Maria Barbara Brand - 1788 to 1851


This week marks the one hundred and seventh anniversary of Maria Barbara Brand's death. Known as Barbara, she died on 28 October 1851 and was buried from St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church in Eltville on 31 October 1851. You can view the transcript HERE.

Barbara's the many times great grandmother of the Kempsey and St Marys Gersbach's. She's the mother of John and Anton Gersbach and my great-great-great-grandmother.

Immediate family of Maria Barbara Brand


Barbara was born on 19 August 1788 - the year Captain Phillip arrived in Sydney Harbour.  She was baptised on the following day in Eltville. You can see a transcript of Barbara's baptismal record HERE.   

Her parents were Anton Brand and Maria Barbara Kaufmann. She was the tenth of their eleven children that I've been able to trace. Six died as infants or children. 

Family of Anton and Maria Kaufmann at Family Search

The old town in Eltville hasn't altered since Barbara lived there. It's dominated by Electoral Castle and the spire of St Peter and Paul's Catholic Church. 

 Eltville circa 1840
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tombleson_Eltville.jpg

Barbara was 30 when she married 27 year old Nicholas Gersbach on 25 July 1819 in the Catholic Church of Nicholas's neighbouring town, Winkel (Transcript). Within four years, they had three children-
Tragedy struck the family when Nicholas died in the year of Anton's birth. The date is recored on public trees as 25 November 1823 but this date hasn't been verified from records. Barbara was widowed with three children under that age of four. 

We don't know the date of Barbara's second marriage to Conrad Joseph Strobel. He was seven years younger (Transcript). Their only child, Peter, was born on 22 March 1829 (Transcript). Peter died when he was twenty on 8 December 1849 (Transcript). 

Within four years of their mother's death,  both her surviving sons were living in New South Wales. Their sister, Elizabeth, was thirty four and unmarried when her brothers left. She died twenty five years later on 6 March 1880 and was buried three days later from the Catholic Church in Eltville (Transcript). Elizabeth's death is recorded as "March 4th 1880" in the family bible of her nephew and my great-grandfather, Francis Gersbach. Francis never travelled out of New South Wales and his aunt never travelled to Australia but the connection remained with the homeland and family of his parents. The transcript at right is from the Hesse Deaths at Ancestry.

Barbara's second husband, Conrad Strobel died six years before Elizabeth on 27 February 1874 (Transcript).

More family connections in New South Wales

Two of Barbara's nephews and a niece also left Eltville in 1854 for a new life in New South Wales. They were the children of her older sister Elisabetha and John and Anton's first cousins. All three travelled on the Caesar which departed from Hamburg on 11 November 1854:-
  • Elisabetha Gattenhof was born on 15 December 1819 in Eltville (transcript). She was unmarried and died during the voyage.
  • Christoph Gattenhof was born on 18 March 1821 in Eltville (transcript). He was travelling with his wife, Wilhelmina (31), and four young children - Clara (6), Christopher (5), Christina (18 months) and Anna (6 months). Wilhelmina and the two youngest children died during the voyage.
  • Joseph Gattenhof was born on 20 November 1823 in Eltville (transcript). He was unmarried.
How tragic! Of the party of four adults and four children who set off from Eltville in late 1854, the two women and two youngest children died before reaching their new homeland. The Caesar arrived in Sydney 18 days after the Catteaux Wattel had arrived with John and Clara Gersbach and their five children.