Born about 1737 in Germany

Wife of Andreas Braun — married before 1762 in Germany

Wife of Andreas Getz — married about 1769 in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

Descendants

Died before 1775 in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

Profile manager: Julie Mangano [send private message]

Biography

Dorothea (Unknown) Getz is a Volga German.

Dorothea (Unknown) Getz has German Roots.

Family #8 in the 1767 Grimm census.

Family #90 in the 1775 Grimm census.

Dorothea, last name unknown for now, was born around 1737, possibly near Wehrda, Germany, the place where she and her husband lived before immigrating to Russia. Her birth year is based on her age in the 1767 Grimm census. ^[1]

Dorothea married Andreas Braun, eight years her senior, before 1762, and their son Johann was born the following year. Son Peter was born in 1765.^[1]

The family immigrated to Russia in 1766. ^[2] They arrived in Oranienbaum on 22 July 1766 on the Pink Lev, a small, flat-bottomed ship with a narrow stern, typically square rigged and used to sail short distances and/or in shallow waters. ^[3] The ship departed from Luebeck under the command of Fyodor Fyodorov. They were one of about 125 families who traveled together to Russia. Also traveling with them was Johannes Braun, probably Andreas' brother. Both ended up living in the Colony of Grimm.

By the time of the first Grimm census in 1767, Dorothea's son Peter had passed away, probably due to the grueling journey to the Volga region.^[1] Another person who did not survive the journey was Michael Rusch, the father of Adam and Anna Rusch.^[1] The relationship between the Rusch family and the Brauns is not yet clear. Whatever the case, Andreas and Dorothea took the orphans into their home and raised them with their own children, including their daughter Maria Elisabeth who was born in 1768.^[1]

1767 Grimm Census ^[1]

Family # 8

Head of the Household Andreas Braun, age 38, craftsman from Wehrda

Wife Dorothea Braun, age 30

Child #1 Johann Braun, age 5

Also living with the Braun household:

Orphan #1 Anna Barbara Rusch, age 8, Lutheran, from Schlitz

Orphan #2 Johann Adam Rusch, brother of Anna Barbara, age 5

Notes Father was Michael Rusch, deceased; living with Andreas Braun in household with Johannes Braun.

The Rusch children may have been younger siblings to Dorothea or a niece and nephew of an unidentified sister of Andreas and Johannes Braun. What's also interesting to consider is that despite the fact that there were other Rusch families living in Grimm, and they were all probably related, none of them took in the Rusch orphans. This tells me there was a reason the Braun family took them into their family.

Some time shortly after Maria Elisabeth's birth, Andreas passed away. She soon married Andreas Getz and may have given birth to Georg Wilhelm Getz who was born around 1770.

By 1775, Dorothea had passed away and her second husband had remarried a widow named Elisabeth Lochmann. ^[4] The children remained with their step-father, his new wife, and step-brother Jakob Lochmann.

1775 Grimm Census ^[5]

Family # 90

Head of the Household Andreas Getz, age 33

Wife Elisabeth Getz, age 42, probably second wife

Child #1 Georg Wilhelm Getz, age 4 years 6 months

Child #2 Johannes Braum [sic], age 12 years 6 months, stepchild

Child #2 Jakob Lochmann, age 8, stepchild

Child #2 Maria Elisabeth Braum [sic], age 6 years 6 months, stepchild

Research Notes

I believe there is an error in the 1767 Grimm census regarding the two Braun families, listed just a few families apart in the census. The listings look like this:

8. Andreas Braun, 38, craftsman from Wehrda, Wife: Dorothea, age 30; Son: Johann, 5

8a. Anna Barbara Rusch, 8, orphan, Lutheran, from Schlitz. Brother: Johann Adam, 5; Father: Michael Rusch, deceased; Living with Andreas Braun in household with Johannes Braun.

10. Johannes Braun, 34, Lutheran shoemaker from Gerz; Wife: Anna Helena, 34; Daughter: Anna Dorothea, 7 weeks old.

In the census listings above, it appears that the Rusch orphans were living with Andreas and Dorothea Braun and their son Johannes.

The wording is odd:

"Living with Andreas Braun in household with Johannes Braun" in the Andreas Braun listing, but not in the Johannes Braun listing.

It's possible the two men were brothers, but they still had separate households in the 1767 census. Did one man take responsibility for the orphans while the children lived with the other family?

HOWEVER, in the 1775 Grimm census, the listing for the family looks like this:

92. Johann Braum [sic], 45, wife Angelina, age 45, daughters Anna Dorotea, 7 years 6 months, and Margareta Elizabeta, 6 years. Orphans Adam Rusch, 12, and Anna Pavlova Rusch, 15.

In the 1775 census, there is no listing for an Andreas Braun; he probably died between 1768-1769, since his widow remarried to Andreas Getz, had a child with him in 1770, and passed away before 1775, giving her husband Andreas Getz enough time to remarry a woman named Elisabeth. At the time of the 1775 census, household #90 included:^[4]

• Andreas Getz, head of the household, age 33, widower of Dorothea Braun Getz
• Elisabeth Getz, Andreas' second wife, age 42, widow of Mr. Lochmann
• Georg Wilhelm Getz, age 4 years 5 months, probably the son of Andreas and Dorothea Braun Getz
• Johannes Braun, stepson, age 12 years 6 months, son of Dorothea Braun Getz
• Jakob Lochmann, stepson, age 8, son of Elisabeth Lochmann Getz
• Maria Elisabeth Braun, stepdaughter, age 6 years 7 months, son of Dorothea Braun Getz

So what happened to the orphans who lived with Andreas and Dorothea? They appear to have switched households, now (in 1775) living with Johann and Angelina Braun and their two daughters. That doesn't sound like a simple switch unless the the children were related to the Braun men, not Andreas's wife.

This is not a huge issue for the Rusch orphans, especially if they were not blood relatives with the Brauns. But it is interesting to learn that something happened to Andreas and Dorothea Rusch, something not recorded in a census, and that the orphans who lived with them went to live with the only other Braun family in Grimm.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5} Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 2, Herausgegeben von Alfred Eisfeld under Mitarbeit von Sabine Eichwald, Published by the Nordost-Instsitut - 38085 Göttingen, 2005;
2. ↑ Pleve, Igor. List of Colonists to Russia in 1766, "Reports by Ivan Kulberg," Ministry of Education and Science of Russian Federation, Saratov State Technical University; Published in Saratov, Russia 2010; page 167, Andreas Braun, Lutheran shoemaker from Werder [sic], document number 2402; wife Dorothea; children Johann, age 3; Peter, age 1.
3. ↑ Wikipedia, online encyclopedia, Pink (ship), see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pink_(ship).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1} 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 #90.
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, Nebraska, USA; Published date: 1995; 1775 Grimm census, family #90, Andreas Getz family.

More Genealogy Tools