Johannes Heinrich Christoph Lilje (1833-1920) was born in Gerdau. He joined the 5th class at the Hermannsburg Seminary completed his studies, was ordained and sent to Natal as a missionary in 1867. There he spent a long, sometimes difficult, but ultimately fruitful pastorate. The details of his life are provided elsewhere. Below is access to his baptismal record and obituary.

     

Anna Caroline Beckröge (1847-1935) was born in Langwedel. In 1871 she went to Natal to marry Johannes. They were likely introduced by her sister, the wife of a Natal colonist. She was a pious, God-fearing woman who endured many difficult years at the Ebenezer. Her grand-daughter Gertrud remembers her as being "short and small" and "very firm." When a daughter was traveling with her fianceé, necessitating sleeping outdoors, she instructed a younger daughter to "sleep between" the couple. In her later years, despite poor eyesight, she always noted dust patches missed in cleaning.

                 

Johannes Peter (1872-1923) was a farmer.      

Christoph Hermann August (1873-1949) married Dora Stallbom, daughter of missionary Hans Stallbom, in 1908 and at the time of their marriage he was a storekeeper near the Esihlengeni mission station northeast of Gluckstadt. There were seven children of this marriage.

           

Anna Maria Catharina (1875-1943) was married in 1895 by her father to Ernst Röttcher. He was the son of missionary Otto Röttcher, and was a farmer near Neu Hermannsburg. There were six children of this marriage. Ernst died in 1921. In 1925 Anna married the widower August Röhrs, a farmer near Neu Hannover. He was the son of missionary H.H. Röhrs who served in Bechuanaland. There were no children of this second marriage.

           

Heinrich Karl (1877-1975) was a farmer near Glückstadt. In 1914, he was married to Helene Drewes by his father. She was the daughter of missionary Wilhelm Drewes. There were six children of this marriage.

           

Maria Wilhelmine Margaretha (1878-1958) was married in 1901 by her father to Heinrich Röttcher. He was the son of missionary Otto Röttcher, and was a farmer in Golden Valley. There were four children of this marriage.

     

Berthold Carl Wilhelm (1880-1969) was a farmer near the St. Bernard mission station in southern Natal. In 1904, he was married by his father to Auguste Kohrs of Cape Province. There were four children of this marriage.

     

Heinrich Wilhelm (1882-1953) was a farmer in Scheepersneck. In 1916, he married Margarete "Gretchen" Hohls, the daughter of missionary Heinrich Hohls, who married them. There were five children of this marriage.

     

Auguste Marie Magdalena (1884-1930) married missionary Louis Reibeling, son of missionary Johannes Reibeling, in 1905. There were eight children of this marriage. Their family is discussed in detail elsewhere.

           

Emma Dorothea Barbara (1887-1977) in 1907 married Ernst Dedekind, son of missionary Wilhelm Dedekind, who married them. Ernst was a farmer near Verden and later near Koburg in Transvaal. There were nine children of this marriage. In 1949 as a widow, she married Hermann Rabe, a widower.

     

Maria Louise (1889-1958) was born in Neu Hermannsfurg after her father's Ebenezer mission was closed. In 1914, she was married by her father to Otto Laue, a nearby farmer. There were eight children of this marriage. According to their niece Gertrud, Otto "liked his drink" and so it was a "difficult marriage."