The Swabian
Alb (a.k.a. Swabian Jura) is a strike-elongate tract of Jurassic and
younger, strata dipping southeast.
The underlying
Triassic strata, largely sandsfone, from a parallel tract along its NW side
called the Schwarzwald of Swabian/Franconian Forest (Schwabisch-Frankischen
Wald). The compound name nomenclature is likely not because of
any great geological or ecological difference but only because it spans the
border of former major territorial identities, Swabia and Franconia (?).
Showing
relationship of the Swabian
Alb area (Jurassic limestones and oolitic ironstone) to the Swabian forest (Schwarzwald)
area situated to the NW of it (Keuper and Muschelkalk strata),
from Geyer and Gwinner (1991)
Map
of Wurttemburg kingdom area as it existed in 1810-1945.
Illustrating
the use of the term "Swabian Forest"
Eselshalden
lies within the Franconian-Swabian Forest, also locally called Welzheim
Forest, between the towns of Steinenberg and Welzheim.
Eselshalden
east of Steinenberg, where Christian Steiner was born in 1813 (or 1812?).
Eselshalden
location, and showing a quarry area just west of the village.
Some
stone from there is said to have gone to the Ulm cathedral.
In this quarry sandstone
is of the Stubensandstein
Formation,
(Middle Triassic
Keuper Group).
Stubensandstein
is commonly used for dry wall constructions in gardens.
It
looks quite similar to the stone at Wombat Creek where
Christian
would be heading to.
Eselshalden
street and the history plaque at the fountain (Photos: Peter Fohr)
MORE
ABOUT
ESELSHALDEN AND THE DISTRICT AROUND IT
Eselshalden
was an uninhabited forested area up until 1722, when Konrad Bez settled
there. Bez had been a citizen of Steinenberg, till 1791. (Der Hof
"Eselshalden" fing 1722 zu existieren an, vorher war es "Wald
in den Eselshalden" Der 1. Bewohner soll gewesen sein, Konrad Bez bis
1721 Bürger von Steinenberg.)
From
the above (from church records per a contact of Peter Fohr's) it appears that
the settlement of Eselshalden commenced in ca. 1722. According to
information received from
Stadt Welzheim it was "Oktober 1723" when the first inhabitants of
Eselshalden began living there; and some years after that a family named Steiner from Krähenof
settled down in Eselshalden.
The
size of the settlement in the 1800s, or how many Steiners may have been there
is unknown at present.
But
around the mid 1800s there must have been for some reason a considable exodus
of them. Emigration records indicate that Besides Christian, 4
others left, mostly destined for Austria:
Gottlieb Steiner.
Born: 15 June 1811 - Edelshalden. Applied: Feb 1846. Destination: Austria.
Johann Gottlieb Steiner. Born:: 13 May 1839 - Edelshalden. Applied: Feb 1846.
Destination: Austria.
Margaretha Katharina Steiner. Born: 4 Nov 1840 - Edelshalden. Applied: Feb 1846.
Destination: Austria.
Anna Maria Steiner. Born:: 30 Dec 1842 - Edelshalden. Applied: Feb 1846.
Destination: Austria.
The three children presumably left in the care of the 35 year old Gottlieb
Steiner.
And
earlier Gottlieb Steiner is known who was born in Eselshalden in (est.) 1805:
Johann
George married Ursula
Közle on 11 NOV 1872 in Holzheim, Danube Circle, Wurttemberg. The
had 16 children. Information in this case, going back to Eselshalden
came from:
Title:
Holzheim Kirchenbuch, 1559-1927.
Author:
Evangelische Kirche Holzheim (OA. Göppingen).
Publication:
Stuttgart: Ev. Landeskirchenamt,
1972.
Thus
in all, nine Steiners are known of in Eselshalden in the early 1800s.
Following
backwards from nformation received from Stadt Welzheim, some years after 1723 when
Eselshalden began a family named Steiner came there from "Krähenof"
this is possibly the early farm area called also Kreehenhof near Steinenberg
where indeed there is evidence that many Steiners lived. One
recorded lineage is that an Ulrich Steiner of Lorch married Ursula Wieland,
and died 1590. His son Georg Steiner was born about 1665. He in turn had
a son Christoph Steiner, who was born about 1613 in Alfdorf. One of his
descendants, Jerg Steiner married Anna Barbara Müller from Welzheim.
His son Jonas Steiner, born in 1723, entered service as woodworker on the "Kreehenhof"
next Steinenberg.
