Ludovika Margaretha (Walther) Schäfer (1742)

Born 1 Oct 1742 in Heilbronn, Württemberg

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Grimm, Saratov, Russia

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Biography

Ludovika (Walther) Schäfer was a Volga German.

Ludovika (Walther) Schäfer has German Roots.

Germany-Denmark-Russia

A21-23 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1776.

B-1747 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1776.

Rus 24-23 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1776.

Family #58 in the 1775 Grimm census.

Family #24 in the 1798 Grimm census.

Family #53 in the 1834 Grimm census.

Ludovika Margaretha Walther was born 01 October 1742 in Heilbronn, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, to parents Adam Walther and Wilhelmina Wenz. ^[1] Heilbronn was about 20 miles west of Pfedelbach/Öhringen, where Ludovika's father was born about 20 years earlier.

Birth Record ^[1]

Name: Ludovica Margaretha Walther

Event Type: Taufe (Baptism)

Birth Date: 1 Okt 1742 (1 Oct 1742)

Baptism Date: 2 Okt 1742 (2 Oct 1742)

Baptism Place: Württemberg, Deutschland (Germany)

Father: Johann Adam Walther

Mother: Wilhelmina Walther

City or District:</b> Heilbronn

Page Number: 126;217

Author: Evangelische Kirche Heilbronn (OA. Heilbronn)

Film Number: 816281

The economic conditions in Württemberg mid-1700s were poor, due to war, famine, high taxes and burdensome tithing expected by the local Church. As a farmer, Adam had difficulty feeding his children and poor prospects for the future.

Starting in 1759, the Danish government offered disadvantaged Germans a chance for a new life in Denmark helping to farm as yet unfarmable land. Those who chose to immigrate would be given an opportunity for a brighter future via homesteaded land or through a land lottery. Believing this was too good an opportunity to pass up, Adam, his wife Wilhelmina, and four children set off for Denmark.

The family departed from Altoona, Duchy of Holstein, with guide Johann Nicolaus Ernst. ^[2] There were 59 families in this convoy, each with multiple family members which probably brought the total number of travelers to more than 200 people. The group arrived in Schleswig, Duchy of Schleswig, on May 20, 1761. ^[2]

There is some confusion over where the family was from in Germany. Although the couple told Danish officials they were from Würrtemberg, Adam told the Danes the family was from Stetten, near Brackenheim. ^[2] Adam later told Russian officials he was from Pfedelbach, ^[3] but his birth record shows he was born in Öhringen. ^[4] At least one of his children, Ludovika, was born in Heilbronn. ^[5] Pfedelbach and Öhringen were less than three miles apart, so they probably are accurate in representing his birthplace. ^[6] Heilbronn is about 20 miles west of Pfedelbach and Öhringen, ^[7] so that is a reasonable place for a child to be born, especially if Heilbronn was closer to where his wife was born and raised. Brackenheim is 30 miles from Pfedelbach and Öhringen, ^[8] further away still, but still not unreasonably far.

The family took their oath of allegiance to Denmark on 24 July 1761 and were considered reserve colonists. They lived in two different locations during their stay:

• Number 23 Jessens Hof in Colony G9 Christiansholm, in the region of Gottorf
• Number 16 Waagers Hof in Colony G9 Christiansholm in the region of Gottorf

After nearly four years of unsuccessful farming and after Catherine the Great issued her invitation for Germans to immigrate to Russia, Adam and Wilhelmina Walther left Denmark on 04 January 1765. ^[2] They headed to the Volga German Colony of Rosenheim, located north of Saratov. ^[2] By this time, Ludovika was old enough to marry and have children. She probably already knew Kaspar Schäfer from Denmark, even though they lived in different colonies. Shortly after her arrival in the Volga German area, perhaps in Saratov, she married Kaspar and moved with him to the Colony of Grimm, a colony which was much further south. ^[9]

At the time of the 1775 Grimm census, Ludovika and Kaspar Schäfer had been married for at least seven years, and they had three children ages 6, 5 and 1.

