My family is Volga German coming from the area near Odessa by the Black sea. Germans were imported into Russia around 1765 by Catherine the Great. Her people were starving and she need people who understood farming practices as well as skilled craftsmen. My family came over at the turn of the century and homesteaded in North Dakota. Because we lived next door to my maternal grandparents I spoke more German than English even though my father had a business degree and a degree in dentistry. All my time was spent with my grandparents. I once asked my father if there were any famous people in our ancestry. He said there may have been a horse thief once. End of conversation!