Georg Ernst Henkel was born and baptized on September 11, 1735, in Büdingen. Georg Ernst was the son of Jacob Henkel and Anna Elisabeth Engel.
Georg Ernst married Anna Barbara Hosfeld on May 13, 1766, in Büdingen. She was born on May 13, 1743, in Hessdorf (today Heßdorf, located in Unterfranken, Bavaria) and was baptized on May 15th. Her parents are Johannes Hosfeld and Gertraud König.
As newlyweds, Georg Ernst and Anna Barbara decided to migrate to Russia in search of a new life. They traveled from Lübeck on the ship “Apollo” commanded by Friedrich Detleff Mörenberg. They arrived in Oranienbaum on July 29, 1766, and are listed in the Russian ship arrival lists (Kulberg Lists) as household 5132. On the same ship, there are two Hosfeld men listed as being from Franken (now the region of Unterfranken in Bavaria). Johannes Hosfeld, in household 5129, is Anna Barbara’s father. He is listed with his wife, Gertraud, and their children: Eva, 18, Anna Margaretha, 16, and Anna Catharina, 14. Listed in household 5130 is Johann Michael Hosfeld, a single man, who is Anna Barbara’s brother.
The Henkels arrived in the colony of Norka on August 15, 1767. The 1767 Census for Norka (also known as the First Settlers List) lists Georg Ernst and Anna Barbara in household 85. Household 85a lists Anna Katharina Hosfeld (mistranslated as Gutfeld), age 16. She is Anna Barbara’s sister.
It appears that most of Anna Barbara’s Hosfeld family died at some point after they arrived in Russia, but it is possible that they settled in a colony other than Norka.
Georg Ernst and Anna Barbara are listed in the 1775 Norka census, household 33, with their sons Johann Heinrich, 5 years old, and Georg Ernst, 3 years old.
The 1798 Norka census, household 33, lists Georg Ernst and his wife, Anna Barbara, their son Johann Heinrich, and his wife, Wilhelmina Jost. Johann Heinrich and Wilhelmina have one son, Peter, who is under a year old. The remainder of the household consists of the other four sons of Georg Ernst and Anna Barbara: Friedrich, 23; Peter, 21; Johann Georg, 18; and Johannes, 15.
Parish records of Büdingen accessed on Archion.de.
Parish records of Hessdorf (Heßdorf) accessed on ?
Idt, Andreas und Rauschenbach, Georg. Deutsche Kolonisten im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum und in den Siedlungsorten: Die Kuhlberg-Listen, 2. Auflage. Moskau: 2024; pgs. 639-640. nos. 5129, 5130, 5132.
Idt, Andreas und Rauschenbach, Georg. Auswanderung deutscher Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766, 2. Auflage. Moskau: 2019; p. 33.
Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767, Band 3. Göttingen: Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2005: p. 251, household 85.
Rye, Richard. The 1775 and 1798 Censuses of the German Colony on the Volga, Norka: Also Known as Weigand. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1995: 1775, p. 7, household 33. 1798, p. 43, household 33.