I never knew my great-grandmother. In fact, I never met any of my great-grandparents. They died in Russia of various things, starvation, old-age, etc.
My great-grandmother Gerk, also know Anna-Margareta (Rohwein) Gerk, was born in Josefstal on August 17, 1868, to Heinrich Rohwein and Barbara Haberkorn.
She would marry Johann Georg Gerk on November 4, 1886, also in Josefstal.
They would have 11 children. One of them, my grandfather, will escape Russia and she will never hear from him again…despite repeated attempts by my grandfather to find her and the rest of his family.
In fact, she will outlive my grandfather by 3 years, passing away September 16, 1957 in Krasnoturinsk, USSR.
Google Earth is an amazing thing. I may never have the chance to visit the town she lived in and eventually died in, but I can visit it “virtually”. It’s amazing. Here is a link to the actual cemetery she is buried in.
Josefstal - Skripalovo, Russia 