Johann Heinrich Moritz was baptized on 8 May 1708, the son of Johannes Moritz from Stärklos and Anna Margaretha Rüders from Sandlofs. He was confirmed at the parish church in Kruspis in 1722.
Johann Heinrich married Anna Maria (surname unknown). A daughter, Anna Eva Moritz, was born on 19 December 1739 in Stärklos (known as Sterckels at this time). She was confirmed at the parish church in Kruspis in 1753.
Ann Eva was married on 7 May 1766 in Büdingen to Johann Wilhelm Becker. Evidence supports the conclusion that he was in fact Johann Wilhelm Schreiber from Ronshausen Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Hessen, Germany. Johann Wilhelm was not yet 18, the legal age to be married. He likely pretended to be the son of another colonist, Anton Bäcker (Becker) also from Ronshausen, who gave his permission for Johann Wilhelm to be married.
Anna Eva and Johann Wilhelm were recorded by Kulberg as arriving from Lübeck at Oranienbaum, Russia on 28 July 1766 aboard the sailing ship "Slon" (Elephant), along with Anna Eva's parents who are recorded there as Johann Heinrich and Anna Maria Mauritius. Mauritius is the French spelling of Moritz.
Anna Eva is recorded as arriving in Norka on 15 August 1767 with Wilhelm Schreiber as her husband. They are listed there on the 1767 Census as Household No. 135. Anna Eva's parents are recorded in the next Household (No. 136).
Johann Heinrich Moritz was living when the 1775 Census of Norka was taken. He is listed as the father-in-law in the Wilhelm Schreiber household (No. 139). By the 1798 Census, there was no one with the Moritz surname living in Norka. Although the Moritz family name did not continue through a male line, all of the Schreiber family members from Norka are descendants of this family.
Parish records of Kruspis, Holzheim, Stärklos, Oberstoppel, Unterstoppel Kirchenbuch 1720-1830. Accessed on Archion.de
Parish records of Kruspis, Holzheim, Stärklos, Oberstoppel, Unterstoppel Kirchenbuch 1668-1719. Accessed on Archion.de
The 1775 and 1798 Censuses of the German Colony on the Volga, Norka: Also Known as Weigand. Lincoln, Neb.: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1995. Print.
Decker, Klaus-Peter. Büdingen Als Sammelplatz Der Auswanderung an Die Wolga 1766. Geschichtswerkstatt Büdingen, 2009: 72.
Idt, Andreas and Rauschenbach, Georg. Auswanderung deutsche Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766 (Second edition). Moscow: 2019.
Mai, Brent Alan and Dona Reeves-Marquardt, German Migration to the Russian Volga (1764-1767) (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2003): 82.
Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 3 (Göttingen: Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2005): 265.
Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010): 317.
Johann Wilhelm Schreiber (Norka website - Steve Schreiber)
