I have been looking for information about Michael Urban for some time. He was the husband of Johanna Christiane (Wuensche) Schneider, who married August Dube, oldest son of Michael Dube, in Serbin on 22 Nov 1868.

Michael Urban joined the Bose Comal County volunteers in the Civil War at the same time as August and several other young men. He was discharged at San Antonio in 1862. He was on the Ben Nevis. His youngest daughter was born 31 May 1863.

Sometime between 1863 and 1868, he evidently died, but I have been unable to find any trace of him in this time period. Anybody have any info, clues or suggestions? If so, please click "Post Reply" and share your thoughts.

Hi Kathe,

I am sorry I do not have any such information but I thought I would suggest checking with the national archives for any information they might hold on his military service despite being Confederate (I assume that).

How fascinating to hear of him being a Bose Comal County Volunteer. I am a current service member and have been thinking of doing some research to put together a 'Wendish Texan defenders' or something to that effect through the time since we landed at Galveston. This would be an expansion of the current display in the St. Peter building of the WWII uniforms if the museum would accept such.

Please keep me updated on anything you find. I'll look around to see if I can find anything on him as well but to look up any records through the national archives you generally must claim relation to them.

Other sources I personally would check are ancestry.com footnote.com and rootsweb.gen to see what turns up from their massive collections. Lastly, what about the Texas State and/or county archives? The war and following reconstruction era were dark times in Texas.

-Ron

George Nielsen's notes suggest he died in 1863 in Serbin. You might want to ask George why he thinks that might be correct or not and then let us all know.

The last time that either Michael Urban or his wife Hanna Christiana was a sponsor was in 1857. Michael Urban was a dissenter who left St Paul in 1858. See page 55 of Nielsen's Johann Kilian, Pastor. He was not a Delaplane league original owner. Maybe he owned land though and probate of land records might give an idea.

In 1867 when the dissenters came back, his signature was not among the signatures.

Probably not related: Urban seems to be a pretty common name like Koch:
https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JQVK-DVY
"Deutschland, Preußen, Brandenburg und Posen, Kirchenbuchduplikate 1794-1874," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JQVK-DVY : accessed 18 May 2014), Michael Urban in entry for Martin Friedrich Wilhelm Bloch and Anna Elisabeth Emilie Urban, 04 Oct 1863, Intended Marriage; citing Schweinert, Schweinert, Schwerin an der Warthe, Posen, Germany, volume 1343-1344, Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv Potsdam; FHL microfilm 1816700.

Name: Martin Friedrich Wilhelm Bloch
Event Type: Intended Marriage
Event Date: 04 Oct 1863
Event Place: Schweinert, Schweinert, Schwerin an der Warthe, Posen, Germany
Gender: Male
Religion: Evangelische
Father's Name: Gottfried Bloch
Spouse's Name: Anna Elisabeth Emilie Urban
Spouse's Father's Name: Michael Urban

Michael Urban was assessed taxes on 55 acres by Bastrop County in 1863. He is not listed on the tax assessment roll for 1864-1866. In 1867 and 1868 his widow Mrs. Christiane Urban is assessed for that 55 acres. He was discharged in August 1862 because he had been appointed a postal carrier, and his third child was born 31 May 1863. Serbin had been a designated a Post Office by that time. F.A. Engelke was the Postmaster for Serbin (appointed in 1860 and again 7/12/1861 by the Confederate States of America) and Anton Pohl became Postmaster in Serbin 1/16/1866. Weldon has found a letter of Pastor Kilian's to the Hon. Mr Brown at Cunninghams (090.700 Kilian to Brown, Postmaster, (DHI, Serbin Collection) 9 Sep 1865) in which he complains that packages were being left with him since Engelke left and he expected someone from Evergreen to pick them up weekly which was not happening. Kilian asserted that the problem with the mail occurred "as the Confederacy died." The Confederacy's death would not likely refer to the year 1862 but a couple of years later nearer 1865 when Kilian's letter was written and when the War ended. There is no mention of Michael Urban. If he was still a postal carrier for Serbin in 1865 one would expect Kilian to include Michael's name in the letter. So, Engelke left before Kilian's letter (I find him in Brenham in 1869 when a daughter is born and was one of those applying for amnesty which required taking an oath of loyalty.) Engelke was a successful businessman after the War, founding a bank in Brenham. We can only hope the records for St. Peter's will surface one day and provide us some answers about Michael Urban's death date. Michael Urban is my great-great grandfather through his son, Andrew.

Michael, John, and Jacob Urban are assessed taxes in the Delaplain League by Bastrop County for a number of years. It is noted in another post they were not original owners in the Delaplain League. As the above three are brothers the land was possibly inherited from their father, Johann George Urban, who died 10 October 1854.

Regarding the Delaplain property occupied by the three Urban brothers-John, Michael, and Jacob, I suggested it may have been inherited. As the father died before the Ben Nevis arrived in Texas the transfer of land (not yet purchased by Lehman and Dube) from him to his sons would be tricky unless he had made a will. Not sure how the Wends treated women as inheritors-the mother lived into 1855. Michael Urban's widow, Johanne Christiane, was assessed on their 55 acres beginning in 1867. Therefore, Texas was a community property state by that time. The point I wished to make is that these brothers are assessed taxes on property in the Delaplain league. As I look at the map of the League I see a "Michael Urban Survey" in quotation marks-what does that mean?

The "Michael Urban survey" under magnification shows Maria Zwahr 55 acres. (1870 census has Johann Zwhar.) To pursue Michael's connection to the property identified as Certificate 129, Original Grantee A.C. Delaplain through the Bastrop County Tax Assessment Rolls, he is shown being assessed both in 1858 and 1859 for 50 acres. His brother, John, also shows 50 acres. 1860 assessment is missing. In 1861 Michael is assessed for 55 acres; his brother, Jacob, for 40 acres and their brother, John, now has 125 acres. All listed under certificate #129. In 1862 John is assessed for 125 acres and M Urban and Jacob U. are listed by name but no acreage assigned. In 1863 John Urban shows 125 acres and M Urban shows no acreage but total value of land in the County is shown as 244, presumably dollars. Clerk error shows brother Jacob as Umlang (the next name starting with U in the rolls regularly shows Ferdinand Umlang.) No acreage is assigned to Jacob in 1863. In 1864 John Urban is listed for 195 acres in the Delaplain tract and Jacob Urban's name is listed with no acreage assigned. In a poll tax list for 1865 John Urban and Jacob Urban are payers. It appears to me that CSA soldiers were not assessed while absent from their property. If I am right Michael and Jacob were excused from tax in 1862 and 1863 but only Jacob is excused in 1864. So, was Michael excused from CSA service in August 1862 to be a postal carrier but recalled to duty in 1863? It seems clear that Bastrop County last listed Michael Urban in its 1863 assessment roll.