52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks
2019
Week 1
Prompt – First
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| First Great-Grandfather Andreas Krikau to Fifth Great- Grandfather Johann Georg Krikau |
In fall of 2006 I took a free library
course on genealogy. Up to that time I dabbled in family history
learning more of what I didn't know. Which was more than I knew. At
that time I was most interested in finding out more of my maternal
grandmother. Maria Katherina McLaughlin nee Krikau. She was more
commonly called Mary. Mary was born in Warenburg, Russia on June 8,
1903. She died in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on August 8, 1989. I had
lost all chance of learning her story by the time I was interested in
it. Further my mother had died a few years before her.
That only left my Uncle Wallace in
Ontario as the only living Krikau from that Krikau line. I wrote a
letter to him asking him for any family history he might know. He
gave me an address of John and Barbara Krikau of Chicago who would be
my first cousin once removed and Uncle Wally knew he was collecting
Krikau family history.
He was the first relative that I
contacted in the name of genealogy. For a first endeavor in my
genealogy collaboration I struck gold. His response was swift and
kind. John and his two cousins had paid for research to be done to
develop the Krikau line back to early 1760's. That is totally
amazing to me. That is almost 300 years ago. Cousin John gladly sent
on his work for me to have and share. I was overwhelmed by his
generosity.
From this work, the progenitor of the
Krickau family was listed.
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| Progenitor for Krikau Family As Found in My Cousin's Research |
The first Krickau that has been verified
by documents in the Krickau family is my 5th
great-grandfather – Johan Goerg Krickau. He was born in 1718 or
1723 in Wolfenhausen, Limburg-Weilburg, Hessen, Germany. He is
considered the first because that is as far back as researchers have
found documentation on a Krickau. However recently I have made
contact through Ancestry with a Krickau from Germany who lives near
Wolfenhausen and claims to have found parents for Johan Goerg Krikau.
This needs to be verified.
This Johan Goerg Krickau (Krikau) was
among the first settlers that left the war ravaged Germany seeking
better land and opportunity in Russia at the invite of Catherine the
Great and her Manifesto.
In the Volga German Website, Dr. Brent
Mai who has written extensively on the subject of Volga Germans and
translated to English many original documents from the colonies in
Russia has written up the following.
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| Krickau Write Up By Dr. Brent Mai |
Thus Johan Goerg Krickau was married
twice. The first time is to a women as of now, not known. From this
union, Johann Adam Krickau was born and he would be my 4 times
great-grandfather.
As mention above Johann Goerg 's first
wife died and he remarried widow Maria Katharina Gilau who had
several children from her first marriage. I presume that one son was born to Maria and Johann Goerg because of the birth date of a Johann Krikau listed under Maria Katharina's children was born after their 1767 arrival to Russia. The blended
family is not new to men and women of the time. Marriage was a
convenience for men left with small children and widows left without
means to support themselves.
It is comforting and reassuring that
Dr. Brent Mai and the researcher paid by my cousins came upon the
same information regarding our first documented Krickau ancestors.
Wendy
1) Goerg and Georg are the same person.
2) I know my grandmother as Krikau without the "c". Krickau is how it is found in German / Russian documents.
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