Anna Margaretha Metz (1713)

Born 13 Jul 1713 in Evangelisch, Blankenloch, Karlsruhe, Baden

Ancestors

Wife of Christoph Eberhard — married 4 Jun 1732 in Evangelisch, Blankenloch, Karlsruhe, Baden

Descendants

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Biography

Margaretha Metz was a Volga German.

Margaretha Metz 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.

Anna Margaretha was born in 1713 in Blankenloch, Karlsruhe, Baden, Germany, the daughter of Adam and Catharina Metz.

Birth Record ^[1]

• Name Anna Margretha
• Gender Female
• Christening Date 13 Jul 1713
• Christening Place Evangelisch, Blankenloch, Karlsruhe, Baden
• Father's Name Adam Metz
• Mother's Name Catharina

She met and married her husband, Christoph Eberhard, in that same town in 1732.

Marriage Record ^[2]

• 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

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.

Christoph and Margaretha and their family arrived in the City of Schleswig on 04 July 1761. ^[3] They brought with them four grown children in addition to two children under the age of 18 years.^[3] One son, Johann Adam, was listed twice, once in his father's family and once separately. Margaretha's children included:^[3]

• 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

She and her husband took their oaths of allegiance to Denmark on 24 July 1761, and they were considered reserve colonists.^[3] As of 17 May 1763, the family lived at Number 1 Gott Behuet in Colony G9 Christiansholm, in the district of Gottorf.^[3]

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, Margaretha and her husband decided the opportunity to immigrate to Russia was one they could not refuse. He and his family left Denmark on 01 May 1765. ^[3]

While Danish records imply that the family was headed to Grimm, Russia, neither she nor her husband is recorded in the 1775 census. ^[4] It is possible that they did not survive the journey to Russia, or that they died at some time prior to the 1775 census. It is also possible that Margaretha's husband passed away and she remarried. The only way we can prove this is if it is noted in the 1775 census.

The records show that all their adult sons left Denmark, but it is not clear where they were headed. Sons Adam and Georg made it to Grimm and are included in the 1775 census. ^[5] Most likely the other two, Johan Jacob Martin and Johann Vhristoph, remained close to their other family members in Grimm, perhaps settling in a nearby village. It's also possible that they returned to Germany.

Sources

1. ↑ "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NGBY-NYC : 28 November 2014), Anna Margretha, 13 Jul 1713; citing ; FHL microfilm 1,272,867.
2. ↑ "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.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5} 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.
4. ↑ 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.
5. ↑ 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.

See also:

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