Notizen zu dieser Person
Other than a few basic facts, such as those above, I know very little about Franz, Sr. (The "Senior" designation is my own, which I have used to distinguish Franz from his son, also named Franz. It is not a designation that was used during his lifetime.) Most sources list his birth date as June 15, 1831; one lists it as June 18, 1831. I assume that the earlier date (June 15) is his actual birth date, and the later date (June 18) is most likely his christening date. As far as I know, Franz never visited the United States, and I do not remember my grandfather (his son, Theodore) ever talking about him. I suspect that Franz had at least two siblings, both brothers (see Potthast Ancestral information): Johann (born about 1823) and Karl Ludwig (born about 1839); The LDS Family Search database includes documentation of their marriages in Amelunxen, but unfortunately those documents contain no information about their parents. It's also possible that Johann and Karl Ludwig Potthast were cousins, not brothers. Tradition has long held that Franz was descended from a long line of schooled furniture craftsmen, dating back perhaps two centuries; however, Franz's father-in-law, Joseph Gutberlet (see Gutberlet Ancestral information), was a skilled cabinetmaker, and the furniture making tradition of Potthast Brothers may have originated with the Gutberlets. Or, the marriage of Franz Potthast and Lina Gutberlet could have been a merger of two cabinet-making families. According to my father, Berthold Potthast (grandson of Franz), early Potthast commissions in Germany were from churches, and Franz and his family created elaborately carved doors, pews, crucifixes, etc. In America, four of Franz's sons continued the family business and founded Potthast Brothers after immigrating to America (the company is discussed later in this report in the notes for Wilhelm "William" Potthast; see Page 8). Franz's son Karl, who remained in Germany, also continued the Potthast cabinetmaking tradition, and it continues to this day in Borgholz under the leadership of Franz's grandson, Karl. Franz was born in Maygadessen, Westphalia, and his wife Karolina was born in Borgholz, Westphalia. The towns are only about 8-10 miles apart; on modern roads a distance traveled in about 10-15 minutes; however, in the 1850's, the distance was probably more significant. Both towns lie approximately 100 miles south of Hamburg and approximately 80 miles east/northeast of the tightly clustered industrial cities of Dusseldorf, Essen, Dortmund, Cologne and Bonn. Maygadessen is a smaller town than Borgholz; it is essentially a suburb of Godelheim, which is a mile or two north of Amelunxen. Some records list Amelunxen as Franz's birthplace; I suspect this is because the church records of Maygadessen have been incorporated into the church records of Amelunxen. Westphalia (in German, Westfalen) is a historic area in Germany, roughly defined as the region between the rivers Rhine and Weser, located north of the Ruhr river. No exact definition of borders can be given, because the name "Westphalia" has been applied to several different entities throughout history. The original Westphalians were an ancient group of Saxons, who settled in the area of the Ems and Hunte rivers about AD 700, then spread south almost as far as Cologne. In 775 they resisted the advance of the Franks under Charlemagne, and retained their own Saxon identity for about three centuries. In 1180 the archbishops of Cologne received Westphalia as a duchy from Emperor Barbarossa. This duchy comprised only a small area south of the Lippe river, but numerous other political entities grew up in the region, including the bishopric of Paderborn. In the later Middle Ages, most of the important Westphalian towns prospered as members of the Hanseatic League. By the 1500's, many territories were incorporated into the Westphalian circle of The Holy Roman Empire, which also encompassed considerable non-Westphalian land. In 1648, Westphalia entered history as the location of the signing of the treaty ending the Thirty Years War. During the 1700's, Westphalia was part of both the Holy Roman Empire and the emerging kingdom of Prussia. The Napoleonic Wars of the early 1800s saw the end of the Holy Roman Empire. In the war's aftermath, Napoleon created a Kingdom of Westphalia for his brother Jerome; from 1807-1813 Westphalia was a French vassal state. This state shared only the name with the historical region; it contained only a relatively small part of Westphalia. In 1814-1815, The Congress of Vienna restored most of old Westphalia as part of Prussia (at this point in history, a major European power) with its capital in Munster. Westphalia continued as a Prussian province until the end of World War II, when Prussia officially ceased to exist. Therefore, during the lifetimes of Franz and Lina they would have been considered Prussian, not German. In the aftermath of World War II the Prussian province of Westphalia (together with the northern half of the Rhine province and the town of Lippe) was incorporated into the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and has remained so ever since (the reunification of Germany in 1990 did not impact the borders of North Rhine-Westphalia). Today the state is focused on the sprawling Rhine-Rhur industrial complex, centered in the cities of Essen, Dortmund, and others. However, the greatest part of North Rhine-Westphalia's land area is covered with forests and fields; in fact, Borgholz and its environs lie near the western slopes of the Teutoburg Forest, aka Teutoburger Wald (where Germanic tribes defeated advancing Roman armies in AD 9). The forest, a range of low, forested mountains, extends northward to the town of Osnabruck. The town of Borgholz lies near the Weser River (Beverungen is the closest town actually on the river), which winds its way north, eventually emptying into the North Sea at Bremerhaven. Today Borgholz is considered a "constituent city" (essentially a suburb) of Borgentreich, which lies to its south. Borgentreich and Borgholz are part of the district (in German, kreis) of Hoxter, with its capital in the city of Hoxter (many German districts share their name with their capital city). Working from small to large: the town of Borgholz lies in the district of Hoxter ... the district of Hoxter lies in the northeastern portion of the state of North-Rhine Westphalia ... and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia lies on the western edge of central Germany. The closest major city to Borgholz is the city of Paderborn, about 30 miles west/northwest of Borgholz. Like Hoxter, Paderborn is both the name of a district and the name of its capital city. The district of Paderborn (one of 31 districts in North-Rhine Westphalia) is adjacent to the district ofHoxter; it is well known for its university and as the home of "Paderborner Pilsener." As a sidebar, Ted Potthast, Jr. (great-grandson of Franz) located a town in North Rhine-Westphalia named Potthast; it lies south of Munster, between Sandenhorst and Drensteinfurt. It is, apparently, a VERY small town; I have not been able to locate it using computer mapping tools, such as Mapquest (which doesn't recognize "Potthast" as a place name). Ted also owns a history of Borgholz written in German, which I have not seen ... and would not be able to read if ever given the opportunity. The patron saint of Borgholz is St. Liborius, a former bishop of Paderborn (and also the patron saint of Paderborn); he is featured in the official seal of Stadt Borgholz. The cemetery in Borgholz includes a Chapel of St. Liborius. The Potthast family home was (and still is) located at #16 Katwinkel. St. Mary's Church, built in the late 1200's is located, of course, on Kirchenstrasse (Church Street). For some period of time it may have been a Lutheran church, but now and for most of its history it was Catholic. It is featured prominently in depictions of Borgholz. No discussion of the Potthast family would be complete without mentioning the American Impressionist painter, Edward Henry Potthast. Was he related to us? Possibly, but no definitive family connection has yet been established. We know that Edward Henry Potthast was born on June 10, 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the son of Henry Ignatz Potthast, a cabinetmaker who immigrated to the USA from Westphalia; his mother was Bernardina Schiefers. The connection to Westphalia and especially to cabinetmaking is, of course, the chief evidence that he may be related. But it must be remembered that there were dozens of apparently unrelated Potthast families living in Westphalia in the 19th Century. And Edward Henry was born in America ... nearly thirty-five years before any of "our" Potthasts came here. Edward's father, Henry Ignatz, would have been a contemporary of Franz Potthast Sr. (born 1831), the father of the "Potthast Brothers," but I have not been able to establish any link between Henry and Franz; in fact, I have not been able to find any German records that document the life of Henry Ignatz Potthast. But there is one possibility. There was a Johannes Ignatius (Ignatz) Potthast born in Bosseborn, Westphalia on November 6, 1813; he married Anna Maria Loeneke in 1844 in Bruchhausen. Johannes Ignatius' brother -- Fredericus Henricus Potthast, born Oct 30, 1817 -- emigrated to Illinois and was married there in 1851 (to Pauline Schrader). It's possible that Johannes Ignatius emigrated to America with his brother (or in the footsteps of his brother), and then changed his first name to Henry once in America; thus: Henry Ignatz Potthast. It's an admitted stretch. Unfortunately, there is no apparent family link between the Potthasts referenced above and our Potthasts ... although Bosseborn, Westphalia is only about 6-8 miles north of Borgholz. Edward Potthast is known as a painter who celebrated the relaxed and cheerful world of the seaside holiday and summer afternoons in New York's Central Park. He enrolled in art school (McMicken School of Design) at the age of 13; by the age of 16 he was working as an artist for the Strobridge Lithography Company in Cincinnati. He worked there until he was 39 years old, except for six years of art study in Europe; it was during those European studies, in Munich and Paris, that he was introduced to the Impressionists (his return trips to the USA are documented in the Ellis Island records). In 1896 he moved to New York City to embark on a new career as a painter. Upon arriving in New York, he worked as a freelance illustrator for such popular magazines as "Scribner's" and "Century." By 1908 he had his own studio in the Gainsborough Building overlooking Central Park. From seeing Edward Potthast's paintings, it is easy to assume that his life was a happy one, and there is no evidence to the contrary. A lifelong bachelor, he was well thought of by his friends, and his achievement in painting was recognized during his lifetime. His most famous works, his beach scenes, were all completed in the last twenty years of his life. He died on March 9, 1927 at the age of 69; according to reports of the time, he was found surrounded by some 500 of his paintings.
Georg
Potthast
