Henrietta Fritz (abt. 1772)

Born about 1772 in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

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Biography

Henrietta Fritz was a Volga German.

Henrietta Fritz has German Roots.

Family #20 in the 1775 Grimm census.

Henrietta Fritz was born in 1772 to Johannes Fritz and Anna Margaretha Thiel in the village of Grimm, Russia. Originally from Baden-Durlach in what is now Germany, her parents immigrated first to Denmark, and three or four years later to Grimm, Russia.

In 1759, Danish King Frederick V invited Germans from Hessen and the Palantinate to help settle the area of Schleswig-Holstein, at that time under the control of the Danes. The king was interested in converting the marsh lands to arable farm land. Germans were known for their good farming skills and for being hard workers, so it seemed like a win-win situation both both Danes and Germans. Henrietta's parents decided the opportunity to immigrate to Denmark was too attractive to pass up.

Her parents arrived in the City of Schleswig, Denmark, on 09 May 1761. ^[1] They took their oath of allegiance on 24 July 1761.^[1] Two weeks later, the family made their home at 15 Friedensfrucht in Colony G2 of Friderichsfeld, in the district of Gottorf.^[1] According to Danish records, the couple had no children when they arrived, but we know from the 1775 Grimm census that their eldest son Johann Gottfried Fritz was born in 1763.^[1]

The Danish marshlands were very inhospitable to all farmers. Although Germans were known for being hardworking and good farmers with typical farm land, it was far more difficult to convert these wetlands into arable farmland. Most of the German immigrants barely reaped enough to feed their families, let alone to provide food for others in Denmark. The Danish government was ready to cut their losses with farmers who didn't reach their goals, and it dismissed the family on 09 May 1764.^[1]

Around that same time, Catherine the Great invited Germans to immigrate to Russia. This offered Henrietta's family an opportunity for a new, more prosperous life. It is unclear when the the family left Denmark for Russia, but they are included on an immigration list of 57 German Danish colonists who traveled to Grimm, Russia.

In 1767 her brother Jakob was born, followed by sister Anna Maria's birth followed two years later in 1769. Henrietta, the youngest child in the family, was born in 1772.

There is mention of another sister who was born in 1772 named Anna Margaretha. She was clearly omitted from the 1772 census by name, unless Henrietta and Anna Margaretha were the same person. If they are not the same person, then they would have been twins, or perhaps one born at the beginning of the year and the other born at the end of the same year. It makes no sense, however, for a three-year-old to not be living with her family at the time of a census.

I have kept the two profiles separated until I can determine if they are the same person.

In 1773 or 1774, Henrietta's father passed away. Her mother soon remarried Christian Pikus.

1775 Grimm Census ^[2]

Family # 20

Head of the Household Christian Pikus, age 24

Wife Margaretha Pikus, widow of Johannes Fritz, age 39

Step-Child #1 Gottfried Fritz, age 11 years 6 months

Step-Child #2 Johann Jakob Fritz, age 8

Step-Child #3 Maria Katharina Fritz, age 5 years 6 months

Step-Child #4 Henrietta Fritz, age 3

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Eichhorn, Dr. Alexander, Dr. Jacob and Mary Eichhorn, The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766; Bonn, Germany and Midland Michigan, USA; Drukerei und Verlag Steinmeier GmbH & Co. Kg, Deiningen, Germany, 2012.
2. ↑ 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, NE, USA; Published 1995; family #20 in the 1775 census.

See also:

• VolgaGermans.org online database, research from Concordia University Center for Volga German Studies, History, Journey Through Denmark, see https://www.volgagermans.org/history/journey-through-denmark.

• VolgaGermans.org online database, research from Concordia University Center for Volga German Studies, Who Are Volga Germans, Settlements, Original, Grimm, see https://www.volgagermans.org/who-are-volga-germans/settlements/original/grimm.