Johann Andreas Urban was born on December 5th, 1736 in Pfaffenhoffen (German: Pfaffenhofen, Alsatian: Pfaffhoffe), a Commune déléguée in the French municipality of Val-de-Moder. His parents were Andreas Urban a Stocking weaver, born in Mertzwiller in Alsace on February 19th, 1695 and his wife Anna Maria Reiss born on August 14th, 1712 in Pfaffenhofen and died on October 12th, 1781 in Mertzwiller.
Johann Andreas had 4 siblings: 1. Anna Barbara Urban; 2. Julianna Urban born on August 6th, 1735 in Pfaffenhofen, died in November 1735 in Pfaffenhofen; 3. Maria Magdalena born on May 5th, 1745 in Mertzwiller; 4. Susanna Dorothea born on February 16, 1748 in Mertzwiller.
Johann Andreas’ grandparents were Hans Georg Urban a town keeper, b. 1650 in Mertzwiller and his wife Schmidt Anna Maria born in Mertzwiller around 1654. His great grandparents were Georg Urban, a town keeper in Mertzwiller born around 1620, possibly in Switzerland, and his wife Eva (surname unknown) born around 1624.
Johann Andreas and his wife Agnes arrived in Russia on 31 July 1766. He is reported on the Dietel First Settler’s List in Household #37 with his new wife Regina Friederica and Regina’s son from her first marriage, Ludwig Stieber. The First Settler's List entry states that he was from "Merzwald".
- Parish records of Pfaffenhofen
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010) p. 191
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 1 (Göttingen: Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 1999): p. 293-294