Ulm
'Cathedral', and enlargement showing different colours of the stone
blocks. It was never a Cathedral in the sense of being the seat of
a Bishop but is given this name on account of being an
architectural masterpiece.
Still
from a 3D computer model of the Ulm Cathedral created by 27 year old student
architect
at
the University of Karlsruhe, Jan-Ruben Fisher.
Inside the
spire, showing the intricate lacework-like carved stone composition of very
open construction, with an octagonal central core carrying the spiral stairs
to the top; and close-up of stone. (Photo taken 2004: Google Commons,
added by 'Jessetrumpet45')
According
to the tourist brochure "Swabian Alb. The 7 keys to the Swabian
Alb. Infoguide. Fascination Swabian Alb", Key No. 2 is "The
Adventure of geology - Anyone who 'gets to the bottom of the Swabian Alb' will
find fantastic testimony to the most varied epochs of the Earth's history ..
The entire Swabian Alb is basically one single geological theme park, a
veritable 'Jurassic Park' (also has 350 volcanic vents, maars)". It
says that the Lower Jurassic sequence comprises dark limestone, clays, marl
and oil shale; and that the Middle Jurassic has limestone and oolitic
ironstone, and that "Ulm Cathedral was built using Middle Jurassic
stone" (also cites the Donzdorf sanstone as a geological
highlight. (http://files.jugendnetz.net/EnglInfoGuideEnglishalb.pdf)
Another
source states that sandstone for the spire facade was quarried in Alsace as
part of reparations to Germany after the Franco-Prussian War, which ended in
1871. Just how much stone (if any) from the quarry between
Eselshalden and Steinbruck went into the Cathedral is not yet known.
Currently
Eselshalden belongs to Welzheim district.
There
is today a STEINER engineering works at Welzheim:
This
company of the name Steiner has not so far been contacted (emails to it not
replied to).
From
Wuerttemberg state records. Approval for Johann Gottlieb Haeberle and
family to emigrate
to
Sydney. Dated in Weinsberg on 8 May 1857. This was not long
before the ship left, on
21
May 1857. (Source: Copy obtained by Phil McArthur). On the
same day, 8 May,
he
signed the Certificate of Abandonment of Citizenship, renouncing "every
kind
of
civil interconnection with the state of Wuerttemberg, and committing himself
not
to stir against His Majesty the King and the Kingdom for a period of
one
year, and for the same time to remain liable for any claims that
might
come up against him to the aurhorities of the Kingdom.
Karl
Ludwig Wilhelm Kirchner who arranged much of the assisted immigration to
New South Wales.
The
1850s emigration peak. German emigration peaked at 250,000 in
1854. It dropped away to around
100,000
in 1857 and continued falling, due both to better harvests and improving
industrial employment
at
home and the bubble-burst of the early 1850s boom of the English-speaking
countries in 1857.
The
result of the above mid 1850s peak of local conditions in Germany manifested in
NSW as
the
third wave/intake of assisted vinedressers arriving in 1855-1856. In
1855 nearly 1700
assisted
German immigrants (380 families) arrived, in seven ships to Sydney and
two
to Morton Bay. The NSW government bounty system was terminated
soon
after this peak influx, in 1856.
After the termination of
convict transportation to Australia the was a justification for paid
government assistance to certain categories of immigrants. With
the discovery of gold the immigration rate rose naturally and the former
justification for assisting people to come here waned. Some of the
likely factors influencing emigration from Germany are shown above.
The workers
who came on the Gottorp immigrant transport were committed to work for two
years as farm-workers for a yearly wage of £20 sterling plus rations.
Rations were set as 20 lb flour, 19 lb meat, 2 lb sugar, 1/2 lb coffee and 1/4
lb tea per week. They had to repay £18 for their fare, which left them
£22 for their two years work.
It
was at Mulgoa where Christian married
Elizabeth Rheinhardt and the family began in Australia. There Sophia
Wilhemmina Steiner became the first family member born on Australian soil, on the 9th Oct 1859.
Sophia
Wilhemmina appears to have been named after a child of Mrs Eisenhuth's,
suggesting a close connection between the two families. Christian likely
would have been working under Martin Eisenhuth. The name Martin
Eisenhuth appears on the Steiners' marriage certificate, as witness.
Some
of this is known because the Eisenhuths kept a family book, of which a full copy
is preserved
still on the property. In this book it shows that "Sophia Wilhemmina"
was the name of one of the six Eisenhuth children born there. Sophia
Wilhemmina Steiner born 9 Oct 1859, Mulgoa, was also the Steiners' first
child. Thus the Eisenhuths and Steiners must have been close
(needs double checking that
the
record in the Eisenhuth's book is not just them recording the Steiner child's
birth at this locality?).
