Franciscus Cloberdans (Franz Kloberdanz), the son of Johannes and Sophia Kloberdanz, was baptized in the Alzey Roman Catholic Church on 16 March 1724. On 12 February 1748, Franz was married there to Maria Anna Reitz. The earliest record of the Kloberdanz family in the records of the Alzey parish is the baptism of Agnes Klowerdantz on 1 January 1702.
Franz Kloberdanz, a baker, his wife Maria, and children (Georg, age 14; Anna, age 13; Michael, age 10; Franz, age 6; Heinrich, age 4) arrived from Lübeck at the port of Oranienbaum on 13 September 1766 aboard a ship under the command of Skipper Johann Grapp.They were travelling with Martin Kloberdanz, a single farmer, who is believed to also be their son.
Franz Klaberdanz [sic], his wife Maria, and children (Martin, age 20, Georg, age 16; Anna, age 13; Michael, age 11; Franz, age 7; Heinrich, age 4, died en route) are recorded on the list of colonists being transported from St. Petersburg to Saratov in 1767.
Franz Kloberdanz, a farmer, his wife Maria, and children (Martin, age 20; Georg Heinrich, age 16; Barbara, age 14; Michael, age 10; Franz, age 7) are recorded on the 1767 census of Rothammel in Household No. 15. They had settled there on 21 August 1767.
Michael Kloberdanz, son of Franz Kloberdanz, from Rothammel and his family are recorded on the 1798 census of Schuck in Household No. Su13.
The Oranienbaum passenger list records that this Kloberdanz family is from the German region of Pfalz. The 1767 census records that they came from the German village of Alzey in the Kurpfalz region.
- Kloberdanz, Timothy J. "Piecing the Past Together: The Important Role of Folklore in Family History Research" AHSGR Journal (Spring, 1991): 37-39.
- Mai, Brent Alan. 1798 Census of the German Colonies along the Volga (Lincoln, NE: American Historical Society of Germans from Russia, 1999): Rt05, Rt06, Su13.
- Parish records of Alzey - LDS Film No. 996676.
- Pleve, Igor. Einwanderung in das Wolgagebiet, 1764-1767 Band 4 (Göttingen: Der Göttinger Arbeitskreis, 2008): 84.
- Pleve, Igor. Lists of Colonists to Russia in 1766: Reports by Ivan Kulberg (Saratov: Saratov State Technical University, 2010): #5916, #5917.
- Rauschenbach, Georg. Deutsche Kolonisten auf dem Weg von St. Petersburg nach Saratow: Transportlisten von 1766-1767 (Moscow: G.V. Rauschenbach, 2017): #6463-6470.
Tim Kloberdanz