Chapter 5.
The Family of Ludwig Friedrichs
After having told the rather lengthy story of the Rosenthal family, I must return to Ludwig Friedrichs and his family.
Ludwig (8) and Minna Rosenthal (9) were married in 1835. I have a tiny card on which "Cammerarius Rosenthal"
Minna's father, invites his sister Wilhelmine Margarethe and her husband "Altermann Luhde" to attend the wedding.
Ludwig and Minna had four children, Carl (4), my grandfather, Marie, Hermine, and Clara. Ludwig died of typhoid
fever when he was 39 years old (1842). The children were then, 4, 2, and 1 year old Minna took over her husband's
business with the aid of a manager; but after six years she gave up doing this. She then had a hard time raising her
children. Her manager, however, was able to buy an estate.
None of Minna's three daughters got married. (Incidently, the same is true of the three daughters of her brother
Johann Carl.) One of the reasons that none of Minna's daughters married may have been that Minna could not
provide a trousseau for her daughters; but that was not the only reason. Apparently, a young man was interested in
Clara and wanted to marry her. In fact, I have a small letter containing a poem written by him for Clara. But nothing
came of it. Later on it was said that Minna did not allow Clara to get married; Clara should take care of her.
Minna was said to be a stern mother. On the other hand, a letter she wrote shortly before her husband's death shows
that she loved him dearly. Also in later years the letters she wrote to her children show her concern.
While Clara lived with her mother and took care of her until she died (1869), Marie and Hermine were teachers and
governesses. When Marie and Clara were 38 and 35 years old (1876), they moved into a retirement home in Putbus
on Rügen. This home was founded by Hofrat Bernhard Engelbrecht, the administrator of the Count Malte of Putbus,
sometime after 1810, when the City of Putbus was developed by this Count. Hofrat Engelbrecht was one of those
who had signed the will of Adolph Heinrich Friedrichs. Since Engelbrecht's wife was a nee Arnd, a daughter of
Heinrich Arnd, the members of the Friedrichs family qualified to be admitted to the retirement home. Aunt Marie was
still alive and well in 1916, when I visited her in this retirement home during my stay on Rügen in that year.
Hermine had first founded a private school; later on (1878) she became the director of a newly established trade
school for women, a rather novel institution at that time. This school was located in Kiel, a city at the southwestern
corner of the Baltic Sea, where her brother lived at that time.
This brother of Hermine, my grandfather, Carl Friedrichs (4), would have liked to attend a university and study mainly
history; but he could not do so since his mother could not have supported him. So he started as a clerk in a
bookstore in Greifswald. Later on he took a position in a bookstore in Kiel. There he met another clerk, Hermann
Heiberg, who at that time was also working in that store.
Later, Carl took a position in the book store of Hermann's father in Schleswig and soon, (1863), he got engaged to
Hermann's sister, Nanny (5). A year later Carl was made the owner of the "Schwerssche Buchhandlung" in Kiel,
which was the main bookstore used by the professors at the University in that city. A year later Carl and Nanny got
married (1864).
Before telling about the life of Carl and Nanny Friedrichs I must relate ” at least to a certain degree " the story of the
Heiberg family, which is quite involved and colorful.
Go to Chapter 6 Return to main Histroy page
