Julie07 on Family Tree Circles

Descendants of Amalie Friederike Semmler

If unsure about the accuracy of any of this information, please check original records. I have attempted to offer as accurate information as possible but state this is only a personal family documentary, not an official family record.

Amalie Friederike Semmler Born: May 29, 1857 in possibly Briesen, Prussia, married September 9th 1886 in Katyil, Victoria, Australia to Martin Krause. They lived most of their lives at Federal Street, Rainbow, Victoria.
Amalie was christened 07 June 1857 at Schwersens, Posen, Prussia
She came to Australia in 1881 on the ship ?Wappaus?.
Occupation: Nurse
Died: 1924 in Federal street, Rainbow, Victoria Buried: Rainbow. Death reg. no. 11855
Martin Krause Born: March 25, 1856 in Heinersbr?ck, Cottbus, Prussia to Johann (Hans) Gottlieb Krause and Marie Auguste Keis.
He came to Australia in 1861 on the ship ?Wandrahm?
Occupation: Farmer
Died: May 18, 1938 in Dimboola, Victoria Death reg. no. 14134 Buried: Dimboola.
No headstone or marker. Plot no. 954. He is buried in the same grave as his sister, Maria. (Maria Juers).

Martin & Amelie?s children:

Fredrick Martin Krause Born 1888 in Dimboola. Was living in Tarrington, Victoria in 1824
Married Johanna Sophie Harnath in 1913 in Tabor, Victoria
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Agnes Amelia Krause Born October 12, 1889 in Katyil, Shire of Dimboola, Victoria. She married Edward (George) Brown on August 30, 1909 in Rainbow, Victoria
Occupation: Assisted her mother in Midwifery practice.
Died: 1965 in Ballarat, Victoria of severe Arthritis. Death reg. 20295 Buried: Rainbow cemetery next to her husband, George.

Edward George (George) Brown Born May 23, 1881 in Avenue Range, South Australia to William Brown and MaryAnn formerly Dowdy nee McCartney. Mary Ann was actually born as Mary Ann Thurston in 1840 in Pattington, London, England to Charles Thurston and Mary Ann nee Knights.
Occupation: Farmer
Died April 25, 1951. Buried Rainbow, Victoria reg. no. 19392
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Oswald Ernst Krause Born about 1890 at Warracknabeal, Victoria.
Married Lillian Culhane in Murtoa, Victoria.
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Paul Ewald Krause. Born: about 1891. Died 1962 in Melbourne, Victoria. Lived in Murtoa in 1924
Married Beatrice Jane Mead (Born: 1891 in Bungaree, Victoria) in 1912 in Murtoa, Victoria
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Antonia Krause Born about 1892 Lived in Rainbow in 1924
Married John Patrick Culhane
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Otto John Joseph Krause Born about 1896 in Warracknabeal, Victoria. Died 1934 in Hamilton. Victoria
Lived in Gippsland in 1924
Married Therese Kathleen Pianta (Born: 1893)
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Bruno Godfrey Krause Born: 1900 in Warracknabeal, Victoria. Died 1943.
Married Anne Culhane in Murtoa. Victoria
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Amalie and Martin Krause are registered in the Australian Electoral rolls from 1909 to 1931 and were living in Rainbow, Victoria.
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We visited Amalie's grave 31st December 1997. It was disappointing to find the cemetery records had been destroyed or not maintained and the secretary was unable to identify the sight of Amalie's grave. The grave is unmarked with no head stone. She is supposedly buried in the Lutheran section of the Rainbow cemetery.
As well, the records showed Amalie as.."Krause, nurse, age 67, native of Germany, died 1924". We offered the secretary Amalie?s christian name and other information. At least she will have that much. Coffin bearers at Amalie?s funeral were, W. Oelsnick, J.J. Linke, B. Borman, R.H. & P. Wedding and F. Reid. Oelsnick was a brother in law.
Amalie came to Victoria in 1881 and was naturalised soon after. Her Father, brothers and sisters arrived in 1883. Her Mother died in Germany while awaiting passage to Australia. The family settled around Katyil, near Warracknabeal. Amalie's Father was a Blacksmith. Amalie married Martin Krause and they lived around the Warracknabeal district until about 1906 when they moved to Rainbow. After moving to Rainbow, they spent a few years in the Hamilton district but moved back to Rainbow until Amalie?s death in 1924.
Amalie had a nursing and midwifery practice and travelled many miles to families in need. She was a well respected woman in the district and when she died, her funeral was attended by many people.
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Agnes Amelia Brown nee Krause, daughter of Amelie and Martin, was said to be a short, thick woman. Her son, George, was an excellent horse rider and was said to have made a splendid sight on a horse. His nickname was "Buck".
Being of Prussian descent, as a young married woman Agnes experienced the difficulties of being of German descent when WW1 began. Agnes? Uncle Ernst Semmler found it difficult to seek naturalisation at the time, even though his father had been naturalised in 1883 when Ernst was about 16 years old. During these dark times Agnes children were only young but it did affect the family for decades later because of their association with German surnames.
Edward (George) Brown, Agnes? husband, was said to be a short, thin man and liked by the community. He was a caring father to his children. George told his children he had walked across the desert to come to Victoria from South Australia. We assumed this to be the Little Desert.

