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 Wadern^5,301.  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:

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:

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:

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:

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