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The Research of Karen Slade

(August 30th 2014, report by Coralie Smith)

Karen Stade is a journalist who has worked in radio and newspaper but in more recent times has taken up writing freelance and in particular local history books. Tahunanui, Nelson Central and Richmond schools have all benefited from her writing of their centenaries.

Karen also wrote the book about Appo Hocton the Chinese immigrant who settled at Dovedale and a social history of Nelson called, Meet you at the Church Steps. She is working on a history of the Nelson Italian Community at the moment. Karen also helps with exhibitions for the Nelson Provincial Museum working on Kiwi Keith and WW1 exhibitions. Karen has retired as President of the Nelson Historical Society.

A keen genealogist, Karen and her sister Julie, with other German descendants, set off in May 2013 to explore the area that their families came from.

Karen's parents Pam and Fred Stade had done the genealogy so this was a trip to get a feel for being German. They landed in Frankfurt and made their way north to the Baltic Coast and the province of Mecklenburg an area that was part of East Germany until the fall of the Berlin Wall. It was the coldest spring ever on record so conditions not pleasant.

They visited churches, cemeteries and cathedrals where their Stade and Bockmann families had attended. They sat in the pews that were assigned to the family. They sat in the marriage chairs that Chistopher and his wife Amelia nee Rose would have been married in. They realised early on that they knew nothing of their German ancestry, not like the others on the tour of eight people, who were at least aware of the traditions and even spoke some of the language. Guide Barry Brown who is very experienced in taking tours of Germany was the interpreter.

The Stades were named for the city of Stade (pronounced Starda) but were actually from the tiny village of Rosenhagen. The three brothers were farm labourers when they left to come to NZ in 1857. The other two brothers were Hans(known as Fritz and he never married), and Johann or John.

The Stades were Lutheran who during the Reformation took over the Catholic churches, stripped them of their popery and finery leaving very plain interiors except for one in the town of Brook which was where the Bockman family came from. This one had the original frescoes although they were in need of restoration. Churches in Germany are much the same as elsewhere in the world in that the congregations are smaller, older and in need of money.

From Germany the two Stade sisters flew to Aberdeen, Scotland to visit the other side of their fathers family, the Drummonds of Comrey and Quaig. Karen was aware that there were several Drummond descendants in the audience who might know more than her but that wasn't the case. The highlight was visiting Quaig Cottage where Drummonds regularly roll up, knock on the door of the present tenant(not family) and ask if they can look around. It is in McGregor country and was originally part of the Murray estate.

John Drummond and his wife Marjorie nee McGregor came to NZ in 1855 settling in the Braeburn area of Lower Moutere. This is where in later generations a Stade married a Drummond. The Stades lived at Rosedale, Neudorf. Later generations left however and this is why Karen thinks that connection with their Germaness was broken.

Karen finished her Power Point programme by describing the next few generations down to herself and wondered what part of her was German and which Scots. She thought neither as she certainly didn't feel at home in Germany - they see things as black and white, and she knew the Scots were pretty dour and she thought she was neither of these.

 
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