William Henry Sowerbutts: 1845–1912
William Henry Sowerbutts, the eldest son of Simeon Sowerbutts and Sophie Emilie Eleonore Schulze, was born on December 30, 1845 in Bremen, Germany. His father was a British earthenware dealer and wholesaler who owned the company of Simeon Sowerbutts & Co. in Bremen and who, in 1852, along with his partners; W.A. Fritze, the Bremen shipowner and James Bethuel Boyes founded the Earthenware factory Witteburg AG, in the town of Farge near Bremen. Sowerbutts brought especially skilled workers from England and by 1853, the factory had a workforce of 150 people, half of them either being from England or Englishmen that had been living in and around Bremen. To support these workers, the company built an estate of houses for them, which was nicknamed 'Englische Reihe' (English row) by the locals.
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In 1860 the Sowerbutts family are living at number 70 Contrescarpe in Bremen. (The trader and shipping Captain Heinrich Hackfeld also lived on this street). Through connections of his father, William Henry was taken on as an apprentice by the Bremish trading company C. Melchers & Co. In 1875, he accepted an offer to enter as a partner to Melchers’ trading house in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Mexico, (Casa Melcher’s), in association with the brothers; Bertram Johann (1852-1901) and Anton Friedrich Carl Melchers (1854–1925).
It is not sure if William married in Bremen before leaving for Mazatlán, or once he had arrived. It is said that his wife Kate Caroline Serene Auguste Adolphine Hanssen (1852–1925), who was born in Lübeck, Germany, had come to Mexico as an governess, but we find that in 1870 she was living in Illinois, U.S.A and working as a domestic help. Whichever the case, they must have been married about 1875 because their eldest daughter Flora was born in 1876 in Mazatlán.
The couple had five daughters and one son (that we know of), all born in Mazatlán, Mexico and all but the two elder daughters were christened in 1890 in Luebeck, Germany.
- Flora Sophie Sowerbutts: 1876
- Emilia Louise Sowerbutts: 1878–1956
- Carlota Auguste Sowerbutts:1879–1955
- William John Sowerbutts: April 20, 1881
- Katie Marie Sowerbutts: 1885–1926 married Berhard Adolph Dreier 1875–1945
- Mathilde Isabelle Sowerbutts: 1888–
William Hy Sowerbutts not only had a reputation for being smart and very good businessman, but he was a great prankster. Like many of the households, warehouses and hotels in Mazatlán, the Sowerbutts -Hanssen family used boa constrictors to control the rats and rodents, (See Hotel Belmar, Boa). William Henry was extremely fond of his boa constrictor and would give it tit bits from the table at lunch time. When guests from Germany arrived he would sit them at his place at the huge dining table, so that when the food was served the boa would slither over to the guest to await his daily titbit, much to the horror and fright of the poor house guest.
He was also a great philanthropist, making several charitable donations for public works in Mazatlán, and helping to increase the well-being of the townspeople, for example the design of the water and drainage system.
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The family Sowerbutts in Mazatlán were also partners of 'La Mercería Alemán' in Mazatlán, along with Carlos Luis Volquardsen and the Melchers brothers Carl and Alexander. They also owned mines and commercialised precious metals. In 1887 W.H. Sowerbutts was a partner in the "Compañía Abastecedora de Agua de Mazatlán", (Waterworks of Mazatlán).
As it was common for the commercial trading houses of Mazatlán to give financial loans to the local government for the construction of public works, in 1896 the municipality of Mazatlán received a loan of $115,000 for the construction of a marketplace in Mazatlán. Guillermo Sowerbutts as a partner of Melchers bequeathed $30,000 to this project.
From 1892 to 1897 he was the German Consul in Mazatlán. He was also an active member of the Chamber of Commerce in Mazatlám from 1886 until 1898, being President of the Chamber four times; 1889-1890, 1894-1895, and from 1896 to 1898.
The family travelled to Germany often. On October 18, 1892 we find William , his wife Kate and their daughters Mathilde and Kate sailing from Bremen and entering Ellis Island en route to Mazatlán. With them is the children´s governess Miss Mengel who was 24 years old. Also travelling with them is Alexander Melchers and his wife Mariana Melchers nee Volquardsen. Again, on October 9, 1894 Consul William Sowerbutts arrives to New York onboard the ship 'Trave' with his daughters Emilie Louise and Carlota August. On May 26, 1894 he was a witness to the marriage of Enrique Schmidt and María Carlota Fernandez Galán, other witnesses were Johann Georg Claussen, Emil Philippi and Carlos Schmidt, brother of Enrique.
