Christoph Eberhard (abt. 1712)

Born about 1712 in Spoeck, Hessen-Darmstadt

Husband of Anna Margaretha Metz — married 4 Jun 1732 in Evangelisch, Blankenloch, Karlsruhe, Baden

Descendants

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Biography

Christoph Eberhard was a Volga German.

Christoph Eberhard has German Roots.

Germany-Denmark-Russia

A24-41 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

B-303 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Christoph was an Evangelical Lutheran, a farmer from Spöck, Staffort, Karlsruhe, Baden-Durlach. He was 49 years old in August of 1761, making his birth year 1712. He married his wife, Margaretha, in 1732.

Marriage Record ^[1]

Name Christoph Eberhard

Spouse's Name Anna Margretha Metz

Event Date 04 Jun 1732

Event Place Evangelisch, Blankenloch, Karlsruhe, Baden

Father's Name Joerg Eberhard

Spouse's Father's Name Adam Metz

According to the Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University, the couple had nine children, all baptized in Blankenloch Lutheran Church.

• Johann Georg, baptized 14 August 1732
• Anna Margaretha, baptized 20 November 1735
• Johann Christoph, 3 January 1737
• Jakob Martin, baptized 23 July 1739
• Maria Katharina, baptized 6 May 1742
• Johann Adam, baptized 11 March 1745
• Christina, baptized 24 June 1748
• Anna Maria, baptized 25 July 1752, and her twin Johann Friedrich
• Johann Friedrich baptized 25 July 1752, twin with Anna Maria

During the mid 1700s, the southern tier of Germany had been hit hard with wars and famines, and many residents were poor farmers who could barely take care of their family's needs. In 1759, the Danish government offered these disadvantaged Germans a chance for a new life in Denmark, helping to farm what was currently unfarmable marshland. Those who chose to immigrate would be given an opportunity for a brighter future via homesteaded land or through a land lottery.

Before 1761, son Johann Georg married Magdalena, born 1731, and they brought along their maid Barbara Huber. Also, son Johann Christoph married Christina, born 1743.

Christoph and his family arrived in the City of Schleswig on 04 July 1761. They brought with them four grown children in addition to two children under the age of 18 years. (One son, Johann Adam, was listed twice, once in his father's family and once separately. Christoph's children included:

• Georg Eberhard, age 28, B-307
• Johann Jacob Martin, age 25, B-304
• Johann Christoph, age 25, B-306
• Johann Adam, age 17, B-305 and B-303
• Christina, age 13
• Anna Maria, age 9

He and his wife took their oaths of allegiance to Denmark on 24 July 1761, and they were considered reserve colonists. ^[2] As of 17 May 1763, the family lived at Number 1 Gott Behuet in Colony G9 Christiansholm, in the district of Gottorf.^[2]

The marshlands were very inhospitable to all farmers. Although Germans were known for being hardworking and good farmers with typical farm land, it was far more difficult to convert these former wetlands to arable farmland. Most of the German immigrants barely reaped enough to feed their families, let alone to provide food for others in Denmark.

Around that same time, Catherine the Great invited Germans to immigrate to Russia. Discouraged by their experience in Denmark, Christoph and his family decided the opportunity to immigrate to Russia was one they could not refuse. He and his family left Denmark on 01 May 1765.^[2]

While Danish records imply that he was headed to Grimm, Russia, he is not recorded in the 1775 census. It is possible that he did not survive the journey to Russia, or that he died at some time prior to the 1775 census.

Son Johann Adam married either in Denmark or Russia and had at least two children. He died prior to 1788. That year, records show his widow married Just Jung and moved to the colony of Schwab along with two children.

The two sons who did make it to Grimm and were included in the 1775 census are Adam and Georg. ^[3] This leaves only Johann Jakob Martin and Johann Friedrich unaccounted for.

Johann Martin Eberhard may have been the Martin Eberhard who immigrated to Norka but soon perished, leaving his daughter Magdalena an orphan. No wife/mother was mentioned. ^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ "Deutschland Heiraten, 1558-1929," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VCBG-RTM : 26 December 2014), Christoph Eberhard and Anna Margretha Metz, 04 Jun 1732; citing Evangelisch, Blankenloch, Karlsruhe, Baden; FHL microfilm 1,272,867.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Eichhorn, Dr. Alexander, Dr. Jacob and Mary Eichhorn. The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766; Bonn, Germany and Midland Michigan, USA; Drukerei und Verlag Steinmeier GmbH & Co. Kg, Deiningen, Germany, 2012; pages 270 and 385.
3. ↑ The 1775 and 1798 Census of the German Colony on the Volga, Lesnoy Karamysh, also known as Grimm; Published by the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, NE, USA; Published 1995.
4. ↑ Pleve, Igor; Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764-1767, Band 3; Der Goettinger Arbeitskreis - 37085 Goettingen, Published 1999; page 253, family 390a, Martin Eberhardt, father of Magdalena Eberhardt, age 8.

See also:

• VolgaGermans.org, Who Are Volga Germans, Origins, Surnames, Eberhard, see: https://www.volgagermans.org/who-are-volga-germans/origins/surnames/eberhard.