Becker Family
Anton Becker was baptized in Ronshausen on 3 Nov 1705, the son of Johann Geörg Becker (1671-1740) from Ronshausen and Christina Herwig (born 1674) from Weiterode. Anton was confirmed in Ronshausen in 1719.
Anton married Anna Barbara Bachman, the daughter of Johannes Bachman from Wölfershausen, in Ronshausen on 15 August 1728. Anton and Anna Barbara had six known children in Ronshausen before she died in Ronshausen on 28 July 1761.
Anton's son, Johann George Becker (born 1729), married Elisabetha Wingold, the daughter of Caspar Georg Wingold from Pferdsdorf, on 19 April 1751. Johann George and Elisabetha had five children in Ronshausen:
Anton's daughter, Anna Christina Becker (born 1731), married Johannes Eisel (also Eÿsel, Eusel) from nearby Herfa on 4 April 1762 in Ronshausen. Two children were baptized in Ronshausen:
Anton's daughter, Anna Catharina Becker (born 1740), married Johann George Eisel from Herfa on 8 July 1765 in Ronshausen. He is probably the brother of Johannes Eisel, the husband of Anna Christina Becker. They had two children before they were married:
Anton, along with his married children, Johann Georg, Anna Christina, and Anna Catharina, and their families, decided to become Russian colonists in 1766. They traveled to the gathering place for colonists in Büdingen, where Anton married his second wife, Maria Catharina, in Büdingen on 11 May 1766. Her deceased husband had the surname Peuscher. The group from Ronshausen was traveling with a young man named Johann Wilhelm Schreiber, also from Ronshausen. He was too young to obtain permission to become a colonist on his own account and represented himself as a member of the Becker family when he married in Büdingen and arrived in Russia. The Johann Georg Zilch family, which settled in Norka, was also living in Ronshausen at the time of emigration.
The Becker and Eisel families sailed from the North German port of Lübeck and arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia (now Lomonosov), on 19 July 1766 aboard the ship "Fortitudo" commanded by John Scott.
After more than one year of travel, the surviving members of the Becker and Eisel households were among the founders of the colony of Norka, arriving on 15 August 1767. The 1767 Census taken in Norka lists the following family members:
Anton's second wife, Maria Catharina, died sometime between the 1767 and 1775 Norka censuses. Anton married a third time to Anna Maria Kloberdanz (born about 1740). They had three children:
Anton Sr. died about 1777. By the time of the 1798 Census, his widow, Anna Maria, had remarried to Carl Albert. She is listed in the 1798 census with her two sons from her marriage to Anton Becker: Anton Jr., age 25, and Johann Heinrich, age 21. It is currently unknown whether her daughter, Elisabeth, was deceased or married by this time.
Anton Becker, Jr., married Catharina Pikus from the colony of Grimm, and they had at least 4 children in Norka.
Johann Heinrich Becker married a daughter of Georg Kembel from Kolb. The 1811 Census of Kolb states that Johann Heinrich Becker, age 34 in 1811, had moved to Kolb from Norka in 1808 and had a son named Philip, age 3 in 1811. The Norka 1811 Census also notes that Johann Heinrich Becker moved to Kolb.
Philip Becker's sons, Johann Friedrich, Heinrich Michael, and Georg Michael, and their families, moved from Kolb to Brunnental in 1859. Philip and his son, Georg Friedrich, and their families moved to Brunnental in 1862.
Anton married Anna Barbara Bachman, the daughter of Johannes Bachman from Wölfershausen, in Ronshausen on 15 August 1728. Anton and Anna Barbara had six known children in Ronshausen before she died in Ronshausen on 28 July 1761.
- Johann George, baptized 4 September 1729
- Anna Christina, baptized 29 September 1731
- Johann Christoph, born 17 February 1734 and baptized 19 February 1734
- Johannes, born 27 April 1736, baptized 30 April 1736, buried on 28 August 1741
- Anna Barbara, born 18 February 1739, baptized on 20 February 1739, buried on 9 December 1739
- Anna Catharina, born 29 October 1740 and baptized on 1 November 1740
Anton's son, Johann George Becker (born 1729), married Elisabetha Wingold, the daughter of Caspar Georg Wingold from Pferdsdorf, on 19 April 1751. Johann George and Elisabetha had five children in Ronshausen:
- Johannes, born 11 May 1752, baptized 13 May 1752
- Johann Christoph, born on 1 September, baptized on 4 September 1757, died before arrival in Russia
- Elisabeth, born 24 November 1761, baptized 26 Nov 1761
- Philipp, born 16 June 1763, baptized 19 June 1763, died before arrival in Russia
- Johann Jacob, born on 22 July 1766, baptized on 24 July 1766, buried on 29 July 1766
Anton's daughter, Anna Christina Becker (born 1731), married Johannes Eisel (also Eÿsel, Eusel) from nearby Herfa on 4 April 1762 in Ronshausen. Two children were baptized in Ronshausen:
- Joachim, baptized 23 August 1762
- Anna Elisabeth, born 1 April 1765, baptized 4 April 1765
Anton's daughter, Anna Catharina Becker (born 1740), married Johann George Eisel from Herfa on 8 July 1765 in Ronshausen. He is probably the brother of Johannes Eisel, the husband of Anna Christina Becker. They had two children before they were married:
- Johann Heinrich, baptized 17 September 1762
- Catharina Elisabeth, baptized 15 February 1764
Anton, along with his married children, Johann Georg, Anna Christina, and Anna Catharina, and their families, decided to become Russian colonists in 1766. They traveled to the gathering place for colonists in Büdingen, where Anton married his second wife, Maria Catharina, in Büdingen on 11 May 1766. Her deceased husband had the surname Peuscher. The group from Ronshausen was traveling with a young man named Johann Wilhelm Schreiber, also from Ronshausen. He was too young to obtain permission to become a colonist on his own account and represented himself as a member of the Becker family when he married in Büdingen and arrived in Russia. The Johann Georg Zilch family, which settled in Norka, was also living in Ronshausen at the time of emigration.
