Although we have no photo of Heinrich Wilhelm Maria von Zuccalmaglio, we have this beautiful photo of his daughter, Gertrudes von Zuccalmaglio and her husband, João Adolino Lauffer. They were married in Brazil on Apr 28, 1934. Sitting on Gertrude's lap is their two year old granddaughter, Ester, the daughter of Maria Helena Lauffer and Harald Zerfas. The photo was taken in 1981.

The DESCENDANTS of Heinrich Wilhelm Maria von Zuccalmaglio are below.

Heinrich von Zuccalmaglio could trace his family line back 11 generations to his 9th great-grandfather, Clemente de Zuccalmaglio, who was born about 1470 in Italy.

This old Italian family called the Lombardy area of Italy home as far back as 1405. Generations later, Heinrich's 2nd great grandfather, Antonio Simeon von Zuccalmaglio, was born at Caprino Veronese, Veneta, Italy, on Jul 27, 1712. Antonio Simeon lost his parents early, which probably contributed to his decision to leave his native country and became a page on the electoral residence at Bonn, Rheinland, Germany and later at the electoral residence at Düsseldorf, Germany where he was favored by the Electress, Maria Anna Josepha, half sister of the emperor Leopold I, a distant relative of him. Eventually he was made head of an Electoral Palatinate Cavalry Regiment.

We can't know if Antonio Simeon von Zuccalmaglio's accomplishments had any influence on his 2nd great grandson, Heinrich Wilhelm Maria von Zuccalmaglio, or if the family DNA was the force that determined Heinrich's self reliance and courage. Either way, he bravely sought his fortune, like his grandfather, in an unlikely new country, far from home. The question "why" will always be in our minds.

 
ESTER ZERFAS'S ORAL HISTORY
Heinrich Wilhelm Maria von Zuccalmaglio's great-granddaughter, Ester Zerfas, knows part of the story. Ester relates: "...he left home expelled for stealing an apple when he was between 16 and 18 years old." She does not believe that he ever returned home. She continues "When he was expelled from home, he went to the USA, probably with his cousin and must have stayed in the USA for about 1 or 2 years. Probably he must have had good news from Brazil, or received some job offer. I don't know that part. He came to Brazil and went straight to the port of Rio Grande, where he worked at the French bank." Nothing much is known during the next period of his life. On Jan 04, 1899, he married Margaretha Elisabeth Eckhard and they raised 4 children over the next 23 years." Margaretha was the daughter of a German, who also lived in Rio Grande/Pelotas. At the time this was a single city. He had a good house and managed to have a very good life until Valeria's death."

"Valerie, a daughter, was their first born, arriving soon after their marriage. Valerie "went to Germany to study, but on the trip back to Brazil, she ended up dying in a train accident. As far as I could tell, she was run over by a train at the station. This left Heinrich very badly. To complete, his wife, at this time, was bitten by a scorpion and became very ill."

"He had a financial problem and had to donate his children to pay debts to Margareth's brothers. He managed to recover financially a few years later. He had a pottery (brick and tile factory) in Taquara together with a partner, but that partner stole from him and fled to São Paulo. Later he was arrested. But again Heinrich is poor. He was never able to have his children living with him again.

After this robbery, he went to live in Osório. In 1943 he was arrested for being German. Brazil had entered the 2nd world war and many Germans were arrested and their property revoked by the state. With my great-grandfather it was no different. He lost what little he still had. He was imprisoned for 3 years. By the end of the war, he was already old, sick, poor and without the family with him. Aunt Paula [Heinrich's granddaughter, Berta Paula (von Zuccalmaglio) Rossol] was one of the children who most stayed with him at the end, as far as I understood. She passed away in 1997."

Courtesy of Ester Zerfas - Rio de Janeiro, Brail. May 2020

1. HEINRICH WILHELM MARIA1 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO was born Jul 18, 1876 in Krefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, and died Mar 27, 1958 in Osorio, Brazil. He emigrated to Brazil in 1890. He married MARGARETHA ELISABETH ECKHARD Jan 04, 1899 in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She was born Oct 09, 1877, the daughter of Carl Eckhard and Elisabeth Sander. She died in Brazil.
Children of HEINRICH VON ZUCCALMAGLIO and MARGARETHA ECKHARD are:

    i. VALERIA2 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO, b. Aug 1900, Brazil; d. 1923, Brazil.
2. ii. BERTA PAULA VON ZUCCALMAGLIO, b. Jan 26, 1906, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; d. 1997, Brazil.
3. iii. GERTRUDES VON ZUCCALMAGLIO, b. Sep 07, 1915, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; d. 2002, Porto Alegre,         Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
4. iv. OSCAR FERDINANDO VON ZUCCALMAGLIO

