ADAM LORENZ HASLING 1874-1895
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| Adam Lorenz Hasling and grandaughter May Cordy c1884 |
I have decided to combine the themes for Week 37 and 38 and write about my Great Great Grandfather Adam Lorenz Hasling and his wife Caroline Carstens because their lives were a combination of both Prosperity and Adversity.
In my book "Mama Said: The Mostly True Story of the Begue Family of Louisiana and Mississippi" I wrote that we have more documentation on Great Great Grandpa Hasling than any of Mama's other ancestors. He was born in Bremen, Germany on 28 May 1819, the son of Andreas Jacob Hasling and his wife Elizabeth. He came to the United States 4 April 1840 aboard the ship Olbers from Bremen to New Orleans. We found him in a German census of men who turned 21 in 1840 where he is listed as living in Nord Amerika. Evidently he left home to avoid mandatory conscription. He was naturalized in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, on 19 February 1845.
His obituary says that "He first engaged in the powder business, and was the agent of the Duponts in this section. Shortly afterwards he became interested in the ship chandlery and grocery business, which he conducted in Algiers for a number of years....He controlled the entire business of the Swedish and Norwegian vessels that came into this port."
On 5 October 1845 he married Mary Ann Keeling, a native of Missouri. Her brother, Steamboat Captain Franklin Keeling, signed the marriage bond with Adam Hasling. Adam and Mary Ann's first child, Emma, was born in 1846. Son Lawrence Andrew was born 19 February 1848, according to the Hasling Family Bible. Sarah Agnes "Maggie" was born 19 July 1849. Louise Catherine was born on 26 December 1850 and died on 21 August 1851. Hers was the first of a series of deaths that affected the Hasling family. Adam's wife Mary Ann died on 3 June 1852 of inflammation of the uterus, a few weeks after the birth of daughter Mary Jane "Jennie" on 17 May, 1852.
A. L. Hasling and Mary Ann are listed on the 1850 U. S. Census in Algiers, just across the river from New Orleans. He is 31 years old, a coffee house keeper from Bremen with property valued aat $8000. Mary Ann is 25, born in Kentucky. Son Lawrence is two years old and daughter Sarah Agnes is one. Living with them is James Keeling, age 18, a clerk, born in Missouri. This is probably Mary Ann's younger brother.
On the next page of the 1850 census is Charles [Carl] Bayer and his wife Caroline and their two year old daughter, Caroline. Charles is 25, a coffee house keeper with $8000 of property, born in Germany. Wife Caroline is 21, also born in Germany. Living with them is clerk, Frederick Harding, born in Germany. They had two more children, sons, Johann Martin Theodore Beyer, born 10 October 1850, and Carl Martin Theodore Beyer, born 22 January 1853
Hasling's coffee house and grocery was on Patterson Street, near Bartholomew (N.O. City Directory). This was a short distance from the coffee house and grocery operated by Charles and Caroline Beyer on Patterson Street corner Chestnut (N.O. City Directories 1850-1853). For those unfamiliar with New Orleans terminology, "coffee house" was what they called a cafe or bar. Many of the groceries included a cafe.
On 1 October 1852 Carl Beyer died while Caroline was pregnant for their third child. On 10 October 1853 Adam Lawrence Hasling married widow Caroline Sophie Elizabeth Carstens Beyer. That same year Caroline's sister, Henrietta, married John Henry Hasling, Adam Lawrence's brother. Both of Caroline's sons were baptized on 6 November 1853 at St. Anna's Episcopal Church which is just a short ferry ride across the Mississippi River in New Orleans. Caroline and Carl's daughter evidently died between 1850 and 1853 as she was not baptized with her brothers. There was a yellow fever epidemic in 1853 that killed almost 1/3 of the population of the New Orleans area so she may have been one of those victims.
The blended Hasling family included Adam's children from his first marriage, Emma, Lawrence, Maggie and Jenny, as well as Caroline's two sons Johan and Carl. They added three more daughters of their own, Laura Catherine, born 20 December 1855, Sarah "Sally," born May 1858, and Anna Amelia, [my Great Grandmothe] born April 1861.
CAROLINE SOPHIE ELIZABETH CARSTENS
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| Caroline Sophie Carstens c1850 |
Caroline Carstens was born about 1826 in Westerbur, Oestfriesland, Hannove. It is estimated that she immigrated to New Orleans about 1846 because her 1891 death certificate says she was "45 years in this city." Her father, Hilrich Carstens, was a seaman, a ships captain, said Grandpa Begue. His name appears on New Orleans passenger lists in 1821, 1826, 1827, 1846 and 1849.
Caroline's first husband arrived in New Orleans on 4 January 1841 aboard the Barque Clement from Hamburg. His name is listed as Carl M. T. Beyer and his occupation is Clerk. His full name was probably Carl Martin Theodore Beyer since both sons bore those names. He was born 17 May 1814 in Luneberg, Hannover. Once in New Orleans Carl was known as Charles.
The 1855 New Orleans City Directory adds a coffee house and grocery operated by Adam's brother, John Henry Hasling at Patterson and Chestnut. This is the same business owned by Caroline and her first husband.
