Anna Margaretha (Thiel) Pikus (abt. 1731)

Born about 1731 in Germany

Wife of Christian Pikus — married about 1773 in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

Profile manager: Julie Mangano [send private message]

Biography

Margaretha (Thiel) Pikus was a Volga German.

Margaretha (Thiel) Pikus has German Roots.

Germany-Denmark-Russia

Family A20-42 The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Family B-424 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Family Rus14-11 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Family #57 in the 1798 Grimm census.

Family #20 in the 1775 Grimm census.

Anna Margaretha Thiel was born around 1729, according to Danish records. Her first husband, Johannes Fritz, was from the Baden-Durlach area, so it seems likely that she, too, came from a nearby town or city. The nearest large city is Karlsruhe, near Germany's border with France. I have not yet been able to confirm a birth record for her or a marriage record for her and Johannes. She was most likely and Evangelical Lutheran, as was her first husband.

Possible Birth Record ^[1]

• Name: Anna Margaretha ??Tel
• Event Type: Geburt (Birth)
• Birth Date: 15 Mai 1729 (15 May 1729)
• Birth Place: Jungingen, Mähringen, Oa u. Ulm, Württemberg, Deutschland (Germany)
• Father: Joh. Heinrich ??Tel
• Mother: Barbara ??Tel
• Page Number: 156;157
• Author: Evangelische Kirche Mähringen (OA. Ulm)
• City or District: Jungingen, Mähringen, Oa u Ulm

The town of Ulm, Wuerttemberg, is about 100 miles southeast of Baden-Durlach. According to Danish records, her first husband, Johannes Fritz, was from Baden-Durlach. Both areas are noted for having large number of their residents immigrate to Denmark and Russia.

The southern tier of what is now Germany, and would have included Baden-Durlach, had been ravaged by war and famine for decades years, and many of the residents, including the Anna Margaretha and her husband, were poor farmers with little chance of bettering their lives. Her husband was concerned providing for his family, as well as to find a way for his children to have better opportunities than he had.

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. Her husband decided the opportunity to immigrate to Denmark with his family was too attractive to pass up.

She and her husband arrived in the City of Schleswig, Denmark, on 09 May 1761. ^[2] They took their oath of allegiance on 24 July 1761.^[2] Two weeks later, the family made their home at 15 Friedensfrucht in Colony G2 of Friderichsfeld, in the district of Gottorf.^[2] According to Danish records, the couple had no children, but we know from the 1775 Grimm census that their eldest son was born in 1763 and their youngest in 1772.

The 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 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. The Danish government was ready to cut their losses and dismissed the family on 09 May 1764.^[2]

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

Anna Margaretha went on to have three more children with Johannes Fritz for a total of four siblings:

• Johann Gottfried Fritz, born in 1763
• Johann Jakob Fritz, born in 1767
• Maria Katarina Fritz, born in 1769
• Henrietta Fritz, born in 1772

Within another year or two, Johannes Fritz passed away in Grimm and Anna Margaretha remarried Christian Pikus, a man almost 20 years her junior. There were no Pikus families in the The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766, and there are no Pikus families in the Kulberg Reports.^{[2] [3]} Since Christian was only 24 in 1775, he may have arrived with his parents and siblings via another route. The surname Pikus may also have been misspelled from its original form.

1775 Grimm Census ^[4]

Family # 20

Head of the Household Christian Pikus, age 24

Wife Margaretha Pikus, widow of Mr. 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

1798 Grimm Census ^[5]

Family # 57

Head of the Household Christian Pikus, age 48

Wife Anna Margaretha Thiel Pikus, age 64, widow of Johannes Fritz

Step-Child #1 Katharina Fritz Rudolph, age 29

Husband of Step-Child 31 Heinrich Rudolph, age 27

Grandchild #1 Andreas Rudolph, age 5

Grandchild #2 Konrad Rudolph, age 2

Grandchild #3 Johann Heinrich Rudolph, age 1

Step-Child #2 Anna Margaretha Fritz, age 26

If Anna Margaretha and her second husband had any children together, their names are not found in the 1775 or 1798 census records. The only children living with them are adults, and their ages correspond to years prior to Anna Margaretha's marriage to Christian Pikus.

One interesting note is that in the 1775 census, the youngest daughter, born in 1772, is named in Henrietta. In the 1798 census, the daughter born in 1772 is named Anna Margaretha. Either the girls are twins and one was omitted from the 1775 census and appeared in the 1798 census, or it is a clerical error and the two are actually the same person. I have given them separate profiles until I can verify if they are the same person or separate individuals.

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1500-1985. Various sources.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} 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; page 254, A20-32, Johannes Fritz, 20 April 1761 arrival in Altoona; page 408, B-424, Fritz/Frietz, Margaretha, age 30; page 673, Rus14-11, Pikus/Fritz/, born Thiel, Margaretha.
3. ↑ 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.
4. ↑ 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.
5. ↑ 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 #57 in the 1798 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.

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