Heinrich and Anna (Koehn) Foth

Anna Foth was born on May 24, 1842, to Heinrich and Anna (Koehn) Foth.  We don’t know for sure where Anna was born, but in all likelihood it was in Volhynia; either Karlswalde or Zabara.  Heinrich and Anna (Koehn) Foth had one other daughter, Eva, who was born on December 24, 1846.  GRANDMA indicates that Anna was baptized on June 10, 1861 and Eva on May 4, 1864.  However, the Tobias Unruh baptism record indicates that both Foth girls were baptized on the same date in 1861, in Antonovka. 

The green Ratzlaff book indicates that while in Zabara, Anna Foth married Jacob Ratzlaff (b 1842).  There’s a little confusion about when the Foth family moved to Zabara; I suppose it’s entirely possible that Anna was born in Zabara.  The green Ratzlaff book indicates that Anna was baptized in Zabara, but I don’t think that’s likely as the Tobias Unruh baptism record indicates she was baptized in Antonovka.  Nevertheless, Anna and Jacob were married in Zabara, probably sometime in 1862.

Anna (Koehn) Foth’s father’s name was Jacob Koehn.  Nothing more is known about him at this time, but he probably would have been born around the year 1800.  Anna (Koehn) Foth was born on June 3, 1824.

Several years prior to 1856, Heinrich Foth died.  After a period of time, Anna (Koehn) Foth remarried to a man named Peter Ratzlaff.  Anna (Koehn, Foth) and Peter Ratzlaff had their third child by the year 1856 so Heinrich Foth must have died by 1853 at the latest.  By the time her father died, Anna Foth would have been just over 10 years old, and Eva would have been a few years younger.  After mother Anna (Koehn, Foth) was married to Peter Ratzlaff, the young Foth girls would have lived in the Peter Ratzlaff household until they were married.

Peter Ratzlaff was the son of Andreas Ratzlaff and was born on April 10, 1826.  No additional information is known about his parents at this time, but he did have a brother named Andreas (born about 1830), who also lived in the Ostrog area.  Andreas married Katherina Buller and emigrated to America with his family in 1881 aboard the SS Waesland.  The ancestry of Peter and Andreas is unknown beyond their father.  However, their children do appear in the Tobias Unruh baptism record.  Mary, Bernard and Elizabeth, Peter and Anna (Koehn, Foth) Ratzlaff’s eldest 3 children are listed as having been baptized 1874, 1867 and 1874, respectively.  These children would have been half-siblings to Anna Foth.

Peter and Anna (Koehn, Foth) Ratzlaff, with their children Elisabeth, Catharine, Sara and Susanna, emigrated to America in 1874 aboard the SS Vaderland in December of 1874.  Bernard also emigrated to America, at a different time.  Mary, the eldest child, may have remained in Russia.  On the ship listing, the Peter Ratzlaff family appears after a Koehn family and before a Buller family:

 Peter and Anna (Koehn, Foth) Ratzlaff made their way to KS and must have been among the immigrants who suffered terribly in Hutchinson and Florence in the winter of 1874.  Anna died in 1906 and lies buried in an unmarked grave in the Lone Tree Church cemetery.  Peter’s date of death is unknown.  Based on information in the GRANDMA database, most their children lived in the McPherson County, KS, area, while some of their grandchildren made their way to the Meno-Ringwood, OK areas.

Eva Foth was married to Benjamin Nachtigal around 1866 and they made their home in the Ostrog area.  At least 3 sons were born, and the family emigrated to America aboard the SS Vaderland in December of 1874.  At this point, I do not know where Eva and Benjamin are buried, but apparently the family settled near Canton, KS.  2 of the sons (Andreas and Jacob) moved to Oklahoma, while the eldest, Heinrich, stayed in Kansas and is buried in the Lone Tree Church cemetery.  Benjamin was the son of Andreas and Luisa Nachtigal.