Archangelica - children German settlement
Chronicles of the ancient genus PEC (Paetz), little-known pages of history from the XIV century to the present day
Light memory of Evgeny Petrovich Bozhko, historian-researcher
The Saga of the Pros and Krause
(Translated from German: Z. R. Kalimova, J. A. Parsheva).
Introduction.
In the early 1980s, when I began to take an interest in the history of our family, I asked my mother if she had any desire to write the history of her family, as well as everything she had experienced. We often talked on this subject, and I realized that she has a great memory, and it is quite well remembers what he endured in childhood and adolescence, even remembers what he heard from his brothers and sisters and older relatives. The idea (thought) about how to write it, like my mom. But, when in early 1989 she died in a street accident (accident), I found in her papers only one single sentence about this intention:
"On July 2( n. in); June 19 (art.) I was born the fifth child in the family of Alexander Edward Lyurs ( merchant) and his lawful wife Alma (nee Meyer), in Arkhangelsk."
That was it. Even the year of birth is missing. Very sorry that as a result of an accident forever lost what she knew she had never set out on paper all her memories. First, I knew that in recent years she was often tired, and so I couldn't concentrate and explain it all the way her intentions required. Second, in this reverberate its the essence of and demands to itself the most. She was always happy to communicate with people so that sometimes we were a little uncomfortable with the children. The main point of such communication was that she was genuinely interested in the fate of people, was able to listen to them and loved it. As a result of such conversations, she knew very well the life stories and problems of these people. In many cases, it was a unilateral conversation.
During the funeral of my mother, the pastor briefly told the biography of my mother and many realized that they did not know her life, because she rarely talked about herself and her life. However, it was known that she sound "R" was pronounced with unusual emphasis, which was especially noticeable in telephone conversations, but where she came from, how and why there in Heinola (Heinola (it. Barntrup) is a city in Germany, in the land of North Rhine-Westphalia. Is subject to administrative district Detmold) and how she lived the first years after the war, knew very few people. However, she was not a closed person. When asked, she answered willingly and was glad, as it seemed to me, that people were interested in her life. As regards activity in relation to the others, she loved to talk about his life story and the experiences associated with the event as a refugee and widow of a wartime, she believed that her life story isn't important to people, that's why she didn't set it down in written form. Since I knew very well that she would hardly write about her life, under various circumstances I tried to ask her as much as possible about important events and Affairs, and at the same time I made records. These notes cover the period between 1919, when her family left Russia during the Civil war, and 1945, when she came as a refugee to Barntrup (nem. Bamtrup), and had a desire to write about her life. Some of the events were supplemented by oral and written communications, which I met based on the notes of her brothers and sisters and other relatives. On my first five years of life, which she spent in Russia, my mother could only remember a few details. Most of these memories were associated with oral stories and messages of older relatives. All these relatives from the generations of my grandparents, who knew life in Russia on their personal observations and for decades those memories were real, as I was able to learn it during my meetings and conversations is long gone. Even from my mother's generation, there is no one alive.
As a result of the death of some relatives during the last 25 years, I managed to get a number of drawings, papers, letters, photos and memories that helped to learn more about the history of my mother's family in Russia. Some of the material I learned and received from me for unknown distant relatives who all of a sudden turned out to be (found) in England, Scotland, USA, and after a major transformation during the time of Gorbachev they were in Russia who have had the same interest in our family history as me. Thus, the material that I collected, and which remained in documents and in desks, appeared demanded, and I in the first chapters presented that I learned on history of our family in Russia, namely history of life of my mother.
ARKHANGELSK.
To properly understand the history of life the ancestors of my mother, need to talk about the Archangel, the hometown of my mother.
Arkhangelsk is located in the far North of the European part of Russia at the mouth of the Dvina river when it flows into the White sea. Russians call this river Northern Dvina to distinguish it from Western Dvina – in German it is called “Duena” and it flows in the Western direction through the North of Russia, Belarus and the Baltic sea, then flows into the Baltic sea near Riga. As and Weser (Weser (him. Weser [ˈveːzɐ], n-it. Werser) is a river in Germany, flowing in the Northern direction, crossing the German Midlands and North German lowlands. Its name is starting from city Gunn), it does not have its own source, it arises from the merger of Ferry and Fulda, so there is the Northern Dvina river from the confluence of the Sukhona and Yug from the old Russian town of Veliky Ustyug, which is located 750 km South-East of Arkhangelsk, and family history of lyurs played a significant role at a certain time.
From the very beginning, the economic life in Arkhangelsk was largely determined by the activity of foreign merchants and trading firms of foreign merchants, who settled here and for some time were de facto monopolists in export trade. At first it was the British, who dominated the economic life of the city, then the Dutch appeared. Also, several German families from the Baltic States settled in Arkhangelsk. Since the second half of the NINETEENTH century, the Germans from Northern Germany, and here, first of all, from Hamburg, are increasingly looking for new areas in Arkhangelsk for their activities. "In Arkhangelsk the money is lying on the street — - so they said then, and enterprising people were looking for here in Arkhangelsk trade and business ties up to the fact that they left their Homeland forever to create their business life in the North of Russia.
Despite the fact that the majority of foreigners who settled in Arkhangelsk, and then natives of Russia spoke very well in Russian, and most of them took Russian citizenship, they led a special, own way of life. Most of them built their homes in the so-called "German settlement". The center of the German settlement was located in the Northern part of the then Cathedral square, along the main street of Arkhangelsk — Trinity Avenue.
Almost all foreigners communicated with each other in their native language. The younger generation for education and for the preservation of their cultural identity for some time, went to the home of a parent or the Western countries. Foreigners had their own clubs and institutions and, above all, Evangelical churches. The pastors of these churches came to Arkhangelsk: the reformers of Holland, the Lutherans – from Hamburg. When the number of members of the community began to decline in the early XIX century, the two Evangelical churches in 1818 United in a single unit Church throughout Russia.
Also continue to Arkhangelsk pastors came almost exclusively from Northern Germany, and in some cases later came from the Baltic, as for example, very early deceased father-in-law of my mother, Hugo Krause, who from 1912 until his death in 1915году held the position of pastor at the German Church in Arkhangelsk.
The Church community taught children in its own school, so that most children from families of German origin did not go to Russian schools, but to German Church schools. Children from Russian families were admitted to this school only when paying a large sum of money for education.
This manifested itself, first of all, and at the conclusion of marriages. Despite the fact that foreigners ' own lives were surrounded by the Russian population, despite various economic contacts with Russian businessmen, marriages with Russians were concluded only in isolated cases. The main colony, living in Arkhangelsk, entered into marriages among their tribesmen. When it came to marriage, partners were sought in the circle of long-settled families of German, Baltic-German, Dutch or even English or Norwegian origin. Since the number of foreigners and residents of foreign origin living in Arkhangelsk, even in the most prosperous times, remained unchanged, marriage between nephews and cousins of the first or second generation in these families was not uncommon. If the newcomer settled in Arkhangelsk for a long time, he joined the Arkhangelsk society only when he started a family. From the circle of these families, Dutch, and Baltic German origin, who settled in the outskirts of HYIII and early NINETEENTH centuries, there are all direct ancestors of my mother. Along with the names of lyurs and Meyer that are most often found at birth my mother's parents in the family bloodline, since the second half of HYIII century, it bears the names of van Brinen, Gernet, Lindes, Scholz and PEC. Some of these surnames are repeatedly shown in view of the above-mentioned reasons and testify to close interlacing of families in Arkhangelsk. So, for example, among eight grandmothers and great-grandparents my mothers only three brothers and sisters from family guernet.