Friedrich Wilhelm SEMMLER


This document has been put together with the best intention, and as precisely as possible. If in doubt of any of the content, please check original sources personally.


Friedrich Wilhelm Semmler was born 21st July 1829 at Nekla Dorf in the province of Posen, Prussia. His occupation was a Blacksmith. Religion: Lutheran
He married Anna Elisabeth Muhlnickel. Most records show Anna to be Elisabeth. The spelling of her surname varies a lot Muhlnickel/Muehlnickel/ Mielnickel.
She was born 4th August 1827 and died in 1883 in Prussia.

They had:
Amalie Friederike born May 29th 1857
Emma Ottilie born November 29th 1858 ? died July 13th 1859
Auguste Ottilie born September 18th 1860
Maria Elisabeth born March 18th 1862
Paul Friedrich Wilhelm born July 18th 1863
Rudolph Theobold Reinhold born February 26th 1865
Ernst Otto born October 1st 1867

Friedrich made a decision to leave Prussia with his family and to emigrate to Australia. Many reasons have been given for this, including religious persecution or politics, however I believe it was because one, if not two, of Friedrich?s daughters, Amalie and possibly Auguste, had left for Australia at least two years before Friedrich signed the 1883 application for migration to Australia.
One of our family historians has a family story that Johann Rudolph Muhlnickel came to Australia years earlier and ?it was apparently because of his letters, encouraging migration, to his sister Anna Elizabeth Muhlnickel, wife of Friedrich Semmler, that the Semmler family decided to migrate?.

On 10th April 1883 Friedrich signed a document for application to migrate to Australia and denounced his Prussian Citizenship. Only his four younger children were on the document. Amalie was already in Australia at the time, having arrived in 1881, and Auguste may have been there as well.
Unfortunately Friedrich's wife,Anna died in 1883 before the family left Prussia. Emma, their daughter, had died in 1859.

Friedrich and his children came to Australia in 1883 on the "Catania" to the Port of Adelaide. It is said that at the time they were stateless, having denounced Prussian citizenship.
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The following is a Translation of Friedrich?s application to leave Prussia:

The undersigned Royal Government herewith certifies that the Blacksmith, Friedrich Semmler of Nekladorf,District Schroda, born 21st July 1829, at his request and for the purpose of emigration to Australia together with his wife, Anna Elisabeth nee Muhlnickel, born 4th August 1827, and the following children under paternal charge:
1. Maria Elise born 18th March 1862
2. Paul Wilhelm Friedrich born 18th August 1863
3. Rudolph Theobold Reinhold born 26th February 1865
4. Ernst Otto born 1st October 1867
Is granted dismissal from the bonds of Prussian citizenship. This dismissal document effects expressly for the named persons therein at the time of delivery, the loss of Prussian citizenship.
However it shall not be operative if the dismissed person does not within six months from the day of delivery of the dismissal document remove his place of residence outside the federal territory or acquire citizenship in another state.
(the law regarding the acquiring and loss of federal and state citizenship of 1st June 1870. B.g.Bl.S. 355)
Signed at Posen 10th April 1883
Royal Prussian Government
Document of Dismissal (denaturalisation)
No. 2239/83 IA
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From what I have gathered Nekla Hauland was a small village in Posen. Its civil registration office was in Nekla.
Nekla Hauland lined the stream that was northwest of Nekla, and sat in the northern corner of Kreis Schroda. Nearby are Briesen, Wreschen, & Schwersenz.

I have read that Haulands,(or ?haylands?) were plots of land settled by German farmers invited to Prussia after the partition of Poland about 1793. The village was mostly Evangelical Lutheran.
Nekla Hauland is now known as Nekielka (Sroda).
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On the 1st of August 1883, after arriving in Australia, Friedrich Semmler, of Lyndoch, South Australia, signed Naturalisation papers to become an Australian citizen. He had been in Australia for 3 weeks. The certificate stated he was 54 years of age, a blacksmith from Nekla Hauland, in the Province of Posen, Prussia. (National Archives, Australia)
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Amalie Friederike Semmler was born May 29th 1857, possibly at Nekla Hauland or Breisen. Her birth was registered at Schwersens, Posen, Prussia and her baptism registered on the 7th June 1857 at Schwersens.
(Extracted birth or christening record for the locality from LDS site)
NB: On the documentation her mother?s surname is spelt ?Muehlnickel?. Most of the other children have the mother?s spelling as Muehlnickel. Paul?s and Rudolph?s was Mielnickel.
All the records had the mother as ?Elisabeth?, not Anna.

Amalie came to Australia in 1881. When she had only been here for 12 days, she signed naturalisation papers on the 4th of August 1881 to become an Australian citizen. The documents state that she resided near Lyndoch, South Australia, was 24 years of age, a native of Breisen near Kostersin (Kostryzyn), just south of Schwersens, in the Province of Posen, Prussia. She was a domestic servant.

Naturalisation papers state she arrived on the ship Wappaus in 1881 to Port of Adelaide.

Of interest, a Johann Nuske born about 1841, whose Father was Fredrick Nuske, had a mother, Louise Semmler, and he also came to Australia in 1881 on the Wappaus . Louise may have been a relation and even travelled with Amalie.
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In 1884 the Semmler family made a decision to leave South Australia and they began the journey from South Australia to Victoria. Based on documentation of Alexander Tolmer from the 1852 gold escort this was a long journey of around 300 miles and possibly took 10 days or more. The gold escort found it to be an arduous journey averaging between 16 to 32 miles a day and they were on horses. The description states the terrain was flat, but the sand was deep. Along the way were a number of sheep runs and plenty of grass and water for the horses. They went through Bordertown, then over the border to Victoria, and then across the Little Desert in Victoria and arrived in Horsham before going on to Bendigo.

Our family story has it that the Semmler family walked to Victoria and used livestock to carry their food and goods. They travelled with people of other nationalities. They camped at night, cooked their meals and danced and sang.
The reason why they left South Australia is not known but at that time there were a lot of people who left South Australia to head for the gold fields of Victoria, or to open up farming land in the Mallee and Wimmera. Friedrich appears to have settled near Warracknabeal at the township of Willenabrina, 30 km from Warracknabeal, and thus began our Australian Heritage from the SEMMLER side of the family.

Amalie Friederike Semmler married Martin Krause in 1886 at Katyil, Victoria, Australia.

