The family of Dr Christian Ulrich Detlev Schrader.

Dr Christian Ulrich Detlev Schrader, his wife Caroline Christina Vollstedt and their four eldest children, Augustus, Sophia, Ludwig and Constanza left Hamburg in March and arrived in Australia in September 1853. Just over two years later Dr Schrader applied for naturalisation when he was then living at Port Macquarie.

Over the years Christian and Caroline had a total of 13 children:

In Schleswig Holstein:

Augustus Carl Schrader, born 1846, married Margaret Martin,

Sophie Schrader, born 1848,

Ludwig Justice Schrader, born 1850, had children with Anna Dorothea Hinz,

Constanza Luise Schrader, born 1852, married cousin Claus Philipp Schrader,

In NSW:

Maria (Mollie) Schrader, born 1854, married William Napier Reeve Waugh,

Carolina Christina Schrader, born 1856, married Arthur James Elliott Goddard.

Alphrasia Charlotte Schrader, born 1858, married Charles Chatfield,

Christina Margaret (Mardi) Schrader, born 1860,

Christian Edward Schrader, born 1860,

Louise Justine Schrader, born 1862, married John Neill Jamieson Waugh,

Charles William Schrader, born 1864, married Hetty Mary Forbes,

Sydney Henry Schrader, born 1866, married Maude Ethel Mayo

Willoughby Douglas Schrader, born 1868, married Minnie Violet Sayers.

The family spent time in Port Macquarie then moved to Walcha where son Ludwig built the stone farmhouse know as Holstein. Dr Schrader moved to practice in Wallsend and eventually retired to Sydney.

The children grew into adulthood and several married and in turn became parents themselves. Some worked the land, others entered the professions of medicine or law; some died young, others lived to a ripe old age; some were happy, some were not; some had children, some did not…………

The Schrader Letters date from 1871 to 1896 and give a wonderful insight into the loves and hates, quarrels and make-ups, triumphs and struggles of the Schrader family.

They were collected by Marea (Schrader) Waugh and passed on to her daughter Christian (Waugh) Honeyman.

In 1974 Chris Honeyman and her friend Ernie Miller sorted the letters into chronological order and typed them out. It must have been a real labour of love as the letters are difficult to read due to the style of writing, the sometimes quaint use of English, and the desire by the writer to completely cover every tiny space of paper!

Within the family there are several carbon copies which have been photocopied and, in turn, have become difficult to read. Now, thanks to Caroline Gaden, the letters have been transcribed into electronic format.

However the letters relate only part of the story, many questions remained. As part answer to those questions Caroline has written a family history of the Schrader family, tracing Dr CUD Schrader’s line back to their origins in Schleswig Holstein.

“From Baron to Battler” is that history and, as the title suggests, Dr Schrader was of noble birth, his mother being the daughter of a Baron. The book relates the story of the Schrader family in Europe prior to travelling to Australia and settling in Port Macquarie before buying land in the Walcha district. It includes the diary of Ludwig Schrader, written from 1873-1874, when he was building the house at Holstein; it tells of the search for Montana, home of Constanza and Philipp; it includes some history of Walcha and the gold diggings at Glen Morrison, home of Augustus and his family.

We discover why the family disapproved of Augustus’ wife and what happened to Ludwig’s two children and their mother after his untimely death.

Both these books are available from Smashwords where you can download print copies in text or ‘pdf’ format or versions suitable for several electronic readers such as Kindle.

 

“From Baron to Battler, the story of Dr CUD Schrader of Walcha, 1860-1900” is available from

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/129058

 

“The Schrader Letters, 1871-1896” is available from http://www.smashword.com/books/view/109893

#Schrader  #Walcha

© Caroline Gaden