Charlotte Mary Weiss

Charlotte Mary Weiss was born on June 30, 1776, in England, and baptised at St Marylebone, London, the next day. She is depicted as an infant in an illustration of her parents, Gaspard and Marie Weiss, and the assumption was that she had died young, possibly in England, because of an inscription on the illustration which said she died early.

Today I was looking at the parish records for Mulhouse (LDS microfilm 715494), specifically the death/burial records. The records went all the way to 1798, which was important for me, because apparently 5 people from Charlotte's family, her mother and four siblings, died in that year. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, the parish records stopped at the end of March. None of the five Weiss' had died before March that year, which suggests they were all after that. I don't know that the records for the rest of the year are available, annoyingly! Perhaps I'll never know if they all died of the same thing, one after the other.

However, wonderfully, I did come across Charlotte's death record. Surprisingly she died in Mulhouse, after the family had returned there in 1794. She was 19 years old at the time of her death (2nd January 1796), and the cause of her death was given as auf Zehrung, which translates as "of attrition" - presumably this suggests a general weakening of her health, which eventually lead to her death.

The most interesting thing about the death record for Charlotte is the phrase eheliche tochter. I believe this translates as "illegitimate daughter". There is no mother recorded in the death record, though that isn't unusual amongst the death records I have been working on. However, the fact that Mary is Charlotte's middle name suggests Marie was her mother. The death record gives Charlotte's age as 19 years, 6 months and 1 day, which fits with her birth date. The date that Gaspard and Marie married was recorded in English papers at the time - August 1775. I can't see how Charlotte was illegitimate, unless some funny business was going on with her birth date. A mystery.

Mystery Solved
I checked with a native German speaker, and it turns out that Google Translator cannot always be relied upon to give you the correct translation. Eheliche tochter actually means "daughter born in wedlock", whereas uneheliche tochter means "daughter born out of wedlock". Phew - scandal averted.

The Beringers of Lochmühle, Rauenthal

I ordered in a microfilm of the parish records for the Catholic church of Rauenthal, in the Rhein Valley, Germany, to the local LDS Family History Centre before Christmas. I finally got to the centre yesterday to start searching through it (its on loan from the US for 3 months). Wow - so many new Beringers! Thankfully before I went I did my homework, and took with me some sheets of information on the German script used in those days. Otherwise I would have been completely up the creek! In the German script, the name Beringer looks more like Lenninger. I'm so glad I knew that!

I first looked for my great great grandfather Adam Beringer's birth record, and to find it there was so exciting!

All I knew before was that Adam was born in Rauenthal, his brother John Valentine (JV) was said to have been born in Weisbaden (not far away), and his parents were Valtin and Elisabetha Beringer née Bredel. Valtin was a miller, and Elisabetha had sisters who were born in Georgenborn - a village very close to Rauenthal. I had found no evidence of Adam and JV having any siblings, but I did think it likely that there were some - a Catholic family with only two children in those days would have been the exception rather than the norm I imagine. I had an inkling of who Valtin's parents were - but it was only guessing - I had found a Lorenz and Eva Beringer née Rudolph, and it was possible they were of the right sort of age.

So, Valtin was the son of Lorenz and Maria Eva Beringer née Rudolph. He was born in Mainz on 3 December 1810. Lorenz was a miller also. Valtin had at least two siblings - Dorothea, born in Mainz, 18 Feb 1808, and Maria Josepha, born 22 Dec 1818 in Rauenthal. It is likely that there were more siblings, but I haven't had the chance to search for them in the parish records yet. It would seem that some of the children were born in Mainz, and then the family moved to Rauenthal, where they lived at the Lochmühle (water mill), Lorenz being the miller. I have no idea how Lorenz came to take over the mill, and have not yet managed to work out where the Lochmühle is/was in Rauenthal. Ownership records would be brilliant!

