Johann Anton Neubronner

Letters from the East Indies

Johan Anton neubronner was my 5th great grandfather. He was from Usingen, Germany and in order to help his family financially, took up a five-year appointment with the Dutch East India Company in 1788.

Recently it was reported that Johan Neubronners letters had been donated to Leiden University as part of their South East Asia collection. The letters described his voyage to Batavia.

“He left his German home in Usingen, a small village just north of Frankfurt am Main, in the late summer for Amsterdam, to sail to Batavia in early November. The freezing cold of a harsh winter, however, delayed the departure of the Doggersbank, but finally, on 12 January 1789, the ship could set sail for Batavia.”

The letters also describe a longing to return home. He never did. Instead he married and settled with Catherine nee Koek at 111 Heeren Street ( later acquired by Tun Tan Cheng Locks family) and fathered 9 children. There is a plaque in her memory at Christ Church Melaka.