The Secrets of George Urban

One of my longstanding genealogical "brick walls" has been my maternal great-great grandfather, George Urban (1842-1923).  He is the grandfather of my maternal grandfather, Paul Urban.  My family have all known that Grandad's family were devout German Lutherans and yet we also knew that his grandfather came from the Alsace region of France which has changed between French and German control over the centuries several times.  

George Urban, great-great grandfather

George Urban immigrated to the U.S. right after the U.S. Civil War on January 16, 1868 according to his U.S. Naturalization papers and we knew he primarily lived in Higginsville, Lafayette County, Missouri.  However, a review of his actual historical records show that he spent about 25 years in Missouri with a brief period spent in Oklahoma to live near his daughter, Ella (Urban) Young.  I discovered that prior to coming to central Missouri, George and his bride, Eliza Dierker, actually lived 25 years in Mount Olive, Macoupin County, Illinois right after they married.  Actually almost all of their children were born in Illinois.  Surprisingly though I learned that during that time he was a Coal Miner in the mines of south-central Illinois.  I did a little research about coal mining during this time period (1875-1900).

Coal mining was the backbone of Mount Olive’s economy, and it was grueling, dangerous work. A miner often began his day before dawn, descending into the dark, narrow shafts beneath the town. Accidents, cave-ins, and poor air quality were constant threats. The work was physically punishing, but it offered more stability than farming back in the old country—or trying to make it in the crowded cities of the East. Wages were modest, and miners often lived in small company-owned houses near the pits. Most families grew some of their own food, and wives often took on laundry, sewing, or gardening to help make ends meet.

Faith & Community

The Lutheran church was the heart of the German community in Mount Olive. Services were held in German, and the church calendar shaped daily rhythms with baptisms, confirmations, and feast days. The church also operated its own school, teaching children in both German and English, reinforcing language, faith, and tradition. Church picnics, weddings, and Christmas celebrations offered brief but joyful respites from the rigors of mining life. Singing, food, and old-country customs kept cultural ties alive.

Language & Identity

At home and in church, German was the primary language for German immigrants in Mount Olive. It was a source of identity and pride, but also a boundary. While children gradually learned English in school and through work, many older immigrants never fully adopted it. There was sometimes tension with English-speaking neighbors or authorities, especially during labor disputes.

Labor & Solidarity

As coal companies pushed workers harder, German miners—like many others—began to join unions. Lutheran values of fairness and communal responsibility found a natural outlet in the growing labor movement. In the 1890s, many local miners, including German Lutherans, supported the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA).  The cause of labor justice resonated deeply, and by the end of the century, Mount Olive was recognized as a symbol of workers’ rights. Some German miners came to see unionism as an extension of their Christian duty to protect the vulnerable and resist exploitation.

Well that was a real eye-opener considering one of two photos my family has of George is this one:

This photo is believed to have been taken in Higginsville, Missouri around 1893 and because the family is so well dressed it was odd to find that George had been a coal miner.  As a child back in the 1970's when I saw this old photograph and was told that George played the violin I envisioned he and his family as being somewhat aristocratic for the times they lived in.

George's Missouri Death Certificate states that he was born in Mietesheim, Alsace (France).  So I began my search for his roots and his parents in France.  Throughout George's life he listed Germany many times as his birthplace coupled with the known history of the region of Alsace being alternatively French and German, I was concerned that his birth record and parents may be located in French or German records.  For a decade or so I have searched for his birth record.  Fortunately, in 2024 a search revealed a George Urban having been born on December 31, 1842 in French records.  (this is why as a genealogist you need to revisit ancestors and update your research as millions of records around the world are being digitized annually across many different websites).  I located a possible French birth record, but alas it was....in French!  Time to get out my newest genealogical tools...Transkribus and ChatGPT.  

