“THEY MET IN NATAL”
A story without a beginning or an ending but as much as is known to me on Christmas Day 2002
As told by
Joan M Rachmann
CHAPTER 1
RACHMANN AND AULFES
Two Families from Hanover
The year 1847 was a hard, miserable time in Europe for all but the wealthiest people. Food was expensive, rye having reached £36 to £37 per malter (8 bushels), and work was so scarce that for Margarethe Böhmer and Anna Aulfes life was a continual struggle trying to feed their families. Only the previous Christmas Eve, Margarethe’s second son, Hermann Rachmann, had died at the age of 20 years from exhaustion brought on by, amongst other things, a lack of good nourishing food. The husbands of both women, Gerhard Böhmer and Friedrich Aulfes, were clothmakers in the cotton-manufacturing town of Bramsche in Hanover. There was a slump in the cotton industry and many were unemployed. Friedrich and Anna Aulfes and their little daughters were already living in the Poor House in Hemker Street and there seemed little hope of any improvement in conditions.
Although earlier years could hardly have been described as peaceful, now with the rumblings of revolution again sweeping Europe, Margarethe had a further worry. Would her sons be called up for military duties? Heinrich Rachmann, her older son of her first marriage, was already 23 years of age and she had two younger sons from her second marriage both of whom would soon be old enough to serve in the army. Anna Aulfes with five little daughters must also have feared for their futures as both women had first-hand experience of war and its aftermath.
When Margarethe Böhmer was born in February 1801, the armies of Napoleon were already conquering Europe. In March of that year Napoleon began negotiations for the peace treaty between Great Britain and France, that was signed at Amiens in 1802. This peace was short-lived, for by 1803 these two countries were again at war. The Elector of Hanover was at that time also the King of Great Britain, so Napoleon immediately invaded Hanover and 40 000 troops kept it under the direct control of France. By the time Friedrich Aulfes was born in 1808 the French armies had been victorious across the length and breadth of Europe. In 1812 Napoleon began his ill-fated invasion of Russia and his retreat brought his enemies in pursuit of him across Germany. From 1813 when Anna Aulfes was born, until Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo in 1815, the people of Hanover in common with others in Europe suffered turmoil and hardship.
Peace brought little improvement. The Congress that met in Vienna after the war endeavoured to put the clock back and re-establish the old order of pre-French Revolution Europe. During Napoleon’s rule Hanover had been part of the Kingdom of Westphalia under his brother, Jerome Bonaparte. It was reconstituted as a kingdom under George III of England and it was provided that in the king’s absence it would be governed by a “statthalter.” George III was by this time insane and his duties were in the hands of the Prince Regent who succeeded his father as George IV in 1820. The constitution given to the country was not very liberal and the Assembly of Estates was almost powerless. The king might have been restored to Hanover but the ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity carried everywhere by the French troops could not be abolished merely by a peace treaty. George IV reigned until 1830 and throughout this time there was continual unrest all over Europe culminating in general uprisings in 1830, which were sternly repressed. In 1830 a more democratic constitution was introduced in Hanover.
William IV, who succeeded his brother George, was a tolerant and liberal monarch. When William died in 1837 the kingdoms of Britain and Hanover were separated, as while Victoria, daughter of George III’s fourth son, ascended the throne of Britain, because Hanover had Salic law, her uncle Ernest Augustus, fifth son of George III, became King of Hanover. Ernest Augustus had served in the Hanoverian and the British armies and commanded the Hanoverian army in the 1813-1814 campaigns and he was present at the Battle of Leipzig. He immediately abolished the new constitution but in 1840 was reluctantly compelled to concede one again. Although of an unyielding nature, he appears to have been reasonably popular with his Hanoverian subjects, but in common with the rest of Europe, Hanover suffered from violent uprisings again in 1848.
The many years of wars and blockades during the Napoleonic era had ruined the economies of most European countries. Apart from the usual post-war shortages there were bands of unemployed ex-soldiers of the various defeated armies roaming the countryside and living off the land. Over the years many German barons had left their lands in the hands of bailiffs while following their king in England and on the various army campaigns and this caused the Hanoverian peasant farmers much hardship. By the 1840s five years of drought had ruined many small farmers and the bad harvests had caused further hardship. It was estimated that the majority of the poorer classes in Europe were underfed and did not have sufficient warm clothes. A great many people only had meat twice a year at most and to keep out the cold and stave off hunger pains, quantities of gin were drunk by young and old. Medical science was minimal and cholera was rife. In 1843 epidemics of typhus and measles struck large parts of Germany.
Bramsche, a town in the Duchy of Osnabrück, was known as “The Town of Mills.” There were mills for all types of industries but from the 13th Century Bramsche had been noted for its clothmaking, particularly for material dyed with the colour known as “Bramsche Red.” From 1560 there was a Cloth Makers Guild in the town.
With the coming of peace a flood of British goods once more reached the Continent and put a further strain on the already distressed economies of all the European countries. The Industrial Revolution had already brought about a change in the economic and social structures. With the development of steam power and the introduction of machines into the cotton industry it changed from being a home-based trade to large factories with less jobs available for weavers. Added to this there was a desperate shortage of raw materials.
As clothmakers, both Friedrich Aulfes and Gerhard Böhmer would have been in financial difficulties and must have been worried over their future prospects. Maybe the following advertisement, which appeared in Rudolstadts “General Emigrants Newspaper” on the 30 August and 5 September 1847, seemed like the answer to their problems,
“Opportunity for Emigrants –
Mr J Bergtheil in Bremen, Plantation owner in Port Natal (East Coast of South Africa) -
Intends to give a number of families free passage and the opportunity to settle on property under favourable conditions to help a pioneer colony. He is entitled to accept applications and to give further information. Only hard working, respectable and sober applicants will be considered and families with older children will be given preference….”
This was the first organised attempt to bring immigrants to Natal. The textile manufacturers of Lancashire in England were anxious to develop new sources of raw cotton within the British Empire. Jonas Bergtheil had been successful with his trial venture in cotton cultivation in Natal and it was decided to recruit settlers with a view to extending his plantations. In 1847 Bergtheil tried to recruit these settlers in England but was not able to persuade anyone to join him. Next he tried his native Bavaria but there he was accused of trying to con poor unsuspecting emigrants into slavery. He then moved to Northern Germany where although there was sharp criticism of his scheme by the newspapers, he was eventually able to interview prospective settlers and give them information.
The British Colonial Secretary of the time was against foreigners being taken into the Empire and one of the conditions to which all had to agree was that they would be naturalized. Each family was to lease a tract of 210 English acres of land fit for the cultivation of cotton. Ten acres were for the cultivation of vegetables for domestic consumption, the balance to be devoted to cotton. The settler was bound immediately after his arrival with the help of native labour, to cultivate 50 acres in his first year and 50 extra acres each year until the fifth year the whole farm would be under cultivation. Seeds or young plants would be supplied free. Cattle and farm implements would be advanced at reasonable prices. Bergtheil would provide a house or a tent. At the end of the first five years it was calculated that the settler should show a profit of approximately Guilders 31 154.
One can only guess at the excitement that this advertisement must have created. How they must have studied the terms and conditions of the offer. If all went as planned, here was the prospect of earning a living at their trade once again and an opportunity to perhaps improve their living conditions. What lengthy discussions must have taken place with their families and then with the decision made there was the rush to lodge their applications. Although Natal was a distant place it was not entirely unknown to them as their king was also a British Prince so they felt they were going to one of his other countries.
