Johann George Claussen 1862–1913
Johann Georg Claussen was born on July 5, 1862 in the small town of Brake, which was situated some 30 miles north of Bremen on the river Weser. His parents were Diedrich Claussen and Anna Wilhelmine Catharine Eylers.
Claussen, was already working as an apprentice at the Melcher Trading house in Bremen, and made several trips for the company, for example on September 26, 1892 he was on board the ship 'Servia' destination Mazatlán, Mexico. About 1897 ´the brothers Carl and Alexander Melchers brought him full time to Mazatlán.
Claussen, was already working as an apprentice at the Melcher Trading house in Bremen, and made several trips for the company, for example on September 26, 1892 he was on board the ship 'Servia' destination Mazatlán, Mexico. About 1897 ´the brothers Carl and Alexander Melchers brought him full time to Mazatlán.
Since the general managers of Melchers. Succ were constantly travelling back and forth from Europe, the company always had two general managers, so that whilst one was abroad the other would be at the front of the business. When Claussen arrived, these were William Henry Sowerbutts and Emilie Philippe. Sowerbutts was also the German Consul in Mazatlán at the time.
Upon arriving to Mazatlán, Claussen, as a junior in the company, would have lived in the rooms above the trading house, on the corner of Constitutional and Venus, as did other employers, ie Max Hach and Federico Unger. Max Hach tells us that there were many parties and gatherings held at Melchers and here they were introduced to the German and European community of Mazatlán, the owners and managers of the other trading houses and businesses as well as the local aristocratic families.
Upon arriving to Mazatlán, Claussen, as a junior in the company, would have lived in the rooms above the trading house, on the corner of Constitutional and Venus, as did other employers, ie Max Hach and Federico Unger. Max Hach tells us that there were many parties and gatherings held at Melchers and here they were introduced to the German and European community of Mazatlán, the owners and managers of the other trading houses and businesses as well as the local aristocratic families.
Here at these gatherings Claussen met and fell in love with his boss’s third eldest daughter Carlota August, seventeen years his junior. In 1898 Wm Hy Sowerbutts returned to Germany with his family and they were living in Hamburg. Emilie Philippe replaced Sowerbutts as German Consul in Mazatlán, and young Claussen was promoted to the place of second manager. Before the Sowerbutts left, Claussen proposed to young Carlota.
Later in that same year, on the November 21, 1898 Carlota Sowerbutts celebrated her 20th birthday in Hamburg, Germany and back in Mazatlán, on the upper floors of Casa Melchers, Claussen had a small gathering of friends to honor his young fiancé’s special day.
![Picture](/uploads/6/5/2/1/6521662/published/claussen-sowerbutts.jpg?1616729648)
From left to right at the gathering were; Flora Volquardsen nee Sowerbutts, (sister of Carlota) and her husband Carlos Luis Volquardsen, María Scmidt, Emilia Philippi, Julius Glowatz, Georg Claussen, Paul Hintze, Carl Ströhlein, Emil Philippe, Carlitos Bölken and Don Enrique Schmidt.
Archives: Stefan Hink
Claussen travelled to Hamburg for the wedding, which took place on January 28, 1899 in Hamburg. . The couple then spent their honeymoon in Germany, later returning to Mazatlán.
The couple had seven children, and all were born in Mazatlán. On their birth registers the family are living at #3, Mariano Escobedo. and the witnesses to all the children’s birth registers are Emilio Philippe and Carlos Luis Volquardsen, brother in law to Claussen who was married to Carlota´s eldest sister Flora Sowerbutts. (Carlos Luis's sister Catalina Dorothea Volquardsen was married to Carl Melchers.)
|
Claussen made many friends in Mazatlán, one was his fellow countryman and partner, Don Federico Unger and his family. On August 23, 1909, from his office in Casa Melchers, Don Federico writes a letter to his wife María who was spending the summer in San Francisco.
‘Not much news from home, the battle with the Mochoma ants continues, and up till now they are winning! Last Sunday, on your Saint day, we spent the day with the Claussens. I imagine that by now you have received the congratulations card that we wrote from the dinner table, and your ears must have rung when we all unanimously toasted your health! |
On May 29, 1913 George Claussen suffered a paralyzing stroke whilst at work in Mazatlán, which left him only barely conscious. The family wished to take him to the States in search of better medical treatment but the earliest boat to dock in Mazatlán en route to the States was the ‘Caluso’ which was scheduled to sail on Friday, May 13. On this day, the Claussens, with their seven children and the children’s nanny, Fraulein Hedwig Hassle, boarded the vessel, destination San Francisco. It was another six days before the ‘Caluso’ would reach the port of San Francisco on the 19th of May, and despite Carlota’s loving care, Claussen deteriorated greatly on the journey and the newspapers lamented that his chances were grim. He died one week later, on May 26, 1913, surrounded by his wife and children, 2 weeks shy of his 51st birthday. His youngest child, Serene was only 3 months old.
Casa Melchers in Mazatlán and the Pacific Brewery closed their doors for business in mourning and hoisted black flags around the balconies of the business to mourn the death of their partner and friend.
Casa Melchers in Mazatlán and the Pacific Brewery closed their doors for business in mourning and hoisted black flags around the balconies of the business to mourn the death of their partner and friend.
After Claussen´s death Carlota and her seven children return to Germany, to Bremen, where her parents were now living. In the late 1920’s her children begin to leave home. Her son’s Hermann and Georg both marry Colombians and emigrate to Colombia, along with Carlota’s niece, Emilta Thulesius nee Volquardsen, daughter of her sister Flora. Gerhardt goes to South Africa
On November 23, 1923, Katie Claussen is travelling with the Unger family, sailing from Bremen and entering Ellis Island, New York on the S.S. Muenchen. She gives her mother's address as Burgermeister Schmidt Str # 48, Bremen.
Doña Carlota died on June 20, 1955 in Bremen, Germany. She was 75 years old
- California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957
- California Passenger and Crew Lists, 1893-1957
- California, Death Index, 1905-1939
- Hamburg, Germany, Marriages, 1874-1920
- New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
- New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
- New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Immigration Cards, 1900-1965