William Berczy

William Berczy, 1783

Marianne von Muralt, Bern 1782/1783.

Unidentified man, London ca.1790.

William Berczy , born as Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll , (born December 10, 1744 in Wallerstein , † February 5, 1813 in New York City ) was a colorful personality in the 18th and early 19th centuries. In the course of his life he changed his name several times. He also appeared as William Berezy , Wilhelm (von) Moll de Berczy , William (von) Moll Berczy , Wilhelm Albert Ulrich (von) Moll , Albert-Guillaume Berczy and Guglielmo Berchy . Berczy founded the Canadian city of Markham and co-founded the city of York , which was renamed Toronto in 1834 .

Intended by his father for a diplomatic career, his life would develop in a completely different direction. In addition to having learned portrait painting , Berczy worked for a time as a trader, wrote writings, acquired North German emigrants for several months and embarked on an adventure as a colonist in North America. In Canada, the immigrant built a lasting reputation as a pioneer, road builder, architect and painter.

Life

The early years

Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll was baptized on the day of his birth in the church of Wallerstein in Nördlinger Ries . His parents were the royal court advisor Albrecht Theodor Moll and Johanna Josepha Walpurga Moll, née Hefele. Just a year later the family moved to Vienna because the father was supposed to do diplomatic tasks there at the imperial court for the Princely House of Oettingen-Wallerstein . Her son was registered at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts in 1762 . In 1766 his parents sent him to the University of Jena together with his brother Bernhard Albrecht Moll . Moll's father had already expanded his knowledge there. The son was to prepare for a career similar to his as a diplomat .

Uncertainty weighs on the years after his studies. A first path seems to have led Moll to the Polish court on a diplomatic mission. According to his own, possibly embellished, statements, certain circumstances forced him to hide in a Turkish harem. On the way back to Vienna he fell into the hands of Hungarian brigands , where he spent some time. Their leader gave him the nickname "Bert" or "Bertie", which in the Hungarian language was "Berczy". Apparently the minor was comfortable and he used the name in various combinations in later life.

In the 1770s he acted as a dealer and also painted. The nobility and the wealthy bourgeoisie were interested in preserving their likeness for posterity. Photography had not yet been invented at that time, which is why skilled portrait painters were attracted to orders. Satisfied customers were able to ensure recommendations in their circles. Berczy stayed in the Austrian Habsburg Empire, northern Germany, Poland, Hungary and Croatia. Contacts with his parents' house broke off around 1780. The widely traveled man settled under the name "Albert-Guillaume Berczy" for a long time in Florence , the seat of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany . He earned his living with this identity as a painter of handy portraits . In the city on the Arno he had contact with Johann Wolfgang von Goethe on his trip to Italy. He met Goethe as a dealer in books from church property. Berczy's portrait painting, about which he taught interested people, led to the meeting of the young art student Jeanne-Charlotte Allamand from Switzerland, whom he married in 1785 in Lausanne.

The couple's center of life was in Florence until around 1790, although Berczy also traveled within Italy for artistic reasons. In 1790 the couple moved to London. It wanted to have its work judged as part of the 21st annual exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts. In April 1790 she brought the hoped-for recognition and brought about portraits in the British metropolis. Here Berczy found out about a settlement project in the New World that was to have a major impact on his future life.

Advertiser for America

Location of the Genesee River

After the American Revolutionary War, the government of Massachusetts gave up large areas of Indian territory to wealthy private individuals for financial reasons , with the condition that they be populated as soon as possible. Property speculation by a few wealthy people began in connection with the Phelps and Gorham Purchase. One of them, Robert Morris from Philadelphia , tried to interest European investors in a huge area through an intermediary. Sir William Pulteney, a Scottish lawyer, Member of Parliament and one of the wealthiest men in Britain of his time, had been approached by his acquaintance, Scottish trader Patrick Colquhoun , about investing in the United States. Both had founded the "Pulteney Association" with another partner. They bought more than one million acres of land on the Genesee River . The three shareholders wanted to bring Scottish settlers into the country, who should make the land arable and cultivate it. The company wanted to earn money on the increase in the value of the area when it was later sold.

