This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Stephan Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/an/BZJBAEB/1.2.31.2 Message Board Post: My family first came from a town in Russia along the river Volga: Vodno-Buyerachnoye. In translation this means village of Stephan. This village was founded in 1767 with a population of 144. The settlers were actually from Germany and settled there at the invitation of Catherine II via her manifesto. She needed people to work her land; so she offered special rights and privileges to those who immigrated. My family eventually moved back to Germany in the Dresden area.