In spite of attempts to dissuade would-be settlers there were many applicants and altogether 189 men, women and children were selected for the party, many coming from the Osnabrück and Bramsche areas. Amongst the group of 125 chosen from Bramsche and its surrounding districts were the families of Aulfes and Böhmer, both coming from the Parish of Bramsche. Those chosen hastily packed their few possessions and bade farewell to those of their relatives who were remaining behind. Both Friedrich Aulfes and Margarethe Böhmer were leaving behind their elderly fathers, which must have caused some heartache. They then made their way to Bremen, often walking by night. According to a report compiled for the King of Hanover, those leaving were no loss to Hanover as they were all so poor that in the foreseeable future many of them would be needing state support. The total capital of the whole party was some 630 Guilden. So poor were these people that kindly citizens of Bremen had a whip-round to collect clothing to help them on their journey.
In Werner Schmidt’s account of the Bergtheil undertaking the names of the members of the Aulfes and Böhmer families as recorded in the Bramsche Archives were as follows:
Although not entirely accurate this record is useful in that it shows Heinrich Wilhelm Rachmann travelled as Heinrich Wilhelm Böhmer, using his stepfather’s surname. In the frantic rush to leave, these people did not have the usual German travel documents and it was probably easier for Böhmer to simply say he had three sons. Presumably it is the reason why no record is made of the name Rachmann in the memorial to the settlers outside the New Germany Civic offices. Only the names of Heads of Families seem to be listed there.
From research in Natal it has been established that Friedrich Aulfes was born on 6th March 1809 and his wife Johanna Maria Adelheid Aulfes (nee Lond), known as Anna, was born on the 9th October 1813. Their five daughters’ names are given variously as Elise Hermine, Dorothea Adelheid known as Dora, Caroline Amalia Dorothea, Luise Maria Wilhelmine and Christine Auguste.
According to records in Germany, Friedrich Aulfes full name was Johann Friedrich Heinrich Aulfes and he was born on 6th May 1808. Although his father, Johannes Friedrich Ebcke Aulfes and his paternal grandparents Johann Heinrich Aulfes and Margarethe Helena Von Buehren were all born in Bramsche, Friedrich himself was born in Grottkau in Silesia, the hometown of his mother Eleanora Helene Bein, daughter of Franz Bein and Barbara Helena Elgut. Silesia was part of the Austrian Empire until 1749 when it was seized by Frederick the Great of Prussia. This land which is mainly in the Ostra (Oder) valley was later divided between Poland, Germany and Moldavia. Silesia was also a cotton weaving region and had for some time been a “depressed” area.”
German records show Friedrich’s wife, Johanna Lond was the daughter of Erich Lond and Margarethe Marie Krecke and was born 15th October 1813. Although Erich Lond lived and died in Bramsche, Margarethe’s parents Johann Diedrick Krecke and Engel Dorothea Schlarmayer lived in Rieste, a small place near Bramsche.
Friedrich and Anna’s first child was born in 1833 in Bramsche and was illegitimate as her parents only married the following year. Altogether they had six daughters,
Born Christened
Hermine Regina ELISE 1833 Oct 4 1833 Oct 13
DOROTHEA Adelheid 1836 Feb 15 1836 Feb 28
Anna Marie Catharine 1837 Dec 29 1838 Jan 7
CAROLINE Amalia Dorothea 1841 May 2 1841 May 16
Marie LUISE Wilhelmine 1843 Dec 5 1843 Dec 17
Christine AUGUSTE 1846 Mar 19 1846 Apr 16
The third little daughter, Anna, died of convulsions on 18 March 1844 at the age of 6 years.
Margarethe Böhmer’s life had not been easy, as apart from the political turmoil of her early years, she was a widow with a small son and another baby on the way by the age of 25. She was born Catherina Margarethe Schwegmann on 26 February 1801 and was the daughter of Johann (Klaus) Heinrich Gottfried Schwegmann and his wife Catherina Margarethe Lunkshausen. Although Klaus’ father, also Johann Heinrich Gottfried Schwegmann was born in Bramsche, his mother Catherina Gertrud Tegeler was born in Ostrabrink. Margarethe’s maternal grandparents were Johann Christian Lunkshausen and Catherina Margarethe Schroeder.
Margarethe’s first marriage on 19th September 1823 was to Christian Wilhelm Rachmann (born 1797). Christian’s father, Friedrich Wilhelm Rachmann was a shoemaker from Potsdam. The Schwegmann Museum near Bramsche gives Christian Rachmann as one of the four illegitimate children of Sophie Seidel.
Sophie’s father Johann Christian Seidel, son of Johannes Christian David Seidel and Christina Maria Saemer, was born in Klitschen, near Torgau, in Saxony in 1730. Torgau lies on the River Elbe north east of Leipzig and about 55 miles south of Berlin. Its more recent claim to fame is that in April 1945 it was at Torgau that the Russian and American forces linked up during the final drive on Berlin in the Second World War. Johann Christian Seidel apparently moved to Bramsche as a young man as he married a girl born in Bramsche, Catherina Elsaben Schaeffer, daughter of Johannes Christoffel Schaeffer and Sarah Maria Genglier. According to information from the Museum Sophie Seidel eventually married Klem Friedrich Bockweg on 19 July 1817.
Christian Wilhelm Rachmann was a clothmaker and he and Margarethe lived in No 143 (Mühlenort) in Bramsche. (Apparently when the name is written in brackets it denotes the owner of the house not a street name.) On 27 September 1824 their first child Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Rachmann was born. On 13 March 1826 Christian died at the age of 29 years, leaving Margarethe with an eighteen-months-old son. Three months later a second son, Hermann Rudolph Wilhelm was born. One wonders how she managed to support herself and her infant sons. Both her parents were still alive then but it appears her brother Hermann Schwegmann assisted her, as later he seems to have signed Heinrich’s marriage certificate as his guardian.
Eight years later on 5 June 1834 Margarethe married Gerhard Heinrich Hermann Böhmer. Gerhard was born at Rheine near Münster on 5th March 1805 and was originally a Roman Catholic. His parents were Gerhard Heinrich Beimer and Elisabeth Kerkmann. The surname is written as Beimer, Bäumer and Böhmer. Gerhard and Margarethe lived at Nos. 120 & 166 Hinterstrasse. (Back Street). They had the following children
Born Christened
Franz Rudolph WILHELM 1834 Dec 31 1835 Jan 6
Anna MARIA Amalie 1836 Sept 1 1836 Sept 11
Friedrich Franz ARNOLD 1838 Dec 22 1838 Dec 30
Karoline Wilhelmine 1841 Feb 15 1841 Feb 21
LUISE Katharine Margarethe 1843 Sept 11 1843 Sept 24
Margarethe’s mother died in July 1831. Her little daughter Karoline Wilhelmine died in September 1841 aged 6 months and her second son Hermann Rachmann died on 24 December 1846.
In the settler party there were three families with the surname Schwegmann. Two of these were Margarethe’s relatives. One was her brother Hermann Heinrich Diederich Schwegmann and his family and the other was the family of Christian Rudolph Schwegmann, his eldest son. Hermann was also a clothmaker from Bramsche. The third Schwegmann family was that of Berend Heinrich Schwegmann who was the son of Johann Rudolph Schwegmann and at present we do not know whether this family was also related.
