As far as John can remember, he came to Australia from Germany in 1878 on the ship Eduard. This is proven by the “Application for Certificate of Naturalization”.
But the ship list does not list John Le Mears, but a 24-year-old Johannes Meyer from Hamburg.
It is reasonable to assume that his name was changed to Mears due to the different pronunciation and spelling from German to English. But is there any proof for this theory?
Source Shiplist: https://www.archives.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/831875/GRG35_48_1_78-10_Eduard.pdf
Let’s take a closer look at his marriage certificate. John stated his parents as Henriette Isenhorst and Heinrich Le Mears, his father’s occupation: teacher. Since Meyer is a common name in Germany, it is worth researching Isenhorst in Hamburg first. And I actually found what I was looking for. The matching death certificate for Henriette Christiana Margarete Meyer, née Isenhorst, can be found in Ancestry. She was married to the carpenter Heinrich August Meyer. Did Tischler become Teacher? There are also entries about Isenhorst in the Hamburg archive. Including Henriette Christiana Margaretha.
Why John called himself Le Mears and what the Le is all about is currently still a mystery…
There will be an update soon after the visit of the Hamburg Archiv in January 2024.
Below is the transcription from the death certificate:
Nr. 477
Hamburg on 9. Mai 1900.
The unmarried Sophia Friederike Johanna Meyer, a teacher, living in Hamburg, Treskowstreet 9, appeared before the undersigned registrar today, personality recognized by a birth certificate, and indicated that the widow Henriette Christiana Margaretha Meyer, born Isenhorst, without Business, 78 years, 9 months old, Lutheran religion, lives in Hamburg, together with her, born in Hamburg, married to the recent deceased master carpenter Heinrich August Meyer, daughter of the spouses who died in Hamburg, merchant Otto Friederich Isenhorst and Christina Margaretha born Kiencken, in Hamburg, died in the mentioned apartment on the eighth of May in the year one thousand nine hundred at three and half o’clock in the afternoon.
Read out, approved and signed:
Sophia Meyer
The registrar
Kellner
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