I have a photograph of Amalie Friederike with possibly one of her younger sisters. Looking at a photo of Amalie taken in circa mid to late 1870?s I see well dressed girls, wearing jewellery, lace and well made clothes. Amalie is wearing drop earings. They could be pearls. I would suppose from this that the family were not poor, and in fact, could have been well off. Amalie would be about 18 to 23 years old. There is no wedding ring on Amalie?s finger so the photo would have been taken before she was married.
Both girls have the same mouth and deep inset at the corner of the mouth.
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Auguste Ottilie Semmler was born September 18th 1860 in Briesen. Auguste may have arrived in South Australia in 1879.
An Auguste Semmler, spinster, age 21, of Lyndoch, occupation servant, applied for naturalisation in 1881. She had been born in Prussia. Arrived in Australia in about 1879.
She married Johannes Wilhelm Liersch in 1890 at Bangerang, Victoria, Australia. She died in 1829.
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Maria Elisabeth Semmler was born March 18th 1862 at Schwersens. She married Frederick Oelsnik.
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Paul Friedrich Wilhelm Semmler was born July 18th 1863 at Schwersens. He was naturalised in 1910.
He married Pauline Wilhelmina Hahn in 1889 at Natimuk, Victoria.
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Rudolph Theobold Reinhold Semmler was born February 26th 1865 at Schwersens.
He died in 1892 at Willenabrina, on Ernst?s farm, near Warracknabeal, Victoria, after collapsing from a heart attack.
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Ernst Otto Semmler was born October 1st 1867 at Schwersens. He had difficulty gaining naturalisation due to WW1 occurring at the time he applied. It was requested that he apply again following the war. This was because the authorities could not find Ernst?s father?s naturalisation papers signed in 1883 which would have covered Ernst as he was only 16 then.
He married Joanna Augusta Bertha Brauer in 1896 in Bangerang, Victoria.
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Sadly, Friedrich Wilhelm Semmler, an Australian citizen of Prussian descent, father of our ancestors, died following a heart attack on 10th March 1906 at Willenabrina, Victoria, Australia after falling from a hay stack. There was an inquest into his death in Jeparit, Victoria. He was buried at the Katyil Cemetery. Grave 14. Death reg. no. 2067
Katyil is about 50 Km from Willenabrina. It is possible that his body was transported there by railway carriage and then by cart to the Katyil cemetery.

Friedrich Wilhelm SEMMLER 1829 - 1906

Descendants of Johann Krause & Louisa

The following information has been put together over the years from archive records, internet information, and family oral history. Some spelling has been left according to the source it was found in, it may be incorrect but as I am not familiar with German names, I am not in a position to alter them. The information I offer is accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Johann Krause
Married Louisa in Germany
They had:

Johann (Hans) Krause Born about 1821 in Germany and died 1901 in Dimboola, Victoria, Australia
Occupation: Farmer
Married Marie Kies Born about 1823 in Heinersbruck, Posen, Prussia
Married about 1846 in Germany
Marie died as ?Mary? on September 2nd 1911 in Katyil, Victoria from heart failure and dropsy. She had been unwell for 4 years. Death reg. no. 8635 Buried: Katyil, Victoria.
Occupation: Farmer
Her parents were: Johann Kies & Hannah Lehmann

Johann and Marie immigrated to Australia in 1861 on the ?Wandrahm? with their son Martin. (Shipping records & Marie?s naturalisation). Their older son, Johann had already arrived in Australia a couple of years earlier with his uncle.
The family were at Lyndoch, South Australia, for some time and eventually went to Victoria, settling in the area of Dimboola and Warracknabeal. It has been difficult to establish when they went to Victoria. It was between 1865, when their last child was born in S.A., and 1886 when their daughter, Amalie was married in Victoria. Marie?s death certificate indicated she was in Victoria since 1860, which would be wrong. Certificate also states she they lived in South Australia for about 11 years before moving to Victoria.

On 29th August 1903 at Warracknabeal, Victoria Australia, Mary Krause (nee Marie Kies) was naturalised. She was 79 years of age, was born in Kotbus, Heinrich Bridge,Germany. She stated she arrived in Australia in November 1863 on the ?Vondrum? from Hamburg, and had been in the colony of Victoria for 40 years. She was a widow.
( National Archives, Australia)
Some spelling errors in document eg. Kotbus + Vondrum, also year of arrival.

