[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] One particular Grenz Lineage in Volhynia from prior to 1843 and thereafter until 1944.

Will Genz wg7 at theunion.net
Wed Mar 4 18:54:57 PST 2009


My siblings and I are descendents fro Friedrich and Wilhelmina Grenz who with many other Germans immigrated from East Prussia (Kreutzburg) near Koenigsberg into the Ukraine in the 1840-50's to establish a new homeland later called Volhynia. They were Lutherans while their offspring became Baptists..  My sister Lilly and I (Willy) were born in Zhitomyr before the German Wehrmacht rescued us and took us back to Germany.  Our parents, Arthur and Ida Grenz lived last in Zhitomyr in the 1940's where they were active members of the largest Baptist congregation there. My Father, Arthur was born on 15 July 1903 in Ivanovitch an died in Long Beach California on 10-13-1982.  My Mother Ida was born on March 13, 1907 in Annopol. She died on March 9, 2000  in Long Beach California.  My family took on the name of "Narchinski" (Intermarriage with Polish family) in early 1900 to WWI and during the horrific Stalinist years. My Father served a total of 9 years in Russian Gulags because he was active in spreading the word of God among the population in the Ukraine.  Among other horrific experiences was his forceful labor to build the Moscow-Volga Canal. I have a  list of all the villages and other communities that my forefathers lived in and visited during those years prior to 1940 that I can share with anyone interested. These places are shown on a rough Map with approximate locations. I have engaged in a search to determine  the family lineage any prior to 1843 and have so far had any luck.  Several dubious sources claim that our Grenz clan came from the German province of Rheinpfaltz where there is now a town called "Grenzdorf" at the confluence of the Lahn and the Rhine rivers. I am writing a book based on a diary that was passed on in in secret through the generations form Wilhelmina in 1843  to Arthur and then on to me.
I am keenly interested in finding any information on input on this Grenz lineage prior to 1843 and any other information that other families might have relative to my quest.  Best Regards,  Willy Grenz wg7 at theunion.net


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