The wife of the another settler, Torlage, had the maiden name of Krecke and came from Rieste so presumably she was related to Anna Aulfes whose mother’s maiden name was Krecke and who also came from Rieste.
When the settlers assembled in Bremen in the first weeks of November 1847 it was a bare nine weeks after the first advertisement had appeared. The Head of each family was required to sign a contract printed in English and German before the British Vice-Consul, S.B. Pearkes. This Deed of Conveyance as it was termed set out their rights and obligations. To quote an article in the “Daily News” of 25th June 1969, commemorating their arrival in Natal, “They were a company rich in courage, a company which had rejected the prejudice against Natal, a company very young and very old, with little to lose and confident of the future. How right they were, and how fortunate Natal was to gain them!” The progenitors of families that are now well-known in Natal with surnames such as Dinkelmann, Freese, Lange, Konigkramer, Laatz, Nipper, Oellermann, Paul, Rethmann, Schaffermann, Torlage, Westermeyer and Winter all arrived in this party.
The group boarded the barque “Beta”, 340 tons, captained by Johann Georg Poppe, and carrying a cargo of 80 cases of gin and 2 cases of cigars! The ship was previously named the “Sophia Maria” and had sailed under the Russian Flag. The vessel left Bremen-haven on Sunday, 21st November 1847, and reached the open sea at 5 o’clock in the afternoon of 22nd November. Sailing ships offered little comfort in those days and passengers were obliged to cook on one communal stove. This must have been made even more difficult in the fierce November storms that beset the little ship in the North Sea. Slowly they crept down the coast of Africa. In the doldrums they were becalmed for so long that food ran low and crew and passengers prayed for a wind to fill the sails. It was eventually decided that livestock including pets would have to be killed and eaten, but fortunately a wind arose before this could take place.
During their four months at sea, the party grew very close as they faced together the various alarms and hardships. Four children died and this sad little note was written by the settler Christian Oellermann recording the deaths of his little daughter and infant son.
“Our little girl became the victim of a sickness called “worm fever”.
The sickness began on 16th December and lasted until 29th December when it pleased God to terminate her suffering at 6 o’clock in the afternoon.
On 26th December my beloved son fell ill again and God terminated his brief life already on 4th January 1848 at 10 o’clock in the afternoon”
The sadness of those weeks was lightened a little by the birth in January, of two new babies to families in the party. On the 7th January a little girl who was named Anna Maria Beta Schmidt was born and on 14th January, Johann Friedrich Schäfermann arrived. One can only imagine the difficulties the poor mothers must have experienced in such trying conditions.
After rounding the Cape the vessel sailed northwards until on 23rd March 1848, 124 long days after leaving Bremen, it rounded the Bluff, the long low hill protecting Port Natal. Their troubles were, however, not yet over as the ship was unable to cross the sand bar at the harbour mouth and anchored off the port to await favourable winds. On the 25th about 90 immigrants and luggage were piled into the ship’s long boat and rowed ashore at the Back Beach (the present South Beach). Owing to some mismanagement or misfortune, the surfboat came in broadside on to the beach and the group all landed dripping wet on the golden sands of their new homeland. With a shallower draft the ship was able to enter the port and the balance of the passengers alighted in the harbour. Here they were met by a crowd of grinning Zulus who hoisted them onto their backs and carried them ashore.
D’Urban was a village of about 60 mud huts and ramshackle buildings. Mr W. Harding, the chief officer of the Pietermaritzburg Municipality, received the settlers at the harbour. The Heads of families re-signed the Deed of conveyance in the presence of a magistrate and it was counter-signed by Mr John Scott, the authorised British representative in Durban. The group was then taken to Westville where a few houses and huts had been erected.
The estate to which the settlers came was 15 500 acres. The main farm called “Wandsbeck” which Bergtheil and his colleagues had bought from Morewood for the sum of R1 200 was 4 418 acres in extent – an average of 27 cents an acre. Today an acre of land in Westville might cost anything up to R50 000. There were many valley streams and in the kloofs a ready supply of firewood and fencing posts could be obtained. The village of Durban was some 8 to 15 miles from the estate and Pietermaritzburg 35 to 40 miles away. The road to Pietermaritzburg was however hilly and after heavy rains was muddy and the Thornybush spruit became impassable, so communication with Durban was both closer and easier.
Bergtheil left the settlers in the hands of friends but there were immediate problems as a delivery of seed, the trek-oxen and the agricultural implements had not arrived. Bergtheil returned some months later and found the settlers trying to work the land with simple handmade implements. He then proceeded to organise matters handing out seeds and equipment and allocating the land. Tradition says there was a draw for allotments. Of the 35 families, 6 drew allotments in Westville, on the south side of the Palmiet River. These families were Lange, Böhmer, Schwegmann, Schaffermann, Konigkramer and Westermeyer. The original Böhmer farmstead was near where the present Westville Town Hall stands and the Langes were on the other side of the Old Main Road at what is now the Blue Heights Shopping Centre. The Konigkramers built at what is now called Berea West and were on the left of the Old Main Road as one travels inland. The Aulfes were amongst the families who settled north of the Palmiet River and the widespread area developed by those settlers was named “New Germany.”
When selecting the settlers Bergtheil had given preference to members of the Protestant faith and offered to provide for their welfare, a priest, as well as a teacher and a pharmacist. The teacher came from Hanover with the party. When the settlers arrived in Natal, a German missionary, Rev. Posselt was living in Pietermaritzburg. He was requested to visit them to solemnise the marriages of several young couples. As there was only one wedding ring the couples had to use it in turn during the wedding ceremony. It was a great joy to both preacher and congregation to worship together in their home language and the settlers invited Rev. Posselt to become their pastor. He moved to New Germany in July 1848.
The first church, a wattle and daub structure was built and on 19th November 1848, one year after they had left Bremen, the little church was opened. Rev. Posselt’s text for the occasion was from Psalm 137, verses 3 to 7, which includes the verse “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” No doubt many suffered from homesickness in those first months. The church became the focal point for the community and every Sunday saw them attending worship then gathering together after service to exchange news and views.
Births were a great event in the community. The midwife was fetched in a trap and within an hour the whole place knew all about it. The babies born on the ship were christened on 4th May 1848 with Friedrich Aulfes standing as godfather to little Anna Maria Beta Schmidt. In July of that year he was again godfather to young Friedrich Heinrich Torlage. Anna Aulfes’ name appears in the Baptismal Register as a godmother for Katharina Johanna Caroline Wehaus on 12th December 1848. On Christmas day a baby girl was born to Anna Caroline Schwegmann and on 7th January 1849, she was christened Anna Margarethe Catherina after her godmothers Margarethe Böhmer and Catherina Schwegmann.
Weddings followed the German custom of sending out a “Hochzeitsbitte.” This person goes from house to house inviting people to attend the wedding and each one accepting hands him a ribbon or strips of coloured cloth or even paper that he attaches to his hat. The wedding, usually attended by the whole community, was often held on a Thursday. In 1849 three daughters of Hermann Schwegmann were married, Margarethe in January to Charles Crawley, Anna Caroline in May to Heinrich Rabe and Friedrika Luise in September to J H Freese.
