Amanuensis Monday - Letters from Germany

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

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


Letter sent from Stuttgart to the Rocky River diggings.



It went around the world!



Appears to have been written from Steinheim



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

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

Comments

  1. When I had some letter in French that I needed translated I made a lunch appt (my treat) with a local community college French teacher and she was happy to help me out. Perhaps you could try that route.
    Regards,
    Theresa (Tangled Trees)

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