Volga Germans
March 31, 1881 Argentina Census
Colonia General Alvear
Entre Rios Province, Argentina

Copyright 2005
Jorge L. Göttig
http://www.webbitt.com/volga/col_gen_alvear.txt

This document may be freely used for personal, nonprofit purposes. It may also be shared with others, provided the header with copyright notice is included. However, it may not be republished in any form without permission of the copyright owner.

This index was compiled and generously donated by Jorge L. Göttig. It is composed of over 1,500 individuals and is a valuable aid to researchers of early Volga German colonists in Argentina.

This colony of General Alvear was comprised of 6 villages: (click each Village to access the Census)

• Asunción (Spatzenkuter)
• Concepción (Valle María)
• San José (Brasilera)
• Agricultores (Protestante)
• San Francisco (Pfeifer)
• Salto (Koeller)
• Pobladores en sus Concesiones (those living on their own land)

The first village name was the official one, i.e. the name given by the Argentinean authorities, and the second name within the parenthesis was used by the colonists. The census index is listed by village below. Over 1,500 individuals are listed in this census index. This census provides: Date of arrival in the Colony (24 groups between 22-01-1878 and 24-04-1880), Name, Nationality, Marital status, age and literacy.

The census be found in Archivo General de la Nación or in English the National Archives in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The collection is called "1881 - Tierras y Colonias. Datos Estadisticos", or in English "1881 - Land and Colonies. Statistics".

Five of six villages were Catholic. The single Protestant or Lutheran village was Agricultores (Protestante or Protestantendorf).

Three of the villages were heavily populated by particular Volga villages so the names used by the colonist were the names of the Volga village:

- Concepción (in English: Conception), also known as Valle María or Marienthal / Mariental.
- San Francisco (in English: Saint Francis) also known as Araña (spider) by the name of a near brook, or Pfeifer.
- Salto, by the name of a near brook also known as Koeller / Koehler / Kohler.

San José also known as Brasilera or Brasiliendorf because the main part of the inhabitants were Volga Germans who arrived from Brazil in 1879.

The original records were clear and the handwriting was neat. Any variations in spelling of the names was due to the the way they were written by the census taker.