Valtin, possibly the firstborn son, apparently took over the mill from his father. From the records I saw, there does not seem to have been another Beringer family living in the Rauenthal parish. Valtin married Luise Barbara Bredel (known as Barbara) in 1843 (I managed not to record the actual date - good thing I can check it again later!) in Rauenthal. They had two children, Katharina (born 13 Jul 1845, died ?) and Carl (born 18 Jul 1849, died ?), before Barbara died (when and of what I still have to find out). Obviously the Bredel girls were of good stock because Valtin then married one of Barbara's sisters, Elisabetha, on 17 August 1851 in Rauenthal.

Valtin and Elisabetha had seven children, Franziska Charlotte (born 8 Sep 1852, died 1 Oct 1852), Joseph (born 22 Oct 1853, died before 1855), Joseph (born 11 Mar 1855, died same year), Adam (born 6 Mar 1856, died 26 Jul 1935), John Valentine (baptised as Johannes Valtin, born 18 Nov 1858, died 15 May 1931), Joseph (born 11 Mar 1861, died 28 Jul 1861), and Elisabetha (born 10 Apr 1863, died ?).

All of Valtin's children were born in Rauenthal, at the Lochmühle. The record which said that JV was born in Weisbaden was obviously an approximation for Australians who would never have heard of a little village called Rauenthal. I haven't yet managed to work out what happened to Valtin and Barbara's two children, Katharina and Carl. It is possible that Carl might have taken over the mill from his father, unless the mill was sold to someone else, or the industrial revolution killed it off. This would have freed Adam and JV up to move to Australia because they weren't obliged to work in the family business. I look with sadness at the three Joseph Beringers who all died very young, and wonder why they chose the names Adam and Johannes Valtin in the middle of the Josephs.

I hope to see whether any of Valtin's children married in Rauenthal when I next go to look at the parish records, and also to have a look in the burial records. That should hopefully answer a few more questions I have.

And now I have to see if I can locate a watermill in Rauenthal. Plus I've now got a visit to the cemetery in Rauenthal added to my bucket list!

Charles Nicholas Weiss in the British Library

In researching the biography of Charles Nicholas Weiss, I am putting together a list of all his known compositions.

I have found though, that the British Museum has 15 of his works in their collection, but they are listed under the name of Carl N Weiss. Perhaps in his compositions he gave his name as Carl, however, in every reference to him in the newspapers of the time, he was known as Charles N Weiss or CN Weiss. I even have a copy of a letter he sent to the music dictionary compiler John Sainsbury, in which he refers to himself as Charles N Weiss, and it even lists some of the works held by the British Library. I have not yet found him referred to as Carl in any historical documents of the time.

I wonder if I can convince the British Library to change it? Probably not - I'm an upstart (a blogger, no less) from the colonies.

The Turnbulls

A new Turnbull relative, Fay, contacted me recently. She's descended from William Turnbull's (father of George Valentine Turnbull) sister, Margaret.

I have researched William Turnbull, but there's not really a lot to find, it would seem.

William (1819-1896) and Elizabeth Turnbull née Martin (1822-1881) emigrated from England to Australia on the Persia in 1863. Both originally from Scotland, they married in Rutherglen, Lanarkshire, Scotland in 1839. Three children were born in Rutherglen (Robert, Agnes and Andrew Martin) before the family left Scotland and moved to Liverpool, Lancashire, England where six more children were born (William, Elizabeth, Orson, Janet Stevens, John and George Valentine). It is thought that children Robert and Andrew died in Scotland, and it is likely that Agnes died in Liverpool.

On the 9 February 1863 the family left Plymouth for Sydney, emigrating as assisted immigrants, arriving on May 10 1863. Youngest daughter Marian Persia was born on the voyage. The family settled in Balmain. William worked as a labourer, in Scotland, England and Australia. William and Elizabeth were both buried in Balmain Cemetery.

