Our earliest known Riehl ancestor is Andreas Riehl born about 1730. His place of birth and origin are unknown. Andreas appeared in the village of Schleithal, Alsace in the mid-1700s. The occupation of Andreas is unknown. However, civil documents show that his son Casper was very successful in the husbandry of sheep.
Casper died at an early age. His widow and family immigrated to Russia in 1808 and settled in the Kutschurgan village of Kandel. Casper’s son Georg remained in Kandel.
However, all of Georg’s sons moved to the city of Odessa. A number of civil records, which I have been able to retrieve from the Odessa Civil Archive, show that Georg’s sons were not very enthusiastic about paying their taxes on time.