The
Vindresser's (M. Eisenhuth's) house. Well-built stone house.
Built before the big
Winbourne
mansion house
was commenced, perhaps to test the quality and
workability
of the local stone. (Photo:
Br. Moy Hitchins)
Christian's assumed overseer Martin
Eisenhuth was a vinedresser on the Winbourne estate of George Cox.
According to Cox records he had been bought out from Germany (Bavaria) in '1848' to take charge of the vineyard.
He stayed in the employ of the Cox family for many years
and was in charge of the vineyards and cellars. Martin Eisenhuth died in 1905,
aged 75. [The arrival date of '1848' appears not to tally
with early date entry in the Eisenhuth family book and this is yet to be
resolved.]
The Cox
property Winbourne had a large wine cellar and scale of operations is shown by
the large pump base ruin on the Nepean River below. This relates to
improvements after Christian's time there, to pump water to a large concrete
holding tank up on the hillside, from where it could gravity feed to irrigate
the vines or other crops. No actual illustrations of the vineyard
itself seem to have survived(?).
Br
dePorres McCrae standing at base of the ruin of large pump works established
for
the household, agricultural and vineyard needs of the Cox family. The
site
is at the eastern end of the Norton's basin volcanic breccia.
(Photo:
Christian Brothers, Winbourne)
The
Winbourne mansion at its peak. The stone was quarried at Wombat Creek.
Winbourne
after it had been burnt out by the 1920 fire.
Winbourne
main entrance gateway (some time after the fire).
SETTING
FORTH FROM MULGOA - THE TREK SOUTH
The
Australian Steiner family began at Mulgoa with the birth, probably at home and
probably at Wombat Creek on Winbourne property, of the child christened Sophia
Wilhemmina, on 9 October, 1859.
A
second child, George
Peter Steiner, was also home born at Winbourne, on 6 Jul 1861.
But
their third child, Christian
Steiner, is registered as born on 27 Sep 1863 in Camden.
This
suggests that the family may have left Mulgoa and relocated to further up the Nepean valley from
Mulgoa area by that time. This however is not known for certain, and
instead Elizabeth might just have been in Camden for some other reason when
the birth came, or else maybe she had gone there especially for the
birth?
It
seems more likely that the family actually had left Mulgoa. Christian
was bound to the Cox vineyard at Mulgoa for two years under contract. As
noted above, after deducting cost of the ship passage fare Christian had
worked under contract for £11 per year. This probably was not good
earnings for the times. For example, in the 1858 Parliamentary
Inquiry into conditions (referring to earlier events in Germany) there is
mention that it would perhaps cost £60
to keep a man for 3-4 months (= £240 per annum).
The
third child, Leonard
Steiner, was also born at Camden, according to later recorded
information. However, registration of that Camden birth has not yet been
located and this might suggest that 1865 was the year the family left the
district and headed much further south. A death notice about Christian,
published in Wagga Wagga (in full below) stated that he was a native of "Steinberg" and
had come to the colony in 1857, residing close to
Sydney for about ten years before he moved to Wagga. That would suggest
they left the Sydney region in ca. 1867. A death notice about Elizabeth
in the same newspaper later on also points to 1867 as when the couple arrived
in the district, however the family is known to have already been down south,
at Westbrook, by early 1866 because of a birth recorded there.
The Steiner
family eventually became well established, and multiplied, in the Wagga Wagga
area. Leonard Steiner married Ellen Taylor there, and this is where this
writer's grandfather (Doreen's father Cecil Steiner) was born in 1890.
On the map
below it can be tracked where they went to. They first went to Westbrook,
which place name is seen in the lower right corner of the map. After
that they moved to Lake Albert which is the body of water SSW of Wagga Wagga
seen where the arrow is pointing to. After Lake Albert they moved
to the western outskirts of Wagga Wagga where Christian finally had a vineyard
of his own at Pomingalarna.
There may have been some connection with a small gold mine in the area (as
mentioned by the writer's grandfather) but nothing of this is known.
Later on the family/descendants apparently spread further southwestwards,
Uranquinty and The Rock (but again this is just according to vague memories of
what my grandfather used to tell me and as yet no details of any of this later
history of the family have been sought or come across):
The
Steiners when they first went south from Camden went to Westbrook, shown here in
the lower
right corner. After that they went to Lake Albert which is
where the arrow is pointing to. At
that
time Lake Albert was probably smaller,
as it was increased by damming in the 1890s. After
that,
Christian established his own vineyard at Pomingalarna, just west of Wagga
Wagga.
