Fritz Gressard
Fritz Gressard (born May 26, 1839 in Elberfeld (now part of Wuppertal ); † February 15, 1923 in Hilden ; full name: Richard Friedrich Gressard ) was a German entrepreneur , local politician and honorary citizen of the city of Hilden.
family
Gressard was baptized Protestant. His parents were Georg Friedrich Gressard († April 12, 1864) and Louisa Amalia Gressard geb. Klein (born April 5, 1814). The grandparents were Georg Friedrich Gressard (1782–1849) and Jacobine Gressard geb. Haarhaus (1785-1849). The Gressard family came to Elberfeld from France around 1750, probably from the Württemberg County of Mömpelgard (Principauté de Montbéliard) at the Burgundian Gate near Belfort until 1796 . In Badevel several members of the family are Gressard mentioned.
Until his marriage, Fritz Gressard lived, first with his parents, then with an aunt, in a house on what is now the property at Mittelstrasse 40, which the city acquired in early 1874 for use as the town hall. As a factory owner and rentier , he then lived in the building at Ellerstrasse 1 in Hilden, which has not been preserved.
Fritz Gressard married Mathilde Vogelsang on September 20, 1871 in Hilden (August 1, 1851 - February 12, 1925). Their first daughter Christine Alwine Amalie Elisabeth, called Else, (* April 3, 1875 - February 11, 1899) died shortly after her engagement to the doctor Johann Großbeckes (* December 4, 1870 - January 10, 1902 in Dortmund ) .
The daughter Frieda (born April 9, 1878, † June 29, 1958) married the entrepreneur Friedrich Krieger (born September 14, 1872, † December 16, 1961 in Virneburg ), founder of the galvanizing plant of the same name in Hilden. The parents of Friedrich Krieger were Friedrich Wilhelm Krieger and Alwine Krieger geb. Schulteoverberg.
Act as an entrepreneur
Around 1860 the hand-operated loom was replaced by the machine in Hilden . The hand weavers of Hildens either emigrated or began to work in the Kampf & Spindler silk weaving mill in Hilden on Klotzstrasse or in the Gressard & Co. silk goods factory. Fritz Gressard's professional career was closely linked to the family business. His father Georg Friedrich Gressard, his brother Hermann Gressard, Heinrich August Krall and Johann Peter Dahl founded the company on April 27, 1857 in front of the Benrath notary Paniel.
On the same day, in order to set up production, the parties involved acquired the site of the former calico printing company Wülffing & Keller am Kritzenhaus, now Fritz-Gressard-Platz, which had been fallow since 1846. Gressard and Krall also immediately moved their residence from Elberfeld to the new company's location. Only the Dahl involved as a limited partner kept his residence in Barmen .
Fritz Gressard, who was only 18 years old, moved from Elberfeld to Hilden and was soon involved in the business. The young silk goods factory already had 350 employees in 1860, making it the city's largest employer. Production was further perfected with the establishment of a mechanical foulard weaving mill. The raw materials were imported not only from Europe, but also from China and Japan. Most of the exports were to European and South American countries.
The foulard cloths and dresses presented by the company were awarded a medal for their good quality at the London World Exhibition in 1862 .
After the death of his father in 1864, Fritz Gressard and his brothers Ernst and Otto became partners in the company. As the successor to Peter Dahl, who died in 1860, the Ulm businessman August Helfferich now acted as a financier and partner.
By the late 1870s, the demand for printed fabrics decreased rapidly. As a result, production was switched to standard fabrics and in 1982 almost all printers and engravers were dismissed. In addition, a dye works was built.
The capital necessary for the conversion came first as a loan from Friedrich Wilhelm Herminghaus from Wülfrath , who finally acquired all the shares in the company in 1885 and passed it on to his sons Carl and Wilhelm, who continued to run the company from then on. From now on, the company's founders were no longer involved. Fritz Gressard could turn to other tasks.
