An undated CdV photo shows Heinrich Friedrich and Marie Wilhelmine Horstmann from Sarau in Germany. © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Alb. Giesler
The story behind the image
First of all – I don’t know the people on this photo. At the time of writing I did not have any traces that connects them to my family.
So why the photo then? Well, because it’s been captured by Alb. Giesler, official photographer of the Oldenburg Court in Eutin in Germany (and there is a faint relationship of Giesler to my family that goes back to the 17th century.)
Anyway, the back of the photo carries a handwritten remark: “Heinrich Horstmann Marie Horstmann geb. Hinz”. I really like the picture, and it’s a rare composition, because most CdV portraits of that time show single persons, not couples.
I wondered what I could possibly find out about them?
Well, the only hard fact is that the photo was taken in Eutin, most likely between 1893 and 1896, so they probably have lived in or near Eutin. And indeed, I found their traces in the wider surroundings of the city. They got married on 2nd July 1895 in Sarau, about 12 km outside of Eutin.
Looking at their formal clothes, this could be their official wedding portrait. Of course, back then, you would wear your best clothes when going to the photographer, but the couple looks very formal to me. Heinrich looks proud, serious, and determined, while Marie looks slightly uncertain (to me.)
Anyway, the church records I found in Sarau mention a lot of interesting data. Especially the marriage record is interesting.1
- Both were born and baptised in Sarau.
- Heinrich Friedrich Horstmann was born on 11th May 1868 as son of August Friedrich Horstmann, the blacksmith of Sarau, and his wife Catharina Maria Elisabeth Wulf.
- Marie Wilhelmine Hinz was born on 20th July 1871 in Sarau as daughter of the local retailer (“Krämer”), Heinrich Friedrich Hinz, and his wife, Clara Maria Louise Delfs.
- At the time of their wedding, Heinrich had already emigrated to Birkelund in the Viborg district in Denmark and worked as a ranger. Marie had moved to Ahrensböck which is just 6 km from Sarau.
So, they must have known each other from childhood. Heinrich became a ranger and had found work in Denmark, about 340 km north of Sarau. This must have been a bold move back then, even if it were busy times and the industrial revolution was in full swing. But Heinrich might have promised himself to Marie who waited for him in Ahrensbök. And when he returned they got married in the village where they grew up.
As part of the wedding they must have booked a photo shooting with Alb. Giesler in Eutin, possibly as a gift from their parents. They both moved to Birkelund near Viborg where they got at least three kids.
Sadly, Marie died way too early at the age of 45 on 9th July 1917, in the hospital in Randers, Denmark.2
Apparently, Heinrich married again in 1920, but it’s unclear what has happened to him.
1 Source: Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evang.-Luth. Kirche Norddeutschland, Kirchenkreis Plön-Segeber, Sarau, Trauungen 1892-1941 (online, via archion.de.)
2 Source: Rigsarkivet; Danmark; Kontraministerialbog; Referenz: 8033138201, via Ancestry.com. Dänemark, Kirchenregister, 1812-1924 [database on-line]. Lehi, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc, 2019.
The high resolution image
| Capture Date | c. 1895 |
| Photographer | Alb. Giesler |
| Location | Eutin, Germany |
| Image Source | 6 x 9 cm CdV |
| Digital Image Source | EPSON Perfection 4870 Photo |
| Digital Image Source Format | TIFF, 48 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Format | JPEG, 24 bits/pixel, sRGB |
| Edited Image Dimensions | 5982 x 9688 Pixels |
| Copyright | © Mark Zanzig/zanzig.com/Photo: Alb. Giesler |
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