Conrad Johann Matthiessen
Conrad Johann Matthiessen | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Hamburg |
| Died | January 23, 1822 (aged 70) Paris |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, banker |
| Known for | Advocacy of the French Revolution, extensive travels, social welfare involvement |
Conrad Johann Matthiessen (25 July 1751 – 23 January 1822) was a distinguished merchant and banker based in Hamburg during the period of the French Revolutionary Wars. He was an early advocate of the French Revolution and entered into marriage with a French woman in 1796; however, their union ended in divorce five years later.
Biography
Born to Hieronymus Matthiessen, a successful merchant from Hamburg, and Susanne Texier, who descended from a Huguenot lineage, Matthiessen became a partner in the trading firm "Matthiesen & Sillem." Despite this role, he gained greater recognition for his extensive travels and wide-ranging network. His circle included prominent merchants such as Georg Heinrich Sieveking and Caspar Voght, alongside intellectual figures like the writer and poet Elisa von der Recke. Matthiessen was actively involved in the "Monday Society," which had been established in 1784 by Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock and Johann Georg Büsch. Due to his frequent journeys, in 1787 he delegated the day-to-day operations of "Matthiesen & Sillem" to his cousin and business partner, Hieronymus Sillem.
A fervent supporter of the French Revolution, Matthiessen participated in the "Revolution Festival" held in July 1790, where approximately eighty Hamburg intellectuals commemorated Bastille Day. During the winter of 1790/91, he resided in Paris, becoming a member of "Club 87" and forging connections with notable individuals such as de La Rochefoucauld. Upon his return to Hamburg by July 1791, he joined the "Kollegium der Armenanstalt," an organization responsible for social welfare programs led by Caspar Voght. His numerous visits to Paris also involved providing direct assistance to impoverished families; over time, he supported around eighty households there.
In 1793, Matthiessen collaborated with merchant-philosopher Georg Heinrich Sieveking and diplomat-journalist Piter Poel to acquire a country estate on the banks of the Elbe at Neumühlen, near Altona. This estate served as a summer retreat and became a social hub for Hamburg’s affluent community. He sold his interest in this property in 1796 and purchased land in Niendorf, which at that time lay outside Hamburg’s city limits.
That year also marked his marriage to Henriette Rose Peronne de Sercey, who was related to the Countess of Genlis—an émigré who fled France following the Reign of Terror. Their marriage concluded with a divorce in 1801. Their daughter, Émilie Conradine Matthiessen (born 1801), later wed English nobleman and politician Charles Strickland Standish.
Conrad Johann Matthiessen passed away in Paris on 23 January 1822.