Q&A on Using the Stumpp Book

By Gayla Aspenleiter

topOriginally published in the March 2010 Germans from Russia Heritage Society Heritage Review
 

Q1         What is the Stumpp book?

Q2.   What regions in Imperial Russia are covered by this book?

Q3.   Will this book tell me where my ancestors came from before arriving in Russia?

Q4.   Do I need to read German in order to understand the information in this book?

Q5.   How do I find my ancestor in this book?  

Q6.   How accurate is the information in this book?

Q7.   Where did Stumpp get his information?

Q8.   Is there information other than lists of ancestors in this book?

Q9.   Where can I find more information on using the Stumpp book?

Q1         What is the Stumpp book?

A.    The Emigration from Germany to Russia in the Years 1763-1862 by Dr. Karl Stumpp is often referred to simply as “the Stumpp book.” If you are researching your Germany ancestors from Russia, you will definitely want to purchase a copy of this book. It contains 1,018 pages of history, research, maps, and lists (emigrants, colonies, census, passports, etc.).  The book is divided into two parts.

Part I focuses on the history and causes of emigration, family and ancestral research, places of emigration (Germany, Hungary, Poland, Prussia, Mecklenburg, Silesia), lists of the mother colonies in Russia (founding year, number of families, original homeland, religion, and districts), and most importantly, an alphabetical index of the emigrants from Germany to Russia. Part II provides immigration/revision lists, passport lists, and finally, a list of the mother colonies in the Black Sea area for which revision lists are available in the book.

It is important to note here that the Mennonite revision lists are not in the Stumpp book but can be found in The Netherland-Low German Background of the Mennonite Migration to the East in the 16, 18 , and 19 Centuries by Benjamin Unruh.

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Q2.   What regions in Imperial Russia are covered by this book?

A.    The main regions covered are the Volga and the Black Sea areas.  It also includes colonies near Petersburg (Leningrad) with an appendix list of families from Strelna.  The Black Sea area includes Bessarabia, Odessa, Jekaterinoslav, Taurida, Crimea, South Caucasus, the Swabian colonies near Berdyansk, Alt-Danzig, Riebensdorf, and Gnadenburg.

Q3.   Will this book tell me where my ancestors came from before arriving in Russia?

A.    Maybe. Part I of the book provides the names of towns, districts, and numbers of families who emigrated from Württemberg, Baden, Palatinate, Alsace, Hesse, Rhine Hesse, Bavaria, Danzig, West Prussia, Hungary, Poland, Prussia, Mecklenburg, and Silesia. It also includes an alphabetical index of the emigrants and usually specifies where the emigrant came from.

For example, on page 209 it lists: Aspenleiter, Matthias, s. d. Nikolaus, aus Birkenhördt/Bergzabern-Pf, 1819, nach Speier/Od; RL: 72, Fr.: Marg. Berger; S.: Johann 1. This tells us that the Aspenleiter family came from the town or village of Birkenhördt in the district of Bergzabern in the Pfalz.

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Q4.   Do I need to read German in order to understand the information in this book?

A.    No, but you need to know some German expressions and abbreviations used in the book. The following pages contain expressions/abbreviations you will want to familiarize yourself with: 12, 85, 117, 167, 177, 204, 499, and 500. Other abbreviations or expressions not identified in the book are below:

Q5.   How do I find my ancestor in this book?  

A.    First, you will want to find your ancestral surname in Part I of the book. Below is a guide to help you, depending on where your ancestor settled.

       Make sure you look at all variants of the spelling of the last name. See below for examples:

       Once you find the surname you are looking for in Part I, look in Part II for additional information. In the Aspenleiter example (in Q3) Part I states “Speier/Od; RL: 72.” RL = revision list and the number indicates household on the list. To find your colony in Part II, page 1015 provides a quick guide by colony name to the page numbers for revision lists.

Speier is on page 794, and when we turn there, it states Speier was founded in 1809, it’s a Catholic village, and the 1816 revision list is included. Next we go to house #72 (pg. 798) and you will see the listing for Nikolaus, father of Matthias. It provides the first name of Nikolaus’s wife, but also his mother-in-law, Eva Lang (now you know the maiden name of Nikolaus’s wife). Johann and Matthias are listed as children of Nikolaus.    

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Q6.   How accurate is the information in this book?

A.    The Stumpp book provides a wealth of information from a number of sources, but also has a number of errors because of the large volume of information contained in this book. Some of these are easily explained. For example, see the Aspenleiter example in Q3. It shows Matthias emigrated in 1819, but that is incorrect as the 1816 revision list (pg 798) lists Matthias as 5 years of age, born in 1811. Another source, Birkenhördt im Wandel der Zeiten 1322-1997 by Egon Bade states Nikolaus emigrated in 1809 which means Matthias was born in Speier. The 1819 emigration date could be a typo in the Stumpp book.

As a researcher, it is critical that you consult more than one source when researching your ancestors, so don’t rely only on the Stumpp book for your information.

Q7.   Where did Stumpp get his information?

A.    Stumpp lists over 60 sources in his Bibliographical References found on page 1017 of his book, including archive documents and a number of emigration reference sources from German areas.

Q8.   Is there information other than lists of ancestors in this book?

A.    Yes, Part I of the book details the historical background associated with the migrations to Russia. It includes the text of Catherine the Great’s manifesto, reasons for emigration, letters and descriptions of journeys, and methods of family research.

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Q9.   Where can I find more information on using the Stumpp book?

A.           GRHS member, Arthur E. Flegel, has written three articles relating to the Stumpp book that are available online.

·         Key to the Usage of Dr, Karl Stumpp’s Book (odessa3.org/collections/articles/link/clue1974.txt)

·         Help in the Use of the Stumpp Book (odessa3.org/collections/articles/link/clue1980.txt)

·         A Researcher’s Guide to the Stumpp Book (odessa3.org/collections/articles/link/clue1988.txt)

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