Johanna Gertze

Between 1860 and 1862 Hahn published nine Herero publications in Germany, and there is evidence that Gertze assisted considerably in ensuring their success.

He was a widowed father of eight; the couple had nine more children in the ensuing fifteen years, ending with Samuel's death in 1880.

Hahn took home leave in Germany, and Uerita accompanied his family to port in Cape Town.

Here she encountered a Christian congregation, an unusual sight in Hereroland, and attended catechism with a group of Nama.

Later, Vedder's mother made Johanna's acquaintance, making such an impression on her that she urged her son, born in 1876, to become a missionary to young people in Africa.

In 1861, she returned to her homeland on the advice of her doctor, who believed the German climate was adversely affecting her health.

Hugo Hahn, who would stay in Germany another two years, suggested that Johanna work for the household of Peter Heinrich Brinker, a young missionary in Otjikango.

Samuel Gertze (born around 1805 in Kookfontein, died on 15 October 1889 in Otjimbingwe) lived in Otjikango at the time and had just become a widow with eight children.

The missionary dealer Johann Wilhelm Redecker, then a bachelor, was sent in 1868 to Omaruru to teach the locals to plant vegetable gardens and wheat fields.

With her husband's permission, Johanna became Redecker's housekeeper while Gertze's adult daughters looked after their father.

Once Redecker married, Johanna and Samuel moved to Anahout on the Swakop River where they supervised the Rhenish Missionaries' wheat fields.