Alva Review-Courier -

Northwest Oklahoma Genealogy Society met on Feb. 11 at the Alva Public Library. The society was honored to have guest speaker Dr. Eric J. Schmaltz, professor of history, Department of Social Science, NWOSU in Alva.

Dr. Schmaltz' presentation was “Letters to Pauline (Schlegel) Lehl: Volga German Family Correspondences from Russia to Oklahoma, 1913 to 1937.” The family letters represent an important link to the past and a vital part of any family's genealogy.

The immigrant Pauline and about 10,000 ethnic Germans from the Russian Empire came to Oklahoma between 1890 and 1920. In 1913 Pauline sett...