Catharina Dorothea Naugardt
Image: Richard White
FatherPeter Thomas Naugardt b. 15 Apr 1814
MotherAnna Johanna Hansen b. 1820, d. 15 Sep 1874
Pedigree

Birth, Death, Marriage

Catherina Dorothea Naugardt was born on 31 January 1843 in Flensburg, Schleswig, Denmark.1,2,3 
She married Magnus Ferdinand Elchior Riedell on 8 September 1867 in Melbourne, Victoria.4,2 
She died on 19 August 1908 in Tallygaroopna, Victoria, at age 65.5,6,7 

Family

Magnus Ferdinand Elchior Riedell b. 1 Jul 1836, d. 2 Jul 1924
Children

Story

Catherina Dorothea was born in Flensborg/Flensberg (Danish/German spelling) in the duchy of Schleswig, Denmark on 31 January 1843. She was the oldest child of Anna and Peter.3,2
 
In the early records 'Naugardt' is sometimes spelled 'Naugaardt' and translates to 'New Garden'.3
 
Mother Mystery
Sisters Anna Margaretha and Catherina Dorothea Naugardt created a mystery for family history researchers. On both their marriage registrations, they give their mother as Anna Decker, though other documents have Anna Hansen. Some certificates also have Anna Deager.

On Anna's 1904 death registration, her mother is now Anna Hansen. On Catherina's 1908 death registration, her mother is Anna Deager.

A researcher in Germany looked in the Flensburg records and confirmed that their mother is Anna Johanna Hansen.8,2,9,5,10,7
 
We have researcher Richard White to thank for solving most of the mystery as he commissioned the research in Germany. In March 2009, he wrote:

It does settle the family indecisions as to whether Anna Margaretha & Catherine Dorothea were full sisters and that their mother was Anna Johanna Hansen but there is no explanation as to why the both listed Anna Decker as their mother on the marriage register.

Richard is a grandson of Catherina Riedell (Naugardt), through Lilian Catherina White (Riedell). Sadly, Richard Dane White died in September 2015 on his 87th birthday.10,11
 
Turbulent Schleswig
Schleswig is an area connecting Denmark and Germany. It has been disputed for hundreds of years.

In the early 1800s, Aastrup, Toftlund and Flensborg (German spelling: Flensburg) were all part of Denmark.

In the First Schleswig War 1848-1851, the Danes repelled the Germans. Laust Larsen, Magnus Riedell, and Anna and Catherina Naugardt were all children.

Following the 1864 Second Schleswig War, Schleswig became part of Prussia (within the German Empire). So Aastrup remained in Denmark, but Toftlund and Flensburg were now part of Germany. Laust Larsen was 21 years old, Magnus Riedell 27, Anna Naugardt 16 and Catherina Naugardt 21.

See map showing Aastrup, Toftlund and Flensburg. Aastrup is about 45 km north of Toftlund. Toftlund is about 50 km north of Flensburg.12,13,14
 
Emigration
Magnus Riedell had left the troubles in Denmark behind in late 1963 to make his fortune on the Victorian goldfields. At the time, neither he nor Catherina would have known she was pregnant. Son Magnus was born in Copenhagen in late April the following year.

Having established himself on the goldfields, Magnus sent Catherina a letter asking her to come to Australia. She made arrangements to travel with young son Magnus and a friend, Ester Appel.

They travelled from Hamburg to Liverpool where they boarded the Lightning, bound for Melbourne. 'Madam' and Magnus 'Ridel' arrived in Melbourne in September 1867. Though not married at the time, it may have been safer travelling as a married woman.15,16
 
Marriage and Family
Catherina had just stepped off the ship when she and Magnus were married at the Lutheran church in Melbourne in September 1867.

Son Magnus, known later as Manna, was born in Denmark. Magnus (snr) had left Denmark not knowing Catherina was pregnant. Five children, three girls and two boys, were born in Fryers Creek/Vaughan. Two more girls and a boy were born in the Shepparton area.2,15
 
Their early married life on the goldfields must have seemed totally foreign. Not only were they now in an English-speaking country, but the immediate area was host to large communities of Chinese, Irish and Italians. This 1868 photo of nearby Vaughan is as they would have seen it.17
Vaughan 1868
Image: Shire of Mount Alexander
From Goldfields to Farmland
In the summer of 1876-77, the Larsen and Riedell families travelled by wagon from Fryers Creek to Congupna. Laust and Anna Margaretha had two children, Anna Caroline and Andrew. Magnus and Catherina had six children, Magnus jnr., Wilhelmina, Peter, Charles, Annie and five month old Matilda. As well as twelve people, the wagons were loaded with all the posessions of two families plus supplies for the approximately 180 km journey.16
 
Family Life
Magnus had prepared sites and basic accommodation in Congupna, but with two growing families, work began on more substantial homes.16
 
Magnus named his property Toftlund after his place of birth.16,18
 
On 29 June 1877, within a few months of arriving in the area, Laust and Magnus were signatories to a petition to the Minister of Education calling for a school in the Congupna parish. Petitioners included their children between the ages of four and fourteen who would attend.

