Martin Ross (1707 - aft. 1767)

Born 1707 in Isenburg, Hesse, Germany

Husband of Anna Katharina (Albert) Ross — married about 1767 in Russia

Descendants

Died after 1767 at about age 60 in Norka Colony, Saratov Oblast, Russia

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Martin Ross was a Volga German.

Martin Ross has German Roots.

Biography

Martin was a member of the Reformed Church in Isenburg, Hesse (Germany) where he was a grain farmer. He emigrated with his wife, Catharine, and teenage son, Johann, to Russia, arriving in Oranienbaum by the ship Vologda on 10 Aug 1766.^[1] Like so many others, Catharine, died in Russia before they arrived at their final destination.^[2]

Founding of the Norka - 1767:^[3]

"After more than a very difficult year of travel from their homelands, the colonists arrived in the fortress town of Saratov in early August 1767. During a brief stay in Saratov, each household was provided with rubles, wagons, saddles, horses, cows, timber, and other necessary items by the Russian Guardianship Office that was established to assist the colonists.

From Saratov, the colonists were escorted by Russian military officers reporting to the Saratov Office for the Guardianship of Foreign Settlers, to the banks of the Norka River. The first transport group arrived at the settlement site on Wednesday, August 15, 1767.* This group comprised the majority of the first settlers including their Vorsteher (group leader), Johann Conrad Weigandt, a stocking maker from Bönstadt, Isenburg. The colonists originally named their new settlement "Weigandt" in his honor.

In remaining days of August and the month of September, more immigrant families continued to settle in Norka. Four more groups arrived on August 18th, August 26th, September 2nd, and September 22nd. Igor Pleve's book, Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, lists the so called "first settlers" in Norka colony. This census list shows that there were 218 households comprised of 753 people living in the colony at the end of September 1767.

Risking everything for the promise of a better life, many families arrived intact. Others had suffered the death of a spouse, a child, a parent or some unthinkable combination. Some children arrived as orphans, kindly adopted by another family. Some of the adults arrived as widows or widowers, their family members decimated along the way. Some married or remarried during the long journey to the Volga region and were beginning a new life. Children were born, the first generation who would only know their Russian homeland.

The colonists who settled in Norka were primarily adherents of the Reformed faith, although a small group of Lutherans and two Catholic families were also listed in the 1767 census. The majority of the colonists had origins in the county of Isenburg or the duchy of Hessen. Igor Pleve states that Norka is a rare example of a colony where the majority of the colonists came from the same region or county in the German speaking lands of Western Europe. Pleve believes this cohesiveness allowed colonies like Norka to more quickly establish sustainable economic activity."

Martin married Anna Albert, the widow of Christoph Schneider, after Catharine's death in Russia.^[4] They arrived in Norka Colony^[5] in the Saratov Oblast on 18 Aug 1767^[6] and were founding members of that colony, listed in the first census. ^[7][2] Martin Ross was not listed in the 1775 list of Norka heads of household.^[8]

Sources

1. ↑ https://familysearch.org/tree/person/KFHD-BQ5/details
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} American Historical Society of Germans From Russia, Germanic Origins Project, Ro-Rzz, 8 May 2015, "Ross/Rohs{Martin}"
3. ↑ “Founding of Norka 1767”, © 1998-2018 Steven H. Schreiber, accessed January 5, 2018
4. ↑ Soshnikov, Family #27, p. 8
5. ↑ "Norka", The Volga Germans, https://www.volgagermans.org/who-are-volga-germans/settlements/original/norka
6. ↑ Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 (Göttingen: Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2005): Vol. 3, p. 235-6.
7. ↑ The Founders of the Colony of Norka #27 Martin and Anna Ross
8. ↑ "Norka Heads of Household 1775", American Historical Society of Germans from Russia

• “Ross (Norka) | Volga German Institute.” Accessed 17 Dec 2020. https://volga.domains.unf.edu/surnames/ross-norka
• Soshnikov, Vladislav. A List of Original Settlers of the Colony of Norka, Saratov Province Compiled for the Year 1766/1767: With Transcription of the Original Russian Text. Self-published. Unknown date.
• http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=norkaaid&id=I15461

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