Ernst Esmarch

Johann Philipp Ernst Esmarch (born July 8, 1794 in Holtenau , † February 2, 1875 in Segeberg ) was a German lawyer and mayor of Bad Segeberg.

education

Ernst Esmarch was a son of Christian Hieronymus Esmarch and his second wife Friederike, née Niemann. He initially received lessons from a private tutor and from the autumn of 1811 attended the learned school in Husum . From the summer semester of 1813 he studied law at the University of Kiel and spent a lot of time with his uncle August Christian Niemann . In autumn 1814, like his brother Heinrich Carl, he moved to the University of Heidelberg, where he stayed for two semesters. Here he often visited his godfather Johann Heinrich Voss .

In the autumn of 1815 Esmarch moved again to Kiel to prepare for his exams. In 1816 he later passed the exam at the Gottorf Higher Court. His brother helped him get a job at the Schleswig-Holstein-Lauenburg law firm in Copenhagen , where he worked for four years. Esmarch wanted to get married and therefore work independently. He applied unsuccessfully in Friedrichstadt . Instead, with the inauguration on November 27, 1820, he assumed the office of mayor and city secretary of Segeberg.

Acting as mayor of Segeberg

A few months before Esmarch took office, Segeberg had more than doubled in size and population through the incorporation of Gieschenhagen . The city has flourished since then, which the citizens saw as a result of Esmarch in particular. This can be seen from the honors he received for his silver wedding anniversary and 25 years of service. The most important projects that Esmarch accompanied were:

• 1825: New school building
• 1826: Introduction of the school reform of 1814
• 1826: Founding of a printing company and the "Segeberger Wochenblatt"
• 1826/27: New construction of the town hall
• 1827: Establishment of the Segeberger Spar- und Leihkasse. From 1827 to 1855 Esmarch had a seat on the board with a brief interruption.
• 1839: Foundation of the school teacher seminar, whose scientific administration he was in charge of. At first he was a member of the senior management. In 1844 the management was reorganized and Esmarch became the economic director.

Esmarch also worked as a court clerk for several Holstein goods and from 1844 as a notary. In 1836 the king appointed him a councilor of justice. When the Schleswig-Holstein uprising broke out, Esmarch and the Segeberg Council immediately positioned themselves on the German side. Esmarch received a mandate for the Schleswig-Holstein state assembly .

Work after the Schleswig-Holstein survey

After Danish rule was reinstated, the new Esmarch government refused to re-serve as mayor and city secretary. The reason given was that Esmarch was responsible for the incorrect treatment of some Danish officers arrested during the Segeberg survey. At the same time, she objected to a formal investigation into the allegations. Esmarch was unable to defend himself and was therefore offended for many years in his honor.

Esmarch then continued to work as a court clerk for the estates and as head of the seminar. From 1856 he also worked as director of the general school teacher widow's fund. In the following year he became managing director of a school bookshop that was attached to the seminar. When the judiciary and administration were redefined in 1867 after the annexation of the duchies by Prussia, he resigned from all offices. A year later, the Prussian government approved him a generous pension for all years of service, with which it officially rehabilitated him. In addition, she awarded him the Order of the Red Eagle, 4th class. At the gold wedding anniversary in 1871, the city made him an honorary citizen.

family

Esmarch married on February 14th in Husum Elsabe Woldsen (born February 8th, 1795 in Husum; † November 28th, 1873 in Schleswig). Esmarch had known Woldsen since school in Husum. Both got engaged in 1818. His wife's father, named Simon Woldsen (1754–1820), worked as a businessman and senator in Husum and was married to Magdalena, née Feddersen (1766–1854).

The Esmarch couple had six daughters and three sons. The son Ernst (1821-1908) worked as a lawyer in Eutin. The daughter Constanze (1825–1865) became Theodor Storm's first wife . The daughter Charlotte (1834-1910) married Storm's brother Aemil (1833-1897), who worked as a doctor in Husum.

literature

• Dieter Lohmeier, Horst Tschentscher: Esmarch, Ernst . in: Biographical Lexicon for Schleswig-Holstein and Lübeck . Volume 7. Wachholtz Verlag, Neumünster 1985, pp. 54-55.