YOCKIM (JOCHIM) FAMILY GENEOLOGY

During four thousand or more years peoples of the earth established themselves into the various continents so that by the time the Romans had conquered most of the area along the Mediterranean Sea great hordes of barbaric tribes came out of the interior of Northwest Asia and settled in what was then lands held by the Roman Empire. Some of these tribes made up the European Nations.

As much as is known these tribes were the Goths, Visigoth, Vandals, Teutonic, Angelo Saxons, Jutes and many other clans.

Many of the tribes settled in what is known as Germany (east and west) today. Our forefathers were most likely among them. Leaders of these peoples set up the feudal system: kings, nobles,

serfs, peasants. By 1770 it is thought that our forefathers were established in some part of Germany,

perhaps Alsace, Germany. Another thought is the vicinity of the Rhine River. Some cities possibly being the abode of our ancestors were Metz, Nancy, Stuttgart, Ulm, Freiburg, Basel, Mulhausen, Strasburg, Selz, Hagenau, Rastatt, Baden, Karlsruhe, Jockrim, Kandel. Rivers in that area were

the Rhine, Donau River, Lauter River, Neekar River.

About 1794 the French king lost his throne and the revolutionists took over his reign and many heads rolled . This was the French Revolution. Prussian armies invaded the Alsace area trying to re-establish the French throne. Napoleon Bonaparte and his campaigns added much to the unrest and uneasiness in the area of our ancestors.

Around 1803, Alexander the 1st of Russia, grandson of Katherine the Great of Russia, made some fabulous offers to get settlers to come to Russia and settle around the Black Sea area close to Odessa. Most of the land in that area was gained by the Russians as the results of wars with their

neighbors, the Turks. Czar Alexander I of Russia gave offers to many parts of Germany for colonists. He wanted good farmers and artisans: and he was rather selective in his choice of those who signed

up. He promised in his Manifesto to the Germans many advantages: Freedom of religion, no taxes

for ten years, no military service, loans of money , some free land for each family and self-government.

The families of MARTIN JOCHIM and MARGARET HELFRICH and the families of MATTHEW SCHAFF and EDITH SMALTZ : The dates of death of these members of our family probably can be found in Flasher, Mandan or Bismarck, North Dakota.

These ancestors left their home lands in Germany about 1800 to 1808. Many of the families left from the city of Ulm and floated down the Danube River in transports until they reached the

city of Vienna, Austria. Then most of the emigrants went overland to Odessa On The Black Sea . We have often heard of Mother Bertha Yockim speak of this area.

The Russian Czar assigned a French nobleman named Duc De RicheIieu as governor of the Odessa

area. The Russian authorities were not prepared adequately when our forefathers arrrived there. No housing, little food, and sickness was common. It took a while before the new peoples could

move to the new land the Czar was to give families who moved as groups to new settlements.

There were three groups of people from Germany who came to Russia between the years

1800 and 1810: Catholics, Lutheran Evangelists, and the Mennonites.

The Catholic group was assigned to go to the Kutschurgan settlement on the east side of

the Kutschurgan Limon, a kind of estuary or overflow of the Kutshurgan River, which flows into the Black Sea. The Kutschurgan colony was made of six settlements. This was about 40 miles northwest of the City of Odessa.

Names of settlements which were possible places to which our ancestors lived were Strasburg,

Baden, Selz, Kandel, Manheim, Elsas. The German colonists expansion extended all over the southern plains of Russia from the Caucasus Mountains for into Bassarabia.

Other German settlements in Russia were Volga river colonies quite farther northeast of Odessa, colonies west of Odessa between Dniester River and Pruth River. All of these colonies were within the Odessa Russia territory.

Do not become confused with the duplicate names of cities as the people usually named a settlement or Dorf (town or village) the some as the cities or towns in Germany from which they come. You can also see duplicates of these names in North Dakota and other places, all originating from the German villages.

The town or village was called a Dorf. Workers went out from these places to their landholdings to do their farming. Each village had a common pasture, vegetable garden and cemetery. More and More land was acquired outside of the original crown lands. In each

of these dorfer or villages, churches , schools, shops of all kinds were established. The land

was very much Iike the land in North Dakota and it took hard work and many trials in order to establish themselves on the Steppes of Russia.

Most of the history and records of our ancestors were lost or destroyed during the Russian Revolution of 1917, after World War I. Then the Czarist regime come to an end and the Russian Bolsheviks took control of the government. Now we call the Bolsheviks--Communists of the Soviet Union. We have often heard Mother Bertha Yockim express her contempt of the Bolsheviks.

More of the history was lost when Hitler's armies took over the Odessa area during World War II. After World War II it is estimated that over 40,000 German-Russian people who fled back to Germany with Hitler's armies in retreat were handed back to Russia and were in turn

transported to Siberia. Mother Yockim often spoke of sending people to Siberia. Many are there to this day.

