Louis KIRCHMANN [1840-1891] | Gwulo: Old Hong Kong

Louis KIRCHMANN [1840-1891]

Primary tabs

Submitted by jill on Mon, 2016-05-30 20:57
Names
Given: 
Louis
Family: 
Kirchmann
Sex: 
Male
Status: 
Deceased
Birth
Date: 
1840-05-27
Birthplace (town, state): 
Eckernfoerde
Death
Date: 
1891-12-01
Other
Other reference: 
Freemasons

Louis Kirchmann (1840-1891) born in Eckernfoerde near Kiel in Schleswig-Holstein, was one of a group of tough early tavern keepers, who had Chinese wives. Kirchmann held the licence for The Land We Live In from 1871 until his death in 1891. He and the Swede, John Olson, licence holder of the National Hotel (1866-1885), were close neighbours in Ladder Street Terrace living in nos. 1 and 4 respectively.  Kirchmann’s countryman, C.F.W. Petersen, born in Kiel in 1832, was intermittent license holder of The German Tavern from 1858 until his death in 1896 and the oldest of this trio of friends. Through the German Consulate, he also built up a lucrative business as shipping master for the recruitment of crews. (The German speaking community in Hong Kong 1846-1918.) He and John Olson named each other as mutual executors.  Louis Kirchmann was one of two German tavern keepers elected to posts in the Freemasons Lodge of St. John in 1881 (Patricia Lim, pp. 489-90).

Tags: 
Christian Friedrich Petersen
John Olson snr
The Land We Live In
The National Hotel
The German Tavern
Ladder Street Terrace
  • Log in or register to post comments

Comments

Submitted by Admin on Tue, 2016-05-31 09:56.

He's buried in the Hong Kong Cemetery in Happy Valley. Here's the inscription on his gravestone (see http://gwulo.com/node/8741):

23---/10/03- Sacred / to / the memory / of / Louis Kirchmann / born at Eckernfoerde? / 27th May 1840 / died at Hong Kong / 1st December 1891 / aged 51 years / R I Pfootstone - LK / 5392

Submitted by Klaus on Sun, 2016-06-05 19:44.

A photo of his gravestone can be seen on HKMemory.

Submitted by jill on Wed, 2018-07-25 01:05.

I've been following the trail of Louis Kirchmann as he was a close friend of my great-grandfather, John Olson snr. I'm interested that the wedding of his daughter, Carolina, in 1888 was held at the Berlin Foundling Chapel. Was this a part of the Berlin Foundling Mission and at the same address? Was this also the normal church for Eurasian girls with German fathers to be married in? According to Carl Smith, Carolina married a German master mariner, Carl Holm.

Jill