The oral history places the family in that area of Europe that would later become Germany in 1871. Later, the Schlachters were among those that responded to the generous call of the Czar Catherine the Great for German immmigrants to settle and develop the fertile stepp area of southern Russia. Things went well for a time but succeeding czars did not share Catherine's fascination for German culture nor were they enthusiastic about the growing prosperity and influence of these foreigners. The German colonies became targets for ever increasing taxes, religious persecution, raids and eventually were seen as convenient sources of manpower for Russian armies. For these reasons and a dwindling supply of good land colonists sons began to leave to seek out a better state of affairs. The move to Constanta, Romania may have been one step in the journery that would bring the Schlachter family closer to America. Martin's son Joseph apparently was the first of his immediate family to established himself in the USA though there are records of other Schlachters having arrived hundreds of years earlier.
Various family members have in their possession a number of valuable documents that trace key steps of the Schlachter family's migration from what is now Constanta Romania to the Granlea/Conquerville area of Southern Alberta. The connections between the Old World and the new still has a lot of missing links however. Any help in this regard would be most appreciated.
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last updated May 31, 1999