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Hi All,

im trying to find info on an Oscar/Oskar Beyer who might have been one of the first Lutheran Missionaries to go out to the Chatham Islands (New Zealand) from Germany in 1843.. All i know is that he was born in Germany possibly around 1820 or earlier. He had a child (Mary Dorothea) with Anna Hergott while in the Chatham Islands - but i dont know if they were married. Anna went on to marry Heinrich Regnault in 1855 and im presuming he adopted Mary Dorothea as she bears his surname in records.
But i cant seem to find out what happened to Oscar, where he was from, family etc.
Oscar and Anna are my Gx4 grandparents and they have always been a bit of an enigma in the family history.
If any of you could help steer me in the right direction i would really appreciate it.

Many thanks,
Fiona

Where did you find the information you have?

Hi Heather,

some from family and the rest from NZ BDM website..

Cheers,
Fiona

Lutheran Missionaries, who came up with that?

Can you not contact the Lutheran church in NZ for some help?

http://www.lutheran.org.nz/information.php?info_id=1


http://www.lca.org.au/lutherans/archives.cfm

Hi Heather,

the lutheran missionaries link has always been in the family history for as long as i can remember so im presuming there may be some truth in it somewhere.
Thanks for the tip.
Fiona

From their site:

Lutheran missionaries first arrived in New Zealand in 1843, just three years after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi.



The first Lutheran Missionaries arrived in Otago in January 1843. They found that the Wesleyan and Anglican Mission Societies were already well established in New Zealand. They therefore took up the suggestion that they move to the Chatham Islands where they arrived on the 20th February of that year. As someone said, they had "...faith in their souls and next to nothing in their pockets."

There is a rather delightful story about how the mission society back in Germany decided that these young men needed wives, so they chose four young women and sent them out. It is probably hard for most of us to imagine what this was like, both for the missionaries and their chosen wives. They did not know each other. If Europeans thought of New Zealand as the end of the earth, then the Chathams were even more remote. Unfortunately one of the women died on the way, so they were now a bride short. The oldest of these young men decided that, since he was getting on in years, he should be the one to go without, so he conducted the weddings of the others.

Hi Heather,

ive just followed your link to the NZ lutheran church and would you believe ive had a reply already !!!(someones up early in NZ).
its looking very promising..

Cheers,
Fiona

Wonderful, the power of google is always amazing.

Hope it works out.

Did you see the little story above. Wonder if Oskar was one of those three grooms?

hopefully i'll soon find out!

cheers for your help

Hi Fiona, I am also researching Beyer and Oskar keeps popping up, so perhaps he was a brother to my Peter Anton Beyer. The family also talk about being descended from the Morioris on the Chathams, so we may have a connection somewhere.
Regards
Heather

Greetings Fiona. The story above about 3 "brides" for 4 "brothers" ( missionaries ) is factual. My great great grandmother, Dorothea Hergott was one of the 3 deaconesses who arrived in NZ to become wives to 3 of the missionaries. Oskar Beyer missed out but he later had an "affair" ?? ( was Dorothea a willing participant ?? ) with Dorothea after her husband, David Muller died in 1850 leaving her with two young sons at age 26 in the Chatham Islands ( 890 km east of Wellington NZ ). We know that Oskar left the missionary outpost sometime after David Muller died - to become a trader - probably it was soon after discovering that Dorothea was pregnant with my great grandmother, Maria ( or was it Mary? ). Maria was born on 9.12.1853 and Oskar Beyer is named as the father but Maria was raised by her mother who remarried Heinrick Regnault on 26.11.1855. Maria was then known as Maria Regnault. Oskar, by then 36 years old, married 16 year old Sophia Baldwin on 18.2.1857.