Johann Michael Fritzler (1724)

Born 2 Jun 1724 in Kleingartach, Neckarkreis, Württemberg

Ancestors

Descendants

Died [date unknown] in Stephan, Saratov, Russia

Profile manager: Julie Mangano [send private message]

Biography

Michael Fritzler is a Volga German.

Michael Fritzler has German Roots.

Germany-Denmark-Russia

Family B-428 in TheImmigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Family Rus14-15 in The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766.

Family # 15 in the 1775 Grimm census.

Family #Sp13 in the 1798 Stephan census.

Michael Fritzler was born 02 Jun 1724 in Kleingartach, Neckarkreis, Württemberg. There is a translator error in his birth record, spelling his last name as Fritzlin instead of Fritzler. All other sources show the name as Fritzler, so that is what I'm using as his last name in this profile.

Birth Record ^[1]

Name: Johann Michael Fritzlin

Event Date: 1636 - 1890

Event Date: 1724

Gender: Male

Birth Date: 02 Jun 1724

Birth Year: 1724

Christening Date: 03 Jun 1724

Christening Place: Evangelisch, Kleingartach, Neckarkreis, Wuerttemberg

Father's Name: Jacob Fritzlin

Mother's Name: Anna Catharina

Research into the last name at birth of his wife, Sabina, revealed that the two were probably cousins. On their marriage record, their surnames are spelled Fritzlen. Clearly, the two have different fathers who went by Jacob Fritzlen/Fritzler. Sabina's father added his typically unused first name, Jerg (an alternate spelling of Georg), to differentiate himself from his daughter's new father-in-law, who was already related to her, probably as an uncle or cousin.

Marriage Record ^[2]

Name Jung Johann Michael Fritzlen [sic]

Spouse's Name Anna Sabina Fritzlen [sic]

Event Date 30 Sep 1749

Event Place Evangelisch, Kleingartach, Neckarkreis, Wuerttemberg

Father's Name Jacob Fritzlen [sic]

Spouse's Father's Name Jerg Jacob Fritzlen [sic]

The Württemberg area had been ravaged by war and famine, and Michael had been around long enough to know that nothing was going to change any time soon. He was concerned about being able to provide for his family, as well as to find a way for his children to lead better lives than he had.

In 1759, when Danish King Frederick V invited Germans from Hessen and the Palatinate to help settle the area of Schleswig-Holstein, at that time under the control of the Danes. The king was interested in converting the marsh lands to arable farm land. Germans were known for their good farming skills and for being hard workers, so it seemed like a win-win situation both both Danes and Germans. Michael Fritzler decided the opportunity to immigrate to Denmark with his family was too attractive to pass up.

Michael arrived in Denmark in December of 1761. ^[3] His occupation was listed as a wine gardener or, what we would today call a vintner, an Evangelical Lutheran who brought with him his wife, four children, and one servant: ^[4]

• Wife: Sabina, age 34
• Daughter: Christina Catharina, age 7
• Son: Bernhard, age 4
• Daughter: Barbara, age 3
• Daughter Maria, age 14 days
• Servant: Andreas Grass, age 21

The adults took their oath of allegiance to Denmark on 24 July 1761. ^[5] By the end of the year, the family lived at 6 Moltken Hof in Colony F6 Friderichsheide, in the district of Flensburg. ^[6]

These records show four total Fritzle/Fritzler families, all of whom were from Würtemberg. Three of the families are definitely related:

• Jacob Fritzler, 44, father of Johann Martin
• Johann Martin Fritzler, 20, son of Jacob Fritzler
• Michael Fritzler, 36, probably Jacob Fritzler's younger brother
• Conrad Fritzler, no age listed

(Of these four Fritzler families, all but Conrad Fritzler eventually immigrated to Grimm, Russia. Conrad Fritzler went to New Saratova by St. Petersburg.)

The marshlands were very inhospitable to farmers. Although the Germans were good farmers with typical farm land, it was far more difficult to convert these former wetlands and grow crops. Most of the German immigrants barely reaped enough to feed their families, let alone to provide food for others in Denmark. When Catherine the Great invited Germans to immigrate to Russia, Michael and his wife decided it offered them a better opportunity than what was there for them in Schleswig-Holstein.