Christmas was celebrated at the church in the traditional German fashion with excited children reciting the text they had learned and everyone singing with all their might to the music provided by the newly-formed brass band. Children sat at the front of the church under the pastor’s eye whilst mothers with tiny babies sat in the back row. Rev. Posselt remembered the settlers first Christmas in their new land as being a particularly emotional time. The whole congregation arrived at the church that had been decorated with flowers and wreaths. To one side of the altar stood a Christmas tree with burning wax candles and underneath it lay cakes, baked pears, raisins, knives, neckerchiefs and cloth for dresses, also exercise books and steel nibs. These gifts were distributed to parents and children to their great joy.
At New Year a group of school children accompanied by their schoolmaster went from house to house to sing New Year carols and to present good wishes for the year.
In the centre of New Germany a storeroom known as the “Pakhuis” was built as a stock and distribution point. It was also a home for the doctor and first inspector Gerber. In 1848 as fear of the Zulu king Panda’s impis swept Natal the settlers fortified this Pakhuis with a palisade and moat. Fortunately it was not needed, but the home guard established was distinctive for being the first such force in the Colony. It was known as “Bergtheil’s Volunteers” and was joined by all combat-capable men of the settlement. Heinrich Rachmann, aged 24, is one of the names on the original list of recruits. On the anniversary of their arrival in Natal, 25th March 1849, the settlers advertised in the Natal Witness that they were holding a “Schutzenfest” and awarding a prize for the best marksman.
On 29th May 1849 Governor Pine and Bishop Gray from Cape Town visited New Germany in a two wheeled carriage drawn by six horses. The school children under the supervision of the teacher Mühlenbruck lined up, the band played, a large red flag with eagles was waved and Rev. Posselt gave a welcoming speech.
By then the surrounding hillsides were dotted with small thatched houses that in general had three rooms and an adjoining fireplace that served as a kitchen. Near the houses were kraals for the livestock. The gardens, which had been planted from seeds brought from Germany, were proof of the hardworking character of the colonists. These people lived a quiet domestic life rising early to clear and plough their land and retiring early at night. The only light at night was from candles and every housewife had her candle moulds for making the tallow candles.
The settlers’ high hopes regarding cotton cultivation were soon dashed. The crop at the beginning of 1849 yielded 18 000 (English) pounds of cotton, but in terms of the work put in, this was not a good result. There followed three crop failures due to drought and the sandy nature of the soil. By 1851 the situation was desperate and matters reached a climax in March 1852, when the settlers sent a petition to Lieutenant Governor Pine complaining of the hardships they had to endure because of the failure of the cotton crops. They wanted to leave New Germany before the end of their five-year contracts and asked for a new tract of land where market gardening could be pursued. Messrs G F Rethmann, Franz Nipper, Rudolf Schäfer, Ernest Heinrich Thöle, George Schallenberg, Hermann Heinrich Böhmer, Friedrich Heinrich Aulfes, Wilhelm Hilmer and Hermann Lange signed the petition on behalf of the whole community.
The Governor rejected their request and the community began to break up, as most of the settlers did not extend their contracts. Under the impression that New Germany would dissolve Posselt moved to Emmaus. In order to prevent the complete dissolution of the colony, Bergtheil at the last moment offered a new contract with substantial improvements. The Böhmer, Thöle and Lange families were amongst those that stayed.
Amongst those that did not renew their contracts and moved away to try their luck elsewhere in Natal was Friedrich Aulfes. He moved to the farm “Nisseldorn” belonging to a Mr Kramer where he helped with the farm work and saved up a bit of money.
According to the memoirs of Luise, the fourth Aulfes daughter, she spent a year in Pietermaritzburg when she was ten years old. This would have been about 1853. It seems that her father met the Parliamentarian Boshoff in Durban and Luise was placed in the foster care of this man with the promise that he would send her to school and treat her as his own child. He then took her to his home in Pietermaritzburg where his wife apparently regarded her as a means of cheap labour. Luise was put to work in the kitchen with a Hottentot girl and daily beatings and little food were the lot of both girls. Her parents seemed to have no idea where she was staying and searched for her in vain. One day when she had been there a year Mrs Siekesmeyer came walking past the house and recognised the child crying in the street as Luise Aulfes. She immediately notified Luise’s parents of this chance encounter and her father came to see Boshoff. When he saw how his child had been treated he wanted to take her away immediately. Boshoff however demanded a fee of £2 (R4) before he would let her go. Her father paid and Luise returned home with him.
By now Friedrich Aulfes had accumulated enough money to buy himself a farm. This farm was a subdivision of the farm “Kruisfontein” in the Midlands. As there were no sons in the family Luise helped her father in the fields and with the ploughing. Two other settlers, Bosse and Siekesmeyer also moved to that area and these three men became the founders of New Hanover.
The settlers at New Germany struggled on and a petition was sent to the Evangelical Church asking for the popular priest Posselt to be re-instated. Permission was granted and three of the settlers went with their wagons to fetch him back. On 17th May 1854, he arrived back at New Germany and the whole congregation came out to escort him along the last part of the road singing lustily and waving banners.
It became evident that no real development could be made without a change in the mortgage and ownership regulations. Bergtheil opposed this, so in 1856 Posselt as leader of the community, wrote again to the Governor, asking for different land. The request was again rejected leaving no alternative for the remaining families but to leave New Germany. At the last minute Bergtheil realised that if anything was to be salvaged from the ill-fated venture it was necessary to keep the German settlers on the land, so shortly before their contracts came up for renewal for a second time he offered them more favourable terms.
The settlers turned to market gardening. As the Voortrekkers had withdrawn after the British occupation of Natal, there was a ready market for their products as townspeople had felt the loss of the trekkers’ produce. As Durban and its port developed, the demand for vegetables and other foods, especially sweet potatoes and forage, increased. On the lands ploughed for cotton they sowed oats, barley, mealies, beans, buckwheat and potatoes.
Christian and Rudolph Oellermann kept some records in a notebook of the prices they paid for some of their household purchases.
1 sack Flour £2/ 2/ 0.
(R4,20)
2 Hats 2/6d
(25c)
1 muid Oats £1/ 0/ 0.
(R2,00)
Material for trousers 6/-
(60c)
1 sack Coffee £4/ 7/ 6
(R8,75)
2 pieces Cotton 8/6d
(85c)
Salt 6/-
(60c)
Black dress 14/3d
(R1,42)
Butter 12/-
(R1,20)
Tobacco for 3 months 3/-
(30c)
Soap 5/9d
(58c)
Matches 1/-
(10c)
1 tin Pot 2/-
(20c)
Some of the settlers hired themselves out to other farmers when they needed to augment their finances. The casual work they did ranged from ploughing, helping in the horse stables, carting manure and collecting cattle, to brickmaking, burning veld, tree planting and cutting oats. The rate paid to the Zulu togt labourers who assisted them was 5c per day.
One of the terms of the original contract had been a free return passage or the right to buy farms. Bergtheil allowed settlers to purchase their allotments at rates of R1,50 to R3,00 an acre by instalments. They were given 10 years to repay their debt but a number of them, by dint of hard work and stringent economies, managed to clear their debt before that time. In 1857, 41 residents became naturalized British subjects. Unfortunately no record remains of who these people were. All settlers remained in the country, some persuading friends from Hanover to join them.
In 1854 a group of new settlers arrived from Hanover on the ship “Kandaze”. This group included eight Lutheran missionaries. Rev. Posselt helped them purchase the farm “Perseverance” in the Natal Midlands. Led by the brothers Christian and Rudolf Oellermann, these men travelled to their farm by ox-wagon. Here they established the mission station, which they named Hermannsburg after their hometown in Germany.
