Tips and Tricks from a Nineteenth Century Man

Appointment of Carl Neumann as consul to Puerto Plata by King Wilhelm of Prussia

Back in 2020, I posted about documents found in the Royal Prussian Archives related to my husband's 2nd great-grandfather Karl Ludwig (aka Carlos Luis, or Charles) Neumann.  

These documents included his application to become the Prussian Consul in what is now Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, as well as his correspondence related to holding that post for some years. Of course, the documents were all handwritten and in old German script, so I hired a translator, Nina Gaffney, to tell me what they said. At that time I focused on the important family references in the documents which allowed me to trace his family back to Prussia over several generations.

At the time, Nina told me that she had found the documents very interesting, especially how Karl had framed his application for the consul job. Recently she asked if she could use the documents in an article she was writing focusing on tips for writing a job application.  The article has been published on the American Translators Association German Language Division website, and it gives a different look at the character of Karl Ludwig Neumann while pointing out the techniques he used to make his application successful.

Here is the link to the article.

The Neumann Family Backstory - Part 2

 

Amalie Neumann Haizinger 1845

   In my last post, I looked at the records that I found and determined that the actress Amelie Neumann Haizinger of Karlsruhe, Prussia did have a son Karl (or Carl) Ludwig who would have been about the age of the Carlos Luis Neumann of Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic who was my husband's second great grandfather.  But were they the same person?

   The documents that I had related to Carlos Neumann provided some additional clues.  First, a letter of recommendation in the consular documents from the Prussian State Archives noted that Carlos was said to have a sister in Bremen and a brother who was an "...adjutant to Imperial-Royal Landwehr Feld Marshall Radetsky"1.  Second, both the article in the economics journal described in that post2 and several of the consular documents noted the destruction of Carlos Neumann's business by the Spanish during the occupation of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Restoration War (1863-65)3.   Finally, another note from Carlos to the foreign office in January 1868 indicated that he was in Germany at that time for his health, and could be reached at the address of Anton Haizinger in Karlsruhe4.  Corroboration of these items would indicate that they were in fact the same person.

   As I said in my last post, in addition to having three children by her first husband, Amelie and Anton Haizinger did have a son together, Anton Ludwig Paul Sigmund Haizinger (known as Anton, or Toni).  Toni did join the army and is listed in 1840 as a Rittmeister II Class or Staff Captain in the cavalry. In 1870 he was listed as a Commandant des Dragoons5. The article Memories of the Gabillon couple and Amalie Haizinger discussed chats with Amalie in 1860 where they said "She told us about her son, her Toni, the young cavalry officer in Vienna, the great Radetzky's adjutant."6 I can't confirm the part about his connection to the hero Joseph Radetzky von Radetz who died in 1858 in Milan, but young Anton did have a distinguished military career being listed as Unangestellte Titular-Feldmarschall-Lieutenante ( Retired titular Lieutenant Field Marshal) in 18857. 

   The final confirmation is found in the autobiography written in the form of a letter to her children by Amalie's daughter, Louise, Countess Schönfeld -Neumann. 9 By 1860 when Louise wrote the letter mentioning her siblings, Amalie's daughter Adolphine had died8, but Louise, Karl Neumann's sister, had married Karl, Graf Schönfeld, and did live in Bremen. In addition, in the autobiography, Louise wrote nearly a page about a visit from her brother Karl, who she had not seen for the past fifteen years and who was now the Austrian and Prussian consul in Puerto Plata.  This portion of her narrative is noted as occurring in 1851, but I believe that she conflated several visits of his as she mentions not only his health problems but also the destruction of his business by the Spanish during the war that didn't take place until 1863-65, and his death which didn't occur until1873.  His last visit mentioned was to "...Karlsruhe, where he stayed for the same reason he usually stayed in Europe." while also visiting various spas over the years in an attempt to regain his health.  

