Citing this biography: Boyd, Michelle, "Johann Franziskus Donad and Christina —," article, Olive and Eliza, last accessed [current date]."
Johann Franziskus Donad (last name also appears as Tonat, Donat, and Donau) was born about 1756 in Ostritz, Saxony, Germany to Christian Donat and Anna Magaretha —. He arrived at the age of 11 at the colony of Graf, Samara, Russia 20 August 1767 with his father who was a soldier, his mother, and his younger sister.
Franz married first Christina —. Christina was born about 1755. She died 8 Sep 1790 in Graf, Samara, Russia.
Franz married second Marianna Rikel 14 Jan 1791 in Graf, Samara, Russia. She was born about 1776 in Herzog, Samara, Russia. Her parents in the 1798 census were listed as Konrad Leberich and Chreszentia Ehrmann. It is not clear if this means that 1) Konrad was actually her stepfather, 2) Marianna was a Leberich and married first to a Rikel (seems unlikely as her son Anton Donad was born when she was just 18), or 3) this was just a mistake on the part of the census taker.
Franz and Christina’s children are:
| 1 | Anna
Barbara Donau, born about 1782 in Graf, Samara Russia,
married Johan Adam Williger, seems to have been living in
Louis, Samara, Russia at the time of her daughter's birth in 1807. Husband: Johan Adam Williger. Child: Anna Barbara Williger. |
| 2 | Anna
Maria Donau, born about 1784 in Graf, Samara, Russia,
married Heinrich Jäkel 31 Jan 1805 in Rohleder parish,
Samara, Russia. Husband: Heinrich Jäkel, b. abt. 1779 in Graf, Samara, Russia to Friedrich Jäkel and Anna Maria Lauber, d. 1821. |
Franz and Marianna's children are:
| 3 | Johannes Heinrich Anton
Donau, appears under the name Anton in most records, born 25
Jan 1795 in Graf, Samara, Russia, baptized 28 Jan 1795, married Susanna
Brandt 23 Jan 1812 in Graf, Samara, Russia, died 1840 in
Graf, Samara, Russia. Wife: Susanna Brandt, born about 1794 in Graf, Samara, Russia, d. prob. bef. 1850. Child: Catharina Donau (d. young), Aloisius Donau, and Peter Donad (m. Catharina —). |
| 4 | Magdalena Donad, born
about 1797 in Graf, Samara, Russia, married Gottfried Geier
27 Oct 1814 in Rohleder, Samara, Russia. Husband: Gottfried Geier. Children: Barbara Geier and Catharina Geier. |
Summary of Sources
- Pleve, Igor, Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 2 (Kolonien Galka - Kutter), Göttingen: Nordost-Institut, 2001.
- Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Mariental Parish Records 1789 to 1810, https://volgaparishes.com/mariental_page.html, 2022.
- Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Rohleder Parish Records 1801 to 1857, https://volgaparishes.com/rohleder_page.html, 2022.
- Mai, Brent Alan, 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga: Economy, Population, and Agriculture, Volumes 1 and 2, Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1999.
- Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A census of the colony, December 10, 1834, Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001.
- Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A census of the colony, July 28, 1850, 2005.
Source Materials
Click on each category below to expand and see the copies of sources used to create the biography above (copyrighted and other restricted items are listed in the summary of sources above but not included below). Click again to close.
First Settlers List
Kolonie
Graf
(russischer Ortsname: Krutojarovka)
gegründet am 10. Juli 1766
...
46. Tonat [Donat], Christian, 46, kath., Soldat aus Sachsen, Ostritz
Frau: Anna Margaretha, 30
Kinder: Johann Franziskus, 11; Maria Regina, 5
in der Kolonie eingetroffen am 20.8.1767
erhalten von der Kanzlei in Petersburg 22 Rbl.
1768 gab es in der Wirtschaft 1 Pfd., 1 Kuh
Source: Pleve, Igor, Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 2 (Kolonien Galka - Kutter), Göttingen: Nordost-Institut, 2001.
Mariental Parish Records 1789 to 1810
Births and Baptisms
Photo: 139.11-2
Line: 8
Birth date: 25 Jan 1795
Baptismal date: 28 Jan 1795
Child: Johannes Heinrich Anton
Father: Donat Franciscus
Mother: ? Anna Klariana
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Anton Peter & Dorothea Sophia Hiltman
Photo: 139.51-1
Line: 45
Birth date: 7 Sep 1807
Baptismal date: 8 Sep 1807
Child: Anna Barbara
Father: Williger Johan Adam
Mother: Donau Anna Barbara
Village: Louis
Witnesses: Anna Barbara husch & Jacob Halle
Marriages
Photo: 150-1
Line: 4
Date: 14 Jan 1791
Groom: Donat Franz
Marital status: W
Bride: Ricklin Maria Anna
Marital status: S
Where married: Graf
Deaths
Photo: 197-2
Line: 2
Date: 8 Sep 1790
Name of decedent: Donau Christina
Age: 35
Village: Graf
Additional information in record: wife
Translator's notes: First wife of Franz Donau, 8G-37
Source: Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Mariental Parish Records 1789 to 1810, https://volgaparishes.com/mariental_page.html, 2022.
