see the results of this labour of love.

The material on this site has been gathered from personal stories, interviews, memories, documents, photographs, archives, and public domain.  All of our ancestors, whether they were rich or poor, whether they lived in remote, rural areas or in major centres, left their imprint in many places.

Not all Zacharias family members were fortunate enough to escape the Communist regime in the Soviet Union.  The ones who managed to leave settled in the US, Canada, Germany, and Paraguay.  The ones that stayed ended up in the far eastern parts of the Soviet Union.  Many of the Zacharias descendants starved to death during the forced famines that were instigated by the Soviet regime or died in the Gulags in the Ural Mountains of Siberia.

Facts such as birth dates and death dates are not copyrighted and they may be used freely.  My analysis and narratives on this site are the products of my many years of personal research and are covered by the Canadian Copyright Law.  Publishing or commercial use of this site is prohibited.  This includes blogs, family trees on Ancestry, MyHeritage, Family Search, GRANDMA, Geni, Wikitree, and Geneant.  If you want to use any of my work you must have my permission to use it and it must be properly identified as my work with a link to this site.

My goal has always been to be as accurate as possible.  If I could not prove an event or confirm a date the information was not included in this project.  If you find errors in any of the information presented or just want to chat please email me at zachariasfamilytree@gmail.com .  If you have information to add to the family tree please let me know at the above address or use the contact form provided.   There have been births and deaths in the extended Zacharias family since I sent out the Genealogy forms many years ago.  I will be very appreciative of any updates you can provide.

Family members and other individuals interested in the information on this site may subscribe to it on a one-time basis.  Subscription information is on the following page.  New information such as family histories, letters, documents, and pictures will be added on a continual basis.

I decided to add extra security to the site.  Once you have entered your login details I will then validate your subscription and you will be able to enter the site.  The subscription is a one time fee of $39.95.

Holodomor: The word Holodomor means mass killing by starvation, and has become symbolic of the Ukrainian genocide. It means the systematic, planned destruction of a racial, political or cultural group. Holodomor was used as a weapon of mass destruction to suppress the fictitious widespread national uprising from 1928 to 1933 against the Soviet Regime in the Russian occupied part of Ukraine.   My great grandparents, Bernhard, and Helena (nee Zacharias)  were victims of Stalin’s killing by starvation.  Their story along with many others are part of this website.