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THE largest and most important of the German-Russian colonies in Ellis County is Herzog, which its founders located in the southeast quarter of Section 1, Township 14, South of Range 17. This was one-half of a mile north of the English colony of Victoria, which, through the instrumentality of the Kansas Pacific Railroad, had been founded a number of years prior to the arrival of the German-Russians. In the course of time, the new settlement absorbed the old, though the name of the latter remained. In 1913 the name of the German-Russian settlement was changed from Herzog to Victoria.

The founders of Herzog were: Andrew Billinger, Alois Dreiling, Anton Dreiling, Nicholaus Dreiling, Leonard Hammerschmidt, Jacob Hammerschmidt, John Goetz, John Kreutzer, Michael Rome, John Sander, Michael Storm, John Van der Dunkt, Ignatius Vonfeld, Ignatius Weigel, Jacob Arnhold, Joseph Braun, Frank Weber, John Geist, Jacob Geist, William Geist, Anton Hermann and Peter Quint. All these left Saratov, Russia, in company with numerous other emigrants, on October 24, 1875, and arrived in Baltimore, Md., on November 23. From Baltimore they traveled west to Topeka, where they stayed throughout the winter. On the eighth day of April, 1876, they came to Victoria and erected their first dwellings on the east bank of Victoria Creek, a little west of the present town.

So favorable did the original settlers find conditions in their new home, that they sent most enthusiastic reports of the land of their adoption to their relatives and friends in Russia. The result was that on August 3, 1876, a group of 286 persons, mostly of Herzog, Russia, arrived. From this time on, until the beginning of the World War, immigration to Herzog never really ceased, though no more large groups arrived in the colony.

Herzog's first inhabitants were all of the peasant class. Agriculture was the one business they thoroughly understood. Taking advantage of the liberal homestead laws, each head of a family secured eighty acres of government land. Those who had the means, bought additional land, at a reasonable price and on easy terms, from the Kansas Pacific Railroad.

The early days in Herzog were much the same as in the other colonies. The people were poor, and at first suffered want in many things. They built their humble sod houses, erected a large cross about which they gathered for services, and tilled what land they could.

Divine services were first held at Herzog in the dwelling of A. Dreiling, but the floor proving unequal to the weight, a frame church was built adjoining the house, the south wall of the dwelling serving as north wall of the church. This structure was about 40x24 feet, and could accommodate but part of the congregation. Hon. Walter C. Maxwell, a Catholic Englishman then living south of Victoria, undertook to build a stone church for the settlers on Section 1, north of the present dwellings. In June, 1877, he had collected $700, the total sum subscribed was $1,500, and the only condition attached was that the settlers haul the necessary stone. In August, 1877, plans and specifications had been completed by Henry Bergsland who also received the contract. This church, which measured 60x30x16 feet, soon proving to be too small, the Kansas Pacific Railroad Company, at the solicitation of Rev. Hyacinth Epp, O.M. Cap., donated ten acres in the northwest quarter of Section 7 for a church and school, June 9, 1879. Rev. A. Schuermann, O.M. Cap., altered the original design of Rev. Jos. C. Mayershofer, O.M. Cap., and superintended the building of the new church, which measured 168x46x35, and had a seating capacity of 600. The cornerstone was laid on June 1, 1880; consecration by Rt. Rev. L. M. Fink took place on October 19, 1884. The cash cost of construction was about $8,000, $1,875 of which Father Anthony Schuermann collected in England and Westphalia on occasion of a visit to Rome in 1884.

The plans for the present church were completed as early as December, 1905, by John T. Comes, of Pittsburgh, Pa. In 1908, these were revised and modified by Jos. Marshall, of Topeka. Building operations began November, 1908, the cornerstone was laid October 4, 1909, by Rt. Rev. J. F. Cunningham, and the structure was completed in 1911. The total length of the building is 220 feet, the breadth 73 feet, in the transept 107 feet. The towers are 141 feet high.

The complete and highly efficient educational system now enjoyed by the children sprang from a very humble beginning. School district No. 7, the Herzog district, was organized probably as early as 1877, but was without a school. The first public school in the colony was the home of Alois Dreiling, where a certain Mr. Rowe taught. Mr. Peter Linnenberger, who had studied in the seminary at Saratov, taught private school, first in the home of John Sander, and later in Alois Dreiling's home.

August 29,1879, Sisters Agatha and Aurea of the Congregation of St. Agnes, of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, came to Herzog and opened a parochial school. The church built by Hon. W. C. Maxwell served the double purpose of church and school, a movable partition dividing off the sanctuary. The school benches were removed each Friday, and stacked up outside by the children, and on Monday morning they were returned. At this period the church had no pews. For a time the Sisters dwelt in Alois Dreiling's home. Later they moved to an annex which had been built to the church in 1878.