The small school, Congupna State School No. 2164, was opened in July 1879.

All the Larsen and Riedell children attended the Congupna township school.19,20
 
Around 1897, Magnus, Catherina and youngest daughter, nine year old Lillian, moved to Melbourne to live. Lilian had finished at the one-roomed Congupna school and continued her education in Melbourne.

In a 1975 letter to her family, Lilian said it was a bit of a lonely time coming from a big household in the country to be only three in the big city. After about four years, Catherina bought a nearby property and built a spacious house. They were not there long as Catherina's health began to fail. So they built yet another house, this time in Tallygaroopna where Minna and Anna and their families lived.16
Magnus Riedell family home, Tallygaroopna
Image: Tallygaroopna Times & Tales 1990
It has been reported that Magnus and Catherina built the home for their retirement and lived there until their deaths. The house still stands [1998], next to the school.21
 

Citations

  1. [S146] Edwardian Index Victoria 1902-1913: Indexes to births deaths and marriages in Victoria, CD-ROM, Macbeth Genealogical Services, 1997, 'Cath Dorothea' Riedell entry, death registration no. 11967, 1908.
  2. [S457] Magnus Ferdinand Elkjer Riedell and Catharina Naugardt, marriage registration no. 3237, 8 September 1867.
  3. [S453] Naugardt Ancestry, family tree, 2009.
  4. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, 'Magnus Ferdinand Ell' Riedell and Catharina Naugardt entry, marriage registration no. 3237, 1867.
  5. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, 'Cath Dorothea' Riedell entry, death registration no. 11967, 1908.
  6. [S474] Magnus Riedell & Catherina Naugardt, family history, 1999.
  7. [S495] Catherina Dorothea Riedell, death registration no. 11967, 19 August 1908.
  8. [S4] Laust Larsen and Margaretha Naugardt, marriage registration no. 4562, 10 December 1870.
  9. [S116] Anna Margaretha Larsen, death registration no. 10704, 24 September 1904.
  10. [S83] Richard White, personal communication, 19 March 2009.
  11. [S83] Richard White, personal communication, email from wife Naida, 16 October 2018.
  12. [S246] 'First Schleswig War', Wikipedia, online, webpage, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 12 December 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Schleswig_War
  13. [S246] 'Second Schleswig War', Wikipedia, online, webpage, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 12 December 2017, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Schleswig_War
  14. [S246] 'Flensburg', Wikipedia, online, webpage, Wikimedia Foundation, viewed 12 December 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flensburg
  15. [S40] Unassisted Passenger Lists 1852-1923, online index, PROV, 'Madam Ridel' entry, ship Lightning, 1867.
  16. [S89] The Riedell Family, letter, 1975.
  17. [S481] Heritage Study of the Shire of Newstead, Stage 2: Section 2, Environmental History, report prepared by Phil Taylor, May 2004.
  18. [S220] 'Marriages: Riedell-Gifford', The Argus, 1848-1957, newspaper, Argus Office, 11 September 1926, p. 17, viewed 13 December 2017, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/3808510
  19. [S79] The Centenary of Congupna Schools and District 1884-1984, Congupna Centenary Committee, 1984, p. 5.
  20. [S79] 'The early days of the Larsen family: Congupna', The Centenary of Congupna Schools and District 1884-1984, Congupna Centenary Committee, 1984, p. 19, story by Ursula Reynolds.
  21. [S237] Early Families of Shepparton and District, Shepparton Family History Group, 1998, Pell, Margaret, 'The Riedells', p. 144.
  22. [S131] Under Different Skies, book, p. 225.
  23. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Peter Frederick Riedell entry, birth registration no. 19943, 1870.
  24. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Charles Riedell entry, birth registration no. 12720, 1872.
  25. [S17] Tallygaroopna and District Times and Tales: Published to mark the occasion of the centenary of Tallygaroopna primary school 3067, 1890-1990, Tallygaroopna school council, 1991.
  26. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Matilda Riedell entry, birth registration no. 26425, 1876.
  27. [S270] Victorian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, registry and index, Eda Riedell entry, birth registration no. 5514, 1879.
  28. [S3] Victorian Pioneer Index 1836-1888, CD-ROM, Macbeth Genealogical Services, 1998, birth registration no. 5480.