Amanuensis Monday - Letters from Germany

Amanuensis Monday was started by John Newmark in his blog Translyvanian Dutch and encourages family historians to transcribe family letters, journals, audiotapes and other historical artifacts. An amanuensis is a person employed to write what another dictates or to copy what has been written by another.

My husband's family are very fortunate. They have a series of letters written from Germany to Jacob Frederick Scheef who lived at Rocky River, near Armidale and later at Tilbuster and Puddledock. These letters date from 1859 until 1894. It's a shame we can't read German! There is also a diary Jacob kept and the letters he wrote home when he returned for a holiday to Germany in 1885. At least these are in English! Currently these documents are housed at the University of New England and Regional Archives, in Armidale, New South Wales.

Letter sent from Stuttgart to the Rocky River diggings.

It went around the world!

Appears to have been written from Steinheim

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The following places are mentioned: Steinheim, Unterturkheim, Moreton Bay, Armidale, Rocky River Diggings and Wurttemberg.
The letter mentions Glock. Jacob had married Christina Glock the previous year.
The date 11th September 1858 is quite clear.
Towards the end of the letter two words are written in the centre with writing underneath. This is repeated 3 times.
It looks like Mou Christian, Mou Gottlieb and Mou Roble. It could possibly be information about these three. Under Christian there is something about a Barbara Smidt.

Does anyone know where I could get these letters translated? I have 113 pages.

Caroline Chisholm

I am currently in England visiting my daughter who is working in London. Naturally I decided I would have to spend some time on genealogical pursuits. The problem was where would I choose for a few day's retreat from London? In the end I decided to go to Northampton to visit the grave of Caroline Chisholm. Caroline is known as the immigrant's friend. She was a well known social reformer of her day. Why is Caroline significant to me and my family? You may recall that Caroline Chisholm was on the original $5 note in Australia. As well as her image there was a picture of a ship. That ship was the Waverley . Caroline agitated at the Home Office to reunite the wives and families of convicts with their husbands and fathers. On 22 June 1847 she wrote that she ‘had just left the Home Office and had obtained a passage per Waverley for forty-nine souls.’ SMH 9 August 1847, extract from letter 30 March 1847. My great great grandmother Matilda Agnew, her older siblings James, Joh...

Family Homes - No 3 - Moolan Downs, Queensland

My previous Family Home post showed the childhood home of Catherine Ellen Dawson . After leaving Tasmania Catherine moved to Melbourne with her mother and siblings after the death of her father Dr William Lee Dawson. Catherine married Gustav Baumgarten in Melbourne on 30th November 1876. They lived at Pleasant Bank Vineyard at Barnawatha. According to the Cyclopedia of Victoria they had 180 acres of vines, 465 acres of agricultural and grazing land and a further 300 acres under cultivation. During 1908 the Baumgarten family moved from Barnawatha to Moolan Downs, near Meandarra west of Dalby. They left a thriving business with an established homestead and moved to western Queensland. One of their first tasks when they arrived was to build the dwelling shown below. Original dwelling at Moolan Downs - c1908 The second house at Moolan Downs The final homestead at Moolan Downs One can only admire our early pioneering families. Gustav died at Moolan Downs...

The Tree of Me

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