During a contact in Paris between Colquhoun and a nobleman, Berczy's name was mentioned as someone who could also bring settlers from mainland Europe to the States. The partners agreed that the portraitist would acquire settlers in Germany for the “Genesee Association” . They should build a road to the Genesee site and receive land for their work instead of wages so that they can then cultivate their own land.

Berczy went to Hamburg, where he stayed from October 1791 to April 1792. He wrote pamphlets and leaflets for the project that he circulated in northern Germany. We were looking for people up to the age of 45 who had farming or craft skills. The company promised free passage, food, and transportation to Northumberland County , where work was to begin. In return, those interested had to commit to work for the company. They were promised that they would be given a plot of land against payment at the end of the construction work. Interested people made their way to Hamburg from the Principality of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and Prussia , among others . In the end, there were more than 200 mostly poor people who wanted to take the risk of starting over in the United States.

On a political level, Braunschweig made representations in Hamburg when a few richer people got involved in the adventure. Prussia had already forbidden any emigration of its subjects in the past and, following Braunschweig, threatened the Hamburg Senate with measures at the Reich level if Berczy's shipping operation was not prevented.

The company had chartered two sailing ships (English sources mention a third). On May 2, 1792, the "Frau Catharina" and 134 people left because of the political quarrels in Altona, which belongs to Denmark, instead of Hamburg . Among them was William Berczy with his wife and his son, William Bent, who had been born in the meantime. The Atlantic crossing ended after a journey of several weeks on July 28 with the arrival in Philadelphia. The second ship, the "Heinrich und Georg", started on May 20th after all emigrants from Prussia had been taken off board. The ship, accompanied by Pastor Georg Sigmund Liebich as head of the emigrants, did not arrive in New York City until October 10th due to poor weather conditions on the crossing.

In the United States

In Philadelphia, it emerged that the Genesee Association had taken no action to get the settlers to their destination or to assist them with doing so. Berczy was forced to organize the further way for the settlers and had to borrow money. The Germans bought the tools they needed to cut the roughly 100- mile swath from Northumberland County through the wilderness to the promised site. From what is now Williamsport , they felled trees in the wilderness in hard and unusual work, cleared the thicket and paved the ground. There was a path wide enough for a cart. Over mountains and valleys, those willing to settle, united with the Liebich Group, advanced to the present day Painted Post (New York) on the property of the "Pulteney Association".

Meanwhile, there were constant differences of opinion with the agent Charles Williamson acting for the Association in the USA. Berczy saw himself as a contact for his compatriots. Supply difficulties often led to strikes in road construction. Finally, the Germans found out that the promised land acquisition should not take place; contrary to the promise, they were only viewed as cheap wage laborers. Williamson refused to sell the land, which had become rebellious and contentious in the eyes of society.

Berczy, who felt he was responsible for the settler group he had recruited, was not discouraged by the difficulties. It had become known to him that the Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada , John Graves Simcoe , lured people from the USA with the offer of cheap settlement land. Berczy went to New York City in 1794, where he raised capital among merchants and the German community to purchase new equipment and the initial needs of a new settler project. The "German Land Company" that was founded wanted to get involved in Canada. Berczy's 186 people and another 800 or so immigrants over the next five years should be part of the project. For Pennsylvania settlers she had already made the purchase of oxen and cows in Connecticut on January 1, 1793 , which were now driven or transported to Canada. Company representatives and Berczy traveled to the seat of government in Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake ) and requested an area that should encompass approximately one million acres northwest of Newark on Lake Ontario .

The government ("Executive Council") of Upper Canada approved the delegation on May 17, 1794 instead of the one million hoped for an area of ​​64,000 acres, on which the 64 settler families should initially be housed, and an option for additional areas if the settlement is complete. With this prospect, the returning Berczy convinced the German immigrants to move to Canada.

