Thank you for your requiest. I saw your email earlier about Schmidt, Schäfer, Heiss, Dening and Opholz and started working on it. I'll begin with Schmidt since you have a village for that family. I have the data from 1708 back to 1766 when the first settlers arrived from Germany to Russia. Schmidt is a very common name in the Volga area but only one Schmidt was found in Graf. Johann Adam Schmidt (born about 1741) was single when he arrived in Graf on 10 June 1766. He later married Dorothea Geigel (born 1750). In 1798 he is shown married to Dorothea and with two children, son Augustin (b.1779) and daughter Dorothea (b. 1786). Augustine (b.1779) could possibly be the father of your Johannes Schmidt (b.1817). You listed Saratov as the area for the other names, but Saratov is a District or State that compasses most of the 104 Volga Villages. Very few Germans were found in the city of Saratov. It is like trying to find someone in Sao Paulo, Brazil when they didn't live in the city of Sao Paulo. Since your Schmidt family was from Graf in the north east area if the Volga, it gave me a clue as to where to look for the others. I found Martin Dening (born about 1730), his wife Anna Maria Mauer (born 1729) and their son Johannes (b. 1764) arrived in Louis on 14 June 1766 from Bitsch, Lothringan, (Germany). Possibly due to the Kirghiz raids, they moved to Herzog, closer to protected villages, in 1788. The Kirghiz were nomadic mongol tribes that claimed the area where the new German Villages were being established. They would raid the village and kill many villagers. They would steal the animals and food and take captives to be sold in the eastern slave markets. In 1798, Martin Dening and family were still in Herzog. Martin listed his birth as 1721 instead of 1730, which is probably closer to the truth. He and his wife had three sons and three daughters. One daughter, Anna, was captured by the Kirghiz in 1786. The Heiso name shows up as Heinz in the Original Settlers List (OSL). Mattias Heinz (born 1752) is found with his mother Anna Katharina (born 1725) and his stepfather, arriving in Cheisol on 2 August 1766 from Trier. Cheisol (later called Chasselois) was completely destroyed by the Kirghiz in 1785 and never rebuilt. He shows up in Mariental in 1798 with his second wife Elisabetha Weber (b.1777) and a son Balthasar (1787) and daughter Maria (b.1784) that were children with his first wife. For the Opholz family, Michael Opholz (born 1724) and his wife Anna (born 1728) and their children, from Bitsch, Lothringin, arrived in Louis on 14 June 1766. The children were Heinrich (born 1752), Peter (born 1755), Mattias (born 1758) and Anna (born 1766). Louis was another village that the Kirghiz raided. The next records were in the movement tables where Peter Opholz (1755) and family moved from Louis to Mariental in 1788. Also, the widow of Heinrich Opholz (1752) and her family moved from Louis to Martiental in 1788. In 1798, Peter Opholz (1755) is shown with his family his wife Anna Maria Kiesel (born 1754 and their sons Peter (1783) and Johannes (1794 and four daughters. A second family in Mariental is the widow of Heinrich, Anna Maria Weber (1757) and her son Heinrich (1783) and two daughters. For the last name, Schäfer, I found Matthias Schäfer (1746) and his wife Anna Kraus (1738) arriving in Louis on 14 August 1766. They were still in Louis in 1798 where they had three sons, Nakolaus (1772), Peter (1775) and Martin (1778) and a daughter Anna (1780). There was a second Schäfer family in Louis that I am sure were related. There were two sons Nicholaus (born 1750) and Peter (1756) and daughter Barbara (1753). They, with their mother, Anna Margaretha (1733) and their stepfather, arrived in Louis on 14 June 1766. In 1788, Nikolaus (1750) and Peter (1756) and their families moved from Louis to Graf. There was a large exodus of 24 families from Louis in 1788, probably due to the Kirghiz raids. Later, in 1796, Peter Schäfer (1756) moved back to Louis. He is shown in 1798 Louis with his wife Margaretha Eckhardt (1777) and sons Andreas (1786), Johann (1798) and daughter Maria (1792). I know 1798 is too far back to make a connection with your families but you are in luck. Kevin Rupp at < [email protected] > has the 1834 and 1850 census records for all four villages, Graf, Herzog, Louis and Martiental and he has the 1895 census records for Graf and Mariental. This should connect you with all your families. Good luck to you and thanks again for writing Jerry Goertzen. (creating individual family sheets from the above information would be an excellent idea, therefore getting a better concise lineage picture of each one.)