The Steiner family may have
left the Sydney region pretty soon after the birth of Leonard occurred in
Camden in 1865 (perhaps why the birth registration may have gone astray?),
since Gottleib
Reinhardt Steiner was registered as born on 9 January 1866 at Westbrook.
The reason
for the move south can only be speculated on. It
is curious that two family lines (Clout, Steiner) that later joined at Wagga Wagga
both come from the Camden area and both left to move south in or about the same year, 1865. A
common cause like crops failure by flood or disease (?rust) might possibly be
involved.
So
far there is no knowledge at all about why the Steiners would have moved to
Westbrook, or even where it was exactly that they moved to. Even what is
meant by "Westbrook" is not yet certain. It is a minor place
name associated with Tarcutta Creek, west of
Batlow. An alternate name for Tarcutta Creek is Oberne Creek. And
an alternate name for Westbrook might also have been Oberne Creek. In
the Tarcutta Creek valley today, there are two small place names, Oberne Creek
and Westbrook. The main road
through Oberne Creek is now called Westbrook Road and a place called
Welstbrook is a little south of that called Oberne Creek. None of
the places have, or ever have had, any sizeable population. Minor
preliminary enquiry has not revealed any knownledge of Steiners or any other
Germans ever having lived in the area.
It
seems like the Steiners, for whatever reason they went to Westbrook did not
stay there very long. Gottleib
Reinhardt was born at Westbrook in January 1866 but Elizabeth Fredericka was
born at Lake Albert in January 1869. Thus they may have been at
Westbrook for only two or three years, or even less. Memorial articles
in a Wagga Wagga newspaper after the deaths of each of Christian and Elizabeth
Steiner both suggest 1867 as the time they came to the Wagga district.
This could well refer to when they arrived at Lake Albert. And if that
is correct then they are only at Westbrook for a year or so.
LAKE
ALBERT
Why
the family moved to Lake Albert, then probably a little inhabited area with a small
lake about 5 km south of Wagga Wagga, is doubtless somehow connected with
wine-making, and with Christian's considerable interest/experience in that
occupation by this time.
The
year 1867 seems to be the most likely time when the Steiners arrived at Lake
Albert.
Wine making at Lake Albert is believed to have
started probably around 1870, a little after the Steiners are known to have
moved there. The vineyard was commenced there probably by Sir William Macleay
(1820-1891), being the Macleay after whom the Macleay Museum at Sydney University is
named, and it is highly likely that this is who Christian went to work for at
Lake Albert. However, this is not yet actually confirmed, or if Christian worked for William Macleay of
perhaps some other member/s of the Macleay family engaged in wine production
at Lake Albert.
Wine Tasting – Lake Albert Vineyard 1895.
The Last Load – Lake Albert Vineyard
1895.
Views
of Lake Albert Vineyard - from the Sydney Mail of 4 September 1897. The
photo labelled
"view
of lake & vineyard" suggests that the vineyard was located right on
the lake's shore.
Sir William Macleay is a quite famous person in
the history of NSW and there is an interesting aside concerning him that comes
from the diarist Dr Karl Scherzer. On his 1858 visit to Sydney, this
diarist visited Macleay, already by then a famous naturalist, at his Elizabeth
Bay home. Scherzer was moved to write some rather remarkable words in his diary
after his 10 November 1858 visit to Macleay:
William Macleay became a magistrate at Wagga Wagga by 1841. Attracted by
viticulture he formed his forty-acre (16 ha) vineyard at Lake Albert near Wagga
Wagga in the 1870s (Hoare et al., 1974).
According to some local
historians, Lake Albert is an "artificial" lake covering 125ha which
was built in the 1890s on what was
known as Swampy Plains and named after Prince Albert.
Lake Albert may well have
been enhanced in depth and extent in the 1890s but it seems to have had an
existence before then because Elizabeth Fredericka Steiner was born at Lake Albert in January
1869, and the birth record states "Albert Lake", not
Swampy Plains.
BIRTHS DEATH AND MARRIAGES
- KEY FACTS
Some known basic information recorded under the
Births, Deaths and Marriages Act/s for some Steiners of interest are as
follow. The ones for Germany were kindly extracted from church relevant
to Eselshalden by a neighbour of Peter Fohr:
'''' Potentially related
German Steiner records """"
Johannes
Steiner (1755-1840) geb. 16.06.1755 im Krehenhof. (Born in Krehenhof.)
- Die Eltern
waren Jonas Steiner u. Anna Katharina geb. Köngeter. (His parents.)