In 1956, the mechanical silk weaving mill Gressard & Co. GmbH finally stopped its production after a long period of wasting. The city of Hilden acquired the factory premises in 1962 and demolished the factory buildings on Fritz-Gressard-Platz from autumn 1968 to 1971, wiping out the last traces of a company that had existed for almost 100 years.
On December 30, 1970, the tradition of the textile industry in Hilden finally came to an end when the Spindlerwerke had to close after 122 years.
Working as a local politician
Together with an aunt and a maid, Gressard initially lived in the middle of Hilden in the house at Mittelstrasse 7, where the community center (old town hall) now stands. In December 1888, the 49-year-old was elected to the city council ("2nd class", because back then there was still the three-class right to vote ), to which he then belonged for over 30 years.
On May 16, 1893 he was elected alderman . After Ferdinand Lieven's death in 1902, Gressard was his successor in the position of (honorary) First Alderman. He remained in this position until the end of January 1920.
He was succeeded in Gressard's previous position as alderman, Wilhelm Herminghaus, one of the two new partners in Gressard & Co.
In the course of membership in the city council, Gressard held the following offices (status 1906):
- Chairman of the Savings Banks Committee
- Member of the gas company commission
- Member of the waterworks commission
- Member of the civic poor foundation
- Member of the health commission
- Member of the building commission
- Member of the road construction commission
- Member of the administration of the civic poor foundation
- Member of the advanced training board
- Advisory member of the finance commission
When considering the supposedly numerous offices, it should be kept in mind that the population increased from 8,151 in 1889 to 19,203 in 1914 and thus the city faced extremely demanding tasks during Gressard's tenure.
Honors
According to a council resolution of February 2, 1914, Gressard was granted honorary citizenship on his 75th birthday; Mayor Karl Wilhelm Heitland presented the honorable politician and son of the city with the honorary citizenship on May 26, 1914.
Mayor Heitland emphasized that Gressard had been an alderman for almost 22 years: "During this time, no institution was set up that you were not involved in." And "Your name will therefore live on in the history of Hilde."
A prediction that the descendants saw confirmed in the naming of a place after him.
literature
- 1000 years of Hilden. Hilden and his honorary citizens. In: Rheinische Post , Düsseldorf edition, May 31, 1985.
- Who was Fritz Gressard anyway? In: Rheinische Post , Düsseldorf edition, No. 181 of August 6, 1969.
- History of the textile industry. In: City of Hilden (ed.): Museumshefte , Volume 2 (1990).
- Wolfgang Wennig: History of the Hilden industry from the beginning of commercial activity up to 1900. Hilden City Archives, Hilden 1974.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Bodo Volmer: The last postman in Hilden. In: Hilden memories. Hilden 1991, p. 22.
- ↑ Ancestors of the Gressard family in the 17th and 18th centuries at http://hiemoja.free.fr
- ↑ Wolfgang Wennig: The Hilden City Hall. Its prehistory and its origin. In: From the recent history of Hildens and its surroundings, Volume I. (= Niederbergische contributions, sources and research on the local history of Niederberg , Volume 23.) Hilden 1972, p. 21.
- ↑ a b c d Gisela Schöttler: Hildens honorary citizen Fritz Gressard. Memento of a humble man. In: Journal, Yearbook of the Mettmann District , Volume 23 (2003/2004). Neustadt an der Aisch, 2003, pp. 125–128.
- ↑ Wolfgang Wennig: History of Hilden industry. Hilden 1974, p. 48 ff.
- ↑ Official report on the industrial and art exhibition in London in 1862. Berlin 1864, p. 38.
- ↑ Wolfgang Wennig: History of Hilden industry. Hilden 1974, p. 145 ff.
- ^ Official Journal for the Düsseldorf administrative region , year 1902, item 50, p. 573.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gressard, Fritz |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gressard, Richard Friedrich (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German entrepreneur in the textile industry and local politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 26, 1839 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Elberfeld |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 15, 1923 |
| Place of death | Hilden |