Tracker Pixel for Entry

Rev. George Rath (1891-1977), Author of ‘Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas’

Culture | June 27th, 2023

By Michael M. Miller

michael.miller@ndsu.edu

One of the most important books I would recommend for our Germans from Russia community is “The Black Sea Germans in the Dakotas” by George Rath.

It is available at grhc-northdakotastate-ndus.nbsstore.net/black-sea-germans-in-the-dakotas.

George Rath was born in 1891 in Nesselrode (Kuyalnik), near Birsula, Province of Odessa, Ukraine. His father was Georg, born at Bergdorf (Glueckstal District). His mother was Katharine Reiser. He was inducted into the Russian Army in 1916 and began training as an officer candidate at the Odessa Military School.

In September 1916, he was redesignated as “German Colonist” and transferred to a reserve infantry unit. Following the power grab by the Bolsheviks, he emigrated to Germany, where from 1920 to 1922 he continued theological studies at the University of Tübingen.

In 1922, Rath emigrated to the United States and after ordination, he served ministerial duties with the Evangelical Synod of North America. In 1923, he married Rosine Eisemann, born at Hoffnungstal, Province of Odessa. In 1946, he became an Associate Professor of Modern Languages at the State College of Peru, Nebraska, where he taught until his retirement in 1961.

Allyn Brosz, Washington, DC, native of Tripp, SD, writes, “George Rath’s book is an important study on the impact of the ethnic Germans from Russia in the Dakotas. This book contains one of the best discussions of the developments in Russia during the 1860s and 1870s that led to the mass migration of German-Russians to North America.

“Rath provides passenger arrival lists of the first immigrants as well as geographic information for the towns and counties in South Dakota and North Dakota and where they settled. This is an essential book for understanding the history of the Black Sea Germans.”

Rath gives a fact-filled overview of the Black Sea Germans who settled in the Dakotas. He begins with a look at the original Black Sea settlements whose inhabitants originated from Germany and Alsace. Rath traces their immigration to the Dakotas and identifies where they settled.

Book chapters focus on the role and scope of the major Protestant denominations to which the German-Russians were attached. Rath takes note of the German-Russian talent for arduous work and their hunger for land.

Rath was aware of public German-Russian culture, newspapers, and language changes. He recorded facts about the church and community history and interested himself in the origins of place names.

Rath provides a list of immigrants who crossed the Atlantic on the ships Cimbria and Thuringia.

In south central North Dakota, Rath’s coverage included Early Catholic settlers in McIntosh and Emmons Counties, including groups who settled in the Beaver Creek area in the Spring of 1886.

Part I for South Dakota and Part II for North Dakota include settlements of many counties.

Included in the book is “Supplementary Information About the Settlements” which identifies towns of the larger German-Russian communities in the Dakotas. He chronicles names of the first settlers, along with the names of the ancestral villages from which they originated.

Rath also names seventy-eight families of 1873 who left Worms, Beresan District, South Russia (today near Odessa, Ukraine) and settled at Scotland, Dakota Territory.

Rath recognized the importance of published historical information provided by German newspapers such as Dakota Freie Presse, Dakota Rundschau (Eureka Rundschau), Der Staatsanzeiger, Die Wishek News, Nord Dakota Herold, and The Ashley Tribune.

Rev. George Rath authored numerous articles in German for the Dakota Freie Presse during the oppression of the Germans in Russia under Josef Stalin, in which he defended their human rights. He wrote of the “Fate of the Black Sea Germans During the First World War.”

Rath says of the Germans from Russia, “Wheat raising was the object of their lives, and, from the vantage points of the 1970s, they (the Germans from Russia) foresaw stability and continuity well into the future.”

__________________________________________

YOU SHOULD KNOW

The 52nd Germans from Russia Heritage Society Convention will be at the Baymont Hotel, Mandan, ND, from July 19-22, 2023. Join us for this festive gathering of our Germans from Russia community. For more information, go to www.grhs.org.

GRHC’s new traveling exhibit, “Building Life and Home on the Prairie,” will be on display at the Prairie Village Museum, Rugby, ND, June 5 to August 21. Thanks to a generous gift from the Mike and Peggy Bullinger Family, a second exhibit will be on display at the Harold Schafer Heritage Center, Medora, ND, from June 7 to September 8.

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Fargo Park District will host the Kids Triathlon on Wednesday, July 9, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The event will be held at Madison Park and Bicycle Playground, located at 3010 11th Avenue N.…

Back-to-school season is on the horizon, but there's still plenty of summer left. Check out our favorite August attractions and events in North Dakota and western Minnesota. And if if you missed them, here are a few excellent May…

June 21, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.Fargo Theatre, 314 Broadway N., Fargo“We Watch Shudder,” Fargo’s favorite horror podcasters, bring on the darkness during the longest day of the year. The Darkest Day of Horror Film Festival features…

Fighting the good fightBy Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Over two thousand rallies took place nationwide June 14 as part of the “No Kings" protest. Ten of those protests were held in North Dakota, with thousands in attendance.…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhy doesn’t the world require politicians to leave office at 60?Most of the leaders of countries, whether gods, fascists, democrats or socialists, are not doing very well these days. David Van…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com The weather warmed up quickly here in the upper Midwest this spring, sparking prime eating season. This means burger battles, food trucks and lake-season food travel. The 2025 Downtown Fargo Burger…

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comThe Moorhead Public Library will offer three free, all-ages outdoor concerts featuring regional bands this summer. The series begins on June 12 with the Meat Rabbits, a group that blends…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com Filmmaker Matt Wolf, whose lovely “Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell” suggests he would be the perfect director to construct the definitive biographical account of the wholly…

By Deb Wallworkdwallwork@icloud.comI first met Catherine Mulligan at a party at her house. It was a small gathering, spontaneous, just a few people over for dinner. Directed toward a stack of plates and bowls and a big pot warming…

North Dakota play about mental health launches Midwest tour in AugustBy Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.com A new one-act play inspired by patients buried in the Old Cemetery at the Jamestown State Hospital will tour festivals in…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

The drug that keeps re-purposing itselfBy Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com There is a drug that is getting a lot of attention nowadays all over the world. It has various commercial names (Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus), but…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…