Carl Georg Heise (1817 - 1886)

Ancestors Descendants

Contents 1 Biography 2 Sources 2.1 Research Notes 2.2 Footnotes 2.3 Acknowledgments

Biography

Carl's Birth and Parents - Carl George Heise was born in Hamburg on 18 December 1817.

Carl's father, Leopold

Carl's mother, Sophie

Carl was the fifth child of Johann Georg Leopold Heise and Sophie Luise Wilhelmine Kramer Ebert. Carl was one of thirteen children, five of the children died at childbirth or soon after.

His father was a wealthy businessman in Hamburg with publishing, newspaper and other interests.

His mother was the daughter of Ludwig Kramer (Kraemer) and Anne Elizabeth Achilles. She was fostered and adopted by the Ebert family.

Business and Marriage in the Danish West Indies - In 1845 when Carl was twenty six he became a partner in the trading firm Koster & Meister ^[1] who were established in 1830 on St. Thomas Island in the Danish West Indies (later known as the United States Virgin Islands). In the 1830s there were forty one firms established around St. Thomas harbour involved in the import export trade. Thirteen were English, eleven French, six German, four Italian and Spanish, four American and three Danish. Carl arrived on St Thomas Island on 17 February 1845.

Image:Heise-69.png

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas Island c.1843 [7]

The Danish West Indies consisted of three main islands St. Thomas, St. John and St. Croix.

Charlotte Amalie was the main town and port harbour on St. Thomas Island and became a coal loading station for steamships that traded in the Caribbean with America, South America and Europe.

Plantations on the islands used slave labour to grow crops such as sugar cane for export. In 1848, a few years after Carl arrived, the slaves on St. Croix Island revolted and forced the Danish Governor to abolish slavery on all the islands. [8]

On the 28 September 1850 Carl married Amory Charlotte Emeline Reed on St. Thomas Island. Amory was born on St. Thomas Island on 30 May 1843 and was only seventeen when she married Carl, who was thirty-two. Amory was living in Charlotte Amalie with her mother and older sister about a mile from Carl's house. Amory's father, John Amory Reed had died a month before Amory was born. The Reed family came from America and they owned ships trading with the West Indies.

Births and a Death on St.Thomas Island - Carl and Amory had four children, two sons and two daughters born on St. Thomas Island:

Georg Amory Heise 23 January 1851, Georg Amory Heise

Anna Luise Heise 25 January 1853, Anna Louise Heise

Caroline Henriette Heise 6 December 1855, Caroline Henriette Heise

and Francis Julius Heise 21 October 1858 Francis Julius Heise

Carl’s younger brother, Caesar Amandus Heise died on St. Thomas Island in 1852 at the age of twenty one. Caesar probably went to St. Thomas to be involved in Carl's trading business. The cause of Caesar's death is not known but Charlotte Amalie was prone to mosquito borne tropical diseases and cholera. Caesar's grave is in the Charlotte Amalie Cemetery on St. Thomas Island.

Carl's Business Partners - The original partnership of Koster and Meister had several name changes as the trading business expanded, partners changed and new businesses were established. In 1838 the firm Meister Hermanos & Co. was established at La Guaira in Venezuela. Carl and his brother-in-law August Wilhelm Hoffmann were two of the partners in the new firm. Another partnership formed was Meister & Co.

August Wilhelm Hoffmann married Carl’s younger sister Frederike Luise Heise on 12 September 1840 in Hamburg.

Carl’s other business partners were Carl Ludwig Daniel Meister [9], Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Meister [10], Hermann Eduard Meister [11], Heinrich Adolf Schmidt and Johann Heinrich Köster, all from Hamburg. Carl Friederich Wilhelm Meister and Heinrich Eduard Meister were sons of Carl Ludwig Daniel Meister.

Carl Heinrich Willink [12] lived on St. Thomas Island from 1832 to 1845 where he was a partner with August Joseph Schön in the firm Schön, Willink & Co. He was also partner in the Hamburg firm Aug. Jos. Schön & Co. After Carl Willink returned to Hamburg from St. Thomas Island he continued his import export business.

Carl Henirich Willink’s son Eduard Bernhard Ferdinand Willink married Carl George Heise’s daughter Caroline Henriette Heise in Hamburg on 24 Nov 1876. Eduard was born in Hamburg and this is probably were he met Caroline after the Heise’s returned to Hamburg from St. Thomas Island.

