Our Cousins in Brazil

When our Zöhler cousins immigrated to Brazil, they settled in Walachai, Morro Reuter.  A brief description of Walachai taken from Wikipedia reads as follows:

Walachai, sometimes also called Walachei, is a village in the municipality of Morro Reuter, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul and particularly the formed mainly by descendants of German immigrants.  Most residents learn the Germanic dialect of Riograndense as their mother tongue and later learn Portuguese at school.  The region is located just over 100km from the state capital, Porto Alegre.

The information presented here was comes from the Civil and Church records for the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul available at FamilySearch.  The records give a limited outline of the family of Johann Zöhler and Elisabetha Schuh.  The spelling Zoehler is the most common spelling of family members found in the records and is used here for all family members born in Brazil and occasionally for those born in Germany.  In addition, the names Johann and Nicolaus are most often replaced by the Brazilian equivalents João and Nicoláo respectively.

It is important to note that in Brazil a civil ceremony is required for a marriage to be legal. Religious ceremonies may also be performed, but they are not legally recognized. Marriages reported here are Civil Marriages, unless otherwise noted.

The Family of João Zoehler and Elisabetha Schuh


Johann Zoehler was born on February 14, 18093, in the village of Mettnich, located in the Saar region of Germany.  He was the third child of Johann Zoehler and Maria Becker.  Johann grew up in Mettnich, where he received his education.  Any formal education was supplemented by work on his parents farm, where he learned the skills he used throughout his married life.

On February 4, 1835, Johann married Elisabetha Schuh at Wadern5,301.  Elisabetha was born on July 25, 1809, at Oberlöstern, the daughter of Matthias Adam Schuh and Christina Schneider; she was the widow of Nikolaus Knapp301.  Initially, Johann and Elisabetha settled in Oberlöstern, where their first child was born.  They later moved to Mettnich, where their next two children were born3.

In 1846, Johann and Elisabetha decided to leave Germany.  The records of the Government Office at Nonnweiler, show that the family planed to emigrate to America302.  In the end, however, Johann and Elisabetha went to Brazil, along with their children Johann and Nikolaus.  They settled in an area of southern Brazil where many German immigrants lived which might help explain the change in their plans.

Johann and Elisabetha settled in Walachei, Morro Reuter, Brazil, where he was a farmer301 and where their addition children were born.

Johann died on November 2, 1873304, and Elisabetha died on April 9, 1882304.

The children of Johann and Elisabetha are:


i. Johann Zoehler Johann was born on December 3, 1835, at Oberlöstern5, and he died on June 20, 1909303.  João married (1) Margarida Lenz and (2) Isabel Bickell.
ii. Maria Zoehler Maria was born on October 4, 1838, at Mettich3.
iii. Nicolaus Zoehler Nicolaus was born on February 12, 1843, at Mettnich3.  Nicolaus married Catharina Rambo.
iv. Elisabetha Zoehler Elisabetha married José Zilles.
v. Margarida Zoehler Margarida married Antonio Habel.



The Family of Nicolaus Zoehler and Catharina Rambo


Nicolaus Zoehler was born at Mettnich on February 12, 18433, the son of Johann Zoehler and Elisabetha Schuh.  His early years were spent with his parents in Mettnich.  In 1846, at age three, he accompanied his parents to Brazil, where they settled in the small town of Walachei in Morro Reuter.  On an unknown date, Nicoláo married Catharina Rambo, the daughter of João Rambo and Margarida Hentz304.

The known children of Nicoláo and Catharina are:


i. Catharina Zoehler Catharina was born on May 6, 1877304.
ii. João Zoehler João was born on December 5, 1879304.



The Family of José Zilles and Elisabetha Zoehler


Elisabetha Zoehler was born in Brazil, and married José Zilles before 1867304.  José was the son of José Zilles and Maria Catharina Wehren

The known children of José and Elisabetha are:


i. José Zilles José was born on November 25, 1867304.
ii. Nicoláo Zilles Nicoláo was born on September 4, 1869304.
iii. Margarida Zilles Margarida was born on October 16, 1871304.
iv. Amalia Zilles Amalia was born on June 12, 1876 304.
v. João Zilles João was born on November 25, 1878 304.



The Family of Antonio Habel and Margarida Zoehler


Margarida Zoehler married Antonio Habel on May 6, 1879 in a Church ceremony304.  Antonio was the son of Wenceslao Habel and Maria Anna Gotteck.

The known children of Antonio and Margarida are:


i. Pedro José Habel Pedro was born on August 5, 1880304.
ii. Antonio Habel Antonio was born on August 6, 1884304.

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