   By tying all of these various documents together, I was able to show that Carlos Luis Neumann of Puerto Plata Dominican Republic was the Carl Ludwig Neumann, son of Carl Ludwig Neumann (1786-1923) and Amalie Morstadt (1799-1884) of Karlsruhe, Baden Wurtemberg.  I could also push the family tree back two generations! Carl Ludwig (Sr.) was the son of Carl Ludwig Neumann (b. abt 1756) and Charlotte Wilhelmine Sophia Epien (b. abt. 1760)10. Amelie was the daughter of Georg Michael Morstadt (1763-1842) and Fredricka Jacobina Fastert (sp?) (1774-1822)11.

   Hooray for following up on unusual sources!

1.  Letter in Royal Prussian Archives: Bremen 24 June 1853 from Fredtd Uelm, the Royal Prussian Consul, to The Royal Prussian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, translated by Nina Gafni.

2. "Donation de Capital de la Sociedad Rural Dominicana en el Siglo XIX Segunda Parte” by Manfred Wilckens. Ciencia Y Sociedad,  Voumen XXVII, Numero 2 Abril-Junio 2002. Portions translated by Yanire Brana.

3.  Geheimes Staatsarchiv PreuBischer Kulturbesitz. Zentrales Staatsarchiv Hist. Abt. 11 2.4.1. Abt. II Nr. 642 Vol. II vom Sep. 1845 bis December 1862. May 3, 1854.  Translated by Nina Gafni

4.  Letter January 1868 Carl Neumann. Geheimes Staatsarchiv PreuBischer Kulturbesitz. Zentrales Staatsarchiv Hist. Abt. 11 2.4.1. Abt. II Nr. 642 Vol. II vom Sep. 1845 bis December 1862. May 3, 1854.  Translated by Nina Gafni

5.  Ancestry.com, Germany & Austria, Directories of Military and Marine Officers, 1600-1918 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015), Ancestry.com, Record for Anton Haizinger 1861

Rittmeister 1. Classe Haizinger Anton PSGO-R. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60667&h=3637639&indiv=try.

6.  Anton Bettelheim, Viennese biographers. Vienna Literary Institute Vienna Leipzig 1921 “Memories of the Gabillon couple and Amalie Haizinger.” By Auguste Wilbrandt Baudius.  https://www.projekt-gutenberg.org/bettelhe/wienerbi/chap012.html Accessed 11/27/2022

7. Ancestry.com, Germany & Austria, Directories of Military and Marine Officers, 1600-1918 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2015), Ancestry.com, Record for Anton Haizinger. https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=60667&h=3868268&indiv=try.

8. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolfine_Neumann

9. Bettelheim-Gabillon Helene and Schönfeld Luise Neumann. Amalie Haizinger Gräfin Louise Schönfeld-Neumann: Biographische Blätter. C. Konegen (E. Stülpnagel) 1906. http://catalog.hathitrust.org/api/volumes/oclc/11390508.html. Accessed 20 June. 2022.  Original from Harvard University. Translated by Nina Gafni

10. Ancestry.com, Germany, Select Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014), Ancestry.com, Birth Record for Carl Ludwig Neumann, 1786, Berlin. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N6CF-R5S.

11. Ancestry.com, Baden, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1502-1985 (Provo, UT, USA, Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), Ancestry.com, Marriage Record for Georg Michael Morstedt. http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=61060&h=5512271&indiv=try.

Carl Neumann, Consul to Puerto Plata

Beginning of Ledger Entry May 3, 1854
 Appointment for the merchant Carl Neumann as consul to Porto Plata.

I have written before (HERE ) about my husband's Neumann family, his grandmother Julia, and her father Victor.  I knew that the head of the family was his second great grandfather, known as Luis Carlos Neumann in Puerto Plata in what is now the Dominican Republic.  Family lore had said that he was the Prussian consul and that he had been born in "Germany" (which wasn't a  unified country until 1871).  I didn't have much further information about Carlos except that his wife was Maria Francisca Enriqueta Paris, and they had six children (Anna Maria Alicia, Carlos Henrique, Clementina Ragaela, Amelia, and Alberto in addition to the aforementioned Victor.)  The family referred to his German name as Karl.

