Oshkosh

HISTORY

In 1899, a group of immigrants from Yagodnaya Polyana who had originally settled in Pine Island, New York, arrived in Oshkosh and settled in what became known as "the West Side." This encompassed an area bordered by the Fox River, Eagle Street, and Witzel Avenue.

In 1900, a larger number began to arrive directly from Yagodnaya Polyana, many working for Paine Lumber Company that manufactured sashes and doors. By 1930 about 400 families from Yagodnaya Polyana had settled there.

VOLGA GERMAN FAMILIES

The following Volga German families are known to have settled in Oshkosh:

Arnold
Bafus from Yagodnaya Polyana
Diel
Dummler
Felker
Fischer
Geier
Gerlitz
Gerstmeyer
Gorr
Hahnemann
Hartmann
Hergert from Yagodnaya Polyana
Kleweno from Yagodnaya Polyana
Koch
Kromm
Lahnert
Langlitz from Yagodnaya Polyana
Lautenschlager from Yagodnaya Polyana
Leinweber from Yagodnaya Polyana
Lichtenwald from Franzosen
Litzenberger from Yagodnaya Polyana
Luft from Yagodnaya Polyana
Machleitfrom Yagodnaya Polyana
Merkal
Morasch from Yagodnaya Polyana
Ostwaldt
Peppler from Hussenbach
Pfaffenroth from Yagodnaya Polyana
Pfeffer
Repp
Rothermel
Ruhl
Scheuermann from Yagodnaya Polyana
Schlager
Schmick from Yagodnaya Polyana
Schuhart
Sinner
Spang
Starkel
Völker
Wagner
Wamboldt from Wiesenmüller 
Weigandt
Weitz

VOLGA GERMAN CONGREGATIONS

Christ Lutheran Church

Zion Lutheran Church

Sources

Lautenschlager, Peggy A. The West Siders: The Development and Disintegration of the Volga German Community in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. B.A. Thesis, Lake Forest College, 1977.

Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlement in the United States (Fargo, ND: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974): 55.