Johann Christoph Utz, son of Johann Michael Utz & Maria Agnes Bohlinger, was born on 29 August 1716 in Feldrennach, Württemberg. He married in nearby Birkenfeld on 28 January 1744 to Christina Barbara Ludwig, daughter of Johann Michael Ludwig and Anna Maria Dithiss (perhaps Dietz). Christina Barbara had been baptized in Birkenfeld on 22 July 1722.
At some point they moved to nearby Grünwettersbach where their children were born, among whom were Johann Jacob Heinrich (born 4 October 1746) and Johann Christoph (baptized 7 May 1755).
The Utz couple and their two sons immigrated to Denmark, departing Altona on 6 June 1761 and arriving in Schleswig on 6 June 1761. While in Denmark, Johann Christoph Utz died and Christina Barbara married Joseph Uhl.
Joseph, Christina, and the two Utz sons immigrated to Russia and arrived in Dobrinka on 15 April 1765. They are recorded there on the 1767 Census in Household No. 52 with Jacob and his new bride in Household No. 34.
- Parish records for Birkenfeld - LDS Film No. 1056797.
- Parish records for Feldrennach - LDS Film No. 1056809.
- Parish records for Grünwettersbach - LDS Film No. 1189469.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 1 (Göttingen: Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 1999): 322 & 327.
- Eichhorn, Alexander, Jacob & Mary. The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766 (Deiningen, Germany: Steinmeier, 2012): pp. 264, 629, 665