2. BERTA PAULA2 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO was born Jan 26, 1906 in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and died 1997 in Brazil. She married ADOLFO ROSSOL. He was born Feb 22, 1904 in Brazil, and died Feb 25, 1979 in Brazil.
Children of BERTA VON ZUCCALMAGLIO and ADOLFO ROSSOL are:

i. BRUNO3 ROSSOL married NEUSA BITENCOURT
ii. ROBERTO ROSSOL married IRAIDES POSOMAI. They have five children.
iii. OSVALDO ROSSOL, b. Jun 09, 1946, Brazil; m. IOLANDA OLIVEIRA, Dec 24, 1968, Brazil; b. Nov 28, 1948, Brazil. He has three children

3. GERTRUDES2 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO was born Sep 07, 1915 in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, and died 2002 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. She married JOÃO ADOLINO LAUFFER Apr 28, 1934 in Brazil. He was born Jun 25, 1908, and died 1999 in Tres Coroas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Children of GERTRUDES VON ZUCCALMAGLIO and JOÃO LAUFFER are:

5.    i. CARLOS3 LAUFFER
6.    ii. IRIS DELFINA LAUFFER.
       iii. JONAS THIMATEO LAUFFER, b. Sep 18, 1942, Brazil; d. Mar 1946, Brazil.
7.    iv. MARIA HELENA LAUFFER
       v. PAULO MARCO LAUFFER, b. 1939, Brazil; d. Aug 10, 1944, Brazil.

4. OSCAR FERDINANDO2 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO. He married NORMA NICODEMO in Brazil.
Children of OSCAR VON ZUCCALMAGLIO and NORMA NICODEMO are:

8.   i. HENRIQUE PEDRO3 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO
9.  ii. MARGARIDA MARIA VON ZUCCALMAGLIO

5. CARLOS3 LAUFFER was born Apr 04, 1936 in Tres Coroas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He married MARIA EDNALVA GOMES NASCIMENTO Jul 11, 1962 in Brazil. She was born Oct 29, 1940 in Brazil, and died 2001.
Children of CARLOS LAUFFER and MARIA NASCIMENTO are:

        i. CARLOS TULIO4 LAUFFER
10.   ii. LISA CHRISTINA LAUFFER

6. IRIS DELFINA3 LAUFFER married LUIS CARLOS CORREA.
Children of IRIS LAUFFER and LUIS CORREA are:

      i. IVANOR LUIZ4 CORREA married Vera Unknown. They have 2 children
11. ii. JUAN CARLOS CORREA
12. iii. EVANDRO JOEL CORREA
      iv. IVANA LAUFFER CORREA, b. 1983, Canela, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil; m. FABIANA FUNK.

7. MARIA HELENA3 LAUFFER married HARALD ZERFAS in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. He was born May 05, 1940 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and died 1994 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Child of MARIA LAUFFER and HARALD ZERFAS is:

   i. ESTER4 ZERFAS. Her blog http://aoseutempo.blogspot.com

8. HENRIQUE PEDRO3 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO was born Jun 29, 1939 in Brazil. He married JACY ESTER SOUSA Dec 28, 1968 in Brazil. She was born Jul 04, 1938 in Brazil.
Children of HENRIQUE VON ZUCCALMAGLIO and JACY SOUSA are:

   i. ENRIQUE PEDRO4 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO
   ii. GERALDO VON ZUCCALMAGLIO
   iii. FERDINANDO VON ZUCCALMAGLIO

9. MARGARIDA MARIA3 VON ZUCCALMAGLIO married JOSE CASTIEL BAS
Children of MARGARIDA VON ZUCCALMAGLIO and JOSE BAS are:

   i. JOSE CASTIEL4 BAS II
   ii. MARIA DO CARMO BAS

10. LISA CHRISTINA4 LAUFFER married WILLIAM ASSUMPSÃO
Children of LISA LAUFFER and WILLIAM ASSUMPSÃO are:

   i. EDUARDO HENRIQUE5 ASSUMPSÃO
   ii. BETINE LUIZE ASSUMPSÃO.

11. JUAN CARLOS4 CORREA married ANGELA JACOB HINRICH WILKENS.
Children of JUAN CORREA and ANGELA WILKENS are:

   i. ARTHUR HENRIQUE JACOB5 CORREA
   ii. EDUARDO AUGUSTO CORREA

12. EVANDRO JOEL4 CORREA married IVANILDA UNKNOWN.
Children of EVANDRO CORREA and IVANILDA UNKNOWN are:

   i. JOÃO PEDRO5 CORREA
   ii. ANNA LUIZA CORREA.

HOENER

 
 
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