LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Von Wrangel Descendants Recall Russian Era
By ABIGAIL BLISS
Sentinel Staff Writer
Descendants of Ferdinand von Wrangel, governor of Russian America in the 1830s, are tracing their ancestor’s tracks through Sitka this week.
Fourteen members of the Wrangel (or Wrangell, as it is alternatively spelled) family arrived Wednesday and will leave Sunday for the town of Wrangell to continue their research into their family history. The family holds reunions every three years, usually in Germany or Sweden, and this is the first trip to Alaska for many of the family members. They have named the gathering “In the Footsteps of Ferdinand” for their ancestor and subject of their study.
ABOVE: Descendants of Russian American Company Manager Ferdinand von Wrangel, 1797-1870, show their family crest rings in the Sitka Lutheran Church Thursday. The members of the von Wrangel family are in town from the Lower 48 and Germany for a family reunion. (Sentinel Photo) BELOW: Members of the von Wrangel family are joined by Sitka Lutherans and Episcopalians at the Lutheran Cemetery for a short ceremony this morning. A three-year-old daughter of von Wrangel is buried in the cemetery. The family holds reunions every three years. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
Ferdinand von Wrangel (1797-1870) was a Russian explorer who completed two circumnavigations of the globe and mapped much of the Northeastern coast of Siberia. He was governor of the Russian settlements in Alaska from 1829 to 1835, director of the Russian American Company from 1840 to 1849, and minister of the navy from 1855 to 1857. In 1845, he became one of the founding members of the Imperial Russian Geographical Society, which is still active today as the Russian Geographical Society.
Wrangel was adamantly opposed to the 1867 sale of Alaska to the United States.
His research into the national resources and native populations of the terrain he explored and his scientific contributions earned him the title of Honorable Member of the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. Some of his most notable writings include “Sketch of the Way from Sitka to Saint Petersburg” (1836), “Historical Review of Travels Across Ledovity Ocean” (1836), and “Journey Along the Northern Coastline of Siberia and the Ledovitoye More” (1841).
Today, his descendants hold a great interest in their heritage, a curiosity they followed all the way to Sitka. The assembled members of the Wrangel/Wrangell clan range in age from 20 to 80, Cornelia von Wrangel told the Sentinel, and count three native languages among them: English, Swedish, and German.
Of the 14 family members, four are direct descendants of Ferdinand von Wrangel, said his great-great-granddaughter, Ingela Storhas, of Frankfurt, Germany. She is joined on the trip by her son, Joachim Storhas; her sister, Gita von Huelson; and her nephew, Moritz von Huelson, all of Germany.
While Sitka is new territory for several of the relatives, Ferdinand’s history is well-trodden terrain, and the family continues to build on each other’s research into their family history. Joachim maintains a website on the subject, called “Wrangelpedia,” and the family publishes a journal, in German, every three years on their ancestry called “Acta Wrangeliana.”
Ingela said her research traces the family back to 1270 and to its place of origin in Estonia.
“Especially my son and me, we are very interested in family history,” she said. “It could be interesting for all of the family, not to forget the ancestor.”
She explained that the differing spellings of the family name represent the divergent branches of the family tree, with the Estonian Wrangells and their modern relatives the only ones still using the double “L” spelling.
“The Baltic Wrangells are actually still spelling with two ‘L’s,” she said. “Normally, it was two ‘L’s, but all those who went to other countries, it was easier for other languages with one ‘L.’”
Much of her research into the family revolves around Ferdinand himself.
“For us, he is THE ancestor,” she said.
Moritz said the family has consulted “letters, reports, pictures, paintings, everything” for their research, including the scientific documentation from the explorer’s expeditions.
“There are a lot of handwritten documents that are still available,” he said. “Some have been lost in fires because of the storage areas in which they were stored.”
“There’s a lot not discovered, so there are old diaries and letters that were never published,” Joachim added.
And, now, they can count a trip to Sitka among their sources.
“It’s the history of Alaska,” Joachim said. “It’s very interesting.”
The family’s plans for their time in town included visiting the Lutheran Church, the Russian Bishop’s House, and the Sitka History Museum; touring the downtown district with local guide Amy Sweeney; whale-watching; and holding a ceremony in the Lutheran Cemetery for Marie von Wrangel, Ferdinand’s daughter, who died in Sitka in 1832.
Sweeney, who led the Wrangel descendants on a tour of Lincoln Street Thursday, said that Marie’s grave is the most salient remaining physical trace of Ferdinand’s family’s stay in Sitka.
His other influences include ordering the construction of St. Michae’s Cathedral, though it was not built until after his departure, and possibly introducing potatoes to the community.
“He made better working conditions for the workers, and he made better relations with the Natives,” Sweeney said.
She emphasized the importance of Ferdinand’s marriage to Elisabeth Teodora Natalia Karolina de Rossillon, daughter of Baron Wilhelm de Rossillon, to his personal history. After he was appointed chief manager of the Russian-American Company in 1829, Ferdinand hastened to find a wife before leaving for Russia’s colonies in Alaska.
“He was at home saying goodbye, and he met this young woman, and they got married,” Sweeney said.
Luckily, the hurried marriage led to an enduring partnership.
“They were a great team, sort of like a natural great love story of the time, and how they together rocked the place, so to speak,” Moritz said.
He described Ferdinand as “a caring and interested person in everything, especially in the American Natives,” and was quick to note that those were qualities and interests he shared with Elisabeth.
“They took great pride and great interest in the development and the wellbeing and the support of everyone that was located here,” he said.
Nick von Wrangel, 20, of Munich, is the youngest family member of on the trip. He said that he didn’t feel as close a connection to Ferdinand and his story as some of his relatives, as he is not a direct descendant, but was interested in learning more about the navigator and scientist in the he was in Sitka.
“He’s one of ours,” he said. “All the way he went from the Baltic Sea, and the hardships he endured on the way to come here, and the scientific work her did... That’s what I’m trying to find out here.”
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.