Germany-Denmark-Russia
Family A44-44 The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.
Family B-710 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.
Family Rus14-19 The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.
Eva Margaretha was born in 1717 in Habitzheim, the daughter of Ludwig Landzettel and his wife Maria Elisabeth. She married Anton Jaeger on 15 January 1743.
Marriage Record
[1]
She and her husband were Evangelical Lutherans. Her husband was a day laborer working for low wages in an economically depressed area. The economic conditions were poor due to war, famine, high taxes and burdensome tithing expected by the local Church.
In 1759, the Danish government offered these Germans a chance for a new life in Denmark, helping to convert what were currently marshlands to farmable lands. Those who chose to immigrate would be given an opportunity for a brighter future via homesteaded land or through a land lottery.
Eva Margaretha and her husband arrived in Flensburg with two children, Anna Catharina Landseidelin, her niece, and Elisabeth Barbara, on 09 June 1762. [2] They were considered reserve colonists.[2] As of 30 September 1763, they lived at Nr. 9 in Colony G18 "Neuboerm" in the district of Gottorf. [2]
Additional research in German vital records shows that Eva Margaretha and Anna Catharina were likely aunt and niece, sharing the same last name at birth. Anna Catharina's birth record shows that she was born in 1748 to Ludwig Landzettel and his wife Maria Elisabeth [Rapp], Eva Margaretha's brother and sister-in-law.
Niece Anna Catharina's Birth Record
[3]
Turning marshlands into arable land wasn't as easy as anyone thought it would be, and all the German immigrants struggled to make a living. About that same time, Catherine the Great issued her manifesto to all Germans, inviting them to immigrate to Russia and help settle the Volga River area. It was too good an opportunity to miss, so the family deserted Denmark on 03 May 1765 and immigrated to Russia.[2]
See Jaeger-379 for additional discussion about her family.
By 1775, her husband Anton had remarried and had an 8-year-old son with second wife Maria Barbara. This suggests that his second wife became pregnant about 1766, and this suggests that Eva Margaretha was no longer living by that year. The trek to the Volga River from St. Petersburg was perilous and many people did not survive the journey. It is also possible that Eva Margaretha did not survive the cold winter in Oranienbaum and that her husband had already remarried before making the journey to the Volga River colonies. A copy of the 1775 Grimm census record for her husband is shown below for research purposes.
1775 Grimm Census
[4]
See also:
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L > Landzettel | J > Jäger > Eva Margaretha (Landzettel) Jäger
Categories: Grimm | German Roots