Johann Heinrich Moritz was baptized on 8 May 1708, the son of Johannes Moritz from Stärklos and Anna Margaretha Röders 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 (then known as Sterckels). 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 for marriage. He likely pretended to be the son of another colonist, Anton or Johann George Becker, who were also from Ronshausen.
Anna Eva and Johann Wilhelm sailed from Lübeck and arrived at Oranienbaum, Russia, on 28 July 1766 aboard the sailing ship "Strelna", along with Anna Eva's parents, who are recorded there as Johann Heinrich and Anna Maria Mauritius. Mauritius is the French spelling of the surname Moritz.
Anna Eva is recorded as having arrived 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, no one with the surname Moritz was 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 deutscher Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766 (Second edition). Moscow: 2019.
Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Deutsche Kolonisten im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum und in den Siedlungsorten – Die Kuhlberg-Listen. Moscow 2024: 2nd Edition. Nos. 4990 and 4991.
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.
Johann Wilhelm Schreiber (Norka website - Steve Schreiber)
