Schröder - Wilhelmina Josephina Johanna Christina Antonia Maria

I picked up a group of postcards & photographs while I was in Paeroa at Christmas but didn't have much luck with my research on my return home. A few days ago I tried again and this time struck the jackpot. The New Zealand BDM Historical Records are now online and searchable, although a little limited they are still a great resource for those researching their NZ roots. I also found part of a family tree posted by Michael Hobbs in the NZ forum on Genealogy.com which helped a great deal. If you are reading this Mike please get in touch.

There are three postcards and four photographs that are addressed to Mrs Nippert, some of them with an address in New Plymouth. I didn't start out looking for Mrs Nippert though as I didn't have a clue where to start, instead I started with the information on this photograph:-

• Subject: Ena Agnes Anna & Evelyn Mary Eggers
• Date: 11 May 1919
• Photographer: The Broma Studio, Hardy St, Nelson, NZ
• Found; Paeroa, NZ

I started by Googling Ena & Evelyn Eggers and that's when I came up with Mike's tree. From that I was able to determine that they were the daughters of Martha Johanna Schröder & Edward Carl Deitrich Eggers. Auntie Minnie turned out to be Martha's sister, Wilhelmina Josephina Johanna Christina Antonia Maria who married Carl {Charles} Gottfried Nippert. Wilhelmina & Carl were married in the Lutheran Church, Ranzau, Waimea East on the 15 Feb 1875. Ena was born 14 Apr 1907 and Evelyn about 1909 or after (NZ births are only searchable 100 years or more ago).

There was another postcard that wasn't addressed to Mrs Nippert but was in the same handwriting:-

• Subject: Unknown, perhaps Olive Martha Eggers
• Date: 28 Nov 1918
• Photographer: Broma Studio, Nelson, NZ
• Found: Paeroa, NZ

I thought the young woman in this photo looked very like the other girls but couldn't for the life of me read the name as written on the postcard. I thought it looked like Om Tuppitt or Tuffett then all of a sudden it hit me - it was O M Griffith - Olive Martha Eggers was the eldest daughter of Edward & Martha Eggers born 1894 in Upper Moutere, Nelson, she married Louis John Griffith in 1916. The three girls had one other sister, Emily Gertrude born 1895, and two brothers, Vernon Carl Edward born 7 Aug 1898 and Reynold Theodore born 2 Aug 1900. Perhaps the two young men are her brothers or maybe her husband and a brother seeing she had been married for 2 years when this was taken.

The next photo is a young child sent to Mrs Nippert as a Christmas card, signed Julia Paul:-

• Subject: Unknown Paul?
• Date: Unknown
• Photographer: Pattillo "The Bridal Photographer", Dunedin, NZ
• Found: Paeroa, NZ

Cecil W Patillo (1875-1968) began his photographic apprenticeship under John R Morris of Dunedin who had a chain of photographic studios through Otago. In 1899 Patillo branched out on his own and soon employed a large number of assistants. He concentrated on studio portraiture and in 1915 charged 3 shillings for 6 photographs with extra if retouching was required.

I did do a search for a marriage between a Paul and a Julia and came up with two in 1907 & 1922.

1907 Julia Pierson m Bertrand William Paul
1922 Julia Reeves Elliott m Frederick Langton Paul

I then did a search for children of the first marriage (births not available after 1909) and came up with two daughters:-

1907 Eunice Paul, mother/Julia, father/Bertrand William
1909 Vida Paul, mother/Julia, father/Bertram William

This is all conjecture at this point as the photograph could have been taken after either marriage date. Found no link to Mrs Nippert yet.

The next one was sent to Mrs Nippert from a niece named Agusta/Augusta, no luck finding her either:-

• Subject: Unknown Women
• Date: Unknown
• Photographer: Studio, 55a Manners St, Wellington
• Found: Paeroa, NZ

These three postcards were sent to Mrs Nippert, two from her daughter Annie (Anna Sophia Maria born 1879) and one from a Millie who mentions she won't ever forget Mrs Nippert and says that her address is the same as Ada's. This is where we have a little bit of intrigue! The only Ada I can find is the wife of one of Mrs Nippert's sons, Daniel Henry, who married Ada Minnie Thorne in 1913. Both Daniel and Ada married again in the 1920's so I presume there was a divorce at some stage before 1924 when Ada married Percival Thomas Flint. Daniel married in 1927 to Harriet Rean. Ada had a sister named Mildred Lydia who might be the Millie who wrote the postcard - all supposition though!

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In the same box of postcards were four other photographs with little or no information on them but a couple of them look like they might fit into this family.

This lovely young woman looked to be the image of Olive Martha Eggers (insert) - the same person a little older or a sister, what do you think? The photographer was either William or Fred Tyree, most probably William who established the Tyree studio in Trafalgar Street, Nelson by 1878. This next photo was also taken in the Tyree studio.

No connection found to Nola Newman as yet, no birth registration found either so most probably born after 1909. Does she look like this gentleman or what?

Again no details about him other than the photographer was W A Collis of New Plymouth.

The last one is another cute baby with a family resemblance, or am I seeing things?

No details other than the photographer was E C Heel of New Plymouth.

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References:
NZ BMD Historical Records
Postcards from the Plump Partridge Gallery & Antiques of Paeroa, NZ
Schröder Family Tree by Mike Hobbs

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So there you are, I don't have a photo of Wilhelmina Nippert nee Schröder but quite a few of people related to her. Interestingly Nippert is an unusual name and there seemed to be just the one family of them in NZ in the early years. Possibly a German name although there are a few of them in France on the IGI.

If you know of/are related to any of the above families please contact me to your advantage.

Dawn Scotting
pandora@kc.net.nz