Peter Haack, a Silversmith, and his Connection to St. Martin's Cathedral, Mainz Germany, and a Work of Art History
A few weeks ago, I opened my genealogical blog and I was pleasantly
surprised to find this message, posted in German:
Hi Bob, I'm Dr. Hildegard Lütkenhaus from near Frankfurt, Germany, and I'm
currently working as an art historian on a catalog about the goldsmith's and
silversmith's work in the cathedral treasury of Mainz (also known as St.
Martin's Cathedral.) There is a silver cup that your
great-great-great-grandfather made in 1844 for St. Peter in Worms. Little is
known about the goldsmith, except that he came from Tal Ehrenbreitstein, was
born around 1800, and married in Worms. I am so very happy to find your story
about silversmith Peter Haack!
The Backstory.
In 2015, I wrote a post on my genealogical blog: Talking Tombstones,
about my 2nd and 3rd great-grandfathers’ (GGFs) Joseph
and Peter Haack. That article, Haack’ing into my
German Past, would be the key that would unlock a significant
finding in my family’s history.
My 3x GGF Peter Josef Haack was born abt. 1796 in Thal
Ehrenbretstein, Germany, to Carl Joseph Haack and Catherine Maurer. He married Anna Marie Walpurgis Adams,
at St. Peter Catholic Church, Worms, Rheinhessen, Hessen, Germany, on 20
September 1831. They had five children:
John, Anna, Josephine, Helena, and Philip. Sadly, Helena would die less than a year
after birth in 1841, and Philip would die in 1844 at the age of two. I can’t imagine the family’s grief in losing
two young children less than three years apart.
Peter Haack along with his family emigrated to the U.S. in
1848 and is likely the first U.S. immigrant on my father’s side (John A.
Milani Sr.) Peter Haack applied for U.S.
citizenship on 8 March 1849 and was granted citizenship on 24 Oct 1855. It
is unclear why Peter Haack came to the U.S., but it is quite likely he was
caught up in the German Revolutions of 1848-1849, which would lead to over 400,000
Germans emigrating to the U.S.
Peter’s occupation is listed as a jeweler in multiple New
York City directories from the mid-1800s.
Peter died in Hoboken, New Jersey, on 2 May 1872 of General Debility (state
or quality of being weak; weakness; feebleness; languor). Although his death is recorded in the city of
Hoboken, and the county of Hudson, NJ, the exact street address is not. However, I believe Peter and Anna lived with
their eldest child and only living son, John, who resided at 121
Bloomfield St., Hoboken, New Jersey. John had followed his father into the jewelry
trade and in the blogpost: Haack’ing
into my German Past you can find his story and obituary. Unfortunately,
I have not been able to determine the final resting place of Peter, or the date
when Anna passed, or her burial location.
St. Martin’s Cathedral.
I started this post with a message I received from Dr. Hildegard Lütkenhaus a historian working
on a catalog of works in the cathedral treasury of Mainz - also known as St.
Martin’s Cathedral.
St. Martin’s Cathedral was founded by Archbishop Willigis in the year 975, and is the oldest monumental, vaulted building in Germany after Speyer and
before Worms. The west building, completed in 1239, is one of the greatest
works of German architecture. Dozens of grave monuments created by outstanding
artists show a representative cross-section of the style periods from 1249 to
the 20th century.
Built-in the style of St Peter’s in Rome, the imperial cathedral in Mainz has been the most striking building in the city for a long time. At 358 ft. long and 91 ft. tall, the massive red sandstone cathedral has been extended over the centuries and is now the most famous landmark of the capital of Rhineland‑Palatinate. The tallest tower stretches 260 ft. into the sky.
Archbishop Willigis, friend and advisor of Emperor Otto II and deputy to the pope, had the cathedral built to underline his ecclesiastical and earthly power as the imperial prince and territorial lord of the whole Mainz archdiocese. Willigis consecrated the Cathedral on 29 August 1009, dedicating it in honor of St. Martin of Tours, but on the same day, disastrously, it was destroyed by fire. Willigis immediately gave orders for reconstruction. The cathedral burnt six more times, seven kings were crowned in it and 45 bishops are buried in it. Emperor Barbarossa celebrated his legendary Mainz Court Festival in the cathedral in the 12th century. Holy Roman Emperor Henry V and Matilda, daughter of English King Henry I, tied the knot here.
Finding Peter Haack.
Dr. Hildegard
Lütkenhaus was seeking background information on a goldsmith named Peter
Haack. She had discovered a trophy with
his mark ’P. Haack‘ engraved on it but knew relatively little about him until
she found my blog post Haack’ing into my German Past. I wrote back to her verifying the information
she had provided that in fact, Peter Haack was my 3x GGF. She replied:
I was very
happy about your e-mail! I was also thrilled when I found your blog with the
important information about Peter J. Haack! The only thing I had found out
about this goldsmith until then is contained in the book, which bears the
following title: Wolfgang Scheffler: Goldschmiede Hessens. Daten, Werke,
Zeichen, Berlin/New York 1976. Here Haack is listed on page 775 under No. 83a.