Our MARTIN JOCHIM and SCHAFF and SMALTZ and HELFRICH families left in the 1870's

to 1910's and escaped the fate of many of their people.

Many of the families left Russia by going overland by railroad to Hamburg, Germany, and then by ship to New York. Some docked in Canada and spread out from there. Some have settled in Kansas, Brazil, Argentina and Texas.

The scarcity of land around the Black Sea Area and the enforced military service into the

Russian Army, plus the loss of many other privileges forced many of the German-Russian people to leave and take advantage of the Liberal land policy of the American Government with its Homestead laws, Preemption Act, and the Tree Claim Act. That land was available in the U.S. was well advertised by the American Government and our ancestors heard of this and took up

the offer.

One incident I remember Mother Yockim talk about was the trip from England. It seems

to me that England was on embarkation place to the U.S. and Canada for many of these people, as I have heard this mentioned by Mother Yockim. She stated that she was 8 years old at the time but remembered. The trip was by what we would call a small boat nowadays, and it was packed to the gills. She remembers huge waves of water coming over the ship and many people crying out. There was a lot of sickness on the ship and none of it was fun.

Our forefathers settled around Mandan and Bismarck , North Dakota; eventually moving into

Montana.

Names of settlements which were possible places to which our ancestors lived were Strasburg, Baden, Selz, Kandel, Manheim, Elsas, Manheim. Other German settlements in Russia were

Volga River colonies quite farther northeast of Odessa, Colonies west of Odessa between Dniester

River and Pruth River. All of these colonies were within the Odessa Russia territory.

Do not become confused with the duplicate names of cities as the people usually named a settlement or Dorf, (town or village) the same as the cities or towns in Germany from which they came. You

can also see duplicates of these names in North Dakota and other places, all originating from the

German villages.

The town or village was called a Dorf. Workers went out from these places to their land-holdings to do their farming. Each village had a common pasture, vegetable garden and cemetery. More and more land was acquired outside of the original crown lands. In each of these dorfer or villages, churches, schools, shops of all kinds were established. The land was very much like the land in

North Dakota and it took hard work and many trials in order to establish themselves of the Steppes

of Russia.

Most of the history and records of our ancestors were lost or destroyed during the Russian Revolution of 1917, after World War I. Then the Czarist regime came to an end and the Russian Bolsheviks took control of the government. Now we call the Bolsheviks , communists of the Soviet Union. We have often heard Mother Bertha Yockim express her contempt of the Bolsheviks.

More of the history was lost when Hitler's armies took over the Odessa area during World War

II. After WW 2 it is estimated that over 40,000 German-Russian people who fled back to Germany with Hitler's armies in retreat were handed back to Russia and were in turn transported to Siberia. Mother Yockim often spoke of sending people to Siberia. Many are there to this day.

Our Martin Jochim (Yockim) and Schaff and Smaltz (Schmaltz and Helfrich families left in the

1870's to 191O's and escaped the fate of many of their people.

Many of the families left Russia by going overland by railroad to Hamburg, Germany, and then by ship to New York. Some docked in Canada and spread out from there. Some have settled in Kansas, Brazil, Argentina and Texas.

The scarcity of land around the Black Sea area and the enforced military service into the Russian Army, plus the loss of many other privileges forced many of the German-Russian people to leave and take advantage of the Liberal land policy of the American Government with its Homestead Laws, Preemption Act, and the Tree Claim Act. That land was available in the U.S. was well advertised

by the American government and our ancestors heard of this and took up the offer.

One incident I remember Mother Yockim talk about was the trip from England (if I am mistaken correct this country. It seems to me that England was an embarkation place to the U.S. and Canada for many of these people, as I have heard this mentioned by Mother Yockim. She stated that she was

8 years old at the time but remembered. The trip was by what we would call a small boat now days, and it was packed to the gills. She remembers huge waves of water coming over the ship and many people crying out. There was a lot of sickness on the ship and none of it was fun.

FROM HERE ON I WILL LEAVE THIS UP TO ANY PERSON WHO IS WILLING TO CONTINUE MORE RESEARCH.

Should you be interested in learning more about the German-Russian ancestry, then read: Joseph S. Height's "Paradise on the Steppe", 1221 E. Adams Drive, Franklin, Indiana, 46131

I wish to thank Martha Baumgartner Schmidt who gave me some of her history, but of which

could not link any names of our ancestors with . I will copy a few pages of her booklet and genealogy and maybe someone else can relate, but her ancestors were all traced to Strasberg, North Dakota.

Floyd Yockim, son of Bertha and Steve Yockim.