From the Rhine to New South Wales – The Gersbach Story

This post marks the 110th anniversary of the death of our matriarch,   Margaret Gersbach , who, with her husband   Anton , helped lay the foundations for our family’s Australian story. City and Harbour of Sydney New South Wales from the height above Vaucluse, ca. 1855 [painted by G. E. Peacock] The Journey from the Rhine to New South Wales On   1 May 1855 , Anton and Margaretha (Margaret) Gersbach departed Hamburg aboard the   Wilhelmsburg . Travelling with them were Anton’s second cousins once removed, Joseph Gersbach and his wife, Margaret, along with her mother, Anna Maria Jacoby. Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934 Staatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Microfilm No.: K_1704 The Hamburg passenger list records Anton as 31, Margaret as 24, and their home as   Eltville, Nassau . Anton’s occupation was given as   vine dresser . Anton’s older brother,   John , had arrived in Sydney earlier that year on the   Catteaux ...

Ship in the style of Wilhelmsburg  On 1 May 1855, Joseph and Margaret Gersbach departed from Hamburg on board the Wilhelmsburg. Also on board the ship were Margaret's mother, Anna Maria Jacoby (nee Siebel), and Joseph's second cousin 1x removed, Anton Gersbach, and his wife, Margaretha.   The Hamburg passengers' list records Joseph as 33, Margaret as 21 and Anna Maria as 48 and their place of residence as Winkel, Nassau.  Joseph's occupation is shepherd.  You can read more about the German migration to New South Wales in the 1850s  HERE.   Joseph's older brother, Valentine, had arrived in Sydney on board the Peru on 29 November 1853.   The ship called at Bremer and Hobart before arriving in Sydney on 22 September1855.  Anton's brother, John, travelled from St Mary's to meet the ship and accompany his brother and sister-in-law to Kempsey.  Joseph and Margaret made their way towards Orange. Wilhelmsburg Passenger List f...