From the Rhine to New South Wales – The Gersbach Story

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 dominat...

Held in The Watts Family Collection What a priceless photo from about 1905 of my great-great-grandparents, Anton Gersbach and Margaretha Söngen, at Aldavilla, their farm on the banks of the Macleay River. They'd arrived in Sydney Harbour fifty years earlier when Anton was thirty two and Margareta was twenty five. The farm was named after Anton's hometown, Eltville, which sits on the northern side of The Rhine fifty kilometre west of Frankfurt. Eight kilometres further along The Rhine is Winkel, the home town of Margaretha and many Gersbach relatives. Anton chose the land because it reminded him of his homeland. Anti-clockwise from top left is Aldavilla, Eltville, en route to Winkel and Winkel. Vineyards and wine production have been the main industry for centuries with many established by Catholic religious orders. The area is famous for Rheingau Riesling. It's not surprising that Anton and his brother, Johann, listed their calling as "vinedresser" when they arriv...

Henry Gritten, Sydney Harbour, 1855 On 9 December 1854, Johann (John) and Clara Gersbach departed from Hamburg on board the Catteaux Wattel accompanied by their five young children.  The New South Wales Assisted Immigrants Passengers List records John as 35, Clara as 30, Margaretha as 10, Elisabetha as 7, Joseph as 5, Clara as 4 and Gertrude as 1.     John and the children's "native place" is recorded as Eltville and Clara's is Oberwalluf  which is on the close by Eltville.  Both are in the Duchy of Nassau.  John's  occupation is vine dresser.  You can read more about the German migration to New South Wales in the 1850s  HERE.   John and Clara say they have no relatives in the colony.   The ship likely called at Bremer and Hobart before arriving in Sydney on 9 March 1855. On arrival, it's reported there were 430 German immigrants and that- "The Catteaux Wattel lost twenty infants to dysentery on the passage."  (HERE) John and t...

After reading the earlier information on Joseph and Margaretha Gersbach (HERE) , their great-great-grandson, Steve, shared this precious document from 1910.  We request that this document is not shared on other public websites or trees without agreement. Dated February 7th 1910, the document is signed by Margaretha and witnessed by Harold Clarke and Mrs W H Davis.  It read:- "I Margaretha Gersbach Transferred my property in Hill Street to my son John Gersbach.       I thought the properties were more valuable than they realy are especially one of them has to be pulled down altogether. Therefore he cannot pay more than £30 to each of you except Charley he has to get £50. I John Gersbach faithfully promise to pay Katie Gersbach to look after my mother when she (is) sick.    Margaret Astill £30    Elizabeth Scott £30     Joseph   Gersbac...

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...

In December 2020,  FamilySearch  published the church records for the Catholic Diocese of Limburg, Hessen-Nassau, Germany covering the years 1601 to 1919.  Excitingly, it includes many baptismal, marriage and burial records for Eltville and Oestrich-Winkel where our ancestors lived.  You can read about the collection  HERE.    As I looked through the Gersbach entries, most were for Winkel not Eltville.  Our family bible shows that Anton Gersbach and Margaretha Söngen's marriage took place on 18 February 1855 in Eltville.  I've located the church  record  and it's in 1855 but the location is Winkel.  My focus was always on Eltville...after all Anton and Margaretha called their property Aldavilla and the family story was that it was after their home town.  But then again...Eltville and Winkel are only 8 kilometres apart. So here's the beautiful St Aegidius (St Giles) in Winkel As one of my 2021 "lockdown" proj...

Our earliest photo of "Pargie" aged 24 Sydney, 1885 I grew up hearing my father’s stories about Anton and Margaretha Gersbach, my second great-grandparents, and their son Francis (Frank), my great-grandfather. We all knew Frank as “Pargie.” He died seven years before I was born, yet he was spoken of with such love that I’ve always felt close to him. One of my childhood treasures was his Bible—beautifully illustrated, with faded photographs of Anton and Margaretha, who had left Germany for a new life in Australia. It hinted at a large, close family, and years later it inspired me to start researching our Gersbach roots. The trail begins on the Rhine River, in the towns of Eltville and Oestrich-Winkel, just 8 km apart and near Frankfurt. In the 1850s, many from this region migrated to Australia as vinedressers, shepherds or farm labourers. Among them were four Gersbach men - two sets of brothers: Johann (John)  and  Anton  Johann Valentine (Valentine)  and...