The large Hasling family is listed on the 1860 Census in Algiers:
A. L. Hasling, age 41, a Merchant with $75,000 of real estate, born in Bremen
Elizabeth, which was Caroline's third given name, age 39, born in Hanover
Henry Carstens, age 65, born in Hanover, probably Caroline's father, Hillrich
Their children are listed as Lawrence, age 13, Agnes, age 10, John [Beyer], age 9, Charles [Beyer], age 6, Laura, age 4, Emma, age 15, Sarah, age 2. Also living with the family is Diedrick Tableeman, age 19, a laborer from Bremen, and Geore Louchen, age 19, a clerk from Hanover.
On the 1860 Slave Schedule A. L. Hasling is listed as having five slaves living in tw slave houses., three females, ages 50, 45, and 29, and two males, one age 48 and one a 6 month old baby. He is the only one of Mama's ancestors to own slaves.
Adam's brother, John Henry Hasling drowned while on a hunting trip and the census lists his wife Henrietta as a widow with three children. Her occupation is Trading and Boarding.
According to his obituary, Adam L. "fought for the confederacy" during the Civil War and "was a member of the famous Clay Guards." Before the war New Orleans had been the second largest port in the United States. The Union occupation and blockade decimated the shipping industry in the city. When Adam returned to the city he continued running the coffee house and grocery and began rebuilding his ships chandlery business. His obituary says, "...he controlled the entire business of the Swedish and Norwegian vessels that came into this port. Mr. Hasling invested largely in real estate, and had a beautiful summer residence at Biloxi, besides a number of other properties at that resort." In 1865 A. L. Hasling is listed as a Retail Liquor Dealer and Retail Dealer on Villere near Lavergne in Algiers (U.S. IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918)
In 1870 the Hasling family consisted of Adam and Caroline, Lawrence, Jenny, John, Charlie, Laura, Sally, and Amelia. Daughter Sarah Agnes "Maggie" had marrried Eugene Lalmant in 1869.
Algiers was annexed by New Orleans on 16 March 1870 by the Louisiana State legislature amid strong opposition from both sides of the river. it became the 5th Municipal Ward of the city. This was when the area was still under martial law during the difficult Reconstruction period which didn't come to an end until Union troops were removed from the city in 1877. Even after annexation Algiers retained a separate identity.
In April 1874 A. L. Hasling made a trip back to Germany and Norway. On October 13, 1874 The New Orleans Times reported:
"We were pleased to meet unpon the streets yesterday Mr. A. L. Hasling, the well known ship chandler and grocer, whose departure on an extended European tour in April last was the signal for the shipping at our wharves to suddenly grow rainbowey with boating. During the past six months Mr. Hasling has spent most of his time rusticating among the mountains of Norway. His appearance at the residences of wealthy ship owners, many of whose vessels he has supplied for nearly a third of a century, was made occasion for a series of ovations, to which not only the proprietors, but all in any way interested in the Norwegian vessels which visit this port, flocked."
Adam Lawrence's passport application describes him at age 54 as 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a high forehead, grey eyes, a medium size nose, small mouth, round chin, grey hair, light complexion, and a round face.
In the book The Story of Algiers, 1718-1896, reprinted 1971, William Seymour writes:
"The St. Charles Hall on Patterson Street, built for A. L. Hasling, was for many years the only ball room in town, and was the scene of many a social festive and political gathering. It was also used for amateur theatrical purposes from 1874 to 1878 by the Algiers Dramatic Association." [Seymour was stage manager of the ADA.] "Many delightful plays were rendered, with one exception, that of September 14th,1874. The male members of the association contributing to a more serious drama, being enacted upon the levee at Liberty place where the monument now stands." [Seymour is referring to the Battle of Liberty Place where Carpetbag Rule was overthrown.]
The building was still there when I was a child. Mama said, "That was where Daddy's mother used to sing. And that was where Aunt Mamie and Aunt Carrie used to go to dance."
Death plagued the Hasling-Carstens family. On 9 October 1873 Caroline's son Johan/John Beyer died at age 23. The next year on 19 November 1874 her son Carl/Charles died at age 21. There is no cause of death listed in the obituaries or death certificates. In November 1879 Adam and Caroline's son-in-law Charles Arthur Cordy died. Daughter Sally and and Charles Cordy were living with the Haslings at the time and Sally was pregnant for their first child. Charles is listed on the 1880 Mortality Schedule as dying of phthisis pulmonalis, an old term for tuberculosis, on 27 November 1879. Four and a half months later, on 14 March 1880, Sally gave birth to Mary Ann "May" Cordy. She is the little girl in the photo with A. L. Hasling at the beginning of this post.
In 1875 daughter Laura Catherine married Eugene Bakeler of Biloxi, Mississippi. In the 1880 census they are living with the Haslings on Villere Street in Algiers, although the census taker lists Eugene Bakeler as Eugene Hasling. A baby Maria Hasling is listed on the next line. Sally and husband Charles Cordy are also listed as living with the Haslings along with son James, age 7 months old.
