Ferdinand Frederick Neimann was born in Germany abt 1826 Shipping records passengers to Nelson 1845 -1879 Catalogue page 18
I found a Mr Numan left Gravesend 7th July 1855 [ this links with the year that Ferdinand was supposed to of come out ] on board the "Maori" which arrived Nelson 23rd Oct 1855.could this be him ? yet to be confirmed
Original German spelling would have double 'n' on the end
Name believed to have been frequently anglicized to " Newman"
He married Mary Pritchard born 1823 Monmouthshire,Wales.
I haven't been able to find out where he was born as nothing but germany on his death certificate.They had 3 sons & one daughter.