After the disintegration of the Grand Duchy of Halych-Volhynia (also called Galich-Vladimir Rus) circa 1340, the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania divided up the region between them, Poland taking Western Volhynia and Lithuania Eastern Volhynia (1352-1366).  After 1569 Volhynia formed a province of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.  During this period Poles and Jews settled in the area.  The Roman and Greek Catholic churches became established in the province, and many Orthodox churches joined the later, so as to benefit from a more attractive legal status.  Records of the first agricultural colonies of Mennonites date from 1783.

After the Third partition of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795 Volhynia became the Volhynian Governorate of the Russian Empire and covered an area of 71,852.7 square kilometers.  This annexation changed greatly the religious make-up of the area, as the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was forcibly liquidated by the Russian government, the ownership of all of its building being transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church.  Many Roman Catholic Church buildings were also given to the Russian Church, and the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lutsk was suppressed on orders of Empress Catherine II.

In the year of 1897 its population amounted to 2,989,482 persons (41.7 per square kilometer) and consisted of 73.7 percent East Slavs (predominantly Ukrainians), 13.2 percent Jews, 6.2 percent Poles, and 5.7 percent Germans.  Most of the German settlers had immigrated from Congress, Poland.  A small number of Czech settlers also had arrived.  Although economically the area was developing rather quickly, upon the eve of the First World War, it was still the most rural province in Western Russia. [1]

For centuries Volhynia had belonged to the Lithuanian Commonwealth.  It was later acquired by Poland, through a marriage of royalty.  In the first partition of Poland in 1772, the region was annexed by Russia.  It stayed part of Russia until after World War I.  The Treaty of Versailles in 1920 split Volhynia in half.  The east remained part of Russia while the west was returned to Poland.  After World War II, the entire region of Volhynia was made part of Ukraine, which in turn was part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

There were Germans scattered throughout Volhynia, primarily in the Zhitomir and Berdichev regions.  Mennonites attempted an early farming settlement there but did not stay long.  The first major and more permanent migration of Germans into Volhynia did not occur until the mid-1830s.  These were primarily of the Lutheran faith.  By 1860, the German population was still only estimated to be 4-6000.

After the 1863 rebellion in Poland, Germans began to flood into Volhynia.  Most of them settled in a broad band extending from Wladimir Wolhynsk in the west to half way between Zhitomir and Kiev in the east.  By 1900, census figures indicate there were approximately 200,000 Germans living there.  In addition to Lutherans, many of these were now Baptist, Catholic, Mennonite, Moravian, and Reformed. [3]

Volhynia was annexed to Soviet Ukraine after the end of World War II.  Most of the remaining ethnic Polish population were expelled to Poland in 1945.  Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Volhynia has been an integral part of the Ukraine. [1]

0 Gottlieb Samuel Schadler: 1848 - 7 May 1937
  +Wilhelmine Thielmann: 1847 - 4 Sep 1880
  1 Julius Carl Schaedler: ~July 1874 - 12 Sep 1877
  1 Emil Herrmann Schadler: 7 Nov 1875 - 13 Aug 1962
  1 Ludmila (Amelia) Augusta Schadler: 26 Dec 1877 - 9 Dec 1954
  1 Ewald Ludwig Schadler: 11 Jul 1879 - 15 Jul 1964
  +Wilhelmina Gersonde: 1863 - 13 Aug 1941
  1 Maria Elisabeth Schadler: 4 Mar 1882 - 10 Jul 1947
  1 Arthur "Otto" Schadler: 31 Jan 1887 - 22 Mar 1967 (in passenger list as Adolph)
  1 Bertha Schadler: 15 Jan 1890 - 13 Jun 1976
  1 Albert Schadler: 1892 - Unknown (in passenger list)
  1 Olga Schadler: 14 May 1897 - Apr 1986
  1 William H. Schadler: 02 Dec 1898 - 14 Mar 1958
  1 Bernard Schadler: 7 Jan 1901 - 26 Mar 1969
  1 Richard Schadler: 10 Sep 1906 - 23 Apr 1907

Gottlieb Samuel Schaedler was born in 1848 to Peter and Anna Schaedler.  The earliest record found for him is his confirmation in Olganowka, Volhynia in 1862.  He is the father and common ancestor of the Schaedler/Schadler families contained in this website.

Wilhelmine Thielmann was born in 1847 to Gottleib and Rosalia Thielmann in Bromberg, Wirsitz, Niczychowo.  She was the wife of Gottlieb Samuel Schaedler (patriarch of the Schadler family), as well as the mother of Julius, Emil, Ludmila, and Ewald Schadler.  She died on September 4, 1880 and was buried in Olganowka, Rozyszcze, Volhynia.

Wilhelmine Gersonde was born to Carl and Johanna (Bagatzki) Gersonde on August 3, 1863 in Stolp, Pommern.  She was the second wife of Gottlieb Samuel Schaedler (patriarch of the Schadler family), as well as the mother of Maria, Arthur, Bertha, Albert, Olga, William, Bernard, and Richard Schadler.  She died in St. Joseph, Michigan on August 13, 1941.