Loffstadt/Lofthouse, Newcastle/Willington/Wallsend

[PorterzPennellz]

Hi everyone,

I'm trying to get around our Loffstadt family brick wall re: ancestor Frederick Loffstadt, b. circa 1827, Hamburg, Germany.  The story goes that Frederick's parents were both killed in the Berlin Opera House fire of 1843, Frederick was sent to a boarding school, hated it, ran away to sea, and worked his way up through the ranks to become a master mariner.  Married Margaret Stead of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and raised a family in Newcastle, Willington, Wallsend. Descendants changed surname to "Lofthouse" circa 1914 to avoid persecution during WWI.

Problems: 1.) I can't find him in some censuses, but years I've found say that he was a naturalized Brit.  Can't find him in the online "Naturalized Briton" index at the National Archives web site.  Does this mean he wasn't really naturalized? 2.) Can't find any online reference to loss of life in the Berlin Opera House fire.  Someone suggested to me that the Prussian gov't often censored news reports for damage control.  Any ideas who might be able to give me the real skinny on whether people died in this fire? 3.) Loffstadt doesn't appear to be a German surname, but "Lofstedt" is a fairly common Swedish surname. Any online Hamburg records (not the emigration ones) from circa 1830s 40s?  4.) If both Frederick's parents were dead at the time of his 1852 marriage in Newcastle, would their names be on his marriage cert? 5.) Any master mariner records someplace?  Any and all suggestions for ways to research this family would be greatly appreciated.

[2zpool]

If he knew what his father's name was it should appear on the marriage and may or may not say deceased on the certificate.  On the other hand I ordered a marriage cert to make sure I had the correct person and all it said was "Dead" in very large letters, no name, in the father's section. 

Since he was not born in UK I think the only way to find out would be to