Fatherland

My father's family, the Niewands, came to Australia from Germany in 1850. (When we speak today of our German ancestors, we are actually referring to our German-speaking ancestors, as the modern nation of Germany was not established until 1871).  Before that were a number of small states and principalities.

They lived in the Harz mountains region of Lower Saxony, and the menfolk worked in the mines there.

Most of what I know about the family comes from Lutheran church records in two villages, Bad Grund and Lauthenthal. If you look in an atlas, you will find the Harz mountains just south of Hannover, but Lautenthal is too small to show up on most maps.

I have traced the family back to the early 18th century, which is probably the most we’ll ever know. Earlier church records do exist, but they are written in Old German script, and can only be read by experts.
[It is possible that the family may have originally moved to the Harz in the 16th century, from the Erzgebirge region of Eastern Germany, over near the Czechoslovakian border. A very similar family name, Niesewand, is found in that region.]

The original family name was NIEWANDT, according to the old church registers I have seen. This has undergone several changes in Australia, the main branches of the family now using the forms NIEWAND, NEIWAND, and NEIVANDT.
The family members still living in Lautenthal now use the form NIEWAND. The original pronunciation of  Niewandt was neevahnt. Niewands today say neewond.

The multiple and often confusing baptismal names also deserve a mention here. A child might begin life with 3 or 4 given names, usually taken from their baptismal sponsors. Often the last given name would be the one used in everyday life, perhaps in abbreviated form. Thus Dorothea Ernestine Mathilde  may have been Dorchen or Tillie to her family; likewise Carl Gustav Ferdinand might be Gus or Fred, or even Fritz if there were too many Freds around already.

Because several family members had the same names, I have taken the liberty of assigning more familiar ‘pet’ names at times in this account, for the sake of clarity; these will be indicated as the story unfolds.

Our German ancestors were Lutherans, and some of their descendants remain so today. It was customary to choose a partner within their own or neighbouring congregations, a practice which continued for several generations in Australia. The Lutheran pastors kept careful records as successive generations were baptised, confirmed and married according to the familiar rituals. Much of our knowledge of earlier generations has come from Lutheran church registers.

Some branches of the family gradually fell away from the Lutheran church as they became assimilated into the mainstream of Australian society, and lost touch with their German language and traditions. Most remained Protestants, though, in thought if not in practice.

The Germans were a small but significant group among the early settlers of Australia. Some left their homelands for religious reasons, but for most, the motives were economic and socal. Either way, it was a momentous decision. To better understand why the Niewand family left, and the traditions and skills they brought to their new country, we must look back in time to their European origins.

In 1850 the Harz Mountains were part of the Kingdom of Hanover. In modern Germany, this region is called Niedersachsen. These are the most northerly mountains in Germany, between the Weser and Elbe rivers. The range is about 100km long and 32km at the widest point.

The area where the Niewand family lived is the Oberharz, the northwest part of the mountains. Nestled in the valleys are found the villages of Bad Grund and Lautenthal. For hundreds of years the main occupation was mining, as the area is rich in minerals. Today the mines are all closed, and the main industry is tourism.

When Germany was divided after World War II, the Iron Curtain ran right through the middle of the Harz and much of it was off limits to the public. For 45 years the area escaped ‘development’, and has since become a Nature Park. Now that the soldiers and their guard dogs have left, tourists come to these misty mountains to enjoy their gifts.

view of Lautenthal

Today the forests have regenerated or been replanted, and the deciduous beeches, oaks and elms make a fine contrast in autumn against the dark green of the spruce trees. The first snows of winter bring a different beauty, and always there is the sound and sparkle of water. Chattering streams tumble down rocky hillsides, and dozens of lakes reflect the mountains in all their moods.

The earliest record found show the family living at Bad Grund in the early 18th Century. The books of St. Antonius Kirche record the births of the children of  Hennig Heinrich Niewandt and his wife, Gesa Maria (no surname entered). A little mystery surrounds Gesa Maria – her name was entered in the register at the baptism of her daughter Dorothea, but is deliberately omitted from the baptismal records of succeeding children. She was obviously out of favour with the pastors of the time, and may well have been excommunicated, but we can only guess at the reason. The name Gesa is unique in the parish records, which suggests that she was in some way foreign to the village. Orphan, religious dissident, runaway servant, gypsy ? – we will never know.

Hennig and Gesa Maria had four children –

Dorothea Maria b. 1719
Johann Christoph b. 18-7-1723
Johann Jurgen b. 1726
Georg Christian b. 1730

Johann Christoph Niewandt married Dorothea Echert on 5-1-1745.  I wrote about their wedding in an earlier post.
There’s an interesting little story here. Johann was only 21, and still a Bergersell - apprentice miner. Under the strict rules of the Mining Guild, he wasn’t supposed to get married until he finished his training. He would have have been fined, and possibly had his apprenticeship extended. The date, January 5th, was midwinter, not the usual time for a wedding.  All is explained when we look at the next entry.
Johann and Dorothea’s first child, Maria Sophia, was born on February 10th, just a month after the wedding. They had seven children in all-

Maria Sophia b. 1745
Johanne Friederike Marguerite b. 1748
Zacharias Heinrich b. 15-8-1751
Johanna Christina b. 1753
Maria Sophia b. 1755
Johann Friedrich b. 1758
Heinrich Adam b. 1760
There are no more entries in the church at Bad Grund.

At some point after 1760, at least some of the family moved to Lautenthal, about 10 km from Bad Grund.