Many of the German trading firms operating in the Caribbean and South America were family concerns as it was important for them to have trusted relatives at both ends of the long distance trade routes to look after their operations. The close ties between Carl Heise and other Hamburg families trading in the Danish West Indies and in other countries began in Hamburg and continued when Carl returned home to Germany from St. Thomas Island.

The firms in which Carl was a partner operated as import and export businesses and it is unlikely that Carl owned any trading ships. His partner Carl Ludwig Daniel Meister did own some ships one of which was the “Renner” and also Joseph Schön and Carl Heinrich Willink owned ships. The partners may have also leased ships or paid ship owners for the transportation of their goods.

The partnerships of Meister & Co. and Meister Hermanos & Co. were dissolved on 31 December 1858, and this was notified in the London Gazette on 1 April 1859.

In 1859 Heise Schmidt & Co. was formed while Carl was on St Thomas Island and this company operated for a few more years.

Carl’s brother-in-law August Wilhelm Hoffmann who was running the business operations in La Guaira, Venezuela died of dysentery there on 17 June 1860 at the age of forty seven.

St Thomas Island was situated on the main trade routes to the West Indies and South America. However as steamships became faster and more reliable they no longer had to stop at St. Thomas Island and could trade directly with other ports. The sugar cane industry in the Danish West Indies was in decline after the emancipation of the slaves and plantation owners could not compete with other emerging producers in Cuba, Africa and Asia. There was also competition from the sugar beet industry in Europe. Trade and population in the Danish West Indies began to decline from the middle of the nineteenth century.

Return to Hamburg - Carl’s father Johann died in Hamburg on 16 November 1860 and in 1861 Carl and his family returned to Hamburg. Here he formed his own trading company, Carl Geo. Heise on 5 October 1865.

Carl and Amory had two more children after they returned to Hamburg:

Frederick William Albert Heise born 8 May 1862 and died 19 October 1864 aged 2.

Amory Reed Heise born 23 September 1865 and died 1 March 1875 aged 9.

The Commerz und Disconto Bank - The Commerz und Disconto Bank was established in Hamburg in 1870, after the bank's founders had raised capital of 10 million marks.

Image:Heise-69-2.jpg

Commerz und Disconto Bank, Hamburg, built in 1874. [13]

Carl contributed 200,000 marks towards the formation of the bank.

Allowing for inflation this would be equivalent to more than a million dollars. Using the average wage as a benchmark it would be several million dollars.

Either way it indicates Carl had made a large amount of money while trading on St. Thomas Island and later when he returned to Hamburg.

The founders of the bank took up half of the shares, the remaining half were opened to public subscription. Investor interest was so intense that the public offering was 135 times oversubscribed. In 1870 the bank paid a dividend of 5.6%. Carl was a member of the Bank Board from 1870 to 1875, resigning from the Board in 1875.

Life in Hamburg - In the nineteenth century the Hamburg merchants involved in foreign trade were a wealthy elite who formed business and social relationships and there were many marriages between the merchant families. The relationship between the Willink and Heise family has already been mentioned and there were more marriages between the Heises and other merchant families.

For example Marianne Heise married George Friedrich Baur in 1797. Helena Friederica Amanda Heise married Franz Matthias Mutzenbecher in 1805. Carl's sister Christine Leontine Heise married Johann Wilhelm Grote in 1831 and another sister Emma Auguste Henriette Heise married Hermann Grote in 1844. Carl's daughter Anna Louise Heise married Carl Edward Melchers in 1871.

Early in the nineteenth century, the wealthy Hamburg families lived in the inner Hamburg city, close to the poorer classes, but with preference to certain streets. It was common for the family home to be located in the same building as the warehouse and office. As the city expanded in the second half of the century the rich moved into vast new villas just outside the city.

