German Immigrants c. 1883 KNEBEL

[kiwipom]

I believe we have a family connection to a German immigrant family in Bethnal Green.
The Head of Family, Wife and first child are recorded in the 1891 census as "German Resident". Subsequent children are born in England so it appears 1883 is the entry period.
.
The Christian names we have are Richard but appear on census as Rudolph, so I assume there was some pacifying of the names.

Was there any registration for immigrants around the 1880-1890 period that might reveal the origin of these immigrants? All we have at present is 'Germany'.

Thanks
Tony

[Gaie]

Hi Tony

It is possible that your Richard/Rudolph may have applied to be naturalised.  These papers can give us a lot more information.  You can search the records at the National Archives:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/

Click the "Search the archives" tab at the top of the page.

Click "Advanced search".

Enter the name you are looking for in "all these words".

In the "Source" section further down the page select "one or more of the following sources"; tick "Moving Here".

Click "search" and see what comes up.

(Naturalisation certificates 1870-1969 come under NA reference HO334).

Have you found the family in the 1901/1911 censuses?

Kind regards
Gaie

[kiwipom]

Thank you Gaie

Yes  I found the family in 1901 but I have not yet used 1911.
The son who is of most interest to us was in the Army for WW1 as was his brother, both born in england. Their Service Records give no clues to their Parents birthplace.
however I'll try the TNA and see what emerges.

Thanks
Tony

[jorose]

If the head of the family was b. Germany and still living by WWI he may have been an internee.
In 1911 I think you'll find Rudolph indexed as "KNELD" in Bethnal Green.

You might have more luck looking for the birthplace of the first born child - can you trace him/her forwards?
What was the maiden name of the mother?
Also, do you know the religion of the family?

[Angela K S]

Hello there Tony, I know this thread is 5 years ago now but I hope you read this, I believe Rudolph Knebel is my great great grandfather and I can trace him back like this: my father is Peter, my grandfather's name is Arnold, then his father was Henry (I believe his full name was Henry William Rudolph) and then my great great grandfather was Rudolph (I believe his full name was Karl Heinrich Rudolph and he emigrated from Germany to London in the 1800s), my grandfather told me our ancestors 'dropped the von' from the name when emigrating to England, and he also told me one of our ancestors was a friend of Goethe, having done some research I believe this to be Karl Ludwig von Knebel, but whether he was a direct or indirect ancestor am not sure ..am trying to find out whereabouts in Germany Rudolph came from (my great uncle Martin thinks it may be the Ulm area, south Germany) and who his parents were, and how the family tree all fits together!  Please do get in touch and we can compare family notes, Angela Sharman nee Knebel, in the UK

[kiwipom]

HiAngela
Thanks for your very interesting reply.
This family is actually my son in laws family.
There are very few Knebels in NZ but we found an Emile in Gisborne, who was a merchant seaman.
We believe Richard may have originally been named Rudolph after his Father but WW1 changed that.
His brother Henry fought in WW1 for the British.
We believe that Richard married Alice Dutton in Eastborne in 1919 before they migrated to NZ. (have Marriage Cert).
Then we just have the info from the1891 census of Bethnal Green.
Just change the dot to . and the at to @ if you are interested.
moonrakerdottonyatgmaildotcom
Thank you for your reply nothing is ever too late.

[jennyauckland]

Hi guys,
Richard and Alice were my grandparents. They had four children all born here in New Zealand Basil, David, Edwin and Shirley (my mother). We do not have much info regarding them before they arrived in NZ and would be interested to find out more. I was always told my grandfathers birth name was Rudolf and was later changed to Richard. Cheers, Jenny

[Angela K S]

Hi there Jenny,

I believe I can help you with some info - I'm Rudolf/Richard's brother Henry's great grand-daughter and I've been collecting some family info - please email me on aek777@live.com and I can share the info I do have and we could compare notes, best, Angela Sharman nee Knebel, UK