The Becker and Eisel families sailed from the North German port of Lübeck and arrived in Oranienbaum, Russia (now Lomonosov), on 19 July 1766 aboard the ship "Fortitudo" commanded by John Scott.
After more than one year of travel, the surviving members of the Becker and Eisel households were among the founders of the colony of Norka, arriving on 15 August 1767. The 1767 Census taken in Norka lists the following family members:
- Anton Becker and Maria Catharina - Household No. 160
- Johann George Becker and Elisabeth (born Wingold) and the children: Johannes and Elisabeth - Household 159
- Johannes Eisel and Anna Christina (born Becker) and their daughter, Anna Elisabeth - Household No. 154
- Johann Georg Eisel and Anna Catharina (born Becker) and their daughter, Catharina Elisabeth - Household 149
Anton's second wife, Maria Catharina, died sometime between the 1767 and 1775 Norka censuses. Anton married a third time to Anna Maria Kloberdanz (born about 1740). They had three children:
- Elisabeth, born about 1770
- Anton Jr., born 29 March 1774
- Johann Heinrich, born about 1777
Anton Sr. died about 1777. By the time of the 1798 Census, his widow, Anna Maria, had remarried to Carl Albert. She is listed in the 1798 census with her two sons from her marriage to Anton Becker: Anton Jr., age 25, and Johann Heinrich, age 21. It is currently unknown whether her daughter, Elisabeth, was deceased or married by this time.
Anton Becker, Jr., married Catharina Pikus from the colony of Grimm, and they had at least 4 children in Norka.
Johann Heinrich Becker married a daughter of Georg Kembel from Kolb. The 1811 Census of Kolb states that Johann Heinrich Becker, age 34 in 1811, had moved to Kolb from Norka in 1808 and had a son named Philip, age 3 in 1811. The Norka 1811 Census also notes that Johann Heinrich Becker moved to Kolb.
Philip Becker's sons, Johann Friedrich, Heinrich Michael, and Georg Michael, and their families, moved from Kolb to Brunnental in 1859. Philip and his son, Georg Friedrich, and their families moved to Brunnental in 1862.
Source
- Research by Maggie Hein and Steve Schreiber posted on The Volga Germans website and used with permission of the researchers.
- Parish records of Büdingen, Wetteraukreis, Hessen on Archion.de
- Parish records of Ronshausen, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Hessen on Archion.de
- Parish records of Weiterode, Hersfeld-Rotenburg, Hessen on Archion.de
- Online Ortsfamilienbuch for Wölfershausen on Genealogy.net
- Parish records of Pferdsdorf, Dermbach, Thuringia on Archion.de
- 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): pp. 83-84
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Auswanderung deutscher Kolonisten nach Russland im Jahre 1766, 2nd edition (Moscow: 2019): p. 32
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet 1764–1767, Band 3 (Göttingen: Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 1999). Pgs. 269, 270, 272.
- Idt, Andreas and Georg Rauschenbach. Deutsche Kolonisten im Jahr 1766 in Oranienbaum und in den Siedlungsorten – Die Kuhlberg-Listen. 2nd Edition. Moscow 2024: Nos. 3604, 3607, 3608, and 3650.
- Rye, Richard, translator. 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): 1775 Household #34; 1798 Household #57.
- Koretnikov, Mila, translator, and Kevin Rupp, editor. 1811 34 Colonies in Russia Village Census Records (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2021): p. 176 and p. 262
- Hein, Maggie, translator. Brunnental, Russia, Communion Register (1870-1884) Volume 1 (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2020), Households #38 and #39.
- Hein, Maggie, translator. Brunnental, Russia, Communion Register (1870-1884) Volume 2 (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 2018), Household #155.
Last updated June 3, 2026