A number of German-Russians and their descendants were members of Zion Lutheran
A number of German-Russians and their descendants were members of Zion Lutheran Church – Alva:
- One of the founding members of Zion Lutheran Church – Alva, Henry Wagner, was a German-Russian[7].
- Pete Hort was the chef who master-minded the Zion Lutheran Men’s Club annual “Chicken Noodle Supper”.
- I attended the Zion Lutheran School with: Dean Horner, Kenneth and Frieda Lehl, Pat and Joan Wagner.
- Harold Lehl was my father’s, best friend. Dad would tell stories about the adventures they had when they traveled together to the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. Both Harold and my Dad had similar mechanical interests – Dad had his own shop including welding equipment and a forge for modifying/repairing his own farm equipment. Harold operated a commercial machine shop and when dad had a difficult problem he would consult with Harold. When I was young, our two families would exchange regular visits.
As a youngster, I was confused as to why these people would call themselves “German-Russians”. I was told that they were of German heritage and they came from Russia – but I wondered why they did not speak Russian? It wasn’t until later in life that I read the history of the German-Russians and understood.
This appendix describes the history of these German-Russians and includes the biographies of German-Russian families in the Alva/Woods County area.
Who Were the “German-Russians”?
The Oklahoma Historical Society provides the following brief history of the German-Russians[1]:
“Among the millions of mid- to late-nineteenth century immigrants arriving in the United States from Europe were ethnic Germans who had immigrated to Russia in the 1765–1824 period. Poland’s rulers had encouraged Germans to settle in the province of Volhynia (between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers, part of Russia by 1797), and Russian rulers, including Catherine the Great, had promoted settlement along the Volga River (north of the Caspian Sea) and on the coast of the Black Sea and Sea of Azov beginning in 1750. As a result, in the 1760s groups began leaving various German principalities where wars, invasions, high taxes, and military conscription made life unbearable. Colonists arrived in the steppes (plains) when the Russian czars offered them free land, exemption from military service and taxation, and, to an extent, religious liberty. Between 1763 and 1862 an estimated one hundred thousand Germans moved to Russia, including Evangelical Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Baptists, and Seventh Day Adventists.
Living on the steppes, they continued to farm, primarily raising wheat, and adapted their system of agriculture to the new environment. They lived in compact villages, built partially subterranean houses similar to half-dugouts, and burned dried manure for fuel. These transplanted Germans prospered. By the middle of the nineteenth century most families owned land, and some were grain merchants or mill owners. The German colonists had become the most advanced agricultural group in Russia