Katharina HAUB 1847-1928
Katharina was born on 25th June 1847. Her father was Konrad Haub XIV, a farmhand in Nieder-Weisel; her mother Katharina (nee Dern) came from the nearby village of Lang-Gons. The couple had only one other child and he died in infancy. Katharina’s father became ill when she was only 8; he died late in 1855 and her mother immediately prepared to migrate to Victoria – probably by prior arrangement.
Mother and daughter left the village as part of a group which was booked to sail on the “Mindoro”; this vessel sailed from Liverpool on 22nd April 1856 with over 400 passengers aboard, 14 of them from Nieder-Weisel, including members of the Heinz, Reuter, Hildebrand, Krausgrill, Koch and Schimpf families – and the two ‘Katrina Haupts’. A voyage of 12 weeks at sea lay ahead of the little girl.
Several members of the Dern family from Lang-Gons were in Ballarat and it was probably to them that Katharina senior looked for help and advice when she first arrived – her husband was an only child and had no cousins who were involved in the migration to Victoria. Later, they lived with Jost Jung, an immigrant who was probably from a nearby village. In August 1859 Katharina’s mother gave birth to a daughter, Anna Maria, and three years later there was also a brother, Christoph, to be looked after.
Katharina made her first communion at Easter 1861 in the the Lutheran Church in Ballarat, just prior to her 14th birthday; two and a half years later, on 25th November 1863, she returned to this same church for her marriage. Her bridegroom was Henrich Konrad Haintz, a migrant from Griedel, about thirty minutes walk from her home village; he was twelve years older than she. Four months later (24th March 1864), her mother was married to Jost Jung at the Christ Church of England in Ballarat.
Katharina gave birth to a baby girl in 1865; they named her Clara for Henrich’s sister, who was the god-mother, and who married Jakob Volk from Nieder-Weisel – the two couples went from Ballarat to the diggings around Creswick. While her husband prospected, Katharina busied herself making homes under primitive conditions for her family. Conrad was born in 1867 and Henry in 1869. By this time, the family was in Barkstead, where they lived for several years. The third son, George, arrived in 1872, followed by a daughter, Katharina, in 1874. It is likely that Katharina’s mother went back to Germany at about this time, while the Volk family moved across to Talbot. Henrich went back to his profession as a butcher. During the next fifteen years Katharina doubled her family: Christof, who would follow his father’s trade, was born in 1876, Mary in 1879, Annie 1881, Emma 1886 and Frederick in 1889 nicely balanced the sexes.
Henrich finished his working life as a farmer; he grew potatoes in the rich red soil near Dean, off the Day1esford-Creswick road. Katharina became a British citizen when her husband was granted his letters of naturalisation in May 1895. The elder children were of marriageable age by now and when in 1913 Katharina and Henrich reached their Golden Wedding Anniversary milestone, the beginning of a third generation was there to help them celebrate this occasion. Their partnership continued until Henrich’s death at 87 in May 1922. Katharina died in 1928 in her 80th year; she was buried with her husband in the little cemetery at Mount Prospect, a colonist of 70 years.
View Katharina's Family Chart