I believe that the census taker switched the names of the babies in the hosehold and that the Maria listed is Mary Ann "May" Cordy. Seven moonth old James is probably the son of Laura Hasling and Eugene Bakeler, born 25 November 1879. In a biography of Eugene Bakeler on the Biloxi Historical Society website, his first child is given as Joseph Bakeler born 1879, died 1895. He was registered in the New Orleans Birth Index with no first name given. Orleans Parish Death Index lists the death of Joseph Bakeler in 1895. The Biloxi Herald obituary on 30 March 1895 gives his name as Eugene Joseph Bakeler.
Fires in Algiers in 1876 and 1881 destroyed several Hasling properties. On 26 August 1881 a story in the Times-Picayune titled "Fire in Algiers, A Cremated Coffeehouse" reported the destruction of Hasling's building at the corner of Chestnut and Patterson Streets. It was the one Caroline and her first husband Carl Beyer had owned.
On 6 May 1882 daughter Anna Amelia Hasling married John Blaise Begue in Biloxi. Adam signed the Marriage Bond and he and Caroline attended the wedding at the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biloxi. Soon John and Amelia were living in Algiers near the Haslings.
On 11 March 1884 daughter Laura gave birth to son Arthur Francis Bakeler and a month later on 11 April 1884 she died of inflammation of the uterus. Eugene Bakeler remarried Marie Chevalley on 24 October 1888. In 1900 he was operating The Biloxi News Company on Reynoir Street in Biloxi, selling newspapers, magazines, periodicals, tobacco, cigarsb and smokers' articles. His home and store were destroyed in the fire of 9 November 1900, but he soon rebuilt. This fire also burned several Hasling properties.
In June of 1889 daughter Amelia's husband, John Blaise Begue, died of pulmonary tuberculosis leaving Amelia a widow with three young children. In 1890 she is listed in the New Orleans City Directory as Begue Annie, widow John, at 44 1/2 Delaronde Street. In 1891 she is listed at 49 Villere.
Adam Hasling set up daughters Amelia and Sally with a hotel in Biloxi. It was probably a bed-and-breakfast type operation, catering to New Orleans residents who liked to spend the hot summer months on the Gulf Coast and serving Northern guests in the winter.
On 7 March 1891 Caroline Sophie Elizabeth Carstens Hasling, who had suffered through the deaths of so many loved ones, died of carcinoma ventriculi, stomach cancer. Her will left everything to her husband. It was around this time that Adam relocated his business to the New Orleans side of the river "in the old Marigny building in the Third District." This was a short ferry ride from Algiers across the Mississippi River on the old Third District ferry.
Then on 17 June 1894 tuberculosis claimed another of the Hasling family, daughter Amelia. While the family was still wrangling over Amelia's will, Adam Lawrence Hasling died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 76 on 12 August 1895. His obituary said that "His sturdy constitution began to fail him about two months ago, and his advanced years culd not withstand the inroads of the complications of disease that thereafter assailed him until yesterday morning, when death came to the relief of the venerable sufferer.... His funeral took place from the home of his daughter Jenny, Mrs. Francis Martin, at 232 Jackson street on 13 August 1895 at 10:00. He was laid to rest in the family tomb in Odd Fellows' Rest cemetery."
Adam's will left everything to his son-n-law Francis Martin, husband of daughter Mary Jane "Jenny." A note on the transcript says "Estate consisted of over $40,000." (Wills, Harrison County, Mississippi 1853-1927, Book 2, Page 9, Mf Roll929.3762)
In October of that same year one of Hasling's properties, "a queer, curious, old fashioned two-story building, erected by A. L. Hasling, at 68 Delaronde street, long occupied by an odd lot of tenants" burned in the Great Algiers Fire of 1895. (Seymour, 1971) Then in 1897 several more of his properties were lost when the river bank along Patterson street caved in. Several of his Biloxi properties also burned in 1900.
Adam Hasling was not to rest in peace as his disinherited heirs continued to try to get part of his estate. The suit of son Lawrence Andrew Hasling, sometimes referred to as A. L. Hasling Jr., reached the Louisiana Supreme Court. After the Biloxi Fire of 1900 Lawrence sued to get part of the insurance money collected by brother-in-law Francis Martin.
On 17 June 1902 The Times Picayune published the story of Lawrence Hasling's drowning death headlined "Hasling's Death, Poor and a Cripple, But Engaged in Litigation for His Father's Fortune, and His Drowning Gives Rise to Many Theories." The article asked, "Was it accident, suicide or foul play?"
"The death of Lawrence A. Hasling and the finding of his body floating in the river at Concession, La., twelve miles below the city, is a mystery in more ways than one. There are the three theories, but no direct evidence in suppoort of either. No one knows how old man Hasling met his death. But the circumstances appear to be so peculiar, upon a hasty investigation, that some of his near relatives will probably institute an official investigation of the matter..." The article said that his suit against Francis Martin had been in the courts for three years.
None of Lawrence Hasling's family or the families of the other disinherited heirs ever got any of Adam Hasling's disputed fortune. Mary Jane "Jenny" Hasling died in 1910 and her husband, Francis Martin, died in 1911. My Grandma Begue used to say that the Hasling money was cursed. Maybe she was right.
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