Victoria, Ellis Co., Kansas
The first Volga Germans arrived from Topeka, and established the town of Herzog on 8 April 1876, one-half mile north of the town of Victoria which had been founded in 1874 by Scotch-English immigrants. The two towns grew together and Herzog officially changed its name to Victoria in 1913.
Victoria's founders included the following families (along with the number of people in the family):
from Katharinenstadt
Justus Bissing (7)
Frederic Karlin (4)
Peter Karlin (3)
Jacob Karlin (3)
Frederic Koerner (10)
from Kamenka
Jacob Lang
Joseph Stremel
Michael Meder (2)
Mathias Urban
from Pfeifer
Christopher Stegmann
from Herzog
Andrew Billinger (3)
Alois Dreiling (7)
Anton Dreiling (8)
Nicholas Dreiling (7)
Hammerschmidt (9)
Nicholas Dreiling (5)
John Götz (7)
John Kreutzer (2)
Michael Rome (2)
John Sander (7)
Michael Storm (6)
John Van der Dunkt (2)
Ignatius Vonfeld (2)
Ignatius Weigel (4)
from Beauregard
Jacob Arnholt (5)
from Ober-Monjou
John Geist (5)
John Jacob Geist (5)
William Geist (4)
from Mariental
Anton Herrmann (5)
from Louis
Peter Quint (7)
from Marienburg
Paul Dinges
from Liebental
Jos. Braun (5)
Franz Weber (11)
John Kreutzer (2)
John Lechleiter (5)
Michael Lechleiter (3)
John Peter Schaefer (3)
Peter Schaefer (3)
from Graf
John Bollig (2)
The following Volga German families settled in and around Victoria:
Arnholt from Beauregard
Billinger from Herzog
Bissing from Katharinenstadt
Bollig from Graf
Braun from Liebental
Dinges from Marienburg
Dinkel
Domme
Dreiling from Herzog
Geist from Ober-Monjou
Götz from Herzog
Hammerschmidt from Herzog
Herrman from Mariental
Karlin from Katharinenstadt
Koerner from Katharinenstadt
Kreutzer from Herzog & Liebental
Lang from Kamenka
Lechleiter from Liebental
Lederhos
Meder from Kamenka
Quindt from Louis
Rome from Herzog
Roth
Rupp
Sander from Herzog
Schaefer from Liebental
Schamne
Schumacher from Wittmann
Stegman from Pfeifer
Storm from Herzog
Stremel from Kamenka
Urban from Kamenka
VonFeld from Herzog
Wassinger
Weber from Liebental
Weigel from Herzog
Windholz
- Appelhanz, Isadore. The Volga-Germans in Topeka, Kansas, 1875-85. Topeka: privately published, 1992.
- The Golden Jubilee of the German-Russian Settlements of Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas. Hays, KS: privately printed, 1926.
- Laing, Francis S. "German-Russian Settlements in Ellis County, Kansas." Kansas Historical Collections 11 (1910), 489-528. [Online]
- First Catholic Cemetery (used from 1873-1899).
- 1920 U.S. Census, Ellis Co., Kansas
A-F, G-K, L-R, S-Z
- Founding Settlers of Herzog (St. Fidelis)
- Saint Fidelis Cemetery (findagrave.com)