Johann Valentin Felde (abt. 1756)

Born about 1756 in Darmstadt, Germany [uncertain]

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

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Biography

Valentin Felde was a Volga German.

Valentin Felde has German Roots.

Family #45 in the 1767 Grimm census.
Family #161 in the 1775 Grimm census.
Family #86 in the 1798 Grimm census.

Johann Valentin Felde was born about 1756 to an unnamed father, Herr Felde, and his wife Anna Elisabeth (Unknown) Felde. He was probably born in the Darmstadt, Germany area, although he may have been born in a smaller town or village in the surrounding area.

Although his parents made the decision to immigrate from Germany to Russia, his father died before the journey began. His mother was already widowed when she took her children to Luebeck and embarked on the first part of their immigration trip. Also traveling with them were two brothers, an one sister. ^[1]

The family arrived in St. Petersburg where they took their oath of allegiance to their new country. Later they were sent to sit out the winter in old army barracks in Oranienbaum. After the snow began to melt the following spring, groups set out for the journey to the Volga River. It was filled with perils and many did not survive.

The Feldes settled in the Village of Grimm, where they were counted in the census one month after their arrival in July of 1767. The only person not included with the family in that census was daughter Anna Maria. If her age in the Kulberg Reports was correct, she would have been 15 years old. That's still on the young side to marry, but marriage at that young age was still acceptable during that time frame. Anna Maria does not appear in the 1775 Grimm census, but she may have married someone from another village. It's also possible she did not survive the journey to Grimm.

1767 Grimm Census ^[2]

Family # 45

Head of the Household Anna Elisabeth Felde, age 48, Lutheran Craftsman, widow from Darmstadt

Child #1 Konrad Felde, age 18

Child #2 Johann [Valentin] Felde, age 13

Child #3 Johann Sebastian Felde, age 7

By 1775, his brother Konrad was considered head of the household at 24 years of age. Mother Elisabeth is listed as living in the family with her two younger sons, Johann Valentin, the subject of this profile, and Sebastian.

1775 Grimm Census ^[3]

Family # 161

Head of the Household Konrad Felte [sic], age 24

Wife Elizabeta Felte [sic], age 23

Child #1 Anna Margareta Felte [sic], age 3

Child #2 Elizabeta Margareta Felte [sic], age 2

Mother Elizabeta Felte [sic], age 48 [sic] -- she was probably 55 based on her age at the 1767 census

Brother #1 Johann [Valentin] Felte [sic], age 18 [sic] -- he was probably 25 based on his age at the 1767 census

Brother #2 Sebastian Felte [sic], age 13

By 1785, Johann Valentin had married widow Anna Katharina Busch Schultheis and was step father to her three children with Heinrich Schultheis. Their first child was born in 1786.

1798 Grimm Census

Family # 86

Head of the Household Johann Valentin Felde, age 42

Wife Anna Katarina [sic] Busch Felde, age 47

Child #1 Anna Margareta [sic] Felde, age 12

Step-Children

Child #2 Johann Peter Schultheis, age 18

Child #3 Anna Margareta [sic] Schultheis, age 24

Child #4 Katarina [sic] Barbara Schultheis, age 21

It is unlikely that the couple had any additional children, namely males, because the only two Felde families with descendants in Grimm were sons of his brother Konrad Felde.

Neither Johann Valentin nor his wife Anna Katharina are mentioned in the 1834 census. ^[4] While it's possible that they moved to another village, it's just as likely that they passed away prior to that year. Had Johann Valentin survived, he would have been 62 years old.

Sources

1. ↑ 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 313, Elisabeth Feld, Lutheran from Darmstadt, document number 4922.
2. ↑ Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 2, Herausgegeben von Alfred Eisfeld under Mitarbeit von Sabine Eichwald, Published by the Nordost-Instsitut - 38085 Göttingen, 2005; page 79, family #45.
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 #161 in the 1775 census.
4. ↑ 1834 Census of Grimm in the District of Saratov, Russia, dated 2 February 1835; Translated by Brent Mai, Concordia University, Portland, Oregon; Published by Dynasty Publishing, Beaverton, OR, USA; Published 2011.