Carl Lurs first Lyurs in Arkhangelsk (CA. 1765-1807 HS) and his family.
The family history of lyurs in Arkhangelsk can be traced in local archives (GAAO) the surviving documents and data from the last years of the reign of Catherine II at the end Hook when, together with Karl Larcom arrived first Lyursy to Arkhangelsk. Carl Lurz was a tailor by trade, and arrived in 1794 from the city of Wolfsburg (ger. Diepholz, the land of lower Saxony), at that time, the city belonged to the elector Hannover ( in 1714 the elector Hannover Georg-Ludwig of the ancient princely family of the Welf occupied simultaneously the English throne under the name of king George I. Hanover dynasty, whose founder he became, ruled in England until 1901 Elector (letters. - "Prince elector"; kuer-choice), he arrived in Arkhangelsk through St. Petersburg. Manuscript preserved in the archival documents, it appears in the then, quite often, with errors written in Cyrillic transcription, as Carl Lyurs, Carl LIRs, Carl Lirt or many sources miraculously turned into Carsten LIRs or Lyursa. That this speech is clearly about the same person, according to the data, further detailed in other documents. When he settled in Arkhangelsk in 1794, Karl was about 30 years old. When and where he was born, who were his parents and whether he intended to stay in Russia for a long time – there are no such documents. His father's name was Johannes Lurs. As it became clear, it is very simple, in Russia it was accepted to call the person by name to patronymic – "Karl Iogannovich". In Wolfsburg, a city that Carl called his home at the entrance to Russia, apparently, he was not born as a fully preserved in the Church books of the local Evangelical community, he did not appear. Although the name of lyurs had met, and in our time such a name exists there. Maybe Carl settled in Wolfsburg only after his training as a tailor, maybe he was from a small town near Wolfsburg. Or maybe he was a native of Hamburg, as confirmed in one of their surviving documents in the archives of Arkhangelsk. After his arrival in Arkhangelsk Carl Luers continued to work at his trade as a tailor. There was included in the lists of craftsmen, and later in 1799, listed as a class burghers, which was made by artisans and small traders and existing laws of that time and foreigners. In 1797 or 1798 Karl Lurz he married Maria Vlasova Julia Natit, which was younger than his 9 years and was a native of Bremen. How, when and why she came to Arkhangelsk, we do not know. Johann Natit, who also came to Arkhangelsk from Bremen in 1784, was a sailor. Could be the older brother of Maria, according to the date of his birth. Their father was Johann Natit, but it is still unknown. In German, this is an unusual name, so in archival documents such a name does not appear, most likely phonetic transcription in Cyrillic sounds German surname Neutiet. Three people by the names in Hoot until 1755года specified in Bremen. But, direct communication of the Arkhangelsk Nalitov, living in Bremen by the name Natit definitely not discovered so far.
Karl and Maria Lyurs had four children: Karl Samuel, Anna, Wilhelmina and Peter, who were born between 1798 and 1806. But, in January 1807, Karl Lurs ' father died at the age of about 40, and his wife remains a widow with three young children in Arkhangelsk. The eldest daughter Anna died in infancy before his father's death. After her husband's death Mary Lurz earned to feed the family, as stated in the record the list of residents of Arkhangelsk, "from their labors". In the lists of inhabitants in 1814 she and her eldest son Samuel is no longer listed. What became of them we do not know. Maybe they died, maybe they left Arkhangelsk. The younger son Peter later spread the rumor according to family tradition, he supposedly "child remained in Arkhangelsk". What exactly can be said about this is unclear. Anyway, in the list of inhabitants of, 1814, appeared the names of the younger children Lussow, Wilhelmina and Peter, as they mean, they challenged his father's legacy "from his father's estate". Who took on the education of young children, from one source or another is unknown. The eldest girl Wilhelmina, born between 1800 and 1802, later married a German native of Mecklenburg, named Jacob Menk, who, like her father, was a tailor. The older girl of the two daughters of this marriage married a tailor, the More we never heard of them.
Actually, I should say that Carl Lurs first Lyurs in Arkhangelsk, during his short life in their new Homeland in Russia, lived in abundance, but didn't have a career, like many immigrants of the time, hoping for success. He lived with his family until his death in a rented apartment and for thirteen years of life and work in Arkhangelsk could not buy his own house. As times decent household it was thought in Arkhangelsk indicator of economic success. Thus, we can conclude on the few surviving sources, Carl Lyurs in Arkhangelsk was a humble and respected craftsman and as such died on 16 January 1807 at the age of about 40 years.
Peter Lurz (1806 – 1879), great-grandfather of my mother and his family.
In front of his son, Peter's grandfather, my mother managed to make a successful economic career and enter the circle of founders of Arkhangelsk, in his entrepreneurial activities, he also suffered heavy losses. Peter Lurz was born October 6 (Church calendar) 1806года in Arkhangelsk in the family of Charles and Mary Lyurs youngest son. In the first year of his life my father died, and from the age of seven he grew up without a mother. So about his childhood and youth almost nothing is unknown. First of all, we do not know, as mentioned above, who took him and his older sister to raise. Only by hearsay known that Peter studied at the Evangelical school of the Church of Arkhangelsk and probably received a commercial education. In 1825/1826 we found him as a" clerk " (commercial employee) in Becker's and Amburger's firm, on behalf of which he made business trips in the North of Russia. Has a separate passport, which he used for these visits, so as by the time he was a citizen of Hanover, although born in Russia, was considered a foreigner. At the end of 1826 he was unemployed, "unemployed", as it appeared in the records, what he did in the next five years, where and by whom he worked, is unknown.
A big turning point in his life occurred in 1832, when he was 25 years old. In may of this year, he married 16-year-old Carolina PEC, the eldest daughter of the Baker Andreas Traugott PEC, who was originally from the ancient dynasty of bakers from Weissenfels (Weissenfels). Weißenfels) is a city in Germany, in Saxony-Anhalt. Included in the district of Weissenfels), Saxony — Anhalt. His father August PEC arrived in Arkhangelsk on 20 years earlier than the father of Peter Lyursa Carl Lurz and opened a very successful business – a bakery. His son Andreas Traugott PEC, father-in-law Peter Lyurs, expanded his business and was considered a very successful and respected businessman in Arkhangelsk. Now it is no longer possible to establish whether this marriage and the associated support for a prosperous father-in-law and allowed Peter Lyurs to quickly get back on his feet, or he himself was able to make a fortune over the years. Maybe it was both. In any case, it is a fact that Peter Lurz in the same 1832 with his young wife received Russian citizenship, was included in the lists of the Arkhangelsk merchant of 2nd Guild with a trading capital of 20,000 thousand rubles, and in proof of his long stay in Arkhangelsk is the identity on the purchase of the purchased home. The order of increase in its declared trade capital can be measured by the fact that the house and land in the so-called German settlement at that time was estimated from 3000 to 6000 thousand rubles.
In the next 1833 Peter Lurz along with other merchant Abraham des Fontaines established import / export firm "by A. des Fontaines and Lyurs", which was so successful that Peter Lurz and A. des Fontaines, in 1836, could be written in the first Guild of merchants and traders.
In 1838, a Russian merchant Gribanov, Ilya became the third partner of the firm, which was called "Gribanov, Fontaines and Lyurs" and within few years has grown to the second largest trading house in Arkhangelsk. This success is reflected in the records on the list of vessels in the port of Arkhangelsk, who noted in 1844 that the firm "Gribanov, Fontaines and Lyurs" to export a used 96 vessels, slightly less than the largest German trading company "Willy Brandt and sons", but much more than all three largest English firms in Arkhangelsk.