Rohleder Parish Records 1801 to 1857
Births and Baptisms
Photo: 31-1
Line: 21
Baptismal date: 24 May 1809
Child: Maria Elisabetha
Father: Jaekel Henry
Mother: Donau Anna Maria
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Anton Donau & Elisabetha Meyer
Photo: 51-1
Line: 42
Birth date: 5 Oct 1812
Baptismal date: 6 Oct 1812
Child: Anna Catharina
Father: Jaekel Henry
Mother: Donau Anna Maria
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Anton Graff & Catharina Bauer
Photo: 120-2
Line: 29
Birth date: 17 Jul 1816
Baptismal date: 19 Jul 1816
Child: Nicolaus
Father: Jaekel Henry
Mother: Donau Anna Maria
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Nicolaus Schaefer & M Anna Schaefer
Photo: 52-2
Line: 21
Birth date: 18 Apr 1814
Baptismal date: 19 Apr 1814
Child: Catharina
Father: Donau Anton
Mother: Brandt Susanna
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Michael Dack & Catharina Rohleder
Photo: 51-2
Line: 11
Birth date: 25 Mar 1815
Baptismal date: 27 Mar 1815
Child: Barbara
Father: Geier Gottfried
Mother: Donau Magdalena
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Johannes Geyer & Barbara Hergert
Photo: 120-1
Line: 19
Birth date: in utero
Baptismal date: 28 May 1816
Child: Aloisius
Father: Donau Anton
Mother: Brandt Susanna
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Nicolaus Meyer & Barbara Hergert
Notes: The original record states that the priest "supplavi ceremonias
in infante ab obstetrice baptizato," meaning "supplied ceremony for a
child baptized by the midwife." Such baptisms were allowed to be
performed on an emergency basis when it was feared that the child
would die in birth or shortly thereafter. In this case, it seems that
Aloisius had a difficult birth but survived it at least long enough to
be re-baptized by a priest. MB
Photo: 120-2
Line: 30
Birth date: 27 Jul 1816
Baptismal date: 27 Jul 1816
Child: Catharina
Father: Geier Gottfried
Mother: Donau Magdalena
Village: Graf
Witnesses: Nicolaus Mayer & Margareta Wasinger
Marriages
Photo: 34-1
Line: 2
Date: 31 Jan 1805
Groom: Jaekel Henry
Bride: Donau Anna Maria
Marital status: S
Photo: 52-1
Line: 1
Date: 23 Jan 1812
Groom: Donau Anton
Marital status: S
Village: Graf
Bride: Brandt Susanna
Marital status: S
Village: Graf
Where married: Graf
Witnesses: Anton Graf Georg Klephahn
Photo: 53-1
Line: 16
Date: 27 Oct 1814
Groom: Geier Gottfried
Marital status: S
Village: Graf
Bride: Donau Magdalena
Marital status: S
Village: Graf
Where married: Rohleder
Witnesses: Peter Bollig Peter Meier
Deaths
Photo: 52-2
Line: 8
Date: 3 Jul 1815
Age: 15 mo
Name of decedent: Donau Catharina
Village: Graf
Source: Boyd, Darryl and Dreiling, Trecil (comp.), Rohleder Parish Records 1801 to 1857, https://volgaparishes.com/rohleder_page.html, 2022.
Graf Census, 1798
Gf37 Fronz Donad
[?]
h
41
Marianna Rikel
sp
22 from Herzog
Anton
s
4
Magdalena
d
1
Barbara
d
16 daughter by his 1st wife
Anna Maria
d
14 daughter by his 1st wife
Konrad
Leberich o
48 Marianna's father;
from Herzog
Chreszentia Ehrmann
m
58 Marianna's mother
Workers: 2
Horses: 7
Cows: 6
Sheep: 7
Swine: 14
Chickens: 15
Planted - 1796/1797
Rye: 3 chetverik
Wheat: 1 chetvert 2 chetverik
Potatoes: 7 chetverik
Harvested - 1797
Rye: 1 chetvert 7 chetverik
Wheat: 6 chetvert 2 chetverik
Potatoes: 1 chetvert 7 chetverik
Source: Mai, Brent Alan, 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga: Economy, Population, and Agriculture, Volumes 1 and 2, Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1999.
Graf Census, 1834
Anton Donad
Birth: 1794
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Father: Fronz Donad (1757- )
Mother: Marianna Reckling (1776- )
Wife: Susanna ?
Birth: 1794
Children:
1M: Peter Donad
Birth: 1821
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Fronz Donad
Birth: 1757
Wife: Marianna Reckling
Birth: 1776
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Children:
1M: Anton Donad
Birth: 1794
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Spouse: Susanna ?
...
Friedrich Hekel
Birth: 1748
Wife: Anna Maria Lauber
Birth: From the colony of Herzog (Susly), Russia
Children:
1M: Henrich Hekel
Birth: 1779
Death:
1821
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Spouse: ??
2F: Magdalena Hekel
Birth:
1792
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Spouse: ??
Henrich Hekel
Birth: 1779
Death:
1821
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Father: Friedrich Hekel
Mother: Anna Maria Lauber
Spouse: ??
Children:
1F: Teresa Hekel
Birth:
1820
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Source: Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A census of the colony, December 10, 1834, Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2001.
Graf Census, 1850
Anton Donad
Birth: 1794
Death: 1840
Graf
(Krutoyarovka), Russia
Wife: ? ?
Children:
1M: Peter Donad
Birth: 1821
Graf (Krutoyarovka), Russia
Spouse: Catharina ?
Source: Leus, Pavel M. (trans.) and Rupp, Kevin D. (comp.), Graf, Russia (Krutoyarovka): A census of the colony, July 28, 1850, 2005.
Return: Home > Ancestry of Florence Rose Mahler > Donau Family Tree
Author: Michelle A. Boyd
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Last updated 24 March 2022