In 1888, Rev. Anselm Bayerau, O.M. Cap., built a new school (at present, the Sister's convent), which measured 66x30x23 feet, and contained four large class rooms. At the same time a Sister's house was erected (now the residence of John Schmidtberger). These two new buildings satisfied the needs of the growing community for about ten years. The present school, a commodious, substantial structure, was erected by Rev. Gabriel Spaeth, O.M. Cap., in 1897 and 1898. It contains eight large, well-lighted class rooms, but has neither furnace nor plumbing.

The curriculum was, in the beginning, a very modest one, religion, reading, writing, and arithmetic claiming practically all the attention. As in the other colonies, learning was imparted in both English and German, the mornings being reserved for German, and the afternoons for English. The causes which hampered educational advancement in the other colonies - failure of the children to attend school regularly, the difficulties arising from the bilingual system, and the opposition of the parents - were also met with in Herzog, and were removed only with the passing of the years.

At present, in addition to the grade school attended by four or five hundred pupils, Victoria has a beautiful, modern high school, completed in 1922, and staffed with Sisters of St. Agnes, all qualified teachers. This school, is fully accredited, and its graduates are admitted to any institution of higher learning in the State of Kansas.

The first priest to minister to the inhabitants of Herzog was Rev. Adolf Wibbert, who visited them several times in 1876. In October, 1876, he was accompanied by Rev. Valentine Sommereisen, who watched over this flock until May, 1878, when the Capuchin Fathers took charge of the parish. The following is the complete list of' all the pastors of Herzog:

1876	Rev. Adolf Wibbert. (Oct.) Rev. Valentine Sommereisen.
1878	(May) Rev. Matthew Han, O.M. Cap. (Jul.) Rev. Jos. Cal. Meyershofer, O.M. Cap.
1881	(Sep.) Rev. Anthony Schuermann, O.M. Cap. 1885 (Aug.)	Rev. James Muench, O.M. Cap.
1887	(Aug.) Rev. Anselm Bayerau, O.M. Cap.
1889	(Aug.) Rev. Gabriel Spaeth, O.M. Cap.
1891	(Oct.) Rev. Matthew Savelsberg, O.M. Cap.
1894	(Aug.) Rev. Gabriel Spaeth, O.M. Cap.
1900	(Aug.) Rev. Leo Egger, O.M. Cap. 1903 (Jun.) Rev. Chilian Lutz, O.M. Cap.
1906	(Aug.) Rev. Jerome Mueller, O.M. Cap.
1912	Rev. Leo Egger, O.M. Cap.
1915	Rev. Jerome Mueller, O.M. Cap.
1918	Rev. Fr. Henry, O.M. Cap.
1921	Rev. Fr. Placidus, O.M. Cap.
1923	Rev. Fr. Cassian, O.M. Cap.

Herzog has never ceased growing. The few sod houses of 1876 have grown into a good-sized town of about 280 families, numbering about 1,665 souls. In 1913 it became an incorporated city, and within the last decade a complete water and electric system has been installed.

Picture: Rev. Fr. Cassian Hartel, O.M. Cap., Pastor St. Fidelis Church, Herzog (Victoria)

Picture: Herzog (now City of Victoria), Ellis County, Kansas

Picture: Sister Agatha, C. S. A., The first Sister to arrive in Ellis County, August 29, 1879

Picture: Group of Immigrant Survivors, Herzog (Victoria), Kansas

Picture: Third Church, Herzog (Victoria), Kansas

Picture: St. Fidelis Church, Herzog (Victoria), Kans.

Picture: -
1. Sr. Marietta (Margaret Dreiling); 2. Sr. Georgina (Rose Sander); 3. Sr. Consolata (Mary Wasinger); 4. Sr. Annabel (Dreiling); 5. Sr. Felicia (Appolonis Wasinger); 6. Sr. Ventura (Lizzie Berens); 7. Sr. Virgila (Lidwina Kuhn); 8. Sr. Verde (Ida Goetz)