In the same year, Peter Lurz bought another, however, the old house, demolished it and on its site built a beautiful new house. In 1846, as reported by the teacher of German Church schools of the United Klaus, Peter Lurz engaged in economic activities and could, together with his family in the same year to conduct the planned trip to a resort abroad, and then came a more relaxed economic Affairs.
But at that time not only purely economic success was valued, at that time they sought to rise to the highest circles of the Archangel society, that is, to become a respected member. For wealthy merchants it was considered very important to establish themselves in the Church, which had an Evangelical Church school, in numerous social and cultural institutions, as well as in the bodies of municipal self-government.
In 1836, the Evangelical community, where Peter himself studied at school, developed a new Church Statute to maintain its independence from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia. Peter Lurz at 30 years old was the youngest representative in the then convened a Church meeting. In this society, along with numerous influential personalities of the Arkhangelsk society were also his partners in the firm, Fontanez and his father-in-law Andreas T. PEC. In view of his permanent representation in the Church community (he was a member of the service of the Church chief in 1867) Peter Lyurs was later awarded the title "honorary patron (citizen) of the Evangelical community. Thanks to his Church activities, he participated in various services of municipal self-government in the forties and was a member of the Arkhangelsk commercial court, and from 1845 to 1847. even its Chairman. In 1849 Peter Lura was awarded the title "honorary Hereditary citizen", as well as his wife and children. This title created in 1832 in Russia was an award for the new class both for the merchant class consisting in Guild, and for nobility. And the purpose was the creation of a privileged urban high society. Peter Lurz belonged to the merchants of the 1st Guild, it further gave the right to commercial activity and determined its affiliation to the Guild.
Later than two years prior to this Peter Lurz made the decision, which was to define a second sharp turn in his economic career, and be a decisive step in his future life: according to the action from 01.01.1848 year, he withdrew from the still successful firms "Gribanov, Fontaines and Lyurs". Instead, this firm became the son Gribanova, Vladimir, and the firm became known as "Gribanov, Fontaines and company", later it operated its business successfully. Peter Lurz he decided to conduct his Affairs and became a large merchant in Arkhangelsk. Nineteen ships, who came in 1850 to Arkhangelsk, was addressed to Peter Lurs. What specific reasons made Peter Lyursa to leave a prosperous joint venture, details of the information was not. Serious divorce between him and his former partners is excluded, because first of all with Gribanov he was closely connected in further commercial Affairs.
The decisive reason, most likely, was the new orientation of Peter Lyurs, as he said about the long phase of planning in a conversation with Gribanov. Along with imports and exports, it had to find a more successful and profitable field of activity, namely, those years marked the beginning and flourishing of the textile industry in Russia. These were the years when the transition from domestic manual labor in textile production to industrial production was carried out in Russia. This is a profound transformation in Russia, primarily associated with the name of the German merchant Ludwig Knoop (Knoop Ludwig 3.08.1821 Bremen – Moscow 1894), which In Russia has turned into a Lion gerasimovitch of Knoop. Ludwig Knoop is the German father of Russian textiles, thinking strategically for the future. Every merchant knew that the factory builds Knoop. Office with L. K. 1846года supplied British textile machines to the Russian factories. He was also called the "Cotton king" of the Russian Empire.
Ludwig Knoop (03.08.1821 Bremen – 1894) was born in a small merchant large family of Bremen. After graduating from the commercial school he had an internship in England at his uncle's firm in Manchester, where he got acquainted with the basics and methods of textile production in England, which at that time was a leading country in the industry. Acquired knowledge he used when applying for a job as an employee of the firm, which opened its branch in Moscow. Instead of, as it has been so far, supplying Russian entrepreneurs with finished yarn from England, which entrepreneurs distributed to villages for further processing of weavers by hand, he began to encourage Russian entrepreneurs to build their own textile factories.
Since 1846 the office of Ludwig knop began to supply the English textile machinery to Russian factories, and also he supplied them, thanks to his connections in England, all that is necessary for the construction of enterprises: loans, machines, raw materials and even work trained experts and engineers. In 1849, with the help of knop, the first Russian mechanized spinning-house was opened. After L. Knoop independently carried out this business, this was followed by the construction of more than 100 spinning rods, and then weavers and dyes were built. To financially secure such activities, L. Knoop participated in the creation of various banks and insurance companies. His own textile factory "krengolm" near Narva was considered at that time the largest in Europe, if not all over the world. His role in the development of the textile industry in Russia is invaluable. The omnipresence knop became a byword: "Where the Church is, there is a pop where the factory is, there is a Button" — sentenced in Moscow. (Moscow saying of the late XIX century.). In 1877 L. Knoop for achievements in the industrialization of Russia, Tsar Alexander II granted him the title of Baron of the Russian Empire. At that time, L. Knoop was considered one of the richest people in the world. But from its vast textile Empire did not remain after his death (1894) and after the turmoil of the Russian revolution. His magnificent estate, Mühlenthal castle in Northern Bremen, also disappeared long ago; the castle was destroyed in 1933. The only thing that has survived on the high Bank of the river. Lesum flows into the river Weser, divided by order of the Knoop vast magnificent Park called "Park of Knoop", one of the most beautiful parks of Bremen, the area of Bremen called Bremen Switzerland (Die Bremer Schweiz) and updated in recent years, the mausoleum of the family of Knoop cemetery Waller in Bremen.
Did Peter Lurz personal contacts, with Knoop unknown to us. Its entry into the textile industry is happening in parallel with the first independent activity of the press in Russia and also their particular things while creating factories similar to the smallest details. But, on the other hand, there is a striking difference in approaches to the business of these two men. While Knoop on the basis of its English experience and connections showed the activity only in the industry of cotton fabric, Peter Lyurs worked in the North of Russia, and here, and first of all, in the Vologda region, processing of flax was widespread. Their business and their residence, Peter Lurz moved to Great Ustyug, which is located on the Sukhona river at the border between Arkhangelsk and Vologda provinces, and where he and his wife bought their own house. What kind of relationship at the time linked him with the Great Ustyug, is not clear.
According to available sources, it is known that the commercial partner of Peter Lyurs, Gribanov in the vicinity of the Great Ustyug had a large estate and was engaged in active commercial activity there.
Christians PEC, brother of the wife of Peter Lyursa, who later held the position of burgomaster in the town of Veliky Ustyug, in 1844, worked as an employee at Gribanova. There are indications that Peter himself Lurs there in the forties participated in Commerce on linen, and began to build a plant for the production of bricks, until 1842. Anyway, it is certified by documents that Peter Lyurs in three and a half years after the exit from the Arkhangelsk trade export firm, opened one of the most modern textile factories of Russia on processing of flax and a cloth in D. Krasavino (06.06.1851), which is 25 km North of the Great Ustyug, namely, rented land from his partner Ilya Gribanov. A fairly detailed description of this plant, in which in 4 of its workshops were presented all the working processes from spinning flax to the final dressing of linen fabrics, as well as the processing of the canvas, can be found in the detailed article of the newspaper "Vologda provincial Gazette" for October 1851. So also all the details of the data, which machines, what the company ordered and purchased their Peter Lurz. Imported fleet of cars from England cost him at a cost of 60,000 rubles silver. Along with 5 specialists and engineers brought from England, 100 Russian workers worked at the factory. But at the end of this article with all the positive aspects were noted the first difficulties of the manufacturer, in October 1851, after 4 months after the opening of the factory, and then for a long time the factory did not work. As it turned out, in looms lacked details. In some other articles that were written about the factory, were referred to other reasons why such a success started the company soon ran into great difficulties. The main problem could be that the flax and linen production, which started Peter Lurz, this production has always lagged behind the successful cotton industry because cotton was easier to process with modern machinery, and he has found a wider application, and it was easier to grow and process.
