Johannes Rieß (son of Johannes Rieß) was born in Altenhaßlau on 2 January 1731 and baptized there on 5 January 1731. Johannes married Maria Sophia Elisabetha Eberhard (daughter of the Evangelical Reformed Schoolmaster Johann Conrad Eberhard) at the Reformed church in Altenhaßlau on 24 February 1756. The civil registration of their marriage was recorded on 21 November 1755. They had four children baptized in Altenhaßlau before immigrating to Russia: Johann Georg, born 13 March 1756, Anna Elisabeth, born 31 October 1758, Johannes, born 11 August 1761, and Johannes (later called Jonas), born 19 October 1764.
The family arrived in Russia on 31 May 1766, and is recorded in the Warenburg First Settlers List in Family #120.
There is a Johann Conrad Eberhardt who is described as a teacher on the Kulberg List. He arrived on the same ship as the Ries couple and also settled in Warenburg. Further research will be needed to determine if this is the same man as the Evangelical Reformed Schoolmaster in Altenhaßlau.
- Parish records of Altenhaßlau on Archion.de.
- Zivilstandsregister, 1744-1875, Altenhaßlau (Hessen-Nassau). Standesamt; Staatsarchiv (Marburg), images on Family Search
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010) pp. 62 and 63
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 4 (Göttingen: Nordost-Institute, 2008): p. 339
