Anton Donnersberger

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anton Donnersberger.png

Anton Donnersberger , also Anthony (born April 18, 1790 in Straßnitz , Margraviate of Moravia , † May 21, 1862 in Cincinnati , Ohio ), was an Austrian emigrant and pioneer of flower, horticultural and viticulture in Cincinnati.

Life

Anton Donnersberger, son of a father of the same name (1764–1806) and Elizabeth Donnersberger, née Semlmayer, studied in the orangery of Count Franz de Paula von Dietrichstein-Nikolsburg (1731–1813), son of Prince Karl Maximilian von Dietrichstein , from 1807 until 1810. After his apprenticeship, he went on a hike and trained in art gardeners in Vienna , Bissingen , Biebrich , Düsseldorf and Amsterdam .

In September 1819 he was summoned home from Amsterdam by the Austrian ambassador to the Dutch court. He did not follow this instruction, but emigrated to the United States , where he translated from Amsterdam in January 1820 with the brig Johanna Catharine to New Orleans . As agreed, he had to work off the costs for his crossing in a German nursery nearby. Before the agreed working period had expired, he was released from the nursery owner due to his good work performance and received a 540 acre piece of land from him together with a colleague  , on which the two set up their own commercial nursery . In 1820 his first wife, Catherine Solar (1800–1820) died.

From 1822 he traveled several times over the Mississippi to Cincinnati to sell oranges and buy white cabbage and other products from this region. On one of these trips he met the nursery owner Johann Zoller (1769–1848), who emigrated from Forchheim in 1815 , and married his daughter Maria Eva (1799–1862) in 1824. With her he returned to New Orleans. Shortly thereafter, his partner was killed by a slave, whereupon the young couple decided to leave New Orleans and settle in Cincinnati. There he was employed as a gardener by Nicholas Longworth for several years . Longworth had various plant seeds imported from Austria and Germany through Donnersberger's contacts, including for his own art garden. In addition to earning $ 600 , he had free lodging with Longworth and received half of the sale of the produce. The Cincinnati Directory for 1829 indicates that he was a member of the city convention.

Encouraged by his wife, Donnersberger founded his own nursery around 1838. Longworth sold him three acres of land for this purpose and rented him additional land in the western part of Cincinnati at a reasonable price. Through his work, in which he was supported by his wife, he made a significant contribution to the design of the city. At that time, an adjacent street was called Donnersberger Street . The street was renamed after the First World War. As a wealthy citizen, he was also involved in the city's non-profit making.

As the West End gradually became more populated, he sold part of his land to the school administration of the city in September 1854. In January 1858 he donated another piece of land to the city. In February 1860, he sold another piece of land on Budd Street to build a church and donated USD 1,500 to the newly established parish and one year of interest on the purchase capital, which was then paid to St. Anthony's Parish (formerly St. Antonius Church). The tower of St. Antoniuskirche in Budd Street was built in 1867 by Johann Bast .

Anton Donnersberger died a good four months after his wife. The funeral service took place in the St. Antonius Church.

The family grave of the two is in the Saint Joseph Cemetery in Cincinnati. The couple had four daughters and two sons. His son Joseph (1843–1929) was a well-known Democrat politician in Illinois . His daughter Rosalie was married to the Osnabrück publicist Joseph Fredewest (1817–1875).

literature

  • Cincinnati's first art gardener. In: The German Pioneer . Memories from the pioneering life of Germans in America. 2nd year, issue 1, German Pioneer Association of Cincinnati, end of March 1870, p. 3 ff. ( Online )
  • Donnersberger, Anton. In: Clifford Neal Smith: Early Nineteenth-Century German Settlers in Ohio (Mainly Cincinnati and Environs), Kentucky, and Other States. Parts 1, 2, 3, 4a, 4b, and 4C. Genealogical Publishing Com., 2009, L 2: 003. ( limited preview in Google Book search)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ No. 48 on the passenger list of the brig Johanna Catharine , Amsterdam, Netherlands (January 2, 1820) to New Orleans, Louisiana (arrival presumably January 14, 1820)
  2. ^ Ernest Wilder Spaulding: The Quiet Invaders: The Story of the Austrian Impact Upon America. Österreichischer Bundesverlag, 1968, p. 232.
  3. ^ The Cincinnati Directory for the Year 1829 .: To which are appended, Lists of State, County, & City Officers; some general Statistical Notices, & with the Officer & Names of the religious and benevolent Societes. So the annual advertiser. Cincinnati, Robinson and Fairbank (Eds.), Whetstone & Buxton Printers, 1829, p. 41.
  4. ↑ The Truth Friend. A sheet for Catholic life, knowledge and work. Cincinnati, May 28, 1862, p. 2.
  5. ↑ Joseph Donnersberger. In: Prominent Democrats of Illinois. A brief history of the rise and progress of the Democratic party of Illinois. Democrat Publishing Co., Chicago 1899, pp. 390 ff.
  6. ↑ Joseph Fredewest. In: The German Pioneer. Memories from the pioneering life of Germans in America. 7th year, issue 10, German Pioneer Association of Cincinnati, end of December 1877, p. 424. ( online )
personal data
SURNAME Donnersberger, Anton
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Donnersberger, Anthony
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian emigrant and pioneer of flower, horticultural and viticulture in Cincinnati
DATE OF BIRTH April 18, 1790
PLACE OF BIRTH Straßnitz , Margraviate of Moravia
DATE OF DEATH May 21, 1862
Place of death Cincinnati , Ohio , United States