Meanwhile, Williamson had obtained a local ban on leaving the company premises, which he had posted by posted posts. The only way for the settler group to escape was by bypassing such checkpoints. With the help of an Indian tribe, Berczy succeeded in smuggling the Germans with their belongings via paths and waterways to the Canadian bank near Newark. Once there, the next surprise awaited the Germans.

Settlement in Canada

The lieutenant governor of Upper Canada had since been instructed from London to move the seat of government from Newark inland for strategic reasons. The city near the US border, it was feared, could potentially fall victim to the US urge to expand. Simcoe had orders to settle the province as soon as possible. According to the vice-governor's will, York, later Toronto , was to blossom as the new capital , with just two log houses . The Germans who had arrived came in handy for Simcoe. The task was to continue pioneering work on a road that the British soldiers had started to build. But military reinforcements had become a priority and demanded the withdrawal of the troops from road construction. The Yonge Street as a new land route of York was on Lake Simcoe past serve inside the trade and rapid troop relocations. She used the paths of an existing fur trade route.

At the end of June 1794 Berczy's group arrived in Canada. Simcoe and Berczy agreed to move to the future York instead of the area near Newark, with Simcoe promising an additional four areas as part of the option. It was contractually assumed that the German settlers would build the road on Yonge Street, which was to be created, up to a certain point within a year. The settlers moved to what was to become the town of Markham and began to reclaim the land. As an architect, Berczy designed a sawmill and a grain mill in the new village, which is now known as the “German Mills”.

Work on Yonge Street in York began in September 1794. But they subsequently suffered from the fact that many people in the mosquito-infested and partly boggy area fell ill in the summer. There were time delays, especially since the Germans also had to build their own infrastructure (roads, mills, warehouses). Farm animals arriving from Connecticut helped with the clearing and road construction. The grain cultivation led to a bad harvest and therefore there was a period of hunger in the winter of 1795/1796. About one in three migrated to the better-cared for Newark.

At that time Berczy had his creditors on his neck who were not investing new money, and he had difficulties with the British colonial administration. In May 1796, Simcoe declared the agreements unfulfilled. With the departure of Vice-Governor Simcoe, who allegedly had to cure an illness in England, the problems of the Germans culminated. Peter Russell, Simcoe's representative in Upper Canada, who was specially appointed for this purpose, was keen on his private gain in the office and discovered a provision that new settlers could only assert a right to property after a settlement period of seven years. The Germans disagreed with his proposal to give the settlers 1200 acres and another 200 acres as an option, but the Upper Canadian government decided just that in July 1797. Intrigues and legal disputes over property titles broke out, with Berczy relying on him Oral deals of the duplicitous Simcoe probably had bad cards. Berczy made his way to London in 1799 to find a better solution to the problems with the British government. Despite respected advocates in Berczy's favor, the metropolitan government did not reverse the decision of the Canadian provincial government, nor did it grant any compensation.

On the return trip in the autumn of 1801, the sailing ship got into bad weather and was thrown into the Chaleur Bay . In mid-February 1802, Berczy set off with snowshoes overland through the wilderness to Québec , where he arrived on March 8th. In Markham, Berczy eventually had to sell all of his property there in order to reduce his own debt burden.

Late years and death

The interior of the Montreal Christ Church in 1852

From 1804, William Berczy worked in both Montreal and Quebec, mainly in his profession as a portrait painter. But he also won an architectural competition in 1803 with his design for the new construction of the “Christ Church Cathedral” in Montreal. (The church burned down in 1856.) With his earnings, Berczy took care of paying off his earlier debts. From 1805 he lived in Montreal. Contemporaries recognized him as one of the best painters in Upper and Lower Canada .

In 1812, before the outbreak of the War of 1812 , William Berczy set out for New York City, not fully recovered from an illness. There he wanted to find a publisher for his finished, 1500-page manuscript book entitled The Statistical Account of Canada . It is also reported that he planned another trip to England to reopen his case, which the war prevented. His weakened constitution resulted in death in New York City in 1813. Berczy was buried in the Trinity Churchyard cemetery by the Trinity Church. His records for the book were lost.