Picture: -
1. Sr. Baptista (Clara Pfeifer); 2. (Not identified); 3. Sr. Emeline (Celestine Dreiling); 4. Sr. Basilia (Amalia Kuhn); 5. Sr. Florine (Sander); 6. Sr. Rose De Lima (Brungardt); 7. Sr. Anselm (Philomen Kuhn); 8. Sr. Albina (Kuhn); 9. Sr. Pancratia (Mary Von Feldt); 10. Sr. Viola (Rose Goetz); 11. Sr. Flavia (Margaret Kippes); 12. Sr. Hedwig (Barbara Braun); 13. Sr. Filicitas (Cecilia Dreiling); 14. Sr. Kilian (Catharine Weigel); 15. Sr. Benedict (Brungardt); 16. Sr. Lioba (Mary Von Lintel); 17. Sr. Felicitas (dec.) (Catharine Dreiling); 18. Sr. Victorine (Elizabeth Scheck); 19. Sister Liberata (Rose Schumacher); 20. Sr. Dominica (Graff); 21. Sr. Susan (Wellbrook); 22. Sr. Agnes (Thecia Von Lintel); 23. Sr. Vincentia (Rose Pfeifer); 24. Sr. Theodore (Beata Pfeifer); 25. Sr. Odilla (Mary Pfeifer)

Picture: -
1. Sr. Thecia (Sander); 2. Scheck Walker; 3. Sr. Firmina (Margaret Vonfeldt); 4. Sr. M. Terentia (Bertha Linnenberger); 5. Sr. M. Conrad (Brungardt); 6. Sr. Frederica (Catharine Brungardt); 7. Sr. M. Celine; 8. Sr. Hiltrudes (Dreiling); 9. Sr. Ludmilla (Schutte); 10. Sr. Herman Joseph (Weigel); 11. Sr. Amelia (Catharine Lang); 12. Sr. Libaria (Basilia Lang); 13. Sr. Albina (dec.) (Kuhn); 14. Sr. Dorothy (Cath. Vonfeldt); 15. Sr. Edward (Brungardt); 16. Sr. Jerome (Goetz); 17. Sr. Almeda (Albina Kuhn); 18. Sr. Angelita (Felicitas Dreiling); 19. Sr. Lambertine (Agnes Gerber); 20. Sr. Marine (Anna Margaret Goetz); 21. Sr. Anna (Catharine Von Feldt); 22. Sr. Hilda (Veronica Quint); 23. Sr. Cosma (Margaret Quint); 24. Sr. Josepha (Rose Quint); 26. Sr. Sophia (Anna Berens)

