Matthias (Gula) Kunau (abt. 1725 - bef. 1816)

Born about 1725 in Schurnduttlinger, Baden-Durlach

Husband of Magdalena (Franz) Kunau — married 12 Jan 1750 in Nonnenweier, Baden

Descendants

Died before 1816 at about age 91 in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

Profile manager: Julie Mangano [send private message]

Biography

Matthias (Gula) Kunau was a Volga German.

Matthias (Gula) Kunau has German Roots.

Germany-Denmark-Russia

A 24-60 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

B-517 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Rus 14-18 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Family # 9 in the 1775 Grimm census.
Family #14 in the 1798 Grimm census.
Family #315 in the 1834 Grimm census.

Matthias Gula was born about 1725 in the Baden-Durlach of Germany. He married Magdalena Franz before 1748 and the couple had two children, Anna Maria Sophia, born 1749, and Johann Peter, born 1753.

Marriage Records ^{[1] [2]}

Name: Matthias Gulla

Gender: männlich (Male)

Event Type: Heirat (Marriage)

Marriage Date: 12 Jan 1750

Marriage Place: Nonnenweier, Baden (Baden-Württemberg), Preußen (Germany)

Spouse: Magdalena Frintzin

Parish as it Appears: Nonnenweier

Name: Matthias Gulla

Gender: Male

Birth Place: Schurnduttlinger

Marriage Date: 12 Jan 1750

Marriage Place: Evangelisch, Nonnenweier, Offenburg, Baden

Spouse: Magdalena Frintzin

FHL Film Number: 1189642

Reference ID: 2:1M5CTZN

Birth Record for Daughter Anna Maria Sophia Gula ^[3]

Name: Mathias Gullai

Gender: Male

Spouse: Magdalena Frantz

Child: Anna Maria Sophia Gullai

Birth Record for Son Johann Peter Gula ^[4]

Name: Matthias Gula

Gender: männlich (Male)

Spouse: Magdalena Gula

Child: Johann Peter Gula

Parish as it Appears: Neureuther

Page Number: 74;75

Birth Record for Son Georg Friedrich Gula ^[5]

Name: Matthias Gula

Gender: männlich (Male)

Spouse: Magdalena Gula

Child: Georg Friedrich Gula

Parish as it Appears: Kirchenbuch

Page Number: 120;121

Many young husbands and fathers in that area had difficulty suppporting their families. Much of what is now in southern Germany had been ravaged by war and famine, and prospects for steady work and a steady income were not good.

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. Mattias and his wife Magdalena decided to take advantage of the opportunity to immigrate to Denmark with their family.

Matthias reported to immigration officials that he was a farmer from Baden-Durlach, an Evangelical Lutheran. ^[6]

His family, along with 100 others, departed from the processing center in Altona on 29 June 1761 and arrived in the City of Schleswig on 04 July 1761.^[6] He took his oath of allegiance to Denmark on 24 July 1761 and was considered a reserve colonist in Rendsburg.^[6] He was recorded as living at 26 Juels Hof in Colony G9 Christiansholm in the area of Gottorf.^[6]

The marshlands were very inhospitable to farmers. Although the Germans were good farmers with typical farm land, it was far more difficult to convert these former wetlands and grow crops. Most of the German immigrants barely reaped enough to feed their families, let alone to provide food for others in Denmark. When Catherine the Great invited Germans to immigrate to Russia, Matthias decided it offered him a better opportunity than what was available in Schleswig-Holstein. He departed for Russia on 01 May 1765.^[6]

I wasn't able to find his name in the Index to the 1767 Volga German colonies census reports, even though I checked miscellaneous possible spellings of the surname. The closest name I found was:

• Huwa, Johann Heinrich – Dönhof – 1:369 ^[7]

This seems to be a completely different person, however, with not only a variation of the surname spelling, but a different middle name and a different Volga German village named as his destination.

In the 1775 census, Matthias Gula is listed with his wife Magdalena and a 14-year-old son Jakob. If his two older children survived, then they were living in other households, possibly in different villages.

1775 Grimm Census ^[8]

Family # 9

Head of the Household Matthias Gula [Hula?], age 50

Wife Magdalena Gula, age 52

Child #1 Jakob Gula, age 14

In the 1798 census, his surname appears to be spelled Gulau followed by a question mark, so it's unclear if this was the real, correct spelling of the surname, or just another iteration of it. Both he and his wife Magdalena, now identified with the surname of Franz, were still living, ages 76 and 78, which was quite a long life for those early Volga Germans who struggled to survive during their early years after immigration to Russia. His son Jakob had married Louisa Barbara Engelhard and the couple had three children: Johann Heinrich, Johann Jakob and Regina Rosina.

1798 Grimm Census ^[9]

Family # 14

Head of the Household Matthias Gulau [?], age 76

Wife Magdalena Franz Gulau, age 78

Child #1 Jakob Gulau, age 38

Wife of Child #1 Louisa Barbara Engelhard, age 23

Grandchild #1 Johann Heinrich Engelhard, age 8

Grandchild #2 Johann Jakob Engelhard, age 6

Grandchild #3 Regina Rosina Engelhard, age 4

Matthias Gula/Gulau was not listed in the 1834 census. He likely died before 1816, and his death was noted in the male-only census that came out that year. Had he survived, he would have been nearly 110 year old. The only child listed in the 1834 census was son Johann Heinrich, and he died without any children in 1825. ^[10]

By the time of the 1834 census, only son Heinrich Gulau was listed in family #315, and he had passed away in 1825.^[10]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. Germany, Select Marriages, 1558-1929 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Germany, Marriages, 1558-1929. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Matthias Gulla, birthplace Schurnduttlinger, married 12 Jan 1750 in Evangelisch, Nonnenweier, Offenburg, Baden to Magdalena Frintzin.
2. ↑ Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1502-1985, Ancestry.com. Baden, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1502-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Mikrofilm Sammlung. Familysearch.org. Originale: Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1502-1985. Marriage of Matthias Gulla to Magdalena Frintzin, 20 January 1750, Nonnenweier, Baden.
3. ↑ Ancestry.com. Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014. Original data: Germany, Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898. Salt Lake City, Utah: FamilySearch, 2013. Birth record for Anna Maria Sophia Gullai, daughter of Matthias Gullai and Magdalena Frantz.
4. ↑ Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1502-1985, Ancestry.com. Baden, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1502-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Mikrofilm Sammlung. Familysearch.org. Originale: Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1502-1985. Birth record for Johann Peter Gula.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. Baden, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1502-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Mikrofilm Sammlung. Familysearch.org. Originale: Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1502-1985. Birth record for Georg Friedrich Gula.
6. ↑ ^{6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4} Eichhorn, Alexander, Dr., and Dr. Jacob and Mary Eichhorn. The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766, Druck and Bindung: Druckerei and Verlap Steinmeier GmbH & Co. KG, 86738, Deiningen, Germany; Published 2012; pages 270, 426, and 674.
7. ↑ Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 1, Heerstellung: Mecke Druck and Verlag, 37115 Duderstandt; Published 1999.
8. ↑ 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 #9 in the 1775 census, Matthias Gula family.
9. ↑ 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 #14 in the 1798 census, Matthias Gulau family.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} 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; page 86, family #315, Heinrich Gulau, deceased 1825.

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