Wife comes from German families that had emigrated to Russia in the 1700's before coming to the US in the 1800's. No real reason given for the emigration, except that the Russian Tsars were recruiting Germans to move there by promising them land/etc., plus freedom from ever being conscripted. Germans kept their language, traditions, etc. - but when Russia started getting nasty in the 1800's a lot of those Russian Germans took off for the states. Many of those who stayed in Russia were purged by Lenin during WW2.
Never hear much about Germany in the 1700's, but must not have been a good place to live.
Hutterite?
Not any that I know of. Vast majority I'm familiar with are mostly plain jane Lutherans.
We looked back through a genealogy site at her family's ancestors in Russia.. and talk about a hard freaking life. I think we were looking at something like a minimum of 50% child deaths in the first couple of years. Trust me, to leave your family and friends behind and move up to the Sandhills of Nebraska with hardly any money, tools, maybe one mule, and try to eke out a crop? And then consider that a better life? Russia had to be a nightmare.