The family left for Russia on 24 April 1765, ^[7] with their final destination being the Volga region. The journey was perilous and many people did not survive. These early German settlers did not immediately settle in Grimm, which was probably not yet ready for habitation. They went to a temporary in home to one of the villages founded pre-1767, like Dobrinka. It was there where they were listed in the 1767 census. Within a few months to a few years, all but a few of the Fritzlers made their way to the Colony of Grimm.

By the time of the first Grimm census in 1775, none of Michael's daughters were listed as living with their parents. The ones who survived, such as daughter Barbara, were most likely married and living with another family.

1775 Grimm Census ^[8]

Family # 15

Head of the Household Michael Fritzler, senior, age 52

Wife Sabina [Fritzlen] Fritzler, age 48

Child #1 Bernhard Fritzler, age 17

Child #2 Michael Fritzler, age 8

Child #3 Christoph Fritzler, age 4 years 6 months

By 1788, however, for reasons heretofore unknown, Michael and his wife moved to the colony of Stephan (Vodyanoy Buerak), about 20 miles south of Grimm. ^[9]

He took everyone in his household with him with the exception of his son Michael Jr. and daughter Barbara who had married Johannes Birheim/Bürkheim/Bergheim, both who remained in Grimm.

It could be that other family members, such as his wife Sabina's family, immigrated directly from Germany to Russia and were settled in Stephan. The two colonies were probably no more than 20 miles away from each other, which meant they could keep in touch with family members left behind.

1798 Stephan Census ^[10]

Family # Sp13

Head of the Household Michael Fritzler, age 75, from Grimm

Wife Anna Sobina [sic] [née?] Fritzler, age 73

Child #1 Michael Fritzler, age 31

Wife of Child #1 Anna Maria Helfenbein Fritzler, age 26

Grandchild #1 Johann Christoph Fritzler, age 9

Grandchild #2 Johann Nikolaus Fritzler, age 7

Grandchild #3 Johann Heinrich Fritzler, age 5

Grandchild #4 Johannes Fritzler, age 3

Grandchild #5 Johann Gottlieb Fritzler, age 6 months

Brother-in-Law #1 Johann Jakob Helfenbein, age 30, Anna Maria's brother, working in Dobrinka

Brother-in-Law #2 Johann Georg Helfenbein, age 21, Anna Maria's brother, working in Ust-Kulalinka Grjaznucha

Sister-in-Law Katharina Barbara Helfenbein, age 19, Anna Maria's sister (half-sister or step-sister based on ssl designation in 1798 census)

Sources

1. ↑ "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V421-WT5 : 28 November 2014), Jacob Fritzlin in entry for Johann Michael Fritzlin, 03 Jun 1724; citing ; FHL microfilm 1,184,796.
2. ↑ "Deutschland Heiraten, 1558-1929," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VCYQ-W8W : 26 December 2014), Jung Johann Michael Fritzlen and Anna Sabina Fritzlen, 30 Sep 1749; citing Evangelisch, Kleingartach, Neckarkreis, Wuerttemberg; FHL microfilm 1,184,796.
3. ↑ 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; page 409, family B-428.
4. ↑ The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766, page 409.
5. ↑ The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766, page 409.
6. ↑ The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766, page 409.
7. ↑ The Immigration of German Colonists to Denmark and Their Subsequent Emigration to Russia in the Years 1759-1766, page 409.
8. ↑ 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, Nebraska, USA; Published date: 1995; family #15 in the 1775 census, Michael Fritzler family.
9. ↑ 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, Nebraska, USA; Published date: 1995; item #19 in the 1798 Grimm census appendix.
10. ↑ Mai, Brent Alan; 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga, Volumes 1 & 2; American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, Lincoln, Nebraska; Published 1999 and 2005; page 969, family #Sp13, Michael Fritzler family.

See also:

• The Center for Volga German Studies at Concordia University, Portland, Oregon, online resources, History, Denmakr, see: http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/history/denmark.cfm. (The web address for this site is in the process of changing. As soon as their new server and new address is confirmed, I will update this source accordingly.)

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