Not one to give up on brick walls, I recently Googled Carlos Neumann and to my surprise got a hit on a Spanish language economics journal that had an article about the impact of the Dominican Restoration War of 1863-1865 on commerce in Puerto Plata1.  With the help of my Spanish neighbor, I found that there were several references to Carlos Neumann as the proprietor of businesses with an analysis of the impact on his business based on inventories and reports he filed as consul to the government of Prussia.  There were also footnotes providing references to the archive holding those reports in Germany.  With the help of my German neighbor (I live in a very multicultural neighborhood), I corresponded with the Geheimes Staatsarchiv PreuBischer Kulturbesitz (Prussian State Archive) in Berlin and they sent me images of 59 pages of letters and reports related to Carl Neumann of Karsruhe Prussia including the one shown above naming him consul to Puerto Plata (or Porto Plata as they called it).  I had to hire a professional translator as these were handwritten in old German, and they are still being worked on, but shown above is part of one page of the official ledger where they copied official correspondence showing the letter naming him as consul.  The paragraph shown above reads:

"We, Friedrich Wilhelm by the grace of God King of Prussia, etc. do hereby declare and add:, that, having found it convenient  to appoint a consul in Porto Plata, we have chosen and accepted there in grace Carl Neumann, a merchant who is acclaimed for his knowledge of business and other good qualities”2.

It seems that in the official correspondence his name was spelled with a C, and that the often signed his letters as Charles!  The remaining correspondence in addition to business information seems to include references provided in connection with his appointment with information about Carl's business, his character, and possibly about his origins in Karlsruhe. There are also some hints in the Spanish article that may lead to further information on the family in Puerto Plata.  I will have lots to do to follow up on these new hints, but for now, it's good to know that the family story about Carlos being the consul is correct even if the assumption about the "German" spelling of his name was wrong.

1. Donation de Capital de la Sociedad Rural Dominicana en el Siglo XIX Segunda Parte” by Manfred Wilckens. Ciencia Y Sociedad,  Voumen XXVII, Numero 2 Abril-Junio 2002.

2. Geheimes Staatsarchiv PreuBischer Kulturbesitz. Zentrales Staatsarchiv Hist. Abt. 11 2.4.1. Abt. II Nr. 642 Vol. II vom Sep. 1845 bis December 1862. May 3, 1854. no 5913 Article p. 102.

Neuman family - part 1

 Julia Henriette Neuman Fondeur
about 1912

My husband's grandmother was the lovely young lady shown above.  She was born on January 13, 1887, in Santa Barbara de Samana in what is now the Dominican Republic (DR), and baptized there as Julia Margarita Neumann Fondeur1.  (This uses the Spanish convention of putting the father's surname followed by the mother's surname).  In various records, she was known as Julia Henriette, Julia Andriette Marie, and Julieta Henriqueta.

Julia was born into a large, prosperous family of seven girls and one boy.   Her parents were Victor Newman Paris, (born May 30, 1863, in Puerto Plata, DR)2 and Juliana Fondeur Guzman (b. ca. 1869 in Moca, Espaillat, DR).  According to "Hombres y Mujeres Notables y Benefactores de Samana (1493-1910)"  by Gregorio Elias Penzo, her father (Victor) "... emigrated with his brother Alberto to the city of Samana sometime between 1880 and 1890.  On January 9, 1896, he married Juliana Fondeur, from Moca, their children were:  Julieta Enriqueta, Maria Juliana Clementina, Maria Luisa Virginia, Lois Henry Victor, Maria Francisca, Maria Theresa, and Luisa Angela Marguerita (7 girls and 1 boy).  Victor appears in a list of businessmen (comerciantes) in 1896 as the proprietor of a commercial establishment.  He held several municipal posts, including the mayor. On March 1, 1903, professor Vicente Martinez, jointly with Victor Neumann, mayor, founded a school, Escuela Aurora, in Las Terrenas.  Victor was a founding member of the Auxilliary Fire Department of Samana (March 22, 1922).  On March 31, 1902, his wife died; years later he remarried: Theresa Horton Drullard,  and had an additional seven children: Celida Altagracia, Atenaida Maria, Celeste Ondina, Elsa Mercedes, Clara Aurora, Rhina Teresa, and Sergio Hector (6 girls and one boy).