Even after his death, an air of mystery remained associated with him. His coffin is said to contain stones and the death certificate was said to have no signatures. That the grave stone the botched family name "William Burksay" contributed, should be based on a hearing defect.

family

William Berczy married on November 1, 1785 - according to another source on December 15, 1785 - in Lausanne Jeanne-Charlotte Allamand (1760-1839). The marriage had two sons:

• William Bent Berczy (1791-1873). He started out as a tobacco grower, was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1828 to 1834 and, like his father, made a name for himself as a painter.
• Charles Albert Berczy (1794-1858). He first helped his brother grow tobacco and then ran the Toronto Post Office for many years. From 1847 to 1856 he was the first president of the gas supply company in the city.

When the father traveled to London to obtain a revision of the land claims the settlers had been denied, his wife stayed with the sons in Canada. She worked in the administration of the settlement and taught painting, drawing, music and languages ​​at home, which gave her and the children an income. After the death of her husband, she continued this teaching activity for about four years and then relied on income from her painting.

His son, William Bent, petitioned the Executive Council in 1818 over claims made by his father, who suffered great losses in Upper Canada. He was given 2,400 acres of land for final settlement of the matter.

Works

Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant)

The Woolsey Family

William Berczy created two pictures classified by art experts as masterpieces of their time:

• In 1805 the portrait of the Mohawk chief Thayendanegea, better known by his new name Joseph Brant and
• in 1809 the group portrait of the Woolsey family.

His oeuvre is characterized by a large number of portraits and miniatures. In 1781 he painted Grand Duke Leopold I of Tuscany with his family. But there are also religious paintings by his hand as well as architectural plans and drawings.

Berczy took care of building in Markham. In 1803 he built a suspension bridge over the Don River . In York, Berczy created the "Russell Abbey Home", into which the administrator of Upper Canada, Peter Russell, moved. The Anglican "Christ Church Cathedral" in Montreal was built from 1805 to 1821 according to his plans.

Honors

• Berczy was a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1801
• In Canada, the city of Markham with the "William Berczy Public School" and the settlement "Berczy Village" keep memories alive.
• His name is immortalized on plaques in Toronto and Markham.
• In Germany, Wallerstein has dedicated “Moll-Berczy-Strasse” to its famous son. The local middle school also bears his name. A memorial stone was also unveiled on June 29, 1975.

literature

• Ronald J. Stagg: Berczy, William . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . Ed. Francess G. Halpenny, Volume 5: 1801-1820. Toronto 1983, pp. 70-72
• John Andre: William Berczy Co-Founder of Toronto , Toronto 1967
• Robert MacIntosh: Earliest Toronto. ISBN 1-897113-41-2 . Cape. 4, p. 23 ff. William Berczy: Co-Founder of Toronto.
• Beate Stock: Berczy, William (Johann Albrecht Ulrich Moll) . In: (Klaus Gerhard) Saur (publisher): General artist lexicon. The visual artists of all times and peoples , Vol. 9. Munich 1994, pp. 255–256
• Hartmut Froeschle : Eagle on the maple tree. Studies on immigration, settlement, cultural and literary history of Germans in Canada. Ed., Introduction Lothar Zimmermann. Toronto 1997 (German Canadian Writings, B. Non-Fiction Books, Vol. 7), therein pp. 53–63: William Berczy, a German-Canadian pioneer
  • first: William Berzy. A German-Canadian pioneer. In: Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch - German-Canadian Yearbook, 14, Historical Society of Mecklenburg, Upper Canada . Toronto 1995 ISSN  0316-8603 pp. 193-205
• Hartmut Froeschle: Berczy meets Goethe . In: Deutschkanadisches Jahrbuch - German Canadian Yearbook, 15, Toronto 1998 ISSN  0316-8603 pp. 89-97