Arnhold, John F.
Anderson, Dr. Bert
Bellendir, Adam
Billinger, John
Billinger, John A.
Billinger, Joseph J.
Billinger, Louis
Billinger, Peter J.
Bollig, John
Braun, Andrew A.
Braun, Elizabeth, Mrs.
Braun, John Peter
Braun, Joseph J.
Braun, Joseph P.
Braun, Nick J.
Braun, Raymund
Braun, Lorenz
Brungardt, Andrew A.
Brungardt, Michael A.
Brungardt, Anton P.
Brungardt, Francis
Brungardt, Frank B.
Brungardt, John A.
Brungardt, John F.
Brungardt, John J.
Brungardt, Jos. A.
Brungardt, Mrs. Monica
Brungardt, Miss Margaret C.
Brungardt, Miss Catharine
Brungardt, Michael B.
Brungardt, John
Brungardt, Mrs. Catharine
Brungardt, Peter P.
Brungardt, Richard J.
Brungardt, Otto
Brungardt, Eugene F.
Dinkel, Andrew
Dinkel, Clemens
Dinkel, Frank M.
Dinkel, Jos. J.
Dinkel, John P.
Dinkel, John Peter, Sr.
Dinkel, George G.
Dinkel, George
Dinkel, Michael
Dinkel, Wendelin J.
Dinkel, John J.
Dreiling, Alex A.
Dreiling, Alex J.
Dreiling, Alphonse
Dreiling, Alphonse D.
Dreiling, Alphonse A.
Dreiling, Andrew J.
Dreiling, Anton D.
Dreiling, Anton F.
Dreiling, Anton M.
Dreiling, Balthasar P.
Dreiling, Mrs. Catharine A.
Dreiling, Dionysius
Dreiling, Frank A.
Dreiling, John A.
Dreiling, Peter A.
Dreiling, Peter P. M.
Dreiling, Herman
Dreiling, Alphonse P. A.
Dreiling, Jacob F.
Dreiling, Joseph M.
Dreiling, John A.
Dreiling, John F.
Dreiling, John K.
Dreiling, John M., Sr.
Dreiling, John M., Jr.
Dreiling, John N.
Dreiling, John P. A.
Dreiling, John S.
Dreiling, Michael A.
Dreiling, Michael P.
Dreiling, Nickolaus
Dreiling, Peter N.
Dreiling, Peter A.
Dreiling, Peter M.
Dreiling, Peter N.
Dreiling, Peter P. A.
Dreiling, Peter S.
Dreiling, Nickolas P.
Falkenstein, George
Geist, Adam
Geist, James
Geist, John Jacob
Geist, John P.
Geist, Mrs. Magdalen
Geist, Mrs. Mary
Geist, Nickolaus
Geist, Wendelin
Goetz, Andrew
Goetz, Andrew M.
Goetz, Jacob
Goetz, John A.
Goetz, Joseph
Goetz, Leonard
Goetz, Peter P.
Goetz, John P.,
Graf, Alexander
Graf, Andrew
Graf, Anton
Graf, Fidelis
Graf, Joseph
Graf, Peter
Graf, Peter J.
Gerstner, John C.
Hammerschmidt, Clemens
Hammerschmidt, John L.
Hammerschmidt, Leonard
Hammerschmidt, Leonard E.
Hammerschmidt, Magdalena
Hammerschmidt, Otto
Hauser, Alois
Haas, Frank
Helwig, Joseph
Heili, John
Herrman, Anton
Herrman, Fred
Hoffman, Conrad
Hoffman, Peter
Kinderknecht, Jos.
Kippes, Caspar
Kippes, Peter C.
Klaus, Andrew
Kreutzer, Fidelis
Kreutzer, John
Kreutzer, John J.
Kuhn, Anthony
Kuhn, Anton M.
Kuhn, August
Kuhn, Balthasar
Kuhn, Frank
Kuhn, Frank J.
Kuhn, Mrs. Gertrude
Kuhn, John B.
Kuhn, John C.
Kuhn, John M.
Kuhn, Joseph J.
Kuhn, Margaret, Mrs.
Kuhn, Michael
Kuhn, Michael D.
Kuhn, Michael M.
Kuhn, Nick K.
Kuhn, Nick
Kuhn, Peter M.
Lang, Adam
Lang, Anton
Lang, Bernard
Lang, Jacob
Lang, John J.
Lang, Simon
Lauber, Peter
Leiker, Miss Anna
Leiker, Jacob P.
Leiker, Pius
Linenberger, Bonevent
Linenberger, Jos. J.
Linenberger, Peter J.
Lienenberger, Mrs. Nick
Lintel, Christian
Lintel, Herman
Lintel, Mrs. Thecla
Meier, Joseph A.
Meis, Joseph
Mermis, Peter
Nei, Michael
Paul, Jacob
Paul, Peter
Pfeifer, Adam M.
Pfeifer, Anton J.
Pfeifer, Mrs. Catharina
Pfeifer, John J.
Pfeifer, Michael J.
Quint, Mrs. Catharine
Quint, John
Quint, Peter H.
Quint, Mrs. Margaret
Riedel, Balthasar
Riedel, Andrew
Robben, John M.
Robben, Anthony
Rohleder, Peter
Rohleder, Nick
Rome, Frank
Rome, John M.
Rome, Joseph M.
Rome, Michael
Rome, Michael M.
Rome, Peter P.
Roth, Joseph J.
Roth, Joseph P.
Rupp, John
Schamne, Gottfried
Scheck, Miss Francis
Scheck, Frank
Scheck, Joseph P.
Scheck, Peter V.
Schmidberger, Alphonse
Schmidberger, August
Schmidberger, Frank M.
Schmidberger, John
Schmidberger, Joseph
Schmidberger, Michael M.
Schmidberger, Michael J.
Schulte, Bernard
Schulte, Herman
Schulte, Bonevant
Schulte, John
Schulte, Mrs. Elizabeth
Schumacher, Mrs. Anna Maria
Schumacher, Henry A.
Schumacher, Carl
Schumacher, Mrs. Henry
Stang, Clemens
Stang, Joseph
Stang, William
Storm, John Peter
Schipper, Frank
Schipper, Herman
Sander, Adam
Sander, Alex J.
Sander, Alois
Sander, Andrew
Sander, Andrew A.
Sander, Andrew M.
Sander, Jos. A,
Sander, John
Sander, John P.
Sander, Joseph N.
Sander, Joseph
Sander, Joseph J.
Sander, Peter
Sander, Peter J.
Sander, Peter M.
Sander, Peter P.
Sander, Raymund
Sander, Severinus
Sander, Frank C.
Tholen, Theodore
Toepfer, Victor
Vonfeld, Andrew A.
Vonfeld, Frank A.
Vonfeld, Joseph
Vonfeld, Andrew J.
Vonfeld, Mrs. Catharine
Wagner, Adam
Wagner, Anton
Wasinger, Mrs. Catharine
Wasinger, Joseph J.
Wasinger, Jno. N.
Wasinger, Peter N.
Wasinger, Raymund
Weber, Frank J.
Weber, Joseph A.
Weber, Jacob
Weber, Jerome
Weber, John A.
Weber, Jacob A.
Weigel, Alphonse
Weigel, Andrew J.
Weigel, Frank M.
Weigel, John S.
Weigel, John J.
Weigel, Joseph
Weigel, Joseph C.
Weigel, Jos. V.
Weigel, Mrs. Margaret
Weigel, Mrs. Anna
Younger, Mrs. Anna Barbara
Younger, Andrew

