This project is dedicated to the memory of my mother, Helen (nee Giesbrecht) Reimer and my grandfather, Wilhelm B. Giesbrecht. I spent many enjoyable hours with my grandfather as he shared stories with me about his life in Russia. His memory was amazing. I was able to accompany my mother on her second trip to Europe to visit with her three Aunts whom she had not seen since she was five years old. The visits and recorded conversations with my Great Aunts provided me with a wealth of information. Their stories were both enlightening and incredibly sad.
One of the highlights of my research came when I was able to place a phone call to my Great Aunt Lisa in the former Soviet Union. I started the call on a Friday afternoon and finally on the Sunday evening I was called by a Russian operator who put me through to my Great Aunt. The only phone in the village was at the post office. I was able to speak to my Great Aunt and her son Bernhard. We conversed in High German and Low German. Sadly my grandfather passed away before I made this call.
According to my grandfather he had heard a legend as a young boy that stated that all the Zacharias families living in Russia were descendants of Wilhelm Zacharias born in 1769. An article written by Peter D. Zacharias (translated from the German from an article in “Der Bote” dated Wednesday, February 8, 1978) reads that it was possible that all Zacharias families living in Russia and North and South America today are descendants of this one Wilhelm Zacharias born 1769. His two marriages, first to Maria von Riesen and then to Anna Gerbrandt resulted in a total of 19 children. Six sons reached manhood and also had families.These may be the progenitors of all Russian and American Zacharias families. This Wilhelm left as his legacy a record of births, deaths, and marriages, a document included in this genealogy.
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Our story begins with Wilhelm Zacharias born in 1769 in the Free State of Danzig now Gdanzk, Poland. His grandfather was Wilhelm Zacharias born in 1700 in Gross Werder Area, Danzig. His father Wilhelm Zacharias was born in 1742 in Danzig-Schidlitz. Legend has it that Wilhelm Zacharias born 1769, accompanied by his wife Maria and their two children, walked from Danzig to Schönhurst, Ukraine, Russia. Records show that in 1795 Wilhelm and his wife Maria arrived in Village Number 7, namely Schönhurst, which was part of the new Mennonite Colony of Chortitza. They are listed as Family Number 1 which included Wilhelm Zacharias age 26, wife Maria age 30 and son Wilhlem age 3 months. The September 1, 1801 Schönhurst, Chortitza census shows Wilhelm Zacharias age 33, wife Maria age 37, son Wilhelm age 5, son Jakob age 3 and a domestic servant Johan Neudorff age 19 as residents.
It was here that the Zacharias family along with other early Mennonite settlers, planted trees, gardens and orchards to tame this wild land they had been given to settle the steppes of Russia. These villages, including Number 7, were to be known as the Old Colony.
As the community became increasingly populous, the young men of the Old Colony sought to own their own land. Records show that on October 4, 1814 Wilhelm Zacharias moved his family to Neu-Osterwick. The record lists them as Family 2 which included Wilhelm Zacharias age 45, second wife Anna Gerbrandt age 35, son Wilhelm age 19, son Jakob age 17, daughter Agata age 8, son Derk age 6, son Aron age 2, son Abraham age 1 and their maid, Agata X age 20. On this move they brought with them five horses, eighteen head of cattle, twenty one sheep, five pigs, one horse, two eggs, two wagons, two plows, two harrows, and two spinning wheels.
A large fire destroyed part of the village of Osterwick in 1862 and many families chose to relocate across the Dnieper River to a colony by the name of Fürstenland. My great great grandfather Wilhelm Zacharias, descendant of Wilhelm 1769, with his wife Anna moved to Georgstal at this time.
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“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
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New information about family members would be greatly appreciated. There have been many births, marriages and deaths since I began this project.
There is also a Photo Album called "Unknown Persons". This album contains pictures of descendants whose names I do not know. Any help with putting names to faces would be wonderful.
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