What was the cause of the economic success that promised to be for Peter Lyursa in the development of the textile industry, but did not take place, it has become more evident in later years when he was in the creation of their textile production took care of all financial costs. He was unable to pay the loans granted to him, as well as to pay his debts on time, it remained only to declare a tender, insolvency in 1859. The personal consequences for him were not as difficult as it seemed, since his former trading companion Ilya Gribanov took over all his debts and his enterprise, as the main creditor on whose land the factory was built.
Ilya Gribanov died a year after the acquisition of the company. However, his son Vladimir inherited the case of his father, and he managed to successfully lead and even multiply it. In the nineties, after Vladimir's death, a joint-stock company was established, but as a result of the Russian revolution in 1918 it became a state enterprise and still exists. Formed on the basis of factory of flax processing enterprise, OJSC "Vologda textile" (Vologda and G. Krasavino) with a full cycle of production - from minced flax to finished fabrics and garments home textiles, one of the largest Russian flax processing enterprises, which is known for high-quality production of linen fabric. For many years, is one of the largest and oldest flax processing enterprises in Russia, the Creator and founder of which is Peter Lurz.
However, at present the company temporarily suspended its activities. We hope that this is a forced stop.
The collapse of the activities of its textile factories is not meant for Peter Lyursa the end of its economic career, although from time to time he conducted speculative transactions, but much remains unknown to us. He opened his own firm under his own name, but it is not clear what exactly he was doing from the sources provided. In any case, the main activity was the trade in flax. Moreover, it is likely in later years was closely associated with Gribanova.
The death certificate of his son Herman, who lived in England and later in Scotland, reports his profession as a "Flax Merchant“, and Peter's profession is referred to as” Flax Shipper", so it can be concluded that his firm mainly specialized in the trade of flax and the transport of flax. The first of January, 1867, he entered the company of his older sons Karl and Herman, the firm did business under the name "Peter Lurz and sons."
Until the end of the sixties some official and public documents indicate that Peter was LWRs in Arkhangelsk and participated in the Archangel branch of the State Bank, the commercial Council, the Committee for control of goods in the port of Arkhangelsk. They show that the life of Peter will again take place in Arkhangelsk. The estate, which he bought in 1850 near the Great Ustyug, he sold in 1871 to his already mentioned relative Christian PEC, who by that time became the mayor (mayor) of the Great Ustyug and for a long time was the commercial Director of the joint-stock company owned by Vladimir Gribanov.
About the last years of the life of Peter Lyursa no knowledge of future home buying and selling land. He died 10 (by the Julian calendar) January 1879 at the age of 72. His tombstone and the tombstone of his wife, who survived him for 20 years, were preserved at the Lutheran cemetery in Arkhangelsk. Abandoned tombs with fallen tombstones were put in order after the end of the era of" communism " by voluntary assistants, who for the most part are looking for their ancestors and the roots of their families. The graves were lovingly restored to the best of their ability.
Burials at the Vologda cemetery. Memorial. Arkhangelsk.
Peter and Caroline (nee PEC), had six children. It is noteworthy and unusual for those times is that the first child was born only six years after marriage. Since the infant and child mortality rate was very high at the time, as was the case in other families, it is possible that the first child could have died early, and this fact has not been documented. The Church books in which to learn the documents, in Arkhangelsk in those days did not exist. But if you look at the other side, Carolina was only 16 when she got married. Then it could be a thoughtful decision about the birth of children. We'll never know.
From six children the third son Alexander Vilgelm, the grandfather of my mother, the only one who lived in Arkhangelsk for a long time. All the other kids left Arkhangelsk and died somewhere in Russia or abroad.
The first eldest child is the daughter of Ernestine born in 1838, married to Edward Marguis (Marquis), who lived in Arkhangelsk pharmacist. Together with him she moved to the Baltic, where he was born. The only thing we know about her is that she was alive in 1903 when her younger brother died.
Two years later, Carl's son was born, as most boys, from those public circles at the time, chose a commercial career. His father in 1867 took him as a companion, as mentioned, in his trading firm "p. Lyurs and sons", and in 1881, two years after his father's death, he opened as a merchant of the 1st Guild his import-export business called"Lyurs and company". Carl Lurs a long time he lived with Alexandra Veselovskaya outside of marriage. She was the daughter of the Russian soldier, along with him, she begot three children. Later, she and her children moved to Petersburg, where, after their official marriage was born four children. In 1894 Carl Luers died in St. Petersburg. The names of his widow and his two sons until 1916 appeared in various telephone directories of St. Petersburg. Then this trace is lost in the whirlwinds of The Russian revolution and during the First world war.
Peter's second son, born in 1842, Herman, who became a companion in his father's firm, by which time he was two years in England, where, as a representative of the company (agent) of his father worked in London. In 1872, he moved his business from London to Dundee, Scotland.
Dundee was a centre for trade in flax in Britain, where Herman Luers, his firm “and G. H. Luers,” was one of the most influential businessmen on linen. He married the Englishwoman Isabella Greig Sewell, he had 8 children in this marriage. He died in 1919 in Broughty Ferri (Scotland), a suburb on the Eastern side of Dundee, while the rich Jute barons settled there ("jute barons") were the most expensive plots of land in the world. His great-grandson Cleve Lurs (Clive Luers), my cousin, has long been trying to compile a complete pedigree of the numerous offspring of Herman Lyursa.
I am grateful to Cleave for the variety of information and interesting photos on the history of the family, which is reflected better in his branch of the family, as his family since the resettlement of his great-grandfather Hermann Lyurs in England, and then in Scotland, remained in the UK for permanent residence.
The second daughter of Peter Julia was born in 1845, also died in England. She married Wilhelm Christian Meyer, from the Archangel of the family Meyer, from which the Alma Meyer, the mother of my mother. The William H. Meyer, describes how his brother, from his youth was a true Anglophile, who had all the look of a man from England. In 1872, when his son Herman Luers brought his business on linen from London to Dundee, he moved as an agent (representative) of the company "Gribanov, Fontaines and company" in London. Later he was acting alone, and his wife after his death moved to a small estate Sussex (historical County in Southeast England), where he spent his entire life surrounded by many servants. From her will, in which she took care of their loved ones, relatives and a large domestic servant, you can find out that her husband was a successful businessman. They had no children.
Alexander Wilhelm, the third son of Peter Lyurs and my mother's grandfather, is reported in the next Chapter.
Very little is known about George, the youngest and last son of Peter and Carolina Lyurs, who was born in 1853, seven years after his brother Alexander (one Russian source cites 1856 as the year of his birth, but it is probably a mistake). He, like his brother, studied at an Evangelical Church school in Arkhangelsk, and then passed commercial training, as he later appears with the rank of merchant of 1 Guild. Likely he was, at least in the business of flax partly companion of his brother Herman in Dundee, as the name implies local company “H. and G. Luers", where the letter " G "probably means"Georg". Documented it is known only on his death. He died on 21.12.1903 in Hong Kong at the age of 50, and was buried there. There is also a photo of his grave. These data are given in the death certificate on the company " Cashier Lindholn and Co” (so!). This is consistent with the alleged his participation in the company on linen with his brother, Herman, we don't know.