- Er war
Ausdingbauer und gestorben 23.02.1840. (Died in Ausdingbauer.)
- Er
heiratete zweimal. (He married twice)
- Aus der
ersten Ehe am 22.06.1773 in heirat in Steinenberg kamen 4 Kinder zur
Welt. (From the first marriage, in Steinenberg four children came into
the world.)
-- Seine
Frau Barbara geb.Kohnle? geb. im Jahr 1747 gestorben am 07.02.1791.
(His
wife Barbara was born 1747 in ?Kohnle and died in 1791.)
-
Kinder:
--
1.Johannes geb.03.06.1774.
-- 2.
Johann Jakob 07.012.1777.
-- 3.
Johann Richard 17.04.1781.
-- 4.
Johannes Georg 08.07.1784 gefallen am 07.06.1813 in der Schlacht.....
(Killed in battle.)
- Nun zur
zweiten Ehe aus dieser Ehe kamen 7 Kinder hervor. (Seven children
from second marriage.)
-- 1.
Christina geb. am 03.08.1792 heiratete 1817 in Steinenberg. (Christina,
married in Steinenberg.)
-- 2.
Christian geb. am 15.12.1794 gestorben am 02.07.1815.
-- 3.
Margarethe 12.01.1796 heiratete 1824 in Bühlertann.
-- 4.
Rosine geb. am 27.01.1800. Heiratete 1830 in Eselshalden. (Rosine
married in Eselshalden.)
-- 5.
Anna Maria 06.05.1802 Heiratete 1828 in
Steinenberg.
-- 6.
Gottfried geb. am 15.12.1804 gestorben 30.09.1878
-- 7.
Gottlieb geb. 10.03.1808 heiratete 1838 in Eselshalden.
(Gottlieb married in Eselshalden.)
Aus der
ersten Ehe vom Sohn Johannes geb. am 03.06.1774 heiratete wahrscheinlich
22.08.1798 kamen wieder zwei Söhne hervor die hießen .. (From the
Johannes born 3.6.1774 who married probably on
22.8.1798
came two more sons):
- 1. Johanne
Georg geb. 27.08.1809 heiratete 1832.
- 2.
Johannes geb. am 14.01.1817.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
Thus
it is known so far, from the church records per a contact of Peter Fohr's,
that the settlement of Eselshalden commenced in ca. 1722; which accords will
with information (possibly based on the same records source?) received from
Stadt Welzheim that it was " Oktober 1723" when the first in habitants
of Eselshalden began living there. Stadt Welzheim added that some years
after that a family named Steiner from Krähenof settled down in Eselshalden.
This Steiner from Krähenof
is probably the abovementioned Johannes Steiner (1755-1840) who was born in
Krehenhof, which is in Ortschaft Schmalegg of Stadt Ravensburg nearly at the
southern border of Württemberg. Johannes Steiner's first son of his
second marriage was Christian, born in 1794 probably at Eselshalden if the
family was then living there, as it seems.
If
Christian Steiner born 1812 in Eselshalden was son of Christian Steiner born
1794 in Eselshalden then the second Christian's father would have then been
18. It is possible, but this link has not yet had any evidence for it
found.
Christian
Steiner [12Sep1812/13?
- 2May1893, aged 80/81 .. different sources differ by 1 yr]
Birth/baptised:
"Steinberg, ?Wurtemmberg, Germany" (Actually should be "Steinenberg"),
born Eselshalden
Parents:
Christian Steiner, farmer; mother’s name unknown.
Immigration:
Arrived in the colony in 1857 per the ship Gottorp from Wurtemmburg
Marriage:
4 Oct 1858, at Mulgoa Church of England; minister George Vidal; witness Martin Eisenhulth (faded writing - Martin
Eisenhult?). [George Vidal was parish rector 1855-1865.]
Spouse:
Elizabeth Rheinhardt, born in Germany (Died 15 Feb 1902 at Darlow St., Wagga
Wagga; buried 16 Feb 1902 at Presbyterian cemetery, Wagga Wagga, buried by
Presbyterian minister Charles Bell).
Spouse’s
parents: Unknown.
Occupation
noted at time of death: Vigneron.
Died:
2 May 1893, Wagga Wagga.
Buried:
4 May 1893; minister J. McIntyre, Presbyterian.
Children
(when/where born):
Sophia
Wilhemmina Steiner, 9 Oct 1859, Mulgoa.
George
Peter Steiner, 6 Jul 1861, Winbourne.