William was the son of Robert and Janet Turnbull née Stevens. They had at least four children: Robert (1824-1876), Margaret (1825-1898), William, and Agnes (1830-?). Robert, Margaret and William and their families all emigrated to Australia. Robert was the first to emigrate, and sponsored William and Margaret to come out.

Margaret was married to Hugh McFadyen and they had seven children. According to Fay, Hugh was a waterman, rowing people to and from boats in Sydney Harbour, and Margaret was a midwife. Fay related to me a family story: Margaret was called to deliver a baby on Fort Denison (a little island fort in the middle of Sydney Harbour, see picture below), so she rowed, with her youngest daughter Mary, all the way from where they lived in Pyrmont to Fort Denison. After the baby was safely delivered she rowed back, leaving 14 year old Mary to stay and help the mother and baby.

Fay and I did some digging and eventually came up with the following: Minnie Jane W Stobo was born on December 26, 1879, at Fort Denison, Port Jackson, to Thomas and Harriet Susan Stobo. Harriet was the daughter of Thomas and Mary Ann Wren, Thomas Wren being the lightkeeper on Fort Denison. Who knows what time of day Minnie was born, but hopefully Margaret had eaten a good sized Christmas Day dinner in order to stock up on energy for the next day's events!

Music history in Liverpool

... but not regarding The Beatles!!

I'm trying to find an academic or learned person who has expertise in the music history of Liverpool, England, but unfortunately all music history in Liverpool seems to focus on popular music i.e. The Beatles. I'm looking more for the early 1800s - when W.G. Weiss was selling and publishing music there, and when Charles Nicholas Weiss was teaching and performing there.

Anyone? Anyone?

Gustav Holst

Gustav Holst (1874-1934) was my second cousin three times removed. He is from the musical branch of my family - Benigna Weiss née von Holst being his great aunt. Gustav Holst, born Gustavus Theodore von Holst, was a British composer, most well known for his work The Planets, the most famous part of it being Jupiter, with the well known "hymn" I Vow to Thee My Country set to the music of Jupiter.

Last year a documentary on Gustav Holst was produced: Holst - In the Bleak Midwinter, by Tony Palmer. I recently received a copy on DVD from my sixth cousin once removed, Harro Lange, a fellow Holst/von Holst-family researcher. The documentary is brilliant. I learnt so much about Holst, and have a new appreciation for his music. Commentary on his life is interspersed with interviews with people who knew him, including his daughter Imogen Holst, and also with performances of his music. You get a very good idea of the cross-section of music that he composed throughout his life, connected with his own experiences and world-view. I also think the Morris Dancing portrayed in the documentary was quite hilarious. I think the British have a different view of manliness than Aussie men!

I recommend Holst - In the Bleak Midwinter to you, if you have any interest in Holst's music, or British composers in general.

Who was A.S. Weiss?

I continue to work on the biography of Charles Nicholas Weiss and continue to search for historical newspaper references to him. Because of my search terms I often find other Weiss' as well.

The other day I came across the following reference in the Liverpool Mercury, 14 Feb 1834, to Charles' brother Willoughby Gaspard Weiss, who lived and worked in Liverpool as a music-seller and publisher:

NEW QUADRILLES AND WALTZES
W.G. WEISS begs leave to inform his Friends and the Public that he has just published the FOURTH SET of the CHESHIRE QUADRILLES, dedicated to Mrs Hulton of Hulton Park, by W. ST. ALBIN; also a Set of beautiful WALTZES by A.S. WEISS, of Mulhausen, adapted for Dancing, and dedicated to Mrs Jos. Langton, by W. ST. ALBIN. These Quadrilles and Waltzes are danced every night at the Wellington Rooms, and have been received with the most dedicated approbation, which induces W.G. WEISS to recommend them with the greatest confidence to the Public.
An Elegant Assortment of PIANO-FORTES, of every description, MUSIC, etc.
Music Saloon, 2, Church Street.