Alexander William Luers (1846-1884) and Emma Lyurs, nee Scholz (1850-1921), grandpa and grandma, my mom, and their family.
Alexander William Luers, my mother's grandfather, was born November 2 (Church calendar) 1846, the fifth child of Peter and Caroline Lurs in Arkhangelsk (date of birth 26.XI.1846 on the remaining tombstone is, most likely, wrong. His life is much less reported than his father's. The reason, in my opinion, is simple: he was almost two times less years than his father, when in 1884 he died at the age of 37 years, survived his father only for 5 years. At that time, his children were too small, the eldest was 11 years old, and the youngest was 1 year old. When my mother, his granddaughter, was born in 1914, her grandfather was 30 years old. There are almost no personal memories of him passed down from generation to generation.
Like most boys of a similar lifestyle families, Alexander first studied at an Evangelical Church school in the city of Arkhangelsk, and then received a commercial education, and what the firm was trained is unknown. When his father decided in 1866 to take his sons Carl and Herman companions to his firm, the third son Alexander was only 20 years old. Whether his age was a decisive factor or whether his father's firm wasn't big enough to provide work and income for three companions, we don't know. Anyway, Alexander as the third son in the paternal firm “P. Luers und Soehne” created in 1867 didn't participate. His commercial career began not in Arkhangelsk, and in the distant Vyatka, today Kirov in various Russian sources it is mentioned as Vyatka merchant of 1 Guild. It is unknown how he got there, and what commercial ties he had in Vyatka. However, his hometown was left Arkhangelsk. There he married Emma Scholz, the daughter of the owner of a major Archangel forest firm, in September 1871. Five years later he was recorded by a merchant of 2 Guild of the city of Arkhangelsk. That he was a respected man of the Archangel society can be learned from the fact that in December 1878 and four years later he was elected to the city Duma, the city Council of Arkhangelsk, a member of which consisted until his early death. He was interested in music and was a gifted man. In the archival documents of the Arkhangelsk alleged that he was the first conductor of the orchestra of the "Society of friends of music."
For their growing family, he bought in 1880 for 3000 rubles by today's standards it was a huge house with many additional buildings on the corner of Olonetskaya street and Trinity Avenue. The house was later transformed into four large apartments. In the spirit of revolutionary transformation in 1920, it was municipalised. In the archives of the Arkhangelsk preserved land documents and construction drawings of the house. Photo of the now defunct house remained in our family in England.
Only after buying this house, Alexander was listed as a merchants Guild 1 Arkhangelsk commercial companies.
Alexander Wilhelm Lyurs was waiting for a promising career, but soon he became seriously ill and died on August 26, 1884, a few weeks before his 38th birthday. What the disease was, from which he died to establish from surviving documents could not ( In all likelihood it was cholera(?).
The Archangel archive I have composed two days before his death his will, which helped create and signed pastor Hansen, the then pastor of the Evangelical community, instead, since at that time Alexander was no longer able himself to write. He approved and signed the will, as pastor Hansen reports: "with a clear consciousness and full of spiritual forces."
The will reads as follows: "since I do not know whether it is the will of the Lord that I may recover from my illness, I want to put my earthly Affairs in order. What I possess in this world is my wealth, acquired by my labour, and so I do not wish any interference from the judges and appoint my beloved wife Emma, nee Scholz, the mother of my children, my only principal heir. I will all your inheritance, namely, the house with all the equipment and utensils, as well as all the documents on the capital of my books, the amount of money on insurance of my life, namely, that it can dispose of all others..... (?).
My biggest pain is that I will not be able to participate in the education of our children. But I know she'll do anything to raise them as kind and honest people. To my beloved son-in-law Mr. Adolf Scholz I ask to fulfill this last will in the future, when I will not, to help my beloved wife in all difficulties and word and deed. Lord, bless her and my dear children!»
Alexander William Luers was hereditary honorary citizen. When his son Adolf Scholz presented his will to the competent court, it was officially established that the entire inheritance is estimated at 25.655 rubles.08kop.
The 20,000 rubles included in this will life insurance were in the personal business of his son-in-law Adolf Scholz. On 5000rubley was estimated the cost of a residential building with a plot of land and all additional buildings. A small balance was in cash. From all this it is clear that Alexander William Luers was not a very rich merchant in Arkhangelsk (was not considered a rich businessman …)
When Alexander died, his 34 year old wife was left with five small children, three girls and two boys. The eldest daughter Agnes 11yrs, her sister Lucia was 10 years old, the youngest daughter Elsa was only a year old. The eldest son, Alexander Edward, father of my mother, after the death of his father, was 7 years old, and the younger brother of Arvid only 3 years. Two daughters, Clara and Maria, died at the age of two years during his father's life, in 1878 and 1882. The gravestone of these two girls, as well as a monument to their father, remained on The Lutheran cemetery of the city of Arkhangelsk.
The shock caused the sudden death of her husband from Her and what challenges she faced, left with three small children, it is difficult to imagine. Her condition worsened due to the fact that it became increasingly apparent that she herself was mentally unstable, if not seriously ill. Her condition was described by different people who knew her, most often in relation to her mental state he used the word "sadness, melancholy". She could never make her own decision. Today, that would mean depression.
What further suppressed and oppressed her was the fact that the Scholz family had already known similar and even worse cases of mental illness. Emma's uncle, Karl Scholz, her father's younger brother, after a perfectly normal youth, at the age of 21, suddenly became ill and showed, as described by his former teacher in his labeled form: "traces of insanity," since living as Untid called it "in a frustrated way of thinking," and finally in 1842, "he was placed in a psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg."
Also, Clara's older sister Elizabeth, aunt Emma, Untid, was diagnosed with similar symptoms; he wrote in March 1842, "her older sister is showing melancholy and despondency, and as a result she has now gone to St. Petersburg."
As for Emma, Lurs, what feelings she had felt for her the worst part was that her younger son Arvid was also mentally ill that she already had a premonition. His disease was perceived by others in different ways; some perceived him as an epileptic, others thought that a strange crank, which behaves very unusually. But, for younger children, as he recalled my aunt Renata, the eldest sister of my mother, he made a frightening impression.
And his older sister, Agnes, which is often called aggie, was manifested at a later age mental oddities. For several years, Agnes instilled in herself that she could not speak, and only spoke in writing to her loved ones. But it wasn't that long. In a letter dated March 12, 1947, her sister Lucia wrote to my grandmother: "... think only, we have a great joy, eggy talks for 14 days! Think about it, almost 10 years she got better. God grant it to be so!»
Some of the biographies and sketches about Arkhangelsk should observe a certain trend. Similar sad cases and destinies arose from the fact that the social relations that were observed in the limited population, and the closed life of foreigners in Arkhangelsk, led to the fact that for generations cousins married their cousins until almost everyone was in relationship with each other. But, gladly perceived in this context, something that is completely not related to this circle of people, for example, new arrivals or also Russian, was married, as stated, brought "fresh blood" in a closed society. From this point of view, this is possible and fair, but such a General explanation requires caution. For the Scholz family, the above-mentioned social relations do not apply. First Scholz in Arkhangelsk, the merchant Johann Scholtz, came to Arkhangelsk to 1780, of Posen, married to a Brit originally from London, with whom he was not exact relationships. His son Franz, the grandfather of Emma Scholz, married the daughter of a merchant from Hamburg, and, as we know, he had no family ties. But, two of the four children from this marriage, the aforementioned Carl and Elizabeth Scholz, were mentally ill or at least showed clear signs in this direction. As well as in the next two generations of this family, as already mentioned, some family members have observed such a (similar) symptoms, it may be possible to consider this phenomenon hereditary predisposition or heredity as it is explained, witty testified teacher Until in 1841. But it wasn't a inevitability in the lives of children and the following generations shows the fact that these cases remained single, and that in subsequent generations of Emma Scholz/Lors haven't been more cases of mental or mental illness, except as her children, Arvid and Agnes.
