Much as we always knew that the Naysmith side of the family was unequivocally of Scots origin, it was also interesting to discover more Scots ancestry on our paternal grandmother's side a few generations back, namely the Williamsons and Mackenzies. It now appears that our maternal German side of the family has an equally legitimate claim to Scots heritage. Go figure.
Johann Heinrich Christophe Baucke, of whom much has already been discovered and written about, married Maria Muller (Mueller) (1821 - 1866) a German nurse who arrived at the Chathams Islands pretty much as marriage fodder for any one of the resident Lutheran missionaries - of whom she chose / accepted Johann Heinrich Christophe Baucke.
Now, I've just discovered a bit of information on Maria's ancestry - which leads us back to Scotland.
- Maria's mother was Wilhelmine Muller (born Sprengel) (1787 - 1874 - I wonder if she ever discovered that she outlived her daughter.)
- Wilhelmine Sprengel - Muller's mother (our Maria's grandmother) was Wilhelmine Concordia Sprengel (born Forster) (b. 1760)
- Wilhelmine Concordia Forster-Sprengel's father was Johann Reinhold Forster (1729 - 1798). Forster didn't seem like a particularly Prussian or Polish name. Turns out Johann Rienhold's ancestors emigrated from Scotland (there is some reference to emigrating from Yorkshire) in approximately 1642.
Long story short . . . Johann Reinhold Forster was, amongst other things, a botanist and scientist and, in 1772, was appointed naturalist on Captain Cook's second voyage of discovery, on the Resolution, accompanied by his son Georg Forster. He was appointed after Joseph Banks, Daniel Solander and James Lind pulled out. Learning more about the voyage, and the conditions which Forster endured - it's easy to see why Banks et al were none to keen on the voyage.
More about Johann and Georg soon - but don't get to excited about our illustrious ancestry - it seems that poor Johann was not a popular passenger, and Cook's opinion of him is easily reflected in the lack of mention of him in Cook's journals . . . it's fascinating stuff.
His portrait (with his son Georg) is hanging in the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, and, it seems there is also a portrait in the London National Portrait Gallery.
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| The French/ Italian artist Jean Rigaud (1742–1810) painted this portrait of Johann Reinhold Forster and his son Georg in London, though the setting is in New Zealand. Johann is depicted with a sprig of Forstera sedifolia tucked in his hatband and a bellbird (Anthornis melanura) in his hand; specimens of a wattlebird, a saddleback and a honeyeater lie lifeless on the ground. |