Johann Kruase and Marie Kies had the following family:

Johann Krause Born September 3rd 1847 in Heinersbr?ck, Cottbus, Prussia
died July 24, 1914 in Hamilton, Victoria
Married Agnes Mirtschin (Born September 27th 1856 in Victoria).
Johann was naturalised in 1884.
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Martin Krause Born March 25th 1856 in Heinersbr?ck, Cottbus, Prussia
Died May 18th 1938 in Dimboola, Victoria Death reg. no. 14134
Buried at Dimboola. There is no headstone or marker. Plot no. 954. He is buried in the same grave as his sister, Maria.
When Martin became ill many years following his wife?s death, he was taken to his sister in Dimboola. Maria Juers cared for her brother until his death in 1938 and she buried him in the Dimboola cemetery. Maria was later buried with Martin in the same grave. There are no markers on their grave. When we visited the grave in 1998 we found 2 ceramic settings of birds and flowers upon the grave and a glass dome with some type of plant under it that had dried up many years ago. The ceramic arrangements looked to be over 20 years old at least. Maria died in 1953.

Martin and Amalie lived at Federal Street, Rainbow, Victoria from about 1906. They can be found in the Australian Electoral Rolls between 1909 and 1931 at Ancestry.com.
Martin?s occupation was a Farmer.
Martin married Amalie Friederike Semmler (Born May 29th 1857 in possibly Briesen, Prussia). They married September 9th September 1886 at Katyil, Victoria, Australia.
Amalie died 1924 in Federal Street, Rainbow, Victoria. Buried: Rainbow. Death reg. no. 11855. Her parents were Friedrich Wilhelm Semmler & Anna Elizabeth Muhlnickel.
Amalie was christened 7th June 1857 at Schwersens, Posen, Prussia
Occupation: Nurse
We visited Amalie's grave 31st December 1998. It was disappointing to find the cemetery records had been destroyed or not maintained and the secretary was unable to identify the sight of Amalie?s grave. The grave is unmarked with no head stone. She is supposedly buried in the Lutheran section of the Rainbow cemetery.
As well, the records showed Amalie as.."Krause, nurse, age 67, native of Germany, died 1924". We offered the secretary Amalie?s Christian name and other information. At least now she will have that much.
Coffin bearers at Amalie?s funeral were, W. Oelsnick, J.J. Linke, B. Borman, R.H. & P. Wedding and F. Reid. Oelsnick was a brother in law or nephew.
Amalie came to South Australia in 1881 and was naturalised soon after. Her Father, brothers and sisters arrived in 1883. Her Mother died in Germany while awaiting passage to Australia. The family moved to Victoria in 1884 and settled around Katyil, near Warracknabeal. Amalie's Father was a Blacksmith. Amalie married Martin Krause and they lived around the Warracknabeal district until about 1906 when they moved to Rainbow. After moving to Rainbow, they spent a few years in the Hamilton district but moved back to Rainbow until Amalie?s death in 1924.
Amalie had a nursing and midwifery practice and travelled many miles to families in need. She was a well respected woman in the district and when she died, her funeral was attended by many people.

Martin was naturalised in October 1923.

Amalie was naturalised in August 1881 soon after arriving in South Australia.
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Christian Krause Born about 1850 in Germany and appears to have died before the family left Germany in 1861.
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Maria Louisa Krause Born October 30th 1862 in Lyndoch, South Australia
died September 9th 1953 in Dimboola. Victoria. The plot number is 954.
Maria is buried in the Dimboola cemetery with her brother, Martin.
She married Reynhold George Juers (Born: June 22, 1861 in Charleston?). They married 1885 in Victoria. Rienhold died June 1942. His parents were Friedrich Johann Christian Juers & Henrietta Elisabeth Rosenburg.
Maria?s second name ?Louisa? could be after her grandmother, Louisa.
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Friedrich Wilhelm Krause Born: March 12, 1865 in Lyndoch, South Australia. Not much information on Friedrich but he was in Tarrigal, near Warracknabeal, Victoria in 1924.
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