The Halboths

In the picture (1892-3) our mother's grandfather has the beard, her grandmother is third from the right, back row; the rest are their children.

Our grandmother is Otillie, second from the right in the front row. A further document gives more details of the family and may be viewed by clicking the minature on the left. In the interests of legibility a "fair copy" is shown below in which an attempt has been made to correct obvious errors. The picture and the document belonged to our Uncle George and were passed on to me by Jo Ohlson de Fine (Patricks's wife) who got them from George's daughter Jean. If you find that confusing don't worry about it. To all of them thanks.

BIRTHS

1.  Augusta Mathilda Frieda          24th June, 1876

2.  George Heinrich Karl             2nd October, 1878

3.  Elisa(?) Louisa Emilia           24th December, 1880

4.  John Nicolaus Kinfauns           4th March, 1882

5.  Maria Christina Katherina        15th March, 1885

6.  Elise Sophia Ottilie             14th March, 1887

7.  Johan Nicolaus                   12th November, 1889

8.  Wilhelmena Julia                 28th February, 1892


    John Nicolaus Halboth            12th November, 1848

    Maria Margaretha Katerina
    Halboth, Gebore Kranz            3rd April, 1856


MARRIED

John Nicolaus Halboth of Underlind Sonnenberger E(?).M. and
Maria Margaretha Kath Kranz of Vallan/Heg(?) Wiesbaden.
14th October, 1875

1.  Augusta Mathilda Frieda Halboth 1896 to
George Charles Gill or Dublin, Ireland.

2.  Elise(?) Louisa Emilia Halboth 23rd October, 1897
to Isaac J. Rundle, Cape Town.

3.  Maria Christina Katherina Halboth to
Tom Patrick Realy 7th December 1904.

4.  George Heinrich Karl Halboth to
Amelia Hall of Newlands 17th October, 1906.

5.  Elise Sophia Ottilie Halboth 26th March 1905
to George Smith.

6.  Wilhelmena Julia Halboth 5th March 1915 to
John Hart of Australia.


DEATHS

John Nicolaus Halboth (son)          4th March, 1913

George Heinreich Karl Halboth        8th April, 1919

John Nicolaus                        30th September, 1919


John Hart                            25th December, 1952

Minnie Julia Hart                    21st December, 1963

Note that:-

In the names on the picture the children are mostly referred to by their third rather first given name. Our Granny, Elise was usually called Ottilie, for example.
There are two John Nicholauses among the children on the list but only one on the picture. My guess is the first one died.
The third name of that John Nicolaus was Kinfauns, the same as the ship they came on and the house they built. It seems to signify their hopes for a new life in a new land. Was the child born at sea? Or in the new house?
There is no reference in the list to Hans, presumably a son, who is shown in the picture.

The German Connection

A German lady called Barbara has contacted us with further information. She was researching her family tree. She wrote "My father was Fritz Halboth, born on 6.11.1910 in Sonneberg/Thüringen. My grandfather was Marcus Halboth, born on 6.2.1867 in Sonneberg/Thüringen." Our own mother, of the Cape Halboths, was born in 1909, and grandmother Ottilie in 1887; Ottilie's father in 1848. So the dates are close enough for us to have a great grandparent, or great-great grandparent in common with Barbara. More significant is the place, Sonneberg. See John Nicolaus the Elder above, said to be from "Sonnenberger" (almost certainly an error of transcription). Coburg is about 16km from Sonnenberg with Neustadt inbetween, near the southern border of Thüringen. So Vielen Dank, Barbara!

The earliest records of a Halboth so far traced by Barbara are of one Eucharius Halboth in the village of Ebersdorf-bei-Neustadt near Coburg, in the 17th Century.

Click here and also here to see them. [Entering "Eucharius Halboth" in Google should also find them, and offers a translation of sorts.] According to these, Ebersdorf was destroyed in 1634 in the turmoil following the Thirty Years War. By 1672 it had a population of 47 at 8 "hearths". The details of these households and their possessions are listed and can be seen by clicking the minature image above. Presumably the figures under crops refer to units of land and under livestock to live animals. There were no farmhands or farm-maids in the village.

Eucharius seems to have been the most prominent member of this peasant farming community, with more land and animals than the others. He also had six children at the time of this census while none of the others had more than 4, a propensity to fertility that has already been remarked on in the more recent Halboth heritage.

The precise line of descent of our great-grandfather John Nicholas Halboth, father of Elise, has not been fully traced. There is a complication in that Marcus (Barbara's grandfather), according to information unearthed by Barbara, was an illegitimate (uneheliches) child adopted into the family by Christoph Halboth. It is, of course, possible that Marcos was biologically a Halboth; maybe that is why he was adopted. That would mean that Barbara at least would still be "eine echte Halboth". But for the moment our relationship to Barbara and to the earlier Halboths remains unclear.

The Cape Town Halboths