After the death of her husband, Emma Lyurs and his five children lived in a house acquired in 1880. She received efficient support from the already aged, but still vigorous mother-in-law Caroline Lurs. Later she settled Emilia PEC, niece of the mother-in-law, and remained there until the death of Emma. She was a regular assistant. When the two older daughters, Agnes and Lucius got married, they also had to live with their families at home mother, the house was so big that everyone had enough space. The sick son of Arvid also lived with them in his mother's house for how long, no one could say. Probably, during the last military years and in troubled times of civil war and allied intervention, he was placed in a shelter in St. Petersburg, where he died in 1919. More accurate information about his last years of his life and his death are not available.
The other four children of Alexander Wilhelm and Emma Lyurs left Russia in 1919/1920 in the same way as many other families who lived in Arkhangelsk. Having overseas roots (of foreign origin). The reason was that they did not see any chance to lead a previous lifestyle, maintain their social status and, above all, they thought that the end of their lives is inevitable.
After the first entry of the Bolshevik government into Arkhangelsk from February to the end of July 1918, some still had hope for military assistance of allies who arrived in Arkhangelsk on August 2 and, as Lenin called it, "supported the counter-revolutionary government". But the government soon turned out to be extremely unstable. After the first major defeats white in the South of Russia in the spring and summer of 1919, and because of the hopeless military situation in the North of Russia, the British government and the rest of the allies (France, USA, etc.) decided to take the Archangel, which was not the main focus in the Civil war. The last British warships left Arkhangelsk 27.09.1919. In parallel with the withdrawal of the allies began the Exodus of many foreign families from the city. Women and children were the first to leave the city. Men, partially, at first remained in the city, as many of them still served in the white army, or hoping on the resistance of the remaining white forces under the leadership of General Miller, who, as it turned out, in vain tried to keep the area around Arkhangelsk, even without the help of the invaders, resisting the advancing red army.
Similarly it happened with children Emma, Lurs. Her eldest daughter Agnes and youngest daughter, Elsa, Arkhangelsk was not unusual, married two brothers from a family of Lindes, Edward and George (often called Jolya). These were the descendants of Johann Heinrich Lindes, who in 1783 was sent as a pastor from Hamburg to Arkhangelsk, and there left behind numerous offspring.
Both brothers fought on the side of the white, and so they waited for the worst with the victory of the Bolsheviks. Thus, their families left Arkhangelsk by steamboat in the autumn of 1919 in the direction of Broughtx Ferri (Scotland, ferry port, suburb on the Eastern side of Dundee), where their cousin Bertram Lyurs, the son of the deceased shortly before their arrival Herman Lyurs. He was able to shelter and help in the future to settle. With them went also a third daughter Lucia with her husband Arthur Pilecki, son of the former Director of the Russian gymnasium in Arkhangelsk, he was from the Baltic. These three families with 8 children (family Pilecki was childless) lived six months in Broughtx Ferri. Arrived at the beginning of 1920, remaining in Arkhangelsk husbands Edward and George Lindesy. After a brief stay in London and Bournemouth (town in Dorset, a beautiful resort on the shores of the English channel), all the profit finally to Hamburg, where he finally settled. Here they met again with the family of their brother-in-law or brother-in-law Alexander Edward Lyurs, my grandfather, who also settled with his family in Hamburg, having got there another way. All four Lurs brothers and sisters are resting today in family crypts at The tonndorf cemetery in Hamburg. Tombstones Pilecki family and the family of George Lindes with their names and dates are not preserved.
Only mother Emma Lyurs the only family Lyurs remained in Arkhangelsk. It already was in the time almost 70 years. She probably could not have one because of her age and her psychological state to decide to change your life and start living again. There she remained, surrounded by the care of faithful Emilia PEC and lived in a house, later confiscated by the Bolsheviks, in three rooms, where she lived with distant relatives.
My grandfather, who had a hard time leaving her alone, later tried to move her to Holland by applying to the Dutch government, where he lived with his family for two years. The petition was granted, but before this intention was fulfilled, it was reported from Russia that Emma Lyurs died in Arkhangelsk on June 19, 1921. As my grandfather writes, she is buried near her husband's grave at the Lutheran cemetery in Arkhangelsk. A headstone was not found, probably it was not, as anyone from that family has remained in Arkhangelsk, who would have to pay for it. In those years it was impossible to erect a monument in the cemetery. Her faithful companion Emilia PEC, whom the children called aunt Mula, later moved to Hamburg and died there in 1942. She is buried in the family grave of Edward and Agnes Lindes.
My grandfather Alexander Edward Lyurs, the eldest son of Alexander Wilhelm Lyurs and his wife Emma, 5th 1905 married Alma Louise Meyer, the eldest daughter of Wilhelm I. Meyer and his wife Jenny, nee guernet. Before you give some details about the life of my mother's parents in Russia, it is necessary to focus on the history of the Arkhangelsk Meyer family, where my grandmother came from.
The family Meyer in Arkhangelsk.
Information on the history of the Archangel family Meyer mostly more known than information on the history of the family Lyurs. Barthold Jacob Benjamin Meyer, the first Meyer, who arrived in Arkhangelsk in 1803, himself compiled a chronicle of his life, where he gives information about the most important dates and events. Details of his childhood and youth, which for years are becoming less and less scarce, until the end only consist of separate dates, and since 1848 completely interrupted. His grandson Alexander Ferdinand Meyer (1842-1913) continued this chronicle, including his own biography and complementing it, however, quite haphazardly and superficially. Thus, the chronicle recycles again, but his grandson Henry Robin Meyer Manfred von ELTZ (1912-2006), these more detailed records of his grandfather and sistematizirovat them with his hand, again according to the dates to the end of his own life trying to complete it. These records I received from him and, thus, this twice augmented chronicle of Bartold Jacob Benjamin Meyer is based mainly on the following information from the history of the Meyer family in Arkhangelsk.
The Barthold Jacob Benjamin Meyer first Meyer in Arkhangelsk (1781-1868) and his family.
The Barthold Jacob Benjamin Meyer – his name was, most likely, Benjamin Meyer, and so I signed up – was descended from an ancient family of Hamburg. He had three brothers and sisters. His grandfather Philip Meyer profession was a pastry chef, his father Benjamin Meyer in 1780 was recorded as a citizen of Hamburg as a host, but for a long time lived on income from his arena (stable) in his estate, which later went bankrupt due to the occupation of Napoleon (Napoleon's army). So he had to sell it below its value.
Parents tried to give their son a good education. So first he studied under three years in private school in house pastor in Mecklenburg, and then has come back in Hamburg, where some time studied under in several schools, but, as he himself said, with small success. So in 1795 at the age of 14 he was given a commercial training, which he completed after 5 and a half years, but he was not satisfied with the training. A further long stay in Frankfurt am main and London is not made clear in his life in terms of what to do next. Sometimes he thought to enter the military service, then he changed his mind and finally returned to Hamburg, where in early 1803 he entered the service of the broker for chartering ships. Soon after that, he accidentally met with an Arkhangelsk businessman, who just stopped in Hamburg, which helped to take the place that had just been vacated, and for three years he worked in the company "S. A. Rodde and Co" in Arkhangelsk. "In the morning I did not expect any changes and within an hour was invited to work in Arkhangelsk"-says Benjamin Meyer about this amazing turn in his life.