The mystery is: Who was A.S. Weiss? (Mulhausen is the German form of the French word Mulhouse). He or she is not one of Charles and Willoughby's siblings. Their father, Gaspard, was apparently the first musical member of the family. I asked Tobias Bonz, who has been working with Gaspard's autobiography and he's never heard of A.S. Weiss. Googling brings no answers. So, was A.S. Weiss a member of the extended family who also developed their musical skills, in response the success of Gaspard and Charles? Will we ever know? Probably not.

Oh, and William St. Albin was a local dancing teacher. And Mrs Hulton was married to William Hulton, a wealthy landowner who was a major local player in the social unrest caused by the struggle of the working class towards the end of the industrial revolution in Britain. I could at least find references to them!

William Rich in Waverley Cemetery

I had the chance to check the transcripts for Waverley Cemetery yesterday to find the record of William Rich's (abt 1832-1927) burial.

It turns out that the double grave he was in was reasonably crowded - he was buried with his wife Lavinia (née Huxley, surname Bennett from her first marriage before she married William, 1847-1929), their daughter Lily Rich (1877-1912), their son William Milton Rich (1881-1950), and their daughter Laurina Garrett née Rich (1883-1952).

One day I'll get there in person to have a look.

Allan Wickham's war mates Part 2

The Australian War Memorial website has files called the First World War Red Cross Wounded and Missing files. There is a file there on Allan Wickham. It contains eye-witness accounts of his death, and also statements by some of the men who served with him, giving details on his physical appearance, and also the place of his burial. One of the statements, by Percy Martin, service number 3841, gives a description of him that made me smile: "Big lump of a chap." I have not seen a photo of Allan Wickham, but I have seen photos of his brother Tom Wickham, the policeman, who was a big burly guy - a bulky upper half - not fat, just big boned. Also, Allan's sister, my Great Nanna, was also big in the upper part of her body, as is my grandfather, her son. It's clearly a physical characteristic that's common amongst the Wickhams.

Anyway, on the back page of his war diary Allan has recorded 8 surnames with numbers after them, grouped into pairs. One of the names is his own, with 94 after it - his service number. So Mum and I have tried to work out who they all were. These were the names and numbers:

Turton 252
White 2033

Martin 3841
Kelly 1733

Grimes 3745
Wickham 94

Wakenfield 2030
Ovesen 1868

TURTON. Roy Turton, service number 252. He was unmarried, 21 when he enlisted, a carpenter, and in the RANBT, like Allan, and transferred, like Allan, to the 12th Field Artillery Brigade (F.A.B.), 48th Battery, on the same day as him. He was promoted to bombardier 3 days after Allan. Unlike Allan he survived the war (although he was wounded), rising up to the rank of sergeant. Sergeant Turton wrote an account of Allan's death for the Red Cross file, in which he said "I have sent Wickham's wallet and photo and other small property home to his mother, Mrs Wickham." I get the feeling that there was a great camaraderie in the RANBT - after all, for all of them in that unit it was the first conflict they'd all seen, together, which must have forged a great bond, so when they lost one of their own, they looked after things for them.

WHITE. I believe this was Frank Isaac White, service number 2033A. He was unmarried, just turned 24 when he joined up, a coach body maker, and served in the 12th F.A.B., 48th Battery and transferred to the 24th F.A.B. on the same day as Allan, but transferred out of that unit 4 months later. He was killed in action in Belgium on 20 Sep 1917.

MARTIN. Percy Martin, service number 3841. Mentioned above. He was unmarried, 18 when he enlisted, a miner, and served in the 12th F.A.B., 48th Battery, and transferred to the 24th F.A.B. on the same day as Allan, but transferred out of that unit at the same time as Frank White (above). At the end of his statement to for the Red Cross File he said about Allan "He was one of the best comrades I ever had." Martin also survived the war.

