History > Settlement in North America
Settlement in North America
Based on favorable reports from scouts sent to America in 1874 and through the personal experiences and encouragement of Rev. Stärkel from the colony of Norka, several families began their journey to the United States in 1875.
The steamship City of Brussels arrived in New York from Liverpool on June 28, 1875. On board was a small party of Volga Germans, including seven families and two single men who were the first Volga Germans to migrate to the United States. Some of these families would be the first to settle in Portland, only a few years later.
The steamship City of Brussels arrived in New York from Liverpool on June 28, 1875. On board was a small party of Volga Germans, including seven families and two single men who were the first Volga Germans to migrate to the United States. Some of these families would be the first to settle in Portland, only a few years later.
This first group settled in Bluffton, Ohio, and worked for two years digging ditches and performing similar tasks among the community's farmers. During these two years, they sought land, which they later found in Sutton, Nebraska. The Friedrich Jörg and Heinrich Trüber families may have been the first to move to Sutton.
According to Dr. Ruth Schultz, George and Elizabeth Schreiber were the parents of the first child (Helena) of Volga German descent born in America. George, the son of Heinrich Schreiber, traveled with his parents and the first group of immigrants aboard the City of Brussels.
A second group of Volga German families arrived together in New York on December 30, 1875, aboard the steamship Montreal. This group initially settled in Kansas. Among this group would be the first Volga Germans to arrive in Albina in 1881.
The Volga Germans were different from earlier German immigrants. Their speech was laced with Russian words, and those who migrated directly from Germany considered their dialect archaic. Along with their English-speaking neighbors, they began their lives in America at the bottom of the social and economic ladder, taking on jobs that others shied away from. Women worked as domestics, and men labored on railroad construction projects or farmed. All who encountered them, however, admired their ability to work.
By the early 1880s, some who had settled in the Midwest began migrating to the Pacific Northwest, specifically to Portland, Oregon.
Beginning with a few scouts who located inexpensive and abundant land in 1874, German migration from Russia eventually reached massive proportions. By 1920, 303,532 first and second-generation German Russians resided in the United States.
According to Dr. Ruth Schultz, George and Elizabeth Schreiber were the parents of the first child (Helena) of Volga German descent born in America. George, the son of Heinrich Schreiber, traveled with his parents and the first group of immigrants aboard the City of Brussels.
A second group of Volga German families arrived together in New York on December 30, 1875, aboard the steamship Montreal. This group initially settled in Kansas. Among this group would be the first Volga Germans to arrive in Albina in 1881.
The Volga Germans were different from earlier German immigrants. Their speech was laced with Russian words, and those who migrated directly from Germany considered their dialect archaic. Along with their English-speaking neighbors, they began their lives in America at the bottom of the social and economic ladder, taking on jobs that others shied away from. Women worked as domestics, and men labored on railroad construction projects or farmed. All who encountered them, however, admired their ability to work.
By the early 1880s, some who had settled in the Midwest began migrating to the Pacific Northwest, specifically to Portland, Oregon.
Beginning with a few scouts who located inexpensive and abundant land in 1874, German migration from Russia eventually reached massive proportions. By 1920, 303,532 first and second-generation German Russians resided in the United States.
Sources
Sallet, Richard. Russian-German Settlements in the United States. Fargo: North Dakota Institute for Regional Studies, 1974. Print.
Scheuerman, Richard D., and Clifford E. Trafzer. The Volga Germans: Pioneers of the Northwest. Moscow, ID: U of Idaho, 1980. Print.
Scheuerman, Richard D., and Clifford E. Trafzer. The Volga Germans: Pioneers of the Northwest. Moscow, ID: U of Idaho, 1980. Print.
Last updated October 4, 2025