German males in the late 19th century had to serve a minimum 12 months military service and could not obtain a passport without having done so . Ernst Friedrich Reye , born in Hamburg in 1874 , joined the cavalry in 1894 , serving in the 3rd Squadron of Westfalia , Hussar Regiment No . 11 , in Dusseldorf .
He arrived in Samoa from Venezuela in 1901 , having been brought in by the DH & PG to do pioneering work on cocoa production that he had studied in South America . Mr Reye formed a close friendship with married man Fritz Stünzner and his wife Mary Ellen . During a severe illness Reye was taken in by the Stünzners and nursed by Mary Ellen ’ s sister , Margaretta Betham . He fell in love with his carer and penned Miss Betham a letter in struggling English .
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Reye Family Collection
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