Web links

• House of Bavarian History: William Moll-Berczy
• William Berczy . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ).
• William Berczy ( English, French ) In: The Canadian Encyclopedia .
• Pictures of William Berczy in the McCord Museum (English)
• Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson (Hbc): Collections d'entreprise: Art - Les tableaux de William Berczy (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Toronto Star of December 22, 2008: Oasis amid skyscrapers has a magic of its own , requested on May 13, 2010
2. ↑ The Crooked Lake Review: Excerpt from John H. Martin: Saints, Sinners and Reformers, Chapter 4: Charles Williamson - The Pulteney Estates in the Genesee Lands , accessed on May 2, 2010
3. ↑ Cornelia Pohlmann: The emigration from the Duchy of Braunschweig in the power play of state influence and public response 1720-1897 . In: Contributions to colonial and overseas history . tape 84 . Franz Steiner Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3-515-08054-6 , ISSN  0522-6848 , p. 62 (373 p., Limited preview in the Google book search - diploma thesis / dissertation).
4. ↑ Markham Berczy Settlers Association: William 'Moll' Berczy ( Memento from July 29, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on May 2, 2010
5. ^ City friendship between Markham and Nördlingen. In: germancanadian.com. Archived from the original on May 23, 2010 ; Retrieved May 8, 2013 . 
6. ↑ City of Markham: A History of The Town of Markham ( Memento from February 25, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on May 2, 2010
7. ↑ See Isabel Champion, Markham: 1793–1900 ( memento from January 15, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) (Markham, ON: Markham Historical Society, 1979), pp. 11–25 (English), accessed on June 14, 2011 .
8. ↑ karlheissler.com: German Mills 1794 (English), accessed on May 2, 2010
9. ^ The European Settlers Arrive. Markham City, December 11, 2009; accessed May 2, 2010 . 
10. ^ Robert MacIntosh: Earliest Toronto . GeneralStore PublishingHouse, 2006, ISBN 978-1-897113-41-7 ( Google Books 3rd chapter ).
11. ↑ TODAY IN 1795, JOHN GRAVES SIMCOE, AS THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR OF UPPER CANADA, ESTABLISHED YORK (MODERN TORONTO) AND BEGAN BUILDING YONGE STREET, THE “LONGEST STREET IN THE WORLD” UNTIL 1999. NOW WE KNOW EM ( Memento from October 4th 2015 in the Internet Archive )
12. ^ Henry James Morgan: Sketches of celebrated Canadians and Persons connected with Canada , p. 112. Montreal 1865 , accessed on May 2, 2010
13. ^ The Berczy Settlement, 1794 (English). In: Ontario's Historical Plaques. Archived from the original on July 28, 2009 ; Retrieved May 8, 2013 . 
14. ↑ Dictionary of Canadian biography: BERCZY, WILLIAM. December 11, 2009, pp. 2–3 , accessed June 13, 2013 . 
15. ^ The Story of Markham: William Moll Berczy . (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on September 4, 2014 ; Retrieved May 2, 2010 . 
16. ↑ Toronto's Historical Plaques: William Berczy (English), accessed on May 2, 2010
17. ↑ Suite101.com: Kathleen Airdrie: Artist and Pioneer Charlotte Allamand Berczy , accessed on May 2, 2010
18. ↑ Toronto's Historical Plaques: The Don River Bridge, 1803 (English), accessed on May 2, 2010
19. ↑ James D. Kornwolf: Architecture and Town Planning in Colonial North America . In: Creating the North American landscape . tape 1 . Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Md. 2002, ISBN 0-8018-5986-7 , pp. 1610 (English, limited preview in Google Book Search).
20. ↑ Jean-François Leclerc, Colette Godin: Montréal, la ville aux cent clochers: regards des Montréalais sur leurs lieux de culte . In: Collection Images de sociétés . Les Editions Fides, Saint-Laurent, Québec 2002, ISBN 2-7621-2380-1 , pp. 26 (French, 115 p., Limited preview in Google Book search).