The People.

Rudolf and Annie Ziehl were of German descent. Both their parents emigrated from Germany and settled in East London, South Africa, in 1857 and 1858. When Rudolf and Annie left South Africa to farm in Rusape, Rhodesia, they took with them a mix of their German/South African heritage, which influenced future generations.  

Four of Rudolf and Annie’s seven children lived to adulthood and married in Rhodesia. However, only the youngest son, Leonard (Lenny) Carl Ziehl, continued to live in Rusape. His parent’s farm, Recondite, was divided to make two farms. Leonard and his family lived on the portion called Alpha Farm, while his parents continued to live on what was left of Recondite Farm. It is mainly Leonard’s family and his descendants who are the subject of this blog.

Lenny and Susan Ziehl with children Lorna, Sylvia, Kenneth and Gerald, about 1945.

Lenny and Susan Ziehl with adult children, spouses and grandchildren on Alpha Farm in 1957.

 

Some of Lenny and Susan Ziehl’s grandchildren, their spouses,

and great-grandchildren, on Harrisonville Farm in 1995.

Many of Lenny and Susan’s great-grandchildren, in the above picture, now have children of their own. Today, there is only one member of the entire Ziehl family living in Rusape. Next week I will give an overview of what happened to the family.

The Place.

According to family tradition, Rudolf and Annie Ziehl had a few options as to where they could settle in Rhodesia. It was either on Avondale Farm near Salisbury, the capital city (now a suburb of Harare), or 110 miles (170 km) south-east of Salisbury, near the railway siding of Rusape. Rudolf and Annie chose to settle near Rusape.

When the family got to Rusape, conditions were primitive. There were just a few European farmers, tradesmen and railwaymen in the area, apart from local tribesmen. People had to shoot their own meat for the pot, and sort out their mail, weekly, at the railway station. The farm “Recondite”, on which Rudolf and Annie settled, was about 5 miles west of the town. They used a mule cart for transport.

A visitor to Rusape in 1905 described the town as such:

“We had time to look at Umtali, then only a sketchy village with the Parkington Hotel alone in its glory at the Railway end and the newly erected Railton, then on to Rusape through a totally uninhabited area of grass and scrub, no signs of farms and few of traders at the sidings on route. Rusape town appeared more civilized with a hotel, the accommodation being six or eight grass huts and a tin dining room and bar.  The rest of the town consisted of a collection of huts some selling goods, others produce, but the town was important from the point of view that it boasted a railway siding for use by the farmers to import and sell goods.” [1]

In her notes about her husband, Herbert Barnes Pope, who settled near Rusape in about 1901, Lydia (Ziehl) Pope, Rudolf and Annie Ziehl’s daughter, wrote:

“Having no means of transport H. B. P. for several years rode a horse named Coffee known to everyone as he liked his beer [       ]  and would not depart from Rusape without his drink. On one occasion returning home from a farmers meeting in Rusape, Coffee eager to be home came to a sudden stop along the road among the Granite Hills and [   ]  H. B. P. was thrown to the ground - not many yards away were two lions eating a dead cow - . With great presence of mind Pope managed to get away making a wide detour, leaving the lions to their feast.” [2]

In a letter dated 7 June 1922,  Rudolf’s cousins, Hans and Hannah Zimmer, from Germany, wrote to him saying, " According to your information it appears that things are not so easy going on your farm and furthermore your lives seem to be endangered. Is it not possible that you might be killed on account of the many wild animals?" [3]

I remember my father, Ken Ziehl, telling us stories about going hunting with his grandfather, Rudolf Ziehl, and setting traps for leopard. I also remember the lion skin mat on the floor of my father’s office, next to the kitchen, when we were young. It was a tatty hide, with fur missing and black holes where the eyes should have been. My mother disliked it and eventually disposed of it. I never knew who shot it, but I guess it must have been my great-grandfather, Rudolf Ziehl. We lived in his original farmhouse, but by the time I was born my parents had improved it considerably.

As I search through bits of information I have on my ancestors, for this blog, I find myself remembering things I have heard in the past, which I have not thought about for years. I hope through adding information from my own sources, and from family members, we can create a better understanding of who our ancestors were, and have a greater appreciation for the time and place in which we lived.

Rudolf and Annie Ziehl's house on Recondite Farm many years after they built it. Seen in the picture, in 1957, is Rosemary (Baines) Ziehl, wife of  Kenneth Ziehl, grandson of Rudolf and Annie Ziehl.

[1] Cynthia Ziehl, “A Hundred Years of the Ziehls,” manuscript, Harare, Zimbabwe, p 14 and 15.
[2] Lydia (Ziehl) Pope, notes about the life of her husband, Herbert Barnes Pope, an early settler in Rusape, Rhodesia. In the possession of their granddaughter Maxine (Pope) Rees, New Zealand. A copy held by Deborah (Ziehl) Mocke, Provo, Utah.
[3] Letter to Rudolf and Anni Ziehl from Hans and Hannah Zimmer in Germany, dated  7 June 1922. Copy in the possession of Deborah (Ziehl) Mocke.

We are profoundly affected by the time in which we live, the place where we live, and the people we associate with. As we move, we change. I think we are placed on this earth at a time, in a place, and with a people where we can best learn lessons necessary for our progression. If we do not learn these lessons, we are bound to repeat them. Through this blog, I hope to capture a time, a place and a people who had a great impact on one other.

The Time.

During the latter part of the 19^th century, the area immediately north of South Africa was being colonized; spearheaded by the ambitions of Cecil John Rhodes, whose name the territory bore - Rhodesia. As Europeans moved into the area, they came into conflict with the local inhabitants, but due to superior weapons and technology, at that time, they managed to subdue them.

It was in the early years of colonization, that Rudolf Friedrich Wilhelm Ziehl and his wife Annie Sohpia Rosa (Rau) and their six living children moved to Rhodesia, from East London, South Africa. They hoped to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Rhodes and the British South Africa Company (BSAC).

                         Rudolf and Annie Ziehl on their 50th Anniversary in 1938

A glimpse into what was happening at that time, in Rhodesia, can be found at the following websites:

http://zimfieldguide.com/manicaland/pieter-lourens-van-der-byl%E2%80%99s-grave-mona-farm

http://zimfieldguide.com/manicaland/mary-blackwood-lewis%E2%80%99s-letters-her-journey-mashonaland-beira-1897-1901