I attach a photo from this page above. The catalog with the text about the
cup is expected to be published at the end of 2022. I will be happy to inform
you about this and send you a copy of the text.
Sincerely,
Hildegard Lütkenhaus
Translation:
83a PETER JOSEF
HAACK Born around 1796* in Thal Ehrenbreitstein as the son of Carl Joseph H
(later Grand Duke Customs Collector in Worms), married, living in Worms, as a
34-year-old silversmith on September 20, 1831, Anna Maria Walpurgis Adams, the 25-year-old daughter of the master miller Johann Baptista A.
Children: Johann
Baptist Josef (born January 3, 1834) Anna Mathilde Adolfine (born February 19,
1835) Josefine Karoline Rosamunde (born February 24, 1838) Helene Susanne
Hedwig (born July 21, 1840; died March 18, 1841) Philipp Wilhelm Cornelius
(born September 16, 1841; died August 16, 1844)
Not in the 1852
address book
Mark: P. Haack
Works: No. 893a.
912 a) Spoon, pointed shape, or F W E. L. 23,54 cm. Mainz, Middle Rhine.
Museum.
*Bob's Comment: There is no definitive date of birth for Peter Haack, but I do believe the birth date of 1796 is correct. His death record indicated he died at 75 on May 2, 1872. That means he was either born in 1797 or 1796.
The Trophy
I continued to correspond with Dr. Lütkenhaus. Her third correspondence:
Of the cup in
the Mainz Cathedral Treasury, I attach to you an overall view, the relief with
St. Martin and the master stamp with the city stamp of Worms. Probably at the
end of this year, the catalog with my text about the cup will be published.
Other works by Haack are not known to me – except for a spoon in the
Landesmuseum Mainz. Maybe you still know some in the USA?
I look forward
to hearing from you, and I remain.
Sincerely,
Hildegard
Lütkenhaus
In genealogy, the closest most genealogists ever get to
ancestors who lived over 200 years ago, is an internet copy of an old
certificate or worse, transcripts posted on the Web. Rarely, do we find the actual document or object
that connects us directly to our ancestors -- their creations – or their works
of art! In this case, we did just that
and we found the equivalent of the genealogical Holy Grail!
The inscription on the trophy reads (thank you to Karen Daurie, my neighbor, for her translation):
To
the Reverend Ludwig Boll
Pastor
of St. Peter in Worms
On
the 12th of August 1844
The
twenty-fifth anniversary of his blessed work in this city
Out
of gratitude esteem and love
From
all the parishioners of St. Peter and St. Marten in Worms
The relief of St. Martin of Tours. This depicts a horse-mounted soldier, St. Martin, cutting his own cloak in half and giving it to a beggar.
St. Martin of Tours.
St. Martin of Tours was born in either 316 or 336 in what is
now Hungary. His father was a high-ranking soldier. Martin grew up in Northern
Italy, where his father was assigned to serve.
Martin’s parents were both pagans, but he decided
independently to convert to Christianity when he was ten years old.
When Martin was fifteen, he was required to begin serving in
the military. It is believed that he traveled to Gaul, Milan, and Treves as a
young soldier. During this time, he at one point came across a cold beggar.
Martin cut his own cloak in half and gave half of it to the beggar. That night,
Jesus appeared to Martin in a dream as the beggar.
When Martin was twenty years old, his conscience began to
trouble him about fighting in battle. Before a large battle near modern-day
Worms in Germany, he announced that he would not go into battle and turned down
his pay.
He was accused of cowardice and would have been imprisoned,
but he said instead that he would go into battle unarmed. His superiors agreed,
but a truce was called before the battle took place.
Since Martin was then released from military service, he
dedicated his life more fully to the Church.
St. Martin of Tours is the patron saint of soldiers. St. Martin of Tours is also the patron saint
of the poor. Additionally, St. Martin of
Tours is the patron saint of tailors.
Final Thoughts.
It is almost prophetic that Peter Haack would craft this beautiful
trophy with a relief of St. Martin, the patron saint of soldiers, whose heirs
are indeed a family of soldiers.
St. Martin of Tours’ Feast Day is November 11th – our National Veteran's Day and the same day my grandfather, Andrew N. L. Milani, married to the great-granddaughter
of Peter Haack, would pass from this world to the next. Grandpa Andy was fond of raising a glass in
remembrance of the Great War that ended on the 11th hour on the 11th day
of the 11th month of 1918. May we raise
a glass to him and all of our ancestors -- for the wonderful family legacy that
is ours to cherish and pass on.
Epilogue.
In researching the family tree of John and Peter Haack -- I discovered another ancestor -- my 5x GGF and GGM Simon Faller, born abt. 1744 and his wife Magdalena Schwerer was born abt. 1756!
Bob Milani