KELLY. I believe "Kelly" was Francis Lawrence Kelly, service number 1733A. He was unmarried, 20 when he joined up, a miner, and served in the 12th F.A.B., 48th Battery, then the 24th F.A.B., then the 11th F.A.B., transferring from unit to unit on the same days Allan did. Percy Martin mentioned him in his statement for the Red Cross files as Gunner Kelly. Although he was wounded in action (gassed), Kelly also survived the war.

GRIMES. This was Thomas William Grimes, service number 3745. He was unmarried, 23 when he enlisted, a bricklayer, and was in the 12th F.A.B. for three months overlapping the time Allan was in that unit. For such a short time I guess they must have worked reasonably closely together to be listed amongst what I presume were Allan's close mates. Grimes was gassed during the war, and although he made it home to Australia he was discharged as permanently medically unfit, his level of incapacity listed as total.

WAKENFIELD. This was actually David Victor Wakenshaw, service number 2030B. He was 28 when he enlisted, unmarried and a farmer. He was in the 12th F.A.B. 48th Battery, for four months, coinciding with Allan's service in the unit. Wakenshaw survived the war.

OVESEN. Ove Christian Ovesen, service number 1868A. Ovesen was unmarried, 20 years old when he enlisted, and a farm worker. He was in the 12th F.A.B., 48th Battery, the the 24th F.A.B., and then the 11th F.A.B., transferring on the same days as Allan. Ovesen survived the war.

Considering all the named soldiers served at some stage in at least one of the units with Allan, I think we can assume that they knew each other (definitely for Turton, Kelly and Martin, on the basis of the Red Cross files). That they were mates is just guessing, but it's a reasonable assumption to make. They were mostly very young, and all single - the young unmarried blokes apparently sticking together. It seems sad that apart from Frank White and Allan Wickham all of these alleged mates made it home to Australia, however for at least some of them their lives were irrevocably changed by the war, for the worse.

Allan Wickham's war mates Part 1

Mum transcribed the whole of Allan Wickham's war diary recently and we've just finished going through the transcript, checking it. I've now got some more of Allan's mates to try and identify. I shall write about this in a few posts.

He wrote of one mate “Lawrance” (though the spelling might be wrong because Allan wasn't the best of spellers, neither did he care much for using conventional sentences...) who I'd particularly like to identify.

March 28th 1916 was when he first mentioned him: “Went to Serpeum (sic – actually Serapeum) to see Lawrance. Has not arrived there yet, still at Mosasque (sic – Moascar).”

Next, June 2nd: “Arrived at Alex[andria] at 9 o'clock trip an eye opener as regards irragation (sic) loading our guns and gear. Met Lawrance sailing on the same ship the Kingstonia.”

The third and final mention was on June 10th: “Reached breakwater [of Marseilles] and tied up at dock. P[illegible] up town with Lawrance some fine buildings struck by number of women workers the number of women in mourning Japanese in French uniforms and the variety of uniforms.”

I tend to think Lawrance was a friend of Allan's from back home in Australia. Certainly he doesn't seem to be a mate from the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train (RANBT), the original unit Allan served with. There was a training camp at Moascar, so possibly it was Lawrance's first destination since leaving Australia, before being sent on to France with whichever unit he was with.

I searched on the Australian War Memorial site for people named Lawrance, assuming that Lawrance was his first name. A cursory glance of the service records in the National Archives of Australia of any individual with a first name of Lawrance did not reveal any likely candidates – none of them lived near Allan's home, nor had jobs which would likely bring them in contact with Allan, in fact only one came from Sydney. Using Lawrance as a surname also brought no luck.

I have sent a query to the Australian War Memorial to see if they can tell me which units might have trained at Moascar and then moved on to Marseilles, transported on the troop ship Kingstonia. They may not be able to tell me, but perhaps they might! I suspect that I might have to widen my search to other spellings of Lawrance too, but I'll wait for a reply from the AWM first.