I have so far been unsuccessful in tracing the parents of my great grandfather Johann Christian Mann or the father of his wife, my great grandmother, Johanne Louise Bradtke. Descendants of these unknown people could be as close as 3^rd cousins, but are more likely to be once or twice removed, due to the 139 years gap between my great grandfather and me.

Among my Ancestry matches, who have common DNA matches on my paternal line, are two who trace back to 123cM and 21cM respectively who trace back to Matthaus Silbernagel, born on 10 March 1784 in Pleisweiler, Sudliche Weinstrasse, Rheinland-Pfalz.

At 28 years of age, Matthaus Silbernagel married Anna Rosina Boy, aged 19 at Bentschen/Zbaszyn, Poznan on 22 November 1814. Anna Rosina Boy’s father was named as Friedrich Boy.

I am advised they had 7 children together, 6 girls and one boy and that only the 3 we know of. Dorothea, Wilhelmine and Pauline (with her mother Anna Rosina) came to South Australia, the other 4 remaining in Posen/Poznan. Two of the daughters passing away early at 18 and 25 years of age in Posen.

Anna Rosina Silbernagel, widow, aged 60, and Johanne Pauline Silbernagel, aged 20, from Steffanower Heuland are listed as passengers on the August, from Hamburg 5 May 1856, which arrived at Port Adelaide, 17 August 1856.

Anna Rosina died on 17 February 1870 at Lyndoch Valley, aged 75.

Anna Rosina Dorothea Silbernagel was married at age 19 to Wilhelm Haeusler on 1 December 1842 at the Evangelische Kirche Bentschen (Kreis Meseritz). Rosina Dorothea Silbernagel and her husband Johann Wilhelm Haeusler (an innkeeper from Boruy) and 4 children, together with her single younger sister Johanne Wilhelmine Silbernagel (listed as Wilhelmine Silberei from Boroy) arrived at Port Adelaide on 24 December 1851, on the Helena, which left Hamburg on 5 September 1851. Rosina Hauesler died at Minyip, Victoria in 1893.

On 11 May 1852 Johanne Willhemine Silbernagel married Johann August Schulz at Bethanien and had three children. The family lived a life of rural subsistence that involved growing vegetables, smoking meats, preserving fruits and working the land.  Johanne Wilhelminna died at Lyndoch, aged 72, on 26 March 1901. She left 5 sons and 4 daughters, 3 sons-in-law, 4 daughters-in-law, 24 grandchildren and a sister.

Johanne Pauline Silbernagel was born on 5 October 1836 and baptised 11 days later at Evangelische Kirche Bentschen (Kreis Meseritz). At 22 years of age, she was married on 22 April 1858 to Friedrich Thiele at the Church at Hoffnungstahl, South Australia. Johanna Pauline Thiele died on 5 June 1922 at the age of 85 at Sutherland, South Australia.

There are four other matches with Silbernagel in their family tree at 19, 16, 15 and 15cM in common.

Could Silbernagel be one of the missing links?