Similar stories have occurred with other young people, as Arkhangelsk commercial firms have shown great interest in the young, budding educated businessmen. After serving for three years at the firm, Benjamin Meyer came back through St. Petersburg and lübeck to Hamburg. He was going through a big win in Lotto, which he organized in Arkhangelsk, to start your own company in Hamburg. The occupation of Hamburg by the French in November 1806, in the framework of Napoleon's blockade of the continent, and the blockade of the Elbe by the British as a response, had an adverse impact on the plans for the founding of the company, as the sea trade in Hamburg at that time was hopeless.
In 1807 he returned to Arkhangelsk and stayed there until his death, having lived in Arkhangelsk for 60 years. On return from months-long, full of adventure, business travel, on behalf of the Arkhangelsk company, to the Peninsula of Kola, during which he was confrontional directly with the practices of the British naval blockade, he married in December 1810, to Margaret Elizabeth Gernet, daughter of deceased in 1807 Arkhangelsk businessman Peter Gernet.
The descendants of Peter guernet, who was born in revel (present-day Tallinn) and in 1765 a young man came and settled in Arkhangelsk, will appear many times in the pedigree of the Meyer family, in the same way in the already mentioned Scholz family.
After his marriage Benjamin Meyer created his own small ship chartering business in 1811, but quite successful. Who over and above his expectations brought him the right income. The following year, at the request of the Arkhangelsk circle of merchants, he took the seat of a dispatcher in Arkhangelsk. The task of the dispatcher, often referred to as the emergency Commissioner, is to investigate the occurrence of losses during transport by sea and to regulate, on behalf of the participating loss allocation plan. Due to the fact that this institution was transferred to public administration, Benjamin Meyer in September 1812 became a Russian citizen and thus became a state citizen of Russia.
Since 1815, Benjamin Meyer's records have become shorter and contain mostly only dates of birth, baptism, confirmation, and some important events in the lives of children and grandchildren. About his own life records little. So in 1822 it is briefly told that this year it became the broker on chartering of sea vessels and it is chosen by the adviser in City Council. In 1830, he held a position in the firm “Clark, Morgan and Co “, in which he worked according to his grandson until his death, although as noted by the grandson, in his last years of life was no longer able to work. In the early forties the letters of the teacher Untidy Benjamin Meyer described as "old Meyer, who has already grown old and quickly rolls down the mountain".
But that he was considered a respected and worthy member of the Archangel society, evidenced by the fact that in addition to the previous activities of the City Council, he was selected in 1840 the member of the Arkhangelsk commercial court. He also helped the Church all his life, entering its various departments. For example, he was a member of the aforementioned Church Assembly from 1863, which was developed by the new Board of the Church for the Evangelical community of Arkhangelsk. In 1841, he was elected Chairman of the Church community and, finally, in 1845, he was elected head of the Church. At the same time, we do not know exactly what tasks and functions are associated with these ranks and services. During these years he was awarded the title "honorary patron of the community" for his Church services.At the ripe old age of 86 years Benjamin Meyer died on 12 Jan 1868 in Arkhangelsk. As noted by his grandson AF Meyer in continuation of his Chronicle, he left his offspring no significant wealth, except for his home.
From Benjamin Meyer and his wife Margaret had ten children. Three of the first four children died in infancy, as the infant mortality rate in the Arkhangelsk foreign colony was quite high at the time. My parents still have seven children whom they brought up three boys and four girls.
In his letters repeatedly referred to the teacher is reported in its ironic tone about "four girls Meyer", "His daughter (the old Meijer) are independent. They should, as it is commonly done by many young girls their age, place network, I hope not in vain." Two of them, Julia and Emilia, in the family circle their name was Olsen (Julochka) and Emma remained unmarried. However, in the Arkhangelsk colony left a vivid mark: from a small private primary school under the leadership of Julia and the assistance of her sister Emma, this school has become a well-known public primary school, in which almost all the children of the German colony received primary education before they entered Church school. In addition, with their income, the sisters maintained their younger brother Alexander for a long time until his death in 1890. After Emma's death in 1889, the school was run for several years by Julia until it was closed in the early twentieth century. In her last years, Julia received a pension from the German community and died at an advanced age in 1906 at the age of 80 years.
Based on the fact that the children died early, it is believed that the eldest son of Benjamin Meyer was Carl Christian Meyer, who after years of commercial activity in various firms in Norway, Onega and St. Petersburg from the forties was a leading and successful in the economy employee of the firm "Gribanov, Fonteynes and Co" in Arkhangelsk. He also played a significant role in the political life of Arkhangelsk. In the sixties, he was Consul of Hanover, German Consul and briefly served as Consul of Bremen in Arkhangelsk. In 1870, he was elected for the first time, and in the eighties again, the mayor (mayor) of Arkhangelsk. In this office, he could and should have participated in 1883 in the solemn meeting of the Emperor of all Russia Alexander III, "however, for his money," as edko says his grandson, as the city Treasury was empty, and therefore the city could not help him financially. In 1888 at the age of 74 years, Carl Christian Meyer died in Arkhangelsk.
Carl Christian Meyer was married twice, and he had eleven children, eight from his first marriage. The second oldest, born in 1840, son from his first marriage, Wilhelm Christian Meyer, and appears in the family chronicle Lussow, namely, as wife of the daughters of Peter Lyursa Julia Lurs. They moved to England, where both became naturalized (took the citizenship of another country, in this case – England), were childless, and died there. It was the first direct relationship between the Lurs and Meyer families.
Already mentioned third son from the first marriage, Alexander Ferdinand Meyer, we are grateful for the continuation of the Chronicle of his grandfather Benjamin Meyer, as it is thanks to this that most of the facts from the history of the family Meyer in the second half of the NINETEENTH century. For a long time in his notes, he acted very critically in his medical profession. Finally, he was a railroad doctor and a quarantine doctor in BOLDERAYA (lat. Bolderaja). The town is located near Riga (Kurzeme district of Riga, on the left Bank of Daugava). At the end of his life he chose his place of residence with his family in Riga.
Based on the fact that three boys died early, the second oldest son was Wilhelm Heinrich Meyer, my mother's great-grandfather.
Wilhelm Heinrich Meyer (1817-1848), my mother's great-grandfather and his family.
Wilhelm Heinrich Meyer was born on may 21, 1817 as The fifth child in the Meyer family. In the pedigree of the family it appears as Wilhelm Heinrich Meyer second, because already a year ago before his birth he lost his little brother, who was baptized under this name. It was the fourth child of Benjamin Meyer. Some seem unacceptable strange decision to give the newly born son the name of only his dead brother, but this family happened twice. The last son born in 1829 was named Alexander, and Alexander was already the second son of Benjamin Meyer, who died at the age of seven in 1820.
