Early Life in South Australia
Carl Otto Georg ADOLPH, born in 1863, was the seventh child of Friedrich August ADOLPH and Wilhelmine Christiane STEIF, and the first of their children to be born in South Australia. Baptised on June 21, 1863, at Friedrichswalde (formerly Little Plain), South Australia, church records noted that his parents were not congregation members. Later, when confirmed in the Catholic Church, the priest recorded;
“He has been a Lutheran, or at least supposed to be, but was never baptised in any church before.”
dismissing the Lutheran baptism. The priest also recorded his name as Otto James ADOLPH. On June 6, 1888, under the name Otto James ADOLPH, he married Ellen GOODFELLOW, daughter of Edward Goodfellow and Susan Collins, at the Marrabel Catholic Church, SA. At the time, Otto was a farmer in Marrabel.
Ellen ADOLPH, nee GOODFELLOW – Photo Ancestry.com.au
The Call of the Goldfields
In 1895, Otto, along with his brothers Ernst Friedrich Heinrich (known as Fritz or Fred) and Hugo, ventured to the Western Australian goldfields, drawn by the promise of fortune. By 1901, Otto and Ellen lived on Golconda Street, Kanowna, about 13 miles from Kalgoorlie. Otto worked as a miner at the White Feather Main Reef gold mine. Tragically, on November 15, 1904, Otto, aged 51, died after missing his footing and falling 80 feet down a winze—a shaft connecting mine levels—from the 800-foot level. An inquest followed, and he was laid to rest in Kanowna Cemetery.
The Western Argus described Otto as a well-respected, long-time Kanowna resident. His funeral notices reflected his community ties:
- Loyal Orange Institution, Earl of Hopetoun Lodge, No. 3: Members were requested to attend Otto’s funeral, departing from the White Feather Hospital at 3:30 p.m.
- Kanowna Miners Union (A.W.A.): Comrades were invited to join the procession, led by Secretary D.M. Wilson, for interment in the local cemetery.
Ellen returned to South Australia, remarried Henry Lutt in 1907, and passed away on March 1, 1955, in Glen Osmond, South Australia. The couple had no children.
Ernst Friedrich Heinrich (Fred) ADOLPH
Fred, born March 18, 1859, in Sommerfeld, Prussia, married Elizabeth MARSH, daughter of George Henry Marsh and Emma Sheppard, on February 2, 1885, at St. Phillips Church, south of Marrabel, SA. George Marsh worked as a station hand at Anlaby Station. Fred later served as the informant on Otto’s death certificate.
L-R – The three Adolph Brothers & family – Ernst Friedrich – his wife Elizabeth, Frederick William (boy) -Hugo – Mathilda “Tilly” – Carl Otto – c 1898 – Photo Ethel Marr.