He was named administrator of the soap company, Jabonerias Unidas del Cibao, by the board of directors, and he carried out his responsibilities with efficiency and honesty, which was an integral part of his character.  Although he had a sober expression, he enjoyed simple humor and loved music.  He frequently hired a local band, Orquesta Altagracia to play for his parties.  He was a well-mannered gentleman, and was the governor of a social club, Club Peninsular, for several terms.  He died on October 20, 1932."3

Alexander Crime
 taken in San Juan PR about 1913 

In 1913 Julia married Alexander Crime from St Thomas, Danish West Indies but living in Samana. In a 1906 guide to the DR he is shown as an import/export merchant operating from an office in a pharmacy, and  Vice-Consul for Norway for Samana.  He is listed as living in Samana with his father Matthew and "Crime Senoritas" (probably unmarried sisters) on Avenida la Marina in Samana. Victor Neumann is also listed on Marina at that time, although his family is not shown.  It is likely that that is how the couple became acquainted. Victor's brother Alberto is shown as living on Colon Street.4.

Because of Alejandro's (Alexander) business, the couple moved back and forth between Samana and St Thomas.  They had seven children born as they moved from one to the other. Born in Samana:  Ilma Ethelvina (1914), Mildred Virginia (1915) Daphne Maria (1918), and Alda Alexandrina (1920).  Born in St Thomas: Vera Tanya (1917), Alexander (1922), and Erle Edward (1924).  This movement became an issue after the 1917 transfer of St Thomas from Denmark to the United States and the granting of US citizenship to Danish resident citizens in 1927.  That will be the subject of another blog post.5

Ad for Alexander Crime
in Guia General of 1906

Alexander, (as he was known in St Thomas) acquired some land on Estate Dorothea on St Thomas in 1907 and established a residence there to maintain his Danish citizenship despite his absences in the DR. 6 By 1921 when his first son was born, the family was residing at 11 Crystal Gade in Charlotte Amelie, St Thomas.7  By 1929 they had moved to 83 Kronprindsens Gade where Julia died on November 7 from cancer of the uterus.8  Alexander died on June 11, 1936.  They both were buried in the Western Cemetery in Charlotte Amalie.9

1.  Baptism records, FHL, Julia Margarita Neumann Fondeur born Jan 13, 1887, Baptized June 15, 1887, in Santa Barbara de Samana. Parents Victor Neumann and Juliana Fondeur.
2.  Hombres y Mujeres Notables y Benefactores de Samana (1493-1910)"  by Gregorio Elias Penzo.  pp 209-210.  Citation and rough translation provided via e-mail Feb 23, 2004, from Jacqueline Jacques to Mary-Jane Roth
3.  Ibid.
4. "La Republica Dominicana Directorio y Guia General" Enrique Deschamps, 1906.  Copies of pages 186-188, 315-317  several unmarked pages sent to Erle Crime by Jacqueline Jacques in 2004. Given to Mary-Jane Roth in 2004.
5. Ibid., unmarked page of advertisements.
6. Copy of letter October 30, 1938, from C.L. Root, Collector of Customs St. Thomas, to The Commissioner of Emigration & Naturalization, Department of Labor, Washington, D.C. concerning the citizenship of Miss Mildred Crime.  Copy given to Mary-Jane Roth by Daphne Crime Kushnereit.
7. Ibid.
8. As told to Mary-Jane Roth by Erle Crime and Daphne Crime Kushnereit.
9. Photos of the crypt in Western Cemetery, Charlotte Amalie, St Thomas showing birth and death dates for Julia N. Crime and Alexander Crime. Provided by e-mail July 26, 2006, from Maria Smith to Mary-Jane Roth.