1775 Grimm Census ^[10]

Family # 58

Head of the Household Kaspar Schäfer, age 30

Wife Ludowika Schäfer, age 30

Child #1 Johann Jakob Schäfer, age 1

Child #2 Elisabeth Schäfer, age 6

Child #3 Katharina Schäfer, age 5

By 1798, Ludovica had given birth to two more girls, Anna Katharina and Anna Barbara. Anna Katharina is a different age than the Katharina from the 1775 census, so she was probably a different daughter. Oldest daughter Elisabeth had married and was living in another household. Ludovika's only son Johann Jakob was married and had one child, a toddler. He and his family lived in his parents' household.

1798 Grimm Census ^[11]

Name: Ludowika [sic] Margaretha Walter [sic] Schäfer

Family #: 24

Age: 62

Computed birth year: 1736

Husband: Kaspar Schäfer

Children:

Johann Jakob, son

Margareta Wolf, Johann Jakob's wife

Katharina, Johann Jakob's daughter

Anna Margareta, daughter

Anna Katharina, daughter

Anna Barbara, daughter

Note the huge swing in birth years from one census to the next, an 11-year difference. Clearly accuracy when remembering one's birth date was not a priority.

Ludovika is not mentioned in the 1834 census. ^[12] Had she lived, she would have been in her 90s. It is almost certain that she and her husband died well before 1834 and her son inherited his family's property.

Research Notes

Walter/Walther{Adam}FN: Lutheran, from Wuerttemberg, arrived at Schleswig city, Schleswig Royal Duchy in May 1761. With wife {Wilhelmina} and 4 children, he last reregistered in a German Danish colony in January 1765 (EEE p.634). By March 1766 they had settled in Rosenheim FSL #40 which said he was fromUC Pfedelbach?, [Hohenlohe County/Principality(?)]. For 1798 see Mai1798:Rm15 and 56.

Name Johann Adam Walther

Gender Male

Christening Date 01 Jun 1723

Christening Place Öhringen, Württemberg, Germany

Father's Name Jacob Walther

Mother's Name Eliesabetha

Citing this Record "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NCXM-6HB : 28 November 2014), Johann Adam Walther, 01 Jun 1723; citing ; FHL microfilm 1,340,181.

Name Georg Heinrich Martin Walter

Event Date 1749

Gender Male

Birth Date 28 May 1749

Birth Year 1749

Birthplace Heilbronn, Wuerttemberg, Germany

Christening Date29 May 1749

Christening Place Heilbronn, Wuerttemberg, Germany

Father's Name Adam Walter

Mother's Name Wilhelmina Gaedofusty

"Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRC1-DF5 : 28 November 2014), Adam Walter in entry for Georg Heinrich Martin Walter, 29 May 1749; citing Heilbronn, Wuerttemberg, Germany; FHL microfilm 816,281.

Birth Record

Name: Johann Adam Walther

Gender: Male

Spouse: Wilhelmina Wenz

Child: Maria Magdalena Walther

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.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Ancestry.com. Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1971 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016., see: https://tinyurl.com/y5yo3np7.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4} 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; page 258.
3. ↑ The American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, German Origins, see: http://www.ahsgr.org/resource/resmgr/German_Origins/Wa.pdf, page 12,
4. ↑ Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NCXM-6HB : 28 November 2014), Johann Adam Walther, 01 Jun 1723; citing ; FHL microfilm 1,340,181.
5. ↑ Ancestry.com. Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1971 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016, see: http://ancstry.me/2vnyG6R.
6. ↑ Google Maps, distance between Pfedelbach and Öhringen, see: http://bit.ly/2tTAyAb.
7. ↑ Google Maps, distance between Pfedelbach and Öhringen and Heilbronn, see: http://bit.ly/2uSG2w2.
8. ↑ Google Maps, distance between Pfedelbach and Öhringen and Brackenheim, see: http://bit.ly/2hiCb8H.
9. ↑ Map of Volga German Colonies, The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University, see: VolgaGermans.org online resources, research from The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University, Resources, Archives, Maps, Volga-Region, see: https://www.volgagermans.org/resources/archives/maps/volga-region.
10. ↑ 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 #58 in the 1775 census, Kaspar Schäfer family.
11. ↑ The 1775 and 1798 Census of the German Colony of 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 #24 in the 1798 census, Ludowika Margareta Walter, age 62.
12. ↑ 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 16, family #53, Johann Jakob Schäfer family.

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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