My husband's family are very fortunate as his great grandfather, Jacob Scheef travelled on holiday to Germany from Armidale, NSW from May to September 1885. While visiting remaining members of his family he sent many letters back to Australia and kept a diary of his time away from home.
 |
| Jacob Scheef |
John Elder Melbourne
the 14 May 1885
Dear Wife and Children!
I am in receipt of your letter which I received in
Sydney just half an hour before we started from
which I see that you are all well except David and
I trust you will take good care of him with his cold
and am glad that you had some rain the white
bullock you can either kill or sell him if you can get
£5 - 10s for him and break the Strawberry or roan bullock
in with Glover.
We left Sydney on the 12 this month at 1 1/2 clock and the
Sydney Harbour I can give you no idea for his beauty
and grandeur every half hour of steaming it presents a
fresh panorama after coming outside on the open sea
my shipmates began the work of sea sickness although
we had a smooth sea We steamed all along the coast and were
never out of sight from the land yesterday morning it
commenced to blow a pretty hard breeze and the sea became
lumpy and shortly after it showed plenty of waves
and began to work pretty lively with some rain and cold wind
but it only proved to me that my sea legs are well
established for it made no impression on me and I feel very
good health and can eat well our meals are cooked and we
go to work each as he thinks is best for him there is no sharing
of the meals and the cook brings it to the table and each one helps
himself so far as we went the meals are very good I wish
no better every day fresh bread not biscuit and also fresh
meat and potatoes.
You never mentioned that you paid some money for me in
the Lodge perhaps you got no word of it. I could write a
lot more but the ship will not be steady and it is no use
grumbling it take no notice of it we are close to
Melbourne now and I must stop hoping to receive
another letter from you
Your loving Husband
and Father Jacob F Scheef
the 14 May 1885
Dear Wife and Children!
I am in receipt of your letter which I received in
Sydney just half an hour before we started from
which I see that you are all well except David and
I trust you will take good care of him with his cold
and am glad that you had some rain the white
bullock you can either kill or sell him if you can get
£5 - 10s for him and break the Strawberry or roan bullock
in with Glover.
We left Sydney on the 12 this month at 1 1/2 clock and the
Sydney Harbour I can give you no idea for his beauty
and grandeur every half hour of steaming it presents a
fresh panorama after coming outside on the open sea
my shipmates began the work of sea sickness although
we had a smooth sea We steamed all along the coast and were
never out of sight from the land yesterday morning it
commenced to blow a pretty hard breeze and the sea became
lumpy and shortly after it showed plenty of waves
and began to work pretty lively with some rain and cold wind
but it only proved to me that my sea legs are well
established for it made no impression on me and I feel very
good health and can eat well our meals are cooked and we
go to work each as he thinks is best for him there is no sharing
of the meals and the cook brings it to the table and each one helps
himself so far as we went the meals are very good I wish
no better every day fresh bread not biscuit and also fresh
meat and potatoes.
You never mentioned that you paid some money for me in
the Lodge perhaps you got no word of it. I could write a
lot more but the ship will not be steady and it is no use
grumbling it take no notice of it we are close to
Melbourne now and I must stop hoping to receive
another letter from you
Your loving Husband
and Father Jacob F Scheef
The key points that could be investigated further:
- Information about the John Elder.
- Who was Glover?
- Money paid to the lodge.
- Who is David?
1. R.M.S. John Elder, left Sydney for London, via Melbourne and Adelaide on 12 May 1885. 1.
It sailed from Melbourne in the early hours of Saturday 16 May 1885. 2
 |
| RMS John Elder (Australian National Maritime Museum) |
2. Glover was either William Glover who died in April 1906 or Thomas H Glover who died in July 1906 in Armidale.
3. At this stage I don't know whether the money paid by his wife Christina was to a lodge in Sydney or Armidale.
4. David Robert Scheef was the 13th child of Jacob and Christina. He was born on 10th September 1884. He was only 8 months old when his father left to visit Germany.
References
1. The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title35
2. The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954)
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-title35 18 May 1885 p. 8
3. RMS JOHN ELDER National Maritime museum collection, 1879
Comments
Post a Comment