Almost immediately one of these missionaries, the Rev. Schutze was appointed to the newly established New Hanover congregation. It was in Friedrich Aulfes’ little house, the foundations of which still remain, that the first church services were held by Rev. Schutze. The living room was also used during the week as a schoolroom. During the wet weather there was difficulty in crossing the river near the Aulfes farm and Cornelius Laas, a local farmer, donated 15 acres of land to the New Hanover congregation and a parsonage was built which served as both a church and school.
Luise Aulfes mentioned that while she was with Boshoff in Pietermaritzburg two of her sisters were working in the town. These must have been Dora and Caroline, as Elise, the eldest, had married Ernst Heinrich Thöle on 4th November 1849. According to their marriage certificate Elise was 18 years old but she was actually only 16. By the time Friedrich Aulfes moved, Elise had two small children, Friedrich Wilhelm Thöle who was born in August 1850 and Johanna (Anna) Elizabeth Luise who arrived on 28th December 1851. At Anna’s christening on the 2nd day of January 1852, her grandmother Anna Aulfes was one of her sponsors.
Dorothea, the second Aulfes sister, married Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Rachmann at New Germany on 5th February 1854. She was then 18 years old and Heinrich was 30.
In 1856 there was serious unrest in Zululand and great alarm in the Colony of Natal. Boer farmers went into laager while in towns and villages, buildings were loopholed and houses fortified. On the hill called Scout’s Hill, behind Wyebank station, a lookout was posted. From the summit of this hill it was possible to see beyond Tongaat and observe the approach of any Zulu impi. According to Werner Schmidt a new commando was formed at New Germany and was first under the command of Woyte and then under Hermann Böhmer followed by his son Heinrich Wilhelm. Whether this son was meant to be his stepson Heinrich Friedrich Wilhelm Rachmann who was also called Heinrich Böhmer or his son Franz Rudolph Wilhelm Böhmer is not clear. It seems probable that both were involved. This force was called the New Germany Defence Rifles and later became linked to the Durban Light Infantry.
A great battle was fought near the Tugela River between two of King Panda’s sons. Cetshwayo, the eldest son, inflicted a massive defeat on his half-brother Mbuyazi and at that moment Cetshwayo could have held all Natal in his power. Fortunately the swollen river that prevented Mbuyazi and his followers from escaping also stopped Cetshwayo's impis from crossing into Natal and the panic in Natal gradually subsided.
By 1858 Elise Thöle had a family of five children. Rosa was born in January 1855 followed by another daughter Caroline. Wilhelm, her second son was born on 5th June 1858 and on 29th July of that year Elise herself died, having been struck by lightening.
Caroline Aulfes married Rudolph Franz Oellermann on the 25th June 1858, at New Hanover. He and his brother Christian settled in that area.
In 1858 Luise Aulfes was at Hermannsburg where her teacher was Heinrich Hohls and on 8th February 1858 the Rev.Struwe confirmed her. On 30th June 1858 Luise married Johann Friedrich Beneke of Telmer Hanstadt in Hanover who was one of the 1854 settlers. She was then only 14½ years old. Beneke was the transport rider for the mission. Should a ship arrive with a new group of missionaries, it was his task to go to Durban with his ox-wagon to fetch them and later also to ensure that they and their belongings were all transported to their rightful place. The young couple were married by Rev. Struwe and lived in Hermannsburg. Luise had very fond memories of this place. She said, “Unity and peace ruled. When we came together on Sundays, it was such a joy to see each other again. We were one heart and one soul.” Later the communistic ideas were given up in the mission and the Benekes moved to the area where the German congregation of Lüneburg was established. The first accommodation they obtained was on the farm of the colonist Küsel. In an empty house with no roof they camped for a while until in the same year they moved to the farm “Koppie-Alleen” which Beneke had traded for an ox-wagon. Here they settled for the rest of their lives even though during the Zulu War and the Second Boer War they were in the front line and faced many difficulties.
After Dorothea (Dora) and Heinrich Rachmann married they bought a farm in the Westville area. This farm was a portion of the Lange’s farm. From an old bond, which Dora (her name on the bond is given as Dora Adelied) raised with her son-in-law in 1882, the property is described as Portion B of Subdivision B C D of Lot 3, Wandsbeck farm. The farmhouse was distinguished by a large clump of bamboo (planted for wagon whips), that grew nearby. Near neighbours were Westermeyer, Schwegmann and Königkrämer families and two farms away was the English settler, James Smith.
Heinrich set to and cleared the land planting it with potatoes and other vegetables. He was described to me as a “lion of a man” with blonde hair and a slight cast in one of his blue eyes. He was tall and powerfully built and his great strength saved his life on one occasion. One day on hearing a disturbance at the pigsty he hurried there only to have a leopard drop from a tree in front of him. His only weapon was a pitchfork he had snatched up but with a great thrust he killed the animal before it had time to spring. The bush abounded with wild life and leopards were troublesome but as big a hazard for farmers were the pythons that were often turned up when ploughing.
On 11th March 1855, Heinrich and Dora’s first child was born and she was named Johanna Margarita, after her two grandmothers, although she was always called Anna. A second little daughter was born to them on 30th January 1858, and was given the names Maria Caroline Lizette. In 1860 Heinrich and Dora had the great sadness of losing this little daughter on the 20th February. Their sorrow was soon mixed with great joy when two weeks later their first son was born. He was christened Heinrich Friedrich Hermann and his godfathers were Heinrich Böhmer, Friedrich Aulfes and Hermann Schwegmann. Although it seems that already Heinrich had adopted the English version of his name, Henry, for the sake of clarity I will continue to call him Heinrich and his son Henry.
Heinrich’s half-sister Maria had married Johann Heinrich Lange on 10th September 1857. The Lange’s farm was on the old Main Road. This family had started a hostelry that became known as the “German House.” It was a row of sparsely furnished wooden rooms, all of which had a window on one side and a door on the other. These rooms provided an overnight resting-place for travellers and were not far from the Fig tree that was the first nights outspan for travellers leaving Durban for inland. The Outspan Tree as it was called, was the scene of farmer’s gatherings and it was customary to auction any spare land there. The “German House” became famous for its bread, bacon and eggs that were served by the daughters of the house. In the evening there were always a few of the German settlers there smoking their pipes and talking to passing travellers to hear the latest news from them.
The Natal Mercury of 26th July 1860 reported the disaster that struck this family. Referring to the “German House” it read…
“This scene of olden reminiscences is now we regret to say a thing of the past. On Saturday last the whole of the buildings were literally burnt to the ground. A child connected with the family died and a large number of relatives had congregated in the house to celebrate the national observances attendant on such an event. Some of the children thus collected together had obtained possession of a box of matches and incautiously set fire to some dry banana leaves, which hung in dangerous proximity to the house. The flames fostered by such a sultry atmosphere passed from the leaves to the thatch roof. The house speedily became ablaze. The adult inmates surprised at the alarming accident, directed all their efforts to the extinction of the flames by the use of wet blankets and other dampening agencies. So busily were they engaged in this way, that they neglected the precaution of removing the furniture and chattels and such goods as there might be in the house at the time. The fire meanwhile spread with quenchless rapidity and fury, and all attempts to extinguish it were utterly futile. In comparatively a few minutes the roof fell in, the wattled walls ignited, the woodwork began to blaze, and without the possibility of saving anything, the whole house was a ruin. The group, which was gathered together outside the charred and smouldering embers about half-an-hour afterwards presented a melancholy spectacle. The women bemoaning with tearful lamentations the losses they had experienced, the children looking wonderingly unconscious of the real effect of the disaster, the men grimed and sooty, walking about vacantly as if they could not realise their position, the stout old landlady herself weeping like a Roman matron over her household gods.”