Picture: First Church in Herzog (The Lean-To)

Picture: St. Fidelis Church at Herzog (Victoria), Kansas

Picture: Herzog Deceased -
1-2. Joseph and Anna Maria Graf; 3-4. Anton and Josepha Weber; 5-6. Henry and Anna Kath. Schumacher; 7-8. Joseph and Margeretha Linenberger and daughter Gertrude; 8-10. Adam Riedel, Anna M. Riedel; 11-12. John K. Dreiling and Catharina Dreiling; 13-14. Anton Mermis, Elizabeth Mermis; 15-16. Jacob Lang, Susanna Lang; 17-18. Nicholas Dreiling, Catharina Dreiling; 19. Anton A. Dreiling; 20. Susanna Kuhn; 21. Maria Kuhn; 22. Anna Maria Brungardt; 23. Michael Riedel; 24. Brigitta Weber nee Kreutzer; 25. Margaret Quint; 26. Rosa Brungardt; 27. Barbara Brungardt; 28. Elizabeth Leiker; 29. Andreas Vonfeld; 30. Catharina Dreiling.

Picture: Herzog Deceased -
1. Peter A. Braun, Katherina Marg. Braun; 2. Adam Sander, Elizabeth Sander; 3. Ignas Sander, Margareth Sander; 4. Johan Peter Braun, Anna Martha Braun; 5. Peter Brungardt, Catharine Brungardt; 6. Valentin Weigel, Margareth Weigel; 7. Ignaz Weigel, Elizabeth Weigel; 8. Balthasar Brungardt, Catharine Brungardt; 9. Peter Brungardt, Barbara Brungardt; 10. Adolf, Mike and Pius Leiker, Peter A. Dreiling; 11. Franz M. Dreiling, Maria Anna Dreiling; 12. Andreas Linenberger, Margareth Linenberger, Peter A. Braun (standing)

Picture: Herzog Deceased -
1. Johannes Wasinger; 2. Michael Schmidtberger, Catharina Schmidtberger; 3. Michael Kulm, Margaretha Kulm; 4. Johannes Goetz, Anna Marg. Goetz; 5. John Goetz, Elizabeth Goetz; 6. Andrew Scheck, Catharine Scheck; 7. Fred Arnhold, Anna M. Arnhold; 8. Michael Storm, Elizabeth Storm; 9. Johannes Geist, Catharina Geist; 10. Adam Knoll, Catharina Knoll; 11. Johannes Goetz, Anna Goetz; 12. Johannes Peter Dinkel, Catharina Dinkel

Picture: Herzog (Victoria) Deceased -
1. Peter and Elizabeth Dreiling; 2. Peter and Anna Maria Linenberger; 3. Michael and Theresia Pfeifer; 4. Mr. and Mrs. William Robben; 5. Franz and Eva Brungardt; 6. Nickolaus and Margareth Dreiling; 7. Michael and Anna Rome; 8. Anton and Anna Schumacher; 9. Andreas and Magdalena Brungardt; 10. John and Susanna Pfeifer; 11. Peter and Margaretha Quint; 12. Peter and Gertrude Kuhn; 13. Anton and Maria Dreiling; 14. John and Barbara Kuhn; 15. Andreas and Catharina Sander; 16. (Not identified); 17. Andreas and Christina Riedel; 18. Mr. and Mrs. Herman Berens; 19. John and Katharina Linenberger; 20. Anton and Anna Maria Dreiling

Picture: Herzog (Victoria) Deceased -
1-2. Johannes and Catharina Goetz; 3-4. Johannes and Anna Sander; 5. Barbara Sander; 6-7. Michael and Barbara Dreiling; 8-9. Anton and Maria Eliz. Dreiling; 10. Christina Schamber; 11. John Peter Yunker; 12. Anna Eliz. Sander; 13. Walburga Robben; 14. Magdalena Riedel; 15. Stanislaus Wasinger; 16. Johannes Wasinger; 17. John Jacob Schumacher; 18. Michael Dreiling, Sr. 19. Alois Denning

Transcribed from The Golden Jubilee of German-Russian Settlements of Ellis and Rush Counties, Kansas, August 31, September 1 and 2, 1926