I took a screenshot of the French Birth Record and uploaded it to Transkribus where it did it's magic of transcribing the half printed-half handwritten document.  Transkribus does a pretty good job with its models but it is necessary to validate the transcription against the actual document.  Thus, line by line I read the transcribed letters/words and compared to the handwriting (the printed text was very well transcribed) because mid-19th century European handwriting can leave a little to be desired.  After completing the validation I then copied the text and pasted it into ChatGPT and requested a translation of the "1842 French birth record into English".  Voila!  Within 30 minutes I had a fully translated French birth record in English.

Now I was in business.  I have confirmed this IS almost certainly MY George Urban.  How many George Urbans born in Mietesheim, France on December 31, 1842 could there be?  This record gave me the all important details of George's parents:  Michel Urban a 28-year old farmer and his wife Barbe Reinhard 27-years old.

Next I began my search for Michel and Barbe and quickly found that George had several siblings previously unknown to the family.  I also found a sad truth while researching the family.  Infant mortality was very prevalent at this time in the world.  Michel and Barbe had at least five children in total; three of which did not survive to age 1.

1. Michel Urban
   27 August 1836 - 19 March 1837
2. Marguerithe Urban
   11 December 1837 - 13 December 1837
3. Michel Urban
   19 May 1839 - death not located
   (he DID marry and have children)
4. George Urban
   31 December 1842 - 17 April 1923
5. Jean Urban
   1 April 1847 - 12 June 1847

While further researching George's French records I discovered an even more shocking revelation. 

What's this????  George Urban got married in France?  Surely this is another George Urban and not my great-great-grandfather the devout Lutheran immigrant to America.

Actually, yes he did!  There's no denying this is MY great-great grandfather son of Michel Urban and Barbe Reinhard.  Ok so he was previously married.  I needed to dig further.  Did his wife, Adele,  die and that is why and when he came to America?  Unfortunately, the secrets of my g-g grandfather are much deeper.

I present Emma Georgette Urban daughter of George Urban and Adele Emma Woringer.

This birth record from Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France on April 7, 1866 is evidence that George and Adele did have a family together as of 1866.  This is still almost two years before he emigrated to America.  Then I discovered another daughter - Louise Frederique Urban born two years later on April 2, 1868 in Strasbourg.  However, Louise Frederique was another statistic of infant mortality and died 2-1/2 months later on June 27, 1868.  But wait!  There's something wrong with this picture and it's not the death of George's second child.  Adele gave birth to Louise Frederique in April 1868, but George's U.S. immigration occurred in JANUARY 1868. 

George left France while Adele was 6-7 months pregnant with their second child and before their first child, Emma Georgette was even two years old!  Why?  Adele was alive,  they had a toddler child, and another soon to arrive.  Did George go to America to make a place for his family and intend to send for them to travel to America and join him after the second child was born?  Were there complications for mother and baby Louise after the delivery in April and Adele was too ill to travel?  too grief-stricken?

No amount of research to date (of which there have been countless hours on genealogy record sites both American and French) has located anything more on Adele Emma (Woringer) Urban.  I could find no death, no re-marriage, nothing.  I did locate a death record for Emma Georgette.  She lived in Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France to the ripe age of 77 passing in July 1943.

So after almost fifteen years of researching my ancestors and trying a great deal of those years to dig up more information on great-great grandfather George Urban, I learn that there were secrets he had taken to the grave.  Did he ever tell his American bride, Eliza Dierker, about his first marriage and children?  Did he ever write to Adele or Emma Georgette in France?  Those answers will likely never come.  In the grander view of digging up my roots, however, I did locate Michel and Barbe Urban as his parents and thanks to the diligent records kept in France during the Middle Ages, it appears, I have unlocked approximately SIX more generations backward in my Urban lineage.  This search for documentary proof of these additional generations will take considerable weeks, if not months, of research.  More will surely come your way as an update in the months ahead.  Until then explore the life of George Urban through this biography of the known information (which is nearly 100% complete ... until new records come to light).