History of the Colony

Topik was founded on leased land in about 1896.

It was a part of the Bergdorf Lutheran Parish with a school that taught on average 24 students each year between 1908 and 1912 [OdKal].

Topik did not show up on maps until the 1940s, where it was noted as a chutor [Retromap-1940-14194016].

Surnames

The first birth/baptisms recorded there was in 1897 and the first death in 1907 [BSGR, www.blackseagr.org....mybirthplace=Topik]. The GCRA Points-of-Origin [Glückstal-2021] notes the following surnames of families having resided in Topik: Ahl, Bender, Hoffman, Leicht, Merkel, Stückelmaier, and Teske.

The EWZ files and donated pedigrees in the Black Sea German Research [BSGR] database echo the Points-of-Origin and also link the families to other Glückstal colonies:

Surname Colonies mentioned in records in addition to Topik

Bender, Hafner, Erlenbusch Bergdorf, Hoffnungstal, Marienheim

Dockter Neudorf, Marienberg

Hafner, Lang, Schwindt Bergdorf, Kassel, Seebach

Leicht, Scheufele, Merkel Bergdorf, Hermannstal

Merkel, Job Marienberg, Neudorf

Schmidt, Fischer, Huber Bergdorf, Glückstal, Marienheim

Stückelmaier, Schnaidt (Schneid?) Glückstal, Hermannstal

Teske, Leicht, Lämmle Bergdorf, Marienberg