Sheila; You won't find your family in the Kuhlberg Book since they only listed colonists arriving from Lübeck to Oranienbaum starting in May of 1766, during the heaviest migration. It usually took a year for processing and travel to reach the Volga villages from Orienbaum. Both of your families arrived in June of 1766, so they left Germany in 1765 and may have gone by a different route. This was common for the colonist that signed with the French recruiters. In your case, both families went to Mariental in the Volga. The Pleve series, "Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet", volume 3, has Mariental which was established by recruiters LeRoy and Pictet. It shows Nicolaus Asselborn (born 1716) (#38) was a Katholic farmer from Merzig, Kurtrier, his second wife Maria Magdalena (born 1736) and their daughter Katharina (b.1765). Also shown are two sons from his first wife, Bartolomäus (1749) and Johannes (b 1752). They arrived in Mariental on 14 Jun 1766. A third son of his first wife was already married and traveling in the same group. Family member #75 has Peter Asselborn (b. 1743) and his wife Susanna (b 1744). The origin, occupation, religion and day of arrival is the same as his father Nicolaus. "Linenberger" is a phonetic misspelling of the name "Lüneberg". In Mariental #24, we have Georg Lüneberg (b.1715). He was a Katholic farmer from Willebadessen. His wife was Anna Margaretha (b.1725) and sons Kaspar Joseph (b1751) and Johann Georg (b1765) were listed. They arrived in Mariental on 16 June 1766. In 1798, the name was still spelled Lüneberg. The first record of the name Linenberger was in the Daughter Colony of Liebental, south of Louis. The Linenbergers and Asselborns were among the first settlers of Liebental 1857/1861. That village may have your connecting families to Mariental. Contact Darrell Brungardt or Kevin Rupp for that information. If you are interested in the village of your ancestors, I found them. Merzig is south east of Luxemburg and northeast of Metz. In the German Map Guides, Merzig shows up in the Kingdom of Prussia-Province of Rhineland III, Volume 13 of the series. Merzig was in the Kreis Merzig and it had its own Catholic church parish and an LDS-FHC microfilm number 469164. If you want to purchase Volume 13 of the German Map Guides by Kevan Hansen, it is available from < www.familyrootspublishing.com >. I found Willebadessen also. It is southeast of Paderborn, northwest of Kassel and North of Warburg. I haven't had time to check the Map Guides to see which volume would have Willebadessen. I hope this helps in your research. Jerry Goertzen

Dear Fellow Volga-Germans, I’ve searched diligently, yet unsuccessfully, to “locate” my Great-great-grandfather. Could any of you please assist me in my quest of “finding” him and his son (my Great-uncle)? I don’t even know my Great-great-grandfather’s given name or precisely where he was from in Russia. However, I do know the following about 2 of his children: 1. John Geist b.2 Jan 1881 in Kamenka, Saratov, Russia. a. John was married to Barbara Beier in Kamenka, Saratov, Russia. b. John died 26 June 1948 in Topeka, KS. 2. Margaret Ivanovo Geist b. 20 June 1887 a. Margaret married Anton Gottfried Heit. b. Margaret died in Kinsley, KS 2 March 1969. Moreover, I’m searching for an UNKNOWN Brother Geist of the aforementioned Geists. All that is known of him, is that after the Geist Family escaped from Hildman, Saratov, Russia under cover of darkness in December 1920 their journey to the USA stalled-out in Germany for 1½ years. It was during this time frame (1921-22) that the UNKNOWN brother departed for South America. Any assistance that you could provide in helping me trace my Great-great-grandfather, and Great-uncle, would be greatly appreciated. Blessings, Joseph M. Geist Overland Park, KS