Join me on my Cemetery Searching expedition for the 2023 A to Z Blog Challenge. I’ll be re-visiting some cemeteries and preparing for a wish list of others. Some family members will be mentioned but I also have an interest in German family graves as well as those of people born in Co Clare Ireland.
Dorfprozelten emigrants
Among the 64 emigrants from Dorfprozelten in Bavaria in the mid-19th century were three families with the surname Zöller. Like all German names this can pose research problems as much because of the mis-transcription in indexes as the varied Anglicisation of the name. Two of these families arrived on the Darling Downs between 1855 and 1860: that of Joseph and Rosina Zöller and that of Franz Ignaz Zöller and his wife Catherine Beutel. The latter included a niece and nephew, children of Ignaz’s brother Franz Johann Xaver Zöller and wife Catherina Günzer. These are some of the graves for these early German pioneers.
Drayton and Toowoomba Cemetery
Joseph and Rosina Zöller (Zeller) are buried in the Toowoomba cemetery but if they have gravestones I don’t have a photo of them.
Franz Ignaz Zöller is also buried in this cemetery without a memorial.
Catherine Zöller remarried after Ignaz’s death to Christian Schollmayer (various spellings) and after his death to Christian Branniger/Brannigan. She died on 19 October 1912 and is buried in this cemetery.
Chinchilla Cemetery, Queensland
Four of John and Ann Zöller’s sons served in World War, two of whom, Thomas and George, gave their lives. They are remembered on the Chinchilla War Memorial.
Cabarlah Cemetery, Highfields, Queensland
Cemetery Searching Wishlist
Before too long I’d like to explore the Campbell’s Hill cemetery in Maitland, NSW for the third Zöller (Sellers) family of emigrants.
I’d particularly like to thank my readers for touring the cemeteries with me. Not everyone’s idea of fun, but they hold so much of our country’s history.
Family history across the seas 
Congratulations on completing another A to Z Challenge! Z is always tricky. Sad to see Joseph Michael Zöller‘s stone in pieces, but at least they’ve kept it in place (hopefully to be repaired). I was fascinated by your tour of Australian cemeteries and the many varieties of stones, graves and — of course — ancestral stories that you chronicled this month. Well done, thanks for your visits/comments to my blog, and hope to be visiting again during the coming year.
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Thanks Molly, I’ve appreciated your support and enjoyed your stories a lot. Interesting to compare lifestyle experiences for a peer in another country.
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Agree, I enjoyed the cemetery comparisons/contrasts between the US and Australia as well.
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Congratulations on another interesting series of A to Z posts.
I have a special soft spot for angels and Catherine’s angel is very sweet.
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Thanks Anne. We’ve done well to make it through though I still have reading and commenting to do including some of yours.
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What is the metal covered dome on the baby’s grave?
Congratulations on completing the Challenge wit your cemetery tour!
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It is covering an Immortelle, a glass dome filled with flowers. They date from about a hundred years ago and are fragile so it is special to see a survivor. I haven’t seen an import Elle protector before.
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Thanks Anne…I never knew their name but I remember seeing them often when I was young.
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Thanks Kristin for following along with me. I hadn’t known the official name but they were indeed very common when I was younger…I remember them on relatives’ graves.
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Congratulations on the final completion of Z in this A to Z challenge. I’ve enjoyed the read on your cemetery search… as I also enjoy cemetery searching. Sorry to see Joseph Michael Zöller‘s stone in pieces, but at least they did keep them on the gravesite. Thanks for visiting along with me also!
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Thanks for following along and commenting Jeanne. I’ve still got plenty of reading to follow up. Yes it’s sad to see when a stone is broken. I wonder if the family will have it repaired.
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Let’s hope so but unless a historian in family – no one might never visit
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I bet Catherine BRANNIGAN formerly Zöller and Schollmayer nee Beutel has some stories to tell – would love to hear them.
Congratulations on crossing the AtoZ line and thanks for satisfying my appetite for cemeteries. I am in awe of your headstone/grave collection – hope to see more as you continue on your blogging journey.
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Thanks Jill. I’m sure Catherine had so many life experiences but as always we’re subject to what survives. I will probably be adding a story about her life and Ignaz’s but it will be on my Dorfprozelten blog.
Thanks for following along with me.
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Hi Pauline, I have enjoyed every article on your Cemetery Searching exploration tour. I have relatives buried in many of these cemeteries, but alas none that you detailed. I have an Irish and German ancestry, so was very interested in your many German families. It is a great passion of mine visiting cemeteries, even when I have no know family in there. Thank you for sharing some of your families and other interesting burials.
Cheers, Christine
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Great Z post Pauleen. I have loved your AtoZ series this year. I’ve learnt new place names and have looked forward to reading your posts. This theme was a great idea and I might even steal the idea
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Thanks Jennifer…feel free to do similar for 2024.
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