In 1897 William Sowerbutts was a share holder in the mining company ‘La Piramide’, (Negociación Minera La Pírámide) in San José de Gracia. This company was established by the brothers Miguel and Antonio Tarriba from Culiacan, and their cousins Aguirre Echavarria and Andres Avendaño. Sowerbutts presided over the board because the mines had been acquired with funds provided by Casa Melchers.
As it was common for the commercial trading houses of Mazatlán to give financial loans to the local government for the construction of public works, in 1896 the municipality of Mazatlán received a loan of $115,000 for the construction of a marketplace in Mazatlán. Guillermo Sowerbutts as a partner of Melchers bequeathed $30,000 to this project.
From 1892 to 1897 he was the German Consul in Mazatlán. He was also an active member of the Chamber of Commerce in Mazatlám from 1886 until 1898, being President of the Chamber four times; 1889-1890, 1894-1895, and from 1896 to 1898.
The family travelled to Germany often. On October 18, 1892 we find William , his wife Kate and their daughters Mathilde and Kate sailing from Bremen and entering Ellis Island en route to Mazatlán. With them is the children´s governess Miss Mengel who was 24 years old. Also travelling with them is Alexander Melchers and his wife Mariana Melchers nee Volquardsen. Again, on October 9, 1894 Consul William Sowerbutts arrives to New York onboard the ship 'Trave' with his daughters Emilie Louise and Carlota August. On May 26, 1894 he was a witness to the marriage of Enrique Schmidt and María Carlota Fernandez Galán, other witnesses were Johann Georg Claussen, Emil Philippi and Carlos Schmidt, brother of Enrique.
In 1897 William Sowerbutts was a share holder in the mining company ‘La Piramide’, (Negociación Minera La Pírámide) in San José de Gracia. This company was established by the brothers Miguel and Antonio Tarriba from Culiacan, and their cousins Aguirre Echavarria and Andres Avendaño. Sowerbutts presided over the board because the mines had been acquired with funds provided by Casa Melchers.
In 1898 Emile Philippi replaced him as Consul of Germany in Mazatlán, which implies that Sowerbutts returned to Bremen in this year. In the book ‘Guía general descriptiva de la República Mexicana: Estados y territorios federales’ by J. Figueroa Domenech, written in 1899, he states that in 1899 the actual partners of 'Casa Melchers' are Bertram Johann Melchers, Carl Melchers, Heinrich Alexander Melchers (1860–1934) and Guillermo Sowerbutts, all residing in Europe, while the managers are Emili Philippi and Jorge G. Claussen.
William Henry Sowerbutts died on October 27, 1912 at number 30, Parkallee, Bremen, Germany. In 1917 his widow and his son William John are both living at this same address. His wife Kate died on April 30, 1925 also in Bremen, Germany.
Children of Wm Hy Sowerbutts & Kate Jansen
Flora Sophie Sowerbutts, the eldest daughter of William Henry and Kate Sowerbutts was born on Jan 21,1877 in Mazatlán. The witnesses at her birth register were Don Carlos A Volquardsen (her future father-in-law, & Guillermo Franz. When she was 22 years old, she married Carlos Louis Volquardsen (1867–) on June 8, 1898 in San Francisco, California.
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Emilia Louise Sowerbutts, the second eldest child of W. H. Sowerbutts and Kate Jansen, was born on November 5, 1878 in Mazatlán. The witnesses were Alfred Sowerbutts, who is possibly a brother of her father, and Carl Melchers. About 1901 Emilia married the merchant Hermann M. Rohte 1867–1950 and they had two children that we know of:
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Carlota was the third daughter of Wm Henry Sowerbutts and Kate Jansen. She was born on November 21, 1879 in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, México. On January 28, 1899 she married Johann George Claussen 1862-1913 in Hamburg, Germany. They had seven children. She died on June 20, 1955 in Bremen, Germany
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William John Sowerbutts: April 20, 1881
William John Sowerbutts, the only son of Wm Hy Sowerbutts and Kate Jansen was born on April 29, 1881 in Mazatlán and baptized on July 3, 1890 in Luebeck, Germany. In 1917 he is living with his widowed mother at number 30 Parkallee in Bremen.
Katie Marie, the fifth child of Wm Hy Sowerbutts and Kate Jansen was born on October 25, 1885 in Mazatlán and baptized on July 3, 1890 in Luebeck, Germany. On June 16, 1923 she married the merchant Bernhard Adolph Dreier 1875–1945 in Bremen, Germany. She died on October 6, 1926 in a hospital in Bremen.
Mathilde Isabelle Sowerbutts: 1885–
All we have for Mathilde Sowerbutts is her birth on June 24, 1888 in Mazatlán and her baptism on July 3, 1890 in Luebeck, Germany.