The custom of owning summer houses further out in the countryside, and passing the time on summer weekends or during summer holidays in a series of mutual family visits - strengthened the informal social ties that bound the families together. ^[2]

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Georg Friedrich Baur/Marianne Heise country house in Balkanese, west of Hamburg completed in 1836 [14]

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Mutzenbecher summer house in Lokstedt 1846 [15]

Carl Heinrich Willink built a summer house in Lokstedt in 1861. Lokstedt is only a few kilometres north of Hamburg and was ruled by Denmark until 1866 when it then became part of Prussia. Around this time many wealthy families who made their living in Hamburg settled in Lokstedt and by the end of the 19th century it was a rich and well developed suburb of Hamburg.

Horst Grigat writes: "It was always a big event for Lokstedt, when all the people moved into their country houses in summer. The suppliers looked with longing for this moment. If Amsincks and the other gentlemen came, the butcher could slaughter an ox a week." ^{[3] [4]}

The Amsinck family were one of the most wealthiest of the merchant families and they had a summer house or villa in Lokstedt. ^[5] One of the Amsincks, Ludwig Erdwin Amsinck was also a founder of The Commerz und Disconto Bank. Ludwig's neice Susan Elizabeth Siemsen married Carl's son Georg Amory Heise in 1882.

In 1879 when Carl Heise was sixty two he purchased a summer house in Lokstedt. The summer house was surrounded by stately gardens and was originally owned by Dr. Heinrich Kellinghusen, who was the mayor of Hamburg in 1842. ^[6]

Carl's summer house (2011), Oddernskamp 27, Lokstedt [16]

The home units behind the house were built in the 1970s and the land where the units now stand was once part of the house gardens.

The house was renovated in 1988 and is now used for offices. The house and gardens are included on a walking tour arranged by the local historical group Forum Kollau.

Carl Geo. Heise - In 1865 Carl etablished his trading house under the name Carl Geo. Heise at the address Bergstraße 25 in Hamburg where he continued his trading business mainly with the West Indies and South America.

Around 1880 Carl's two sons Georg Amory Heise and Francis Julius Heise became partners in the business. ^[7] Another partner was Hugo Brandt who began a traineeship with the business in 1865 ^[8]. Hugo spent several years in the West Indies and became a partner on 1 January 1879. Hugo was elected to the Hamburg parliament in 1892.

Carl died in Lokstedt on 30 June 1886 at the age of 68.

The company Carl Geo. Heise was continued after the death of Carl by various partners, including Senator Hugo Brandt .

Carl Geo. Heise survived the two world wars and the global economic crisis, the business premises burned down due to the war events, but luckily the most important historic business books were saved.