Wilhelm Heinrich Meyer did not engage, like most young people from similar families, in commercial activities, but chose the profession of pharmacist. In 1831, he enrolled as a student at Schiller's pharmacy in Arkhangelsk. After studying for three and a half years, he went to Derpt (Dorpat, now Tartu) to pass the exam for assistant pharmacist. In 1835, he passed the exam with honors, but did not return immediately to his profession, and continued to study medicine. After a few semesters in 1837 he graduated. After a short activity as a chemist in St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk and again in St. Petersburg, he for a short time in 1840 came to what to do with my pharmacist as the druggist. In September 1841 he finally returned to Arkhangelsk and took the lead over the former pharmacy Schiller, whom the father 30 500 rubles bought from his former master teacher for Wilhelm, because the pharmacist left Arkhangelsk. As a pharmacist, Wilhelm established himself in the highest circles of Arkhangelsk. Married three years later on his 16-year-old cousin Louise Antoinette Gernet, whose father Johann (John) Gernet was the mother's brother, Wilhelm. Wilhelm's marriage lasted only an incomplete four years. During the summer of 1848 in Arkhangelsk once again broke out an epidemic of cholera. This epidemic claimed the life of Wilhelm Heinrich Meyer at the age of 31 years. This sudden death of his son was the last entry in Benjamin Meyer's Chronicle, which ends with the mournful event of 1848.
William G. Meyer has left a 21-year-old and pregnant with third child wife Louise Antoinette. A young widow with two small children, three year old daughter Louisa and her two year old son Wilhelm Johann. A third child from this marriage, Henry, was born a few months after his father's death.
Very little is known about the life of Louise and Henry. Louise later married Charles Birze (Charles Birse), presumably English. Children in this marriage not was.
Henry became a pharmacist like his father, and, as shown by the dates of his life, lived only 39 years. From this marriage had a son Johann Wilhelm, who later became the grandfather of my mother.
His mother, Louise Antoinette Meyer, survived her husband for 60 years and died in 1909 at the age of 81. Married after her husband's early death a second time (?). But this marriage, the second husband was from Belgium, did not last long. Johann Kramers died in March 1858, less than 10 years after the death of her first husband.
Martha Hansen, one of the last teachers of the German school in Arkhangelsk, who, as I was able to see, had a phenomenal memory of family events and family dates, could report that from this second marriage there were three children whose names were known, but no other data. Louise Antoinette Kramer, nee Gernet, widow of Meyer's 31 years old, and a second time widowed. Her situation was much more difficult than that of her niece Emma Lyurs, a nee Scholz who had already been discussed. If the widow of 34 years was to take care of five young children, then Luza Antoinette Kramers, remaining a widow of 31 years, had to take care of six children of the same age, of which the oldest child was only 12 years. Without the support of another family, she couldn't handle it.
Wilhelm Johannes Meyer (1846-1911) and Jenny Meyer, nee guernet (1853-1921), grandfather and grandmother of my mother.
Wilhelm Johannes Meyer, my mother's grandfather, was born on 3 October 1846 as the second child of Wilhelm Heinrich Meyer and his wife Louise Antoinette Meyer, nee guernet. He practically did not know his own father, as his father had died, as had already been mentioned, in 1848, when William Johannes was not even two years old. For several years he was raised by his stepfather Johann Kramer, as his mother after the early death of his father, he married a second time. But Johann Kramers died soon after, when Wilhelm was a child. From the age of twelve, he grew up without a father. His cousin Alexander F. Meyer reports that Wilhelm received "usual education", that for Arkhangelsk society of the time could mean, that he, as all children from such families, studied under in German ecclesiastical school.
The difficult situation in which his mother, one of six young children, was brought up, was the reason that he in 1860, together with his cousin Edward Scholz, brother of Emma Scholz, would be sent to a boarding school, namely, in Hollandersche –boarding school in Birkenru under the then city of Wenden in Livonia, now Cesis. Located on the river Gauja, the oldest city in Latvia.
This private school was known as the best educational institution of the Russian Empire and, above all, on the Baltic sea. It was later transformed into a "Tsesisky State school" (Landesgumnasium) of the Livonian knighthood, was founded in 1826 by teacher Albert Holandesa (1796-1868). It was to address, in a sense, as a gymnasium reform, the shortcomings in higher education in the Baltic provinces of the Baltic region. The purpose of the school should be to link scientific education with mental education for later moral and religious life.
Wilhelm Meyer successfully graduated from the secondary course and in 1865 entered the University of Dorpat in Estonia today, where he could do most of the graduates of this school. He chose to study Philology. What subjects were taught there, is not named. However, subjects which he later taught in various schools, it can be concluded that his study subjects were German, history and theology. He's almost nine years he studied in Dorpat and only in 1874 his training "ended the master's degree," explains his brother that William Meier was very active in the public life of the Livonian Corporation, which he joined, and of which he was for a long time. This was founded in 1822 at the University of Dorpat, the Corporation was an Association of students, which included primarily the Baltic Germans then the Russian Baltic provinces. In a narrow sense, Wilhelm Meyer did not belong to the Baltic Germans, however, his family on the maternal side was descended from the Baltic sea, it already mentioned the great-grandfather of Peter Gernet in 1765 arrived in Arkhangelsk from revel (Kolyvan now Tallinn) and for a long time remained in Arkhangelsk.
After passing the exam in 1874 in Derpt received a place of teacher reformation schools in St. Petersburg and taught there in Wiedermannschen-private gymnasium. A year later, in December 1875, he married his cousin Jenny Louise guernet, whose father Johannes guernet (in Russian Ivan Ivanovich guernet) was the elder brother of Wilhelm's mother and a successful businessman in Arkhangelsk. In addition, he was Consul of Prussia and Hamburg in Arkhangelsk. In 1868 he became Consul of the North German Union and after the founding of the Empire (Reich) in 1871 he became Consul of The German Reich in Arkhangelsk, in this post remained until his death in 1884.
After five years of teaching in St. Petersburg, where his eldest daughter Alma was born, my grandmother, Wilhelm Meyer returned with his family to Arkhangelsk in 1880, where he began teaching German language, history and religion at the German school.
Then, at the insistence of his father-in-law, he left his teaching career and joined a forestry firm, which in December 1884 he headed as Executive commercial Director, and then handed over the leadership to his wife, who was the sole heir to the father's business (enterprise).
As a businessman, Wilhelm Meyer benefited from the latest decision of his father-in-law, who shortly before his death had a capital of 55,000 rubles. Wilhelm Meyer, together with his Russian partner, founded the forest trade firm Amosov, guernet and the company, which later became one of the largest and most successful companies in Arkhangelsk. That is evidenced by the number of workers 715 people (in 1913) who worked in the company. Wilhelm Meyer and his wife became wealthy people who, with their income and wealth, also by Wilhelm's mother, as well as his half-brother and his family, could be provided, although cousin Alexander F. Meyer noted "nothing was produced." He also noted in his records that social and economic activity was never able to bring satisfaction to Wilhelm Meyer. About the last years of life by Wilhelm Meyer in the new century, he was informed that Wilhelm had suffered a variety of serious diseases, which complicated the life of his wife Jenny. Whether it really was, or Alexander F. Meyer had a tendency to look at some things from the point of view of the doctor, we will never know about it, because there are no other sources.
Similarly, however, it is known that the couple William and Jenny Meyer to the economic and social plan in the coming new century was considered an influential family of the Arkhangelsk society. In 1885, Wilhelm was appointed German Consul in Arkhangelsk as the successor of his son-in-law and retained this position until his death in 1911. In another source it is reported that in 1895 he was elected mayor (mayor) of Arkhangelsk, but refused the post.
Another public Foundation, in which Meyers became famous in their circles, was originally drawn up and preserved invitation in honor of the celebration of their silver wedding, which they sent in December 1900.

