From Russia With Love

Tonight I was invited to another family's reunion...the SEIBEL from Brunnental Russia.

As some of you might remember, this is the genealogy work that I have been doing for the past 20+ year. While this is not my family, it is always a joyous affair to finally get to meet the people I have worked with and helped over the years, and this reunion was one of the best ever!!

When the Germans from Russia left Brunnental during the years from 1890-1914, my family was one of the few that made it to the US, settling in Portland Oregon. Our honored visitor tonight was Viktor Seibel, from Russia who came to finally visit the descendants of his Seibel family that escaped Russia and came to the USA

While his grandfather and his grandfather's two brothers made it to Washington State, it was a bittersweet escape, as the rest of Viktor's family never could get out of Russia to join his grandfather in the USA. And sadly, Viktor's grandfather, Adam Seibel, died a broken man in prison in Washington. Viktor has always dreamed of finding his grandfather, and hoped someday to make contact with someone who could help him locate his family.

In 2006 Viktor found me through my webpage on Brunnental, and had a friend in Russia help him write a letter to me asking for my help. It took me several months to find his grandfather, and to discover he had been sent to prison and had died there. Although it was not the story that Vikor had dreamed of, he was so grateful to finally know what had happened to his grandfather.

I was also able to find where he was buried. Then I contacted the descendants in his grandfather's brother's families and reunited the family. Then through the help of Doug Seibel of Northern WA state, another relative, the grave was found in the cemetery and. Doug took it upon himself to have a beautiful cross added to the gravesite. Friday the entire family will travel to Cheney, WA to have a memorial service...and Viktor has brought soil from his father's gravesite to mix with the soil from his grandfather's grave in Russia...I can only imagine there will not be a dry eye in that family tomorrow.

So today's blip goes out to the SEIBEL family who have bridged across the continents to be reunited once again...here's to an amazing family and Viktor Seibel from Russia, who made it happen! And a very special thank you to the SEIBEL family for inviting me to be part of the joy; and also a heartfelt thank you to Viktor for the beautiful gifts he brought me and his warm and wonderful way...I will never forget his gratitude.

(Left to Right, Joanne, Jake, Viktor, Don, and Doug SEIBEL)