Christian
Steiner, 27 Sep 1863, Camden. (A.k.a. Christopher Steiner)
Leonard
Steiner, 1865, Camden.
Gottleib
Reinhardt Steiner, 9 Jan 1866, Westbrook.
Elizabeth
Fredericka Steiner, 17 Jan 1869, Albert Lake.
Taken from The Wagga Advertiser of Thu 04 May 1893:
"Death of Mr C STEINER - The many friends of Mr
C. Steiner will learn with regret of that gentleman’s death, which occurred
at his late residence, Darlow-street Wagga on Tuesday last. Mr Steiner was a
native of Steinberg and came to this colony in 1857, and resided close to
Sydney for about ten years when he came to Wagga. Shortly after he came to
this district he entered into an engagement with Mr MacLeay as a gardener and
while in that capacity he planted the vines in the Lake Albert Vineyard. He
remained in the service of Mr MacLeay at Lake Albert for a little over eight
years, and then purchased a piece of land on the Murrumbidgee at Pomingalarna
where he planted a vineyard for himself, and which is now known as The
Riverview Vineyard. Mr Steiner entered largely into his business as a
wine-grower, and after a few years of industrious work had improved his
holding considerably. About three years ago he sold his vineyard at a good
price, and removed to Wagga where he resided privately until the time of his
death. He was highly respected and during his residence in this district had
made many friends. At the time of his death he was in his 81st
year. He leaves a widow and four children – three sons – one daughter. All
the children are married and with the exception of one who lives in
Euababalong, they are residents of Wagga. The funeral is announced to leave
his late residence at 2 o’clock this afternoon and the remains are to be
buried in the Presbyterian portion of the Wagga Cemetery."
[Notes: The informant of his death was his son George
who recorded he was aged 46 when he married Elizabeth. The informant at
Elizabeth’s death was their son Leonard and he did not know where his mother
was born, other than that it was in Germany, nor the names of her
parents. The child Gottleib is not mentioned/recalled in later records
and may have died in infancy(?). Christian's grave is Number 3 of Row 25 in
the Presbyterian section 1a of the Wagga Wagga Monumental Cemetery and tells
us "Farewell wife & children" (A THANK YOU to Yvonne Scrivener for
information on the grave and for finding this death notice in the Wagga Advertiser).]
Elizabeth Steiner nee Rheinhardt
[ ?1822 – February 1902, aged 80 ]
The Wagga Advertiser – Tue 18 Feb 1902
"Death of an Old Resident - Mrs
Elizabeth Steiner, a well-known and respected resident of the district, died
at her residence, Newtown, on Saturday afternoon. The deceased at the time of
her death was in her 80th year, and came to the Wagga district 35
years ago with her deceased husband, who had been appointed manager of the
Lake Albert Vineyard by the late Sir Wm Mackay. Subsequently, Mr and Mrs
Steiner established a vineyard of their own at Pomingalarna, where they
resided until the death of Mr Steiner. Mr and Mrs Steiner had a large family,
most of whom reside in this part of the State. The funeral took place on
Sunday last, the remains being interred in the family enclosure in the
Presbyterian portion of the Wagga Cemetery, the Rev C Bell officiating at the
grave. A large concourse of mourners attended the funeral the arrangements for
which were carried out by Mr John McIntosh."
Leonard Steiner
[ 1865 – 28Jun1944, aged ?77-80 ]
Birth: 1865, Camden
Parents: Christian
Steiner and Elizabeth Rheinhardt
Marriage:
Spouse: Ellen Taylor
(Born 20 June 1871 at Pyalong, Victoria; died 10 May 1928 at Lewisham private
hospital in Wagga Wagga; buried 11 May 1928 at the Presbyterian cemetery in
Wagga Wagga).
Spouse’s parents:
William Taylor and Eleanor Curtis (known as Ellen, born in Williamtown,
Melbourne).
Place and date: 15
April 1889, in the St John Mission Hall, Wagga Wagga; minister W.H. Pownall.
Witnesses: George
Steiner, Catherine Taylor.
Usual occupations at time
of marriage: Christian - farmer; Ellen - living with parents at Wagga
Wagga.
Died: 28 Jun 1944, at
44 Evans Street, Wagga Wagga.
Buried: 29 Jun 1944,
at the Presbyterian cemetery, Wagga Wagga, by minister C.J. Wells (Methodist).
Children (when/where born):
Cecil William Leonard, 10
April 1890, Wagga Wagga.