Sources

• europeana, newspapers, Hamburger Nachrichten - 1817-12-19, page 5, column 2. Birth Notice. [17]
  Geburts=Anzeigen.
  Heute ward meine Frau, geb. Ebert, von einem gesunden Knaben glücklich entbunden.
  Hamburg, den 18ten December 1817.
  Johann Georg Heise.
• Hamburgisches Wappen und Genealogien, Meyer, L., Zesdorpf, O. L. (1890), (Hamburg: Privately Printed), p. 121.
  Carl Georg Heise, geb. Hamburg 18. Dezember 1817, gest. Lockstedt 30. Juni 1886,
  Kauffmann in St. Thomas, später in Hamburg,
  Gem. (1850) Amory Charlotte Emilie Reed geb. St. Thomas 30. Mai 1834, Tochter von Kaufmann John Amory Reed in St. Thomas
• Th. Hauch-Fausbøll og H. R. Hiort-Lorenzen, Patriciske Slægter. Anden Samling, Kjøbenhavn 1911, S. 199–202; Staatsarchiv Hamburg, 622–1 (Familie Carl Georg Heise).
• A list of The names of INHABITANTS The Danish Westindian Islands (The VIRGIN ISLANDS) from 1650 – ca. 1825, page 231. [18]
• The Reed Genealogy. Descendants of William Reade of Weymouth, Massachusetts from 1633 to 1902. Volume 2 by John Ludovicus Reed. Page 670. [19]
• Census (West Indies), Chamber of Revenue, Danish Department, The Table Commission: West Indian census 1846. St. Thomas Charlotte Amalie Frie Kongens Kvarter og Dronningens Kvarter [20]
  REGISTER of Free Inhabitants living in the Town of Charlotte Amalie in the Island of St. Thomas
  For House No. 42 in Norregade belonging to J. H. Köster
  Carl Geo. Heise, Where Born: Hamburg, Age: 28, Religion: Lutheran, Unmarried, Merchant, Burgherbrief dated 20 Nov 1845, 2nd Lieun. in St. Thomas Burgher Corps.
  A. Schmidt, Where Born: Capel, Age: 24, Lutheran, Unmarried, Clerk, Private ?? Corps
  Also listed is a Houseboy aged 14, a Mason aged 40, and a female Cook aged 44.
  Burgherbrief is a business licence.
• Statistics Denmark, West Indian census 13 May 1850, St. Thomas Charlotte Amalie Dronningens Kvarter [21]
  REGISTER
  List of Inhabitants living in the Town of Charlotte Amalie in St. Thomas
  For the House No. 42 in Norre Gade Street, belonging to J H Köster
  Charles Geo Heise, Where Born: Hamburg, Age: 33, Unmarried, Merchant
  H A Schmidt, Where Born: Capel, Age: 28, Unmarried, Clerk
  Also listed is a 55 year old female servant.
• Census (West Indies), Statistics Denmark: West Indian census 1857, St. Thomas Charlotte Amalie Kongens Kvarter, page 440 [22]
• Dissolution of a trading partnership, Meister, Heise, Schmidt, Hoffmann. THE LONDON GAZETTE, APRIL 1, 1859, page 1388. [23]
• rensi, Carl Geo. Heise Hamburg [24]
• Commerzbank 1870–2010 Eine Zeitreise, Fakten und Bilder' zusammengestellt, von Detlef Krause, Herausgegeben von der Eugen-Gutmann-Gesellschaft, Dresden 2010, page 13 [25]
• Commerzbank, Wikipedia [26]
• Commerzbank's History 1870-1923 [27]
• Commerz- und Disconto-Bank in Hamburg 1871. [28]
• Prospectus for the Commerz und Disconto Bank, newspaper advertisement Allgemeine Zeitung 2 March 1870, page 932 [29]
• europeana, newspapers, Hamburger Nachrichten 23 July 1886. page 5, column 6. - nine notices, Carl Georg Heise's wife Frau Amory Heise making donations to various institutions following her husband's death. [30]
• europeana, newspapers, Hamburger Nachrichten 10 October 1886, page 4, last column. Estate Notice. [31]

Research Notes

• ancestry.com Message Boards, Postal Forwarding Agents at St Thomas [32]
• The Cuban Philatelist, Jan 1997, page 9, Heise Schmidt & Co. [33]
• freilichtmagazin 2013, page 118, Köster & Meister [34]
• Amory Charlotte Emeline Reed [35]
• Geni, Heise-Willink Tree [36]
• elma.elka.fi/ArkHistory/S162.DOC
  Finland Ocean Returnil Trade Ltd acquired a large number of well-known foreign representative offices (including) Carl Geo Heise, Hamburg, rice, coffee, sugar
• Hamburg State Archives, Carl Georg Heise, St. Thomas: Zuschreibung eines Grundstücks in St. Georg, An der Alster, trotz fehlender Staatsangehörigkeit des Käufers zu einem deutschen Bundesstaat - genehmigt, 1864 [37]

Footnotes

1. ↑ Die Commerz- und Disconto-Bank 1870-1920/23: Bankgeschichte als Systemgeschichte, Detlef Krause, (Franz Steiner Verlag, 2004) page 60.
2. ↑ Family and class in the Hamburg grand bourgeoisie 1815-1914. Richard J. Evans. Published by Routledge in the 2014 book “The German Bourgeoisie: Essays on the Social History of the German Middle Class from the Late Eighteenth to the Early Twentieth Century”.
3. ↑ Lokstedt-online [1]
4. ↑ Forum Kollau, Sonntagsspaziergang: Zu Parks, Villen, Gärten und Wildnis, Photograph 9 of 10 [2]
5. ↑ Die Amsinck-Villa in Lokstedt [3]
6. ↑ Forum Kollau, Berichte 2014 [4]
7. ↑ agora.sub.uni-hamburg.de [5]
8. ↑ Wikipedia, Hugo Brandt (Kaufmann), Export Firma Carl Geo. Heise in Hamburg. [6]

Acknowledgments

• Historie der Firma Carl Geo. Heise 1865 - 1964 rensi® [38]

Thanks to G Heise for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by G and others.