Yes, any information on the area may help me and others. Sorry it has taken me so long to respond.
I have a number of different family surnames that lived in the area and most came to America in the late 1800's and early 1900's.
I have original government and parish papers that were from my grandfather, Reinholt Nimmick, used to travel in Russia and for his service in the army. Parish records were signed by Waserm as to their birth records. Waserm wrote these papers so that Germans could immigrate to US.
Life had become too difficult. My grandfather said during his life there many different armies came of different governments and each time they would have to sware alligence to each. By the early 1900's other family members that had not made the move from Germany to Russia had immigrated to US and wrote to them about the rich farm land in US and jobs provied by railroad, not to mention the freedom from high government taxes and intervention into their lives. I also believe that land and businesses were being taken from some by the government.
I will including a short story about the family as it includes family surnames from the area that immigrated to US.
Reinhold Nimmick and family immigrated to the United States in 1902. The families actual journey to American started in 1901 when Reinhold obtained immigration papers to travel in Russia. Reinhold found a job in Hamburg, Germany and the family lived there for approximately one year.
On May 2, 1902 Reinhold Nimmick, his wife, Anna Schuch Nimmick, and two sons, August and Edward boarded the ship Garf Waldersee at Hamburg, Germany. They arrived at Ellis Island on May 15, 1902. Reinhold was twenty- seven years old, Anna was twenty- three years old, August was two years old, and little Edward was only nine months old.
On that same ship was Anna's cousin, Gustav Mildes, his wife, Louise "Bertha", son, Bernard, and daughter, Marie, and another cousin, Marie Becker Lange, her husband, William Lange, and son, Otto. Gustav Mildes was the son of Anna's Uncle Frans Christoph Mildes and Marie Becker Lange was the daughter of Anna's Aunt Albertine Emelie Mildes Becker.
The families spent twelve days during immigration processing at Ellis Island. After being released they traveled to Creston, Union County, Iowa where Anna's brothers, Edward and Carl Schuch were residing. When Reinhold entered the United States he had sixty- eight dollars in his pocket and by the time the family arrived in Creston he had only seventeen dollars left. Carl Schuch was married to Reinhold's sister, Emma Nimmick.
The town of Creston was established in 1869 by the railroad as a north south division point. Union County became a melting pot of European people from countries such as Sweden, Germany, England, Ireland, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia, and others. Many of the early settlers came as employees of the railroad or at the urging of the railroad's land agent. Reinhold Nimmick went to work for the railroad for one year saving his money to purchase a farm.
About 1903, Reinhold and his family left Creston, Union County, Iowa and moved to Fingal, Barns County, North Dakota where Reinhold purchased a farm. During the next few years Reinhold's mother, Elenora Herkt, his Uncle Rudolph Herkt and family, his sister, Emma Nimmick who was married to Carl Schuch, the brother of his wife, Anna and Anna's parents August Schuch and Ottilie Mildes, her brother Alfred Schuch, her brother Edward and family, and her sister Augusta Pauline Schuch who was married to Theodore Witt all came to reside in Barns County, North Dakota.
Other members of the Mildes, Becker and Lange families who were living in Creston eventually moved their families to the state of Washington. Ann Millinger, daughter of Gustav Mildes, has told me that late in her father's life he use to frequently ask about his Uncle August Schuch and Aunt Ottilie Mildes Schuch.
It is believed that both the Nimmick, and Herkt families immigrated to Russia from Poland. The Mildes family immigrated to Russia from Germany. We do not know where the Schuch family was before immigration to Russia. While living in Russia these families were farmers except for the Mildes family who owned and operated a grist mill. The Nimmick and Herkt families probably came to Russia after the 1863 rebellion in Poland and first settled around Zhitomir. Later we find our Germans from Russia ancestors living in the area between Zhitomir and Kiev.
Here are a couple of other family surnanes from the area, Eggert, Henkel, Witt.
Hope this inspires someone. It sure would be nice to get more information on this area and at the very least possibly start a surname profile on the towns in this area.