Ormond Clarence Christian
Steiner, 24 July 1892, born at Sandy Creek (Uranquinty). (A.k.a. Norman)
Ajsless James Steiner, 28
March 1895, Uranquinty
Lilly Olive May Steiner, 29
April 1897, Uranquinty
Olive Lilly May Steiner, 29
April 1897, Uranquinty
Decimus Leslie Steiner, 18
Feb 1899, Uranquinty
Laney James Steiner, 14 Nov
1905, Wagga Wagga. (A.k.a. Jesse Steiner?)
[Other rather uncertain
notes: The German immigrants to the Nepean Valley were largely from Catholic
areas of Germany but religious denominations on Steiner family BDM
certificates are of mixed Protestant nature with no overall trend. The family that
Leonard and Ellen formed may have carried forward some Methodist connection it
would seem, which perhaps may have been Ellen's choice. It is noted that
unlike others they are recorded to have married in a mission hall rather than
a church, which perhaps may have been a Wesleyan service (the affiliation of
minister W.H. Pownall is unknown). A Wesleyan connection came via
Ellen's father William Taylor who was a shoemaker born in Cambridge, England,
about 1833. It is noted that Leonard was buried by a Methodist minister
and Ellen’s parents are known to have been married by Methodist rites at
Collingwood, Victoria in 1856 (her father William being Methodist and her
mother Eleanor Curtis had been baptised Anglican). At the time of his
death, Leonard was living at 44 Evans Street, which was apparently the home of his
son Norman (Ormond) who was the informant of the death. Norman’s
information resulted in his mother’s name being recorded incorrectly as Emily, rather
than Ellen, but she had been dead by then for 16 years. Elizabeth Rheinhardt’s
(Leonard's grandmother's) surname occurs in various spellings in sparse
records, including as Rynehart. It may be interesting therefore that a Frederick
Joseph Clout, who was a descendant of the Clout family which Leonard's son
Cecil would marry into, had in 1911 married a Mary Clare Rynehart in Wagga
Wagga who was daughter of John Rynehart and Amy Curtis – Curtis being
another grandparent name for Leonard - and all may just possibly be related
Wagga families? There are many other 'possible/dubious' connections
noted in passing but which have not been checked on.]
Cecil William Leonard Steiner
[10Apr1890
- 23Feb1969, aged 79 ]
Birth: 10 April 1890,
Wagga Wagga.
Parents: Leonard
Steiner, farmer and Ellen Taylor.
Marriage:
Spouse: Elsie Mary
Clout, known as "Else" or "Queenie" (Born 22 Nov 1893 at
Wagga Wagga; died 6 Nov 1959 at Western Suburbs Hospital, Croydon; buried 7
Nov. 1959 at Catholic cemetery, Rookwood).
Spouse’s parents:
George Clout Jnr (by then deceased) and Mary Louisa Hart.
Place and date: 19 Aug
1914, at St Michael’s Catholic church, Wagga Wagga; minister M. Buckley.
Usual occupations at time
of marriage: Cecil - coach-trimmer; Elsie – tailoress.
Died: 23 Feb 1969,
United Gardens private hospital, Summer Hill.
Buried: 25 Feb 1969,
Catholic cemetery, Rookwood.
Children (when/where born):
Doreen Phyllis Steiner,
Raymond Leonard Steiner, 18
May 1920, Wagga Wagga.
WHERE DID FURTHER DESCENDANTS GO TO?
The above records show that
some of the later Steiners moved to Uranquity southwest of Wagga Wagga.
Born at Uranquinty in the 1890s were Ormond Clarence Christian
Steiner, Ajsless James Steiner, Lilly Olive May Steiner, Olive Lilly May
Steiner and Decimus Leslie Steiner.
Cecil Steiner, the writer's
grandfather, is remembered to have often spoken of "The
Rock" when talking about Wagga Wagga or his relatives
there. Perhaps this only meant that they sometimes went on outings to
the rock for picnics or excursions. Or more likely it meant some of them
lived in some vicinity that was out towards The Rock, from Wagga Wagga (futher
southwest than Uranquinty where most of Cecil's brothers and sisters were born
- see above map). A possible but much less likely alternative could be
that some family lived near a different
'Rock', being the one 3 km southeast of Albert Lake that is called "the Rock" or
"Rocky Hill".
REFERENCES
Anonymous
(?Trevor Nagorka), 1977. Shipboard diary. May 12 - September 20, 1857.
[No full
copy seen; Printed,
pp. 15-23. Publication place unknown (photocopy); presumably a Victorian family
history book. Obtained from the Bega
Valley Genealogy Society. Call no. Z5.19.03. This is a translation from the diary of Mr
Christian Nagorka, 1826-1908, who sailed on the ship Gottorp to Australia). ]
Burnett, B., Nixon, R. and Wrigley, J.,
2005. They worked at Camden Park. Camden Historical Society.
90 pp.
