Christoph ZIMMER 1826-? & Margaretha JUNG 1827-?
Pastor Fabricius in the Nieder-Weisel Evangelical Church celebrated the marriage of Christoph Zimmer and Margaretha Jung on 20th October 1850 without banns being read because the bride was several months pregnant with their first child, Katharina, who was born on 4 March 1851.
Christoph, born 10th January 1826, was a son of Maria Dorothea nee Klippel, second wife of Christoph Zimmer II. Margaretha was a daughter of Heinrich Jung II and Elisabetha Appolonia nee Heinz.
Pastor J M Goethe of the Lutheran Church, East Melbourne, attested that on 27th December 1853 he had baptised a baby, in the name Johannes, who was presented as the second child and first son of Christoph Zimmer IV, mason of Nieder-Weisel, and Margaretha born Jung and said to have been born on 27th November 1853. No record of their journey has been found but the couple must have been among the very earliest arrivals from Nieder-Weisel.
On 13th November 1857 a son was born to Margaretha in Ballarat. His name was registered as ‘Conroyd’ (probably Konrad). Being illiterate, Christoph would not have realised the error. The parents gave their marriage date as October 1848, which was presumably to mask the 1851 illegitimacy. According to Konrad’s birth certificate, 1 of 3 prior children had died. According to an entry transcribed to the Nieder-Weisel register in July 1863 a fifth child, Louisa, was born in Smythesdale on 8th July 1861 and she was the third girl. This birth was not recorded in Victoria.
On 24th March 1863 the “Swiftcore” left Melbourne for Liverpool. Her passengers included a Zimmer family: Mr 39; Mrs 21; John, 7; male, 1. The age for Katharina is clearly wrong. The baby’s name was probably spelled ‘Louise’ and mistaken for Louis.
These records make it clear that a female child was born to Margaretha about 1859; she probably died soon after birth. The son Konrad must also have died young.