Eva (Bechtold) Rudolph (abt. 1735)

Born about 1735 in Germany

Wife of Unknown Lusmar — married before 1758 in Germany

Wife of Balthasar Rudolph — married before 1766 in Isenburg, Germany [uncertain]

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

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Biography

Eva (Bechtold) Rudolph was a Volga German.

Eva (Bechtold) Rudolph has German Roots.

Family #74 in the 1775 Grimm census.
Family #116 in the 1798 Grimm census.

Eva Bechtold was born about 1735 to parents who have not yet been confirmed. Just prior to immigrating to Russia in 1766, she was living in the Isenburg area of what is now Germany. She may have been born in that area, or moved there after her marriage to second husband Balthasar Rudolph.

Her first husband was identified by the surname given to his daughter in the 1775 Grimm census: Lusmar. That is almost certainly a misspelling of the surname. A brief search of German records on FamilySearch.org shows the following possibilities for spelling that surname:

• Luessmeyer
• Lusmeyr
• Lesmeyer
• Luewesmeyer
• Lusmeir
• Lusmeyer
• Lusmeyr
• Lizmayer
• Lewesmeyr

Whatever the spelling, there is no online record of Eva's marriage to a man with any of those surnames. Their marriage took place between 1752 and 1758, and daughter Catharina was born in 1759. Mr. Lusmar passed away at some point before 1766, at which time it was documented that she was married to Balthasar Rudolph in immigration records.

Eva married first husband Mr. Lusmar by 1758 and their daughter Catharina was born in 1759. The date of Mr. Lusmar's death is not known. If Mr. Lusmar died between 1759 and 1761, Eva could have married Balthasar and had son Johann Konrad in 1762. If Mr. Lusmar died between 1762 and 1765, Johann Konrad was the son of Balthasar Rudolph's unknown first wife who must have also passed away. A later census suggests Eva was Johann Konrad's stepmother, indicating that her marriage to Balthasar took place after 1762. The suggestion comes in the form of naming daughter Catharina Lusmar as Balthasar's stepdaughter in the 1775 census, even though there was no documentation of this kind of a relationship in the 1766 Kulberg Reports.

Despite the fact that Germans had a reputation for being good, hard workers, many people struggled to survive. In addition to war and famine, the economic conditions were adversely affected by high taxes and burdensome tithing expected by the local Church. When Catherine the Great issued her manifesto, an invitation to people who in the ravaged areas of Germany to move to Russia with many personal and financial incentives, Eva and Balthasar decided to immigrate. ^[1] Johann Konrad was four years younger than Catharina, according to this record. ^[1]

While it appears that Eva is his mother, it may be that she was actually his stepmother, based on 1775 Grimm Census details. This would mean that Balthasar Rudolph was also married once before and had Johann Konrad with his unnamed first wife.

The Rudolph family departed from Rewal on the Pink Novaya Dvinka, a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern, typically square rigged and used to sail short distances and/or in shallow waters. ^[2] They arrived in Russia on 30 May 1766. ^[1]

Immigrants waited until the following spring to make their final journey to the Volga River colonies, and censuses were taken by August 1767. The Rudolphs were not listed in the first Grimm census. They may have settled temporarily in another village before moving to Grimm, but that village has not yet been identified. The family is first listed in the 1775 Grimm census.

1775 Grimm Census ^[3]

Family # 74

Head of the Household Baltasar Rudolf [sic], age 36

Wife Eva [Bechtold] Rudolf [sic], age 40

Child #1 Johann Konrad Rudolf [sic], age 14

Child #2 Georg Karl Rudolf [sic], age 18 (out of order, maybe 8?), see notes above

Child #3 Georg Heinrich Rudolf [sic], age 5

Child #4 Carolina Rudolf, age 3

Stepdaughter Katarina [sic] Lusmar [?], age 16

The 1798 census shows that her daughter Katharina was no longer living with the family. She had most likely married and was living in a different household. The census also reveals that she had another son born in 1775, but after the 1775 census was taken. His name was Andreas Jakob Rudolph. Son Heinrich was living with the Pikus family (#57), and daughter Carolina Sabina married Gottlieb Makarovka from Merkel and moved away to live with his family. ^[4]

1798 Grimm Census ^[5]

Family # 116

Head of the Household Baltasar [sic] Rudolf [sic], age 63

Wife Eva Bechtold Rudolf [sic], age 65

Child #1 Konrad Rudolf [sic], age 36

Wife of Child #1 Anna Maria Manweiler, age 29, from Messer

Grandchild #1 Johann Heinrich Rudolf [sic], age 5

Grandchild #2 Christian Rudolf [sic], age 1

Grandchild #3 Katarina [sic] Rudolf [sic], age 10

Grandchild #4 Katarina [sic] Elizabeta [sic] Rudolf, age 7

Child #2 Andreas Jakob Rudolf [sic], age 23

Eva Bechtold Rudolph is not listed in the 1834 census, and it is likely that she had passed away before that year. Had she survived, she would have been about 99 years old.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Pleve, Igor. List of Colonists to Russia in 1766, "Reports by Ivan Kulberg," Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation, Saratov State Technical University; Published in Saratov, Russia 2010; page 57, Balzer Rudolph, Lutheran stocking maker from Isenburg, document number 499; wife: Eva; children: Johann [Konrad], age 5, and Catharina, age 9.
2. ↑ Wikipedia, online encyclopedia, Pink (ship), see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_(ship).
3. ↑ The 1775 and 1798 Census of the German Colony on the Volga, Lesnoy Karamysh, also known as Grimm; Published by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Published date: 1995; family #74 in the 1775 Grimm census, Baltasar Rudolf family.
4. ↑ The 1775 and 1798 Census of the German Colony on the Volga, Lesnoy Karamysh, also known as Grimm; Published by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Published date: 1995; #64 in the Appendix of the 1798 Grimm census; 64. Maiden Carolina Sabina, Baltasar Rudolf's daughter, married Gottlieb from Makarovka [Merkel].
5. ↑ The 1775 and 1798 Census of the German Colony on the Volga, Lesnoy Karamysh, also known as Grimm; Published by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; Published date: 1995; family #116 in the 1798 Grimm census, Baltasar Rudolf family.