Berend Roosen (shipowner)
Berend I Roosen (born July 11, 1705 in Altona ; † June 3, 1788 in Hamburg ) was a German shipowner from Hamburg and a deacon of the Mennonite community in Altona .
Life
Berend I Roosen was the son of the Mennonite and Hamburg merchant Hermann II Roosen (1672–1736) and Catharina de Vliegers (1681–1757). His great-grandfather was Paul Roosen, who was the first Roosenscher merchant to live in Altona. In 1611 he founded a tannery with packing rooms on the Große Freiheit . The family became one of the most influential Mennonite merchant families in Hamburg until the 19th century. His descendants include Gerrit Roosen , Rudolph Roosen , Salomon Roosen and Berend III Roosen, all of whom were among the largest shipowners and merchants in Hamburg and also played a major role in the Mennonite community of Altonas .
Berend I Roosen married Elisabeth Kramer on September 9, 1731 (* March 8, 1712 in Hamburg; † March 25, 1788), the daughter of Lucas Krahmer and Sara de Voss.
Berend I Roosen completed his apprenticeship in the then respected Mennonite trading company Hinrich van der Smissen . He later recommended him to Lucas Kramer's widow. Initially he was a commercial clerk, later he became a partner and son-in-law.
In January 1731 he became a citizen of Hamburg.
At his death, his fortune consisted of the general shipping company and Greenland shipping company, a trading business, a oil distillery and real estate in Othmarschen and Bahrenfeldt.
plant
From 1736 Berend I Roosen was a partner in Sara Kramer's shipping company, which continued to operate the Greenland shipping company and the Reiherstieg shipyard after her husband's death in 1719 . From 1736 the ships were dispatched under the name "Lucas Kramers Witwe & Berend Roosen".
As can be read on a copper engraving by FG Löhr from 1790, on which Berend I Roosen is shown in his office with a view of the Reiherstieg shipyard, Berend Roosen also ran a general shipping company and a goods store. He also owned a large granary on Brauerknechtsgraben. In 1741 Berend I Roosen bought a distillery on the site of today's St. Pauli fish market. This had already been operated jointly by several Greenland shipping companies before 1710.
As can be seen from various files in the Commerzbibliothek in Hamburg, Berend I Roosen occupied a leading position among merchants interested in trade with France and Russia. Unlike the other Hamburg shipowners of his time, he did not rely on the equity investments of fellow shipowners. Only once did his brother Salomon I Roosen (1717–1795) take part in a ship for a voyage.
In 1775, Berend I Roosen had the Kramer / Roosensche Kontor built on the property of Vorsetzen 3 by the builder Sonnin. Better known as the tower house.
In 1942 the house was destroyed in a bomb attack. The tower of the house in the form of a Chinese temple was a landmark of Hamburg in its time and was demolished in 1875 in order to add another floor.
In 1773 Berend I Roosen must have had large financial resources. So he had the Roosen Bridge built and bought the Bahrenfelder Hof, which later became known as Gayens Park. He also had the house built at Vorsetzen 3, into which his youngest daughter Maria and her husband Hermann IV Roosen moved.
The fleet of 21 ships last included small units as well as “de Hermann”, which with a load of 300 was the largest Hamburg ship of the late 18th century.
The Greenland voyage faded into the background. In 1776 there were four of a total of 18 ships that went to Greenland and in 1785 only one.
The journey to Arkhangelsk came to the fore . Year after year, up to 12 ships were sent there from April / May. But also the voyage to Bordeaux was started with a ship in 1770 and intensified until 1788. The ventures of Berend I Roosen also included the voyage to Portugal from 1771. From 1777 these voyages via Archangelsk to Lisbon became a standard route and business field. Roosen only operated the overseas voyage with one ship and did not expand it, neither did the London voyage.
family
Berend I Roosen had five children: Sara Roosen (1732–1762), Catharina Roosen (1736–1809), Lucas Roosen (1738–1760), Elisabeth Roosen (1743–1771) and Maria Roosen (1749–1808).
literature
- Claus Gossler: Roosen, Berend . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 6 . Wallstein, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-8353-1025-4 , p. 270-271 .
- Ascan Roosen, Roosen family table 1998, Museum for Hamburg History
- Ascan Roosen, Ship List 1998, Museum for Hamburg History
- Gustav Alfred Roosen, Roosen family 1951, Museum for Hamburg History
- Hamburg in German Gender Book Volume 18, pages 321–362; Correction sheet in State Archive Hamburg 741/2 by Johannes Langenbuch.
- Mennonite Congregation Church registers and community books and marriage certificates of the Mennonite Congregation Hamburg / Altona, Hamburg State Archives
- Berend Carl Roosen, History of the Mennonite Congregation at Altona 1886, Hamburg State Archives
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Roosen, Berend I. |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German shipowner, deacon of the Mennonite community in Altona |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 11, 1705 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Altona |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 3, 1788 |
| Place of death | Hamburg |