Burkhardt, G. The Places of Origin of German Immigrants to NSW, 1849 - 1860.
Carmichael, Lynne, 1973. German
migration past and present. Thesis. [Not traced].
Cloos, P.
and Tampke, Jürgen (Eds.), 1993.
"Greetings from the Land where
Milk and Honey flows" - The German Migration to NSW 1838-1858. Southern
Highlands Publishers, Canberra.
Cox, G.C.
1980. George Cox of Mulgoa and Mudgee. Letters to his sons
1846-49 [State Library of NSW E929.209944/C877.3/1].
Evans, R.,
1997. Germany's convict exports. History Today, No. ?,
pp.11-17. [photocopy only was seen.]
Geyer, O.F.
and Gwinner, M.P., 1991. Geologie von Baden Württemberg. Stuttgart.
Harmstorf, I., 1971. German migration,
with particular reference to Hamburg, to South Australia.
Thesis. [Not traced].
Hoare, M., Rutledge, M., 1974. Macleay,
Sir William John (1820-1891). Australian Dictionary of Biography,
Volume 5, Melbourne University Press. pp. 185-187.
Matthew, S., 1833. Journal. Quoted
in A. Wilson, 1982. "Regentville: An Historical Archaeological
Study". B.A. Hons. Thesis, University of Sydney. (pp. 5,11)
McClelland, James, 1982. A history of
Germany and guide to tracing immigrants who came to Australia from Germany.
Mulgoa
Historical Society(?), 19xx?. Historical Winbourne. Edmund Rice
Retreat and Conference Centre
(Conducted
by the Christian Brothers), 1315 Mulgoa Road, Mulgoa NSW. 11 pp.
Mulgoa
Historical Society(?), 19xx?. The Shepherd's Hut. As recorded by
John Giacon, January 1984.
10
pp. (Might not be by same historical ?society as for the 'Historical
Winbourne' article, and the Christian Brothers themselves also had at one time
a small museum and a historical interest group).
Mulgoa
Progress Association, 1988. Mulgoa! Mulgoa! Where is that? A
general history of Mulgoa.
71
pp. [Mitchell Library Q994.41/109]
Nadell, G.,
1953. Letters from German Immigrants in NSW. RAHS, Vol. 39, Part 15.
Patterson, J.,
1992. On the trail of resources in Germany: a report on a visit to
southwest Germany, Sep-Dec 1991. Ances-tree, vol. 5, no.2, pp. 3-13.
Patterson, J.,
2007a. German immigrant shits to Eastern Australia - resources and
problems. Part II: UNDINE 1855. Ances-tree, vol. 20, no. 1, 26 pp.
Patterson, J.,
2007b. "Planned illegitimacy" among German immigrants.
Ances-tree, vol. 20, no. 2, 9 pp.
Patterson, J.,
2007c. Website: "Emigration from Southwest Germany" -
Auswanderung aus Südwestdeutschland. Ances-tree, vol. 19,
no. 3, 11 pp.
Patterson, J.,
2007d. "Planned illegitimacy" among German immigrants.
Ances-tree, vol. 20, no. 2, 9 pp.
PLDC (Penrith Lakes Development Corporation),
1981. Penrith Lakes Scheme. Environmental Impact Statement.
Kinhill Pty Ltd., 248 pp.
Scherzer,
K., 1857-1859. The Novara Diaries. Mitchell Library, Sydney.
[Karl von
Scherzer, 1821-1903, was an Austrian economist, ethnologist, and later
consular official. His original manuscript diaries were found in 1939
and acquired by the Mitchell Library. Published, somewhat sanitised/edited
version also exists. The manuscript account of his time aboard the Novara
between 1857-1859 is to be found in his three diaries in the Mitchell Librar.
These were acquired from local book dealers and publishers Angus and Robertson
on 17 July 1939 (according to a pencilled note in the gutter of page l, Diary
I). The published version, more complete, and formalised,
better documented but less frank is the three volume work Reise der
Österreichischen Fregatte Novara um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858 und
1859, Imperial and Royal State and Court Printery, Vienna 1861-2; I
(1861) xii 368, 37; II (1861) viii, 454, 20; III (1862) viii, 436;
appendices. The English translation of the these three volumes
lacks the numerous illustrations and some tables and appendicies. It
appeared from 1861-3 in London (Saunders, Otley & Co.). Later
editions in German and Italian were also published.]