A public subscription was raised to assist the Langes and the German House was rebuilt.
The year 1860 was notable for two other events. Prince Alfred, the 16-year-old son of Queen Victoria, toured South Africa mostly on horseback. He was immensely popular and finished his tour with a journey through Natal from the Drakensberg to Durban. After rounding Cowies Hill the Prince arrived at the “German House” which was at that time only partially reconstructed. The German community had decorated the road with rustic arches of evergreens and oranges and Mr and Mrs Lange with their family and friends greeted the Prince and handed him a loyal address.
The other event was the inauguration of a coach service between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. John Dare, who had been running a coach service around the streets of Pietermaritzburg, originally planned to do the trip between the two towns in 12 hours but this was found to be too big a strain on the horses. The fare was £1 (R2) and included midday dinner, but within a year Dare became insolvent. In 1862 John Welch a former stagecoach driver started a service for which he charged 30/- (R3) a trip. This was a more successful venture and he soon ran two or three trips a week. This provided the settlers with access to the two towns other than in their own carts. Welch named his coach “Prince Alfred” in honour of the Prince.
The Lange’s fire was not the only tragedy to affect the family. After Elise Thöle’s death her husband remarried and a little daughter was born to his second wife in 1861. She was named Johanna Dorothea Charlotte after her godmothers Johanna Aulfes, Dorothea Adelheid Rachmann and Charlotte Margarethe Crawley (nee Schwegmann). Fourteen months later, Anna, the eldest Thöle daughter was carrying her baby sister when a bolt of lightening struck and killed both girls.
Heinrich and Dora’s family increased with the birth of a second son on 9th August 1862. He was named Wilhelm Heinrich Rudolph after his godfathers Wilhelm Böhmer, Johann Heinrich Lange and Rudolph Schwegmann, but he was called William.
The settlers had another unpleasant shock in 1863 when Mrs Torlage nee Krecke was murdered by an African while she was attending to her laundry.
A third son, Ernst Arnold Hermann Rachmann was born to Heinrich and Dora on 16th April 1865. At his christening on 14th March his godfathers were Ernst Heinrich Thöle, Arnold Böhmer and Hermann Schwegmann. Ernest as he was called, was very like his brother William and in adult life they were often mistaken for each other.
Their fourth son, Johannes Hermann Rachmann was born 14th October 1867 and was christened at New Hanover. His mother called him Hannes but he was known to other members of the family as Jack. On his tombstone his name is given as John.
Another daughter named Maria Louise Margarethe was born on 28th March 1870. Her sponsors at her christening were Caroline Luise Reacher (nee Böhmer), Anna Margarethe Böhmer and Caroline Maria Böhmer. This child was known as Mary.
Heinrich and Dora’s last child was born on 12th April 1872. In the New Germany Evangelical Lutheran Church Baptismal Register his names were given as Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm but he must have died young as no further mention is ever made of him. In Dora’s Will she names her sons as Henry, William, Ernest and Hannes and mentions her adopted son.
The wider family circle also increased over these years with the marriages of Heinrich and Dora’s siblings. Dora’s youngest sister, Auguste Aulfes was married in 1864 to Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Julius Schroen at New Hanover. This couple had five children when Johann died in 1873. In 1875 Caroline, the third sister and wife of Rudolph Oellermann, died following the birth of her eighth child. Auguste Schroen and Rudolph Oellermann, decided to marry. In the following years they added another nine children to their family making a total of 22 children between the two of them.
Wilhelm Böhmer, Heinrich’s half-brother, married Maria Freese, the daughter of another New Germany settler, in 1860. By 1880 he was a widower with eight young children. At this time a young lady from Germany, Baroness Antonie von Hohenhausen came to stay at Dr Schulz’ farm in Westville. Antonie was a member of the Order of Diakonissen, a body given to the welfare of humankind. In the 1866 Austrian War and the 1870/71 Prussian War she cared for the sick and wounded. King Wilhelm I of Prussia twice awarded her the Golden Distinction Medal for meritorious service. Antonie had been helping Dr Schulz in Durban care for the soldiers taking part in the Zulu War when an epidemic of enteric occurred. To give her a rest, she and the Schulz children moved to Westville for a while. During her stay on the farm Rev. Posselt decided that she was the very person to marry Wilhelm Böhmer. The Schulz family did not approve of this idea, but Rev Posselt won the day and Antonie and Wilhelm were married. A daughter and two sons of her own followed and she and Wilhelm shared 27 happy years together. They celebrated their Silver Wedding in 1903. Wilhelm was a successful farmer and took part in public affairs, defence matters being of great interest to him. He served the New Germany Rifles for a period of 35 years and in recognition was awarded the volunteer officers’ decoration during the reign of Queen Victoria.
Wilhelm survived a puff adder bite. In those days the only antidote was Permanganate of Potash. A witch-doctor was called in and recovery was slow but complete. The fee he required was the ten best beasts out of the cattle kraal. Wilhelm was known to the Zulus as “Ngwebedla” (A powerful man). He was a great orator, his ‘few words’ would often stretch to an hour’s discourse. He was for many years a churchwarden in the New Germany Lutheran church.
Arnold Böhmer, Heinrich’s younger half-brother, married Anna Margarethe Rabe, the baby born to the Schwegmann family on Christmas day 1848. Arnold and Anna Margarethe had ten children and eventually retired to Mtwalumi. From an existing photograph of Arnold in the Bergtheil Museum, it can be seen that he was a very tall man.
The youngest of the Böhmer children although christened Luise Katharine Margarethe always used the names Caroline Luise and was called Luise. All the New Germany Church records including her marriage certificate when she married Lancelot Reacher, a widower of Pinetown in 1870, give her names as Caroline Louise.
Her first child, Robert, died young. She then had three daughters, Mary Jane born 3rd March 1872, Amalia (or Amelia or Emily) born 23rd February 1876 and Anna Lizette (also called Elizabeth) who was born in July 1877 four months after her father’s death. This child’s godparents were Lizette Böhmer and Anna Rachmann.
In Lancelot Reacher’s Estate it mentions that the family were in poor circumstances and a harmonium valued at £10 (R20) seemed to be their only possession. Reacher’s family was critical of Luise’s home-making capabilities and eventually guardians – N. Wright (a relative of Lancelot’s) and Rev. Posselt were appointed for the minor children. The third little girl died on 13th August 1880 and her estate papers are all made out in the name of Elizabeth Reacher. According to these papers Luise had married again about October 1877 and her husband’s name was John Lionel Pearce. Another daughter was born to Luise in 1880. When this child was baptised Wilhelmina Charlotte, her surname was given as Reacher and no father’s name was given.
Although no sponsors names were given in the Baptismal Register for Mary Jane, apparently her Böhmer grandparents were her godparents as in Gerhard Böhmer’s Will in a codicil he leaves £25 (R50) to their goddaughter Mary Jane, to be received by her at her coming of age. One last glimpse of Mary Jane and Emily shows that in 1888 Mary Jane was with a lady earning £1 (R2) per month and that Emily was receiving 10/- (R1) plus her schooling.
Jonas Bergtheil entered politics and was elected to the Natal Parliament. He was the first Jew in the British Empire to be a Member of Parliament. He later returned to Europe and settled in England. In 1874 he enquired of some Natal men visiting England whether the German settlers remembered him. This is an extract of a letter written on 11th April 1874, by a group of settlers including Aulfes and Böhmer to Mr Bergtheil:-
“Poor and without resources we arrived in Natal and it was you who cared for us and our families. For the first few years you supplied us with food and clothing and paid the salaries of our Pastor and Schoolmaster. When you found out after some experience that the original idea with which you brought us here was not practicable, you cancelled our heavy debt to you and put us in freehold possession of the allotments of land on which we lived upon extremely favourable conditions so that we are bound to confess that you have been the instrument in God’s hands of placing us in the independent position we now occupy and we have never had occasion to regret having followed you to what was then to us an unknown land.”
Heinrich and Dora decided that as they now lived in an English country their children were to be English. The settlers in Westville had built a small hall, which served as a church on Sunday and a school during the week. In 1864 this school was listed as having less than 20 pupils. The Rachmann children attended this school as did the children of some of the English settlers in Westville and it was not long before the Rachmann family began speaking English at home. The children became reluctant to visit their cousins who expected them to speak German. Apart from the growing difference in home language, the Rachmann family seemed to consider itself different from the other German families. Possibly this feeling arose from the fact that Heinrich’s grandfather, Friedrich Wilhelm Rachmann came from Potsdam in Prussia and Prussians were apt to consider themselves a race apart.
Heinrich expected his sons to help on the farm and the boys were often required to act as voorlooper to the oxen. Henry recalled that if he did not keep clear of the horns of the oxen he would soon have a rent in his shirt. Henry was skilled in the making of German baskets and a small one made by him is still used by Robin Rachmann.
On one occasion Henry accompanied his father to Durban to sell potatoes at the Market Square. Prices must have been better than usual as Heinrich celebrated by buying a bottle of gin, which he drank on the way home. Riding in the cart they hit a bump and Heinrich fell from the cart, the wheel passing over his chest. Fearing the worst Henry ran to him but fortunately Heinrich had fallen in very soft sand and seemed unhurt. The next day they were working together in the fields when Heinrich felt a bit uncomfortable. He stripped off his shirt and was amazed to see a purple bruise across his hairy chest. When Henry told him what had happened he was amazed, as he could not remember it at all. Obviously gin is a good anaesthetic!
An era came to an end in August 1876, with the death on 21st of Anna Aulfes who was buried in the cemetery at New Hanover, followed by the death of Margarethe Böhmer on the 27th of the same month. Margarethe was buried in the New Germany Cemetery.
The following are the entries for both families as shown in Malherbe’s “REGISTER OF SOUTH AFRICAN FAMILIES’.
AULFES, Friedrich Heinrich, a 1848 v Bramsche, D., tr. Anna LOND (D)
: 5 k. Eliza (tr. THÖLE), Dora (tr. RACHMANN), Karoline (tr.
R ÖELLERMANN), Louisa (tr. BENECKE), Augusta (tr.SCHRÖN)
BÖHMER, Hermann Heinrich, (1801), a. 1848 v. Bramsche, D., met vr.
en 5 k. o.a. Heinrich Wilh.(1820), Franz Rudolf (’34), Franz Arnold (’38)
With five children each to reach adulthood, Anna had 46 grandchildren, 33 of whom reached adulthood while Margarethe had 43 grandchildren, 38 of whom reached adulthood.
THE AULFES FAMILY
J Friedrich Heinrich Aulfes b 1808 x Johanna M A Lond b 1813
Children No of Grandchildren
Elise H Aulfes x E H Thöle 5
Dorothea A Aulfes x H F W Rachmann 8 + 1 Adopted
Caroline A D Aulfes x R Oellermann 8
M Luise W Aulfes x J F Beneke 11
C Auguste Aulfes x J H W J Schroenn 5
xx R Oellermann 9
= 46
THE RACHMANN/BÖHMER FAMILY
C Margarethe Schwegmann b 1801
x Christian Wilhelm Rachmann
xx Gerhard H H Böhmer
Children No of Grandchildren
Heinrich F W Rachmann x D A Aulfes 8
F R Wilhelm Böhmer x M I Freese 8
xx Baroness A H von Hohenhausen 3
A Maria Böhmer x J H Lange 9
F Arnold Böhmer x A-M Rabe 10
C Luise Böhmer x L Reacher 5 ?
xx J L Pearce ?
= 43
Heinrich Rachmann only outlived his mother by two years. It was at the German House, the home of his half-sister, that he died on 17th July 1878. According to his Will which can be examined in Pietermaritzburg, he left his cart and his 8 oxen to his wife Dora. According to the Lutheran church register, Heinrich was buried in the New Germany cemetery but his grave and the grave of his little daughter, Maria Caroline Lizette are both unmarked. Heinrich and Dora seem to have had no formal education and both of them signed their Marriage Certificate with their mark. What they achieved was the result of sheer hard work.
Their children were all quite young when their father died and they soon had to find a means of supporting themselves. The boys began by collecting firewood in the bush in the area. This they carted into Durban where they sold it to Mrs Doggett who lived on the Berea and supplied firewood to the townsfolk as coal was not yet being worked in Natal.
A few years after Heinrich’s death, Dora took in a little orphan boy whose name was Ernst. To distinguish him from her third son he was called “Little Ernest.” According to his Death Notice he was born in Germany. If this is correct it would seem that he must have had a strong claim on the family to be sent so far at so young an age to join Dora’s family. He was born in 1880 and must have arrived here before 1886. In his adult life he settled near Leslie in the Transvaal where he became a prosperous farmer. His descendants do not know of him having any other surname.
Rev. Wilhelm Posselt died on 12th May 1885. During the morning although ailing he received a visit from an old friend, Mrs Schulz, wife of Dr Schulz, and shortly after noon he passed away.
Dora died 8 years after Heinrich. She and her third son, Ernest, were travelling in a trap when the pony bolted. Dora was thrown from the trap and badly injured. She was carried into a cottage at the Berea Junction. Although she recovered she was never really well and died on 7th November 1886. According to her Will she bequeathed one cow each to her two daughters and her photograph to her daughter, Mary. Guardianship of Mary, who was then 16, and her adopted son Ernst was left to her four sons, Henry, William, Ernest and Hannes, also known as John, who inherited the balance of her estate. The Will was signed at Durban after her accident and her husband’s name is given as Henry on the Will. I have been unable to find her grave but was told by Frederick Rachmann that she was buried in Stamford Hill cemetery. Unfortunately the Cemetery register was left in the rain and is unreadable for old burials.
According to records in Natal, Friedrich Aulfes died on 4th March 1887. His grave is in the Wartburg cemetery and the church there has marked it with a metal plate to commemorate the fact that it was in his house that this church began. His youngest daughter Auguste died in 1926 but his fourth daughter Luise lived until in her nineties. In 1933 she was interviewed when she turned 90 and was described as having an excellent memory, still rising at 5 a.m. and keeping busy until evening with needlework and crochet and having a joyful disposition, the type of person who spreads sunshine around them. At that time she was said to be the only remaining member of the settler party still alive.
On 8th June 1889, Gerhard Hermann Böhmer died having lived in Natal for forty-one years. According to his Will his farm was Subdivision L of the farm “Buffels Kop” and his Estate was to be divided between his two sons as his daughters and his stepson Heinrich Rachmann had received their shares at the time of their marriages. Gerhard Bohmer’s grave is in New Germany cemetery, one row away from his wife’s.
The eldest daughter of Heinrich and Dora, Anna, earned a living as a laundress. She married Rudolph Jurgens and they had four children, Dorothea, Lily, Lina Mary who died in infancy and Harry Jurgens. The marriage broke up and Rudolph went to the Barberton gold fields where he was killed in an accident. Anna had a son Edward by a farmer, Rudolph Altona, from the Transvaal in 1891. After her death in 1909 this son was adopted by his father and took his surname. In the Estate papers there is an Affidavit from Anna’s brothers, Henry and Ernest, stating that this boy, Edward, could not be Rudolph Jurgens son. Anna Jurgens was buried in Westville Cemetery.
Dorothea, Anna’s eldest daughter married F Jones and had two children Arthur and Queenie Jones. She later divorced Jones and married Jim Dare. Lily married Ernest William George Ashmore at St Paul’s Church on 24th August 1904. The Natal Mercury reporting on the wedding said the bride attired in a white satin dress trimmed with lace and chiffon wore a veil and wreath of orange blossoms. Her uncle, Mr John Rachmann, gave her away. The wedding breakfast attended by over 100 relatives and friends was served in a large marquee in the garden of Myrtle Cottage, Greyville. During the evening the couple left for Congella, their future home, amid showers of rice, congratulations and good wishes from all. The bride’s travelling dress was a dove-coloured cashmere, handsomely trimmed with white silk, and a fancy white straw hat to match. The Ashmores had eight children, Ernest, Harry, Walter, Edward, Lily, Joyce, Phyllis and George. Lily died at one year old and Joyce at 16 years of age.
Henry, the eldest son of Heinrich and Dora, decided to seek his fortune on the Barberton gold fields. He took the train to Ladysmith, which was the terminus of the Natal railways at that time, then travelled across country to Barberton in the Eastern Transvaal. He became a transport rider carting goods to the gold fields and was soon joined by his brothers. Ernest soon gave up transport riding and joined the Durban Borough Police Force. Henry and Jack followed him and the three brothers became sergeants, Henry at the Point, Jack at Congella and Ernest at Musgrave Road.
In 1882 Henry Rachmann married Elizabeth Johanna Becker and about a year after the marriage she begged to be allowed to return to Germany to visit her parents. She was expecting a child when she left but she never returned. Henry tried to trace her for many years, even having searches made in America. Eventually he divorced her in 1898. He then married Annie Paxton by whom he had three children, John Frank Frederick Rachmann who married Kathleen Binney and had no children, Dorothy, named after her grandmother, died young from peritonitis and Evelyn who married Domingo Borsoi and had two daughters, Norma and Denise. Norma married Blasier, lives in the U.K., has two sons and a daughter and grandchildren named Lisa, Sarah and Danny. Denise became a schoolteacher.
The second son, William and his wife, Harriet Bailey had seven children, five daughters and two sons, Violet, Elizabeth, Florence, Lillian, Dorothy, William and Leonard. William (Snr) settled at Barberton and became a Farm Manager. His younger son Leonard died young at Malelane in the Eastern Transvaal. His eldest daughter Violet married Chris De Beer, Elizabeth married W H Schwegmann and another of his daughters, known as Queenie, married Holmes.
Jack Rachmann married Clara Jones. He had 8 children who lived in and around Durban. His family does not use the double N on their name. Jack is the only one of the three brothers in the Police Force to be mentioned in J Jewell’s book on the “History of the Durban City Police Force.” In the only Daily Occurrence Book that can still be found it mentions that on 31st July 1896 Senior Constable J H Rachmann was in charge at the Main Police Station from 4 to 6 p.m. During these 2 hours five drunks were brought into the Station – a typical Saturday evening duty for Durban at that time. Jack and Clara’s children were May, Edward, Violet, Victor, Frank, Ernest, Claud and Theodore. May married Bertram Wimborn and had three daughters and a son. Frank married Edna Hibbens and had two daughters, the elder of whom was Marlene the mother of Gareth Parkes. Claud had four sons and Theodore had two sons, Graham and Alan and one daughter also named Joan.
Mary Rachmann married Percy Langford Williams, member of a family who did much to develop Westville into a borough. The Williams family had a 200-acre farm in what is now central Westville. Their property was a sub-section of Lot 2 so apparently they purchased it from the settler H Meyer. They were between the Lange’s and James Smith’s. About 1910 an Australian prospector was in Westville and Percy Williams allowed him to prospect on his farm. Although he found diamonds, so much ill feeling was caused amongst their neighbours that Percy Williams stopped the search. Percy and Mary had 6 children, four boys, Billy, Percival, Henry and Frank and two girls, Ruby and Blossom. Ruby married William G Lester and Blossom married W.K. Munro. The whole family was required to attend afternoon tea at the Williams home on a Sunday afternoon in Mary’s latter years. The names of Williams Road, Langford Road and Marford Road (a combination of Mary and Langford) commemorate this family’s contribution to Westville. Mary Williams is buried in Westville cemetery.
The Outspan Tree is now a National Monument and figures in the Westville Coat-of-Arms while the Ship “Beta” and the Rose that symbolises Bramsche are part of the New Germany Coat-of-Arms thus honouring the settlers contribution to this area of Natal.
My grandfather, Ernest Rachmann, third son of Heinrich and Dora, married his school-friend Gertrude Smith on 8th July 1891, at Westville Congregational Church. Gertrude was the daughter of an early English settler in Westville and in the next chapter I will trace her ancestry.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CHAPTER 1
Annals of New Germany Women’s Institute of New Germany
Deutches Wanderung Nach Sud-Afrika Schmidt, Werner
Die Geschichte Neu-Hanovers zum 125-jahrigen Gemundejubilaum
Hillerman, H-G
History of Old Durban Russell, George
Natal Settler 1849-51, The Hattersley, Prof A F
Pioneers’ Progress O’Keefe, Bob
Wilhelm Posselt Bourquin, S
To the Shores of Natal Bulpin, T V
Unpublished and Private Papers
Luise Beneke’s Memoirs Translated by W Volker
Notes on Wilhelm & Antonie Böhmer Calboutin, Mrs A
Oellermann Notebook Translated by S Bourquin
Family Histories Schwegmann Museum, Germany
Newspapers, Magazines etc
Daily News 25/6/1969
Natal Mercury 26/1/1981
Natal Witness 31/3/1848, 21/2/1849
Natal Agricultural Journal Vol VII 1804 (Page 497)
Govt & Church Documents
Baptismal, Marriage, Death Registers New Germany Evang.Lutheran Church
Courtesy of Killie Campbell Library
FAMILY BURIAL PLOTS
Durban – Stellawood Cemetery
Block G 266 Henry Rachmann family
Block H 233/5 Ernest Rachmann family
Block D 186 John Rachmann family
Kirchdorf Cemetery, Wartburg J Friedrich H Aulfes
New Germany Evang. Lutheran Cemetery C Margarethe Böhmer & G G Böhmer
(Unmarked) Heinrich Rachmann
(Unmarked) Marie Caroline Rachmann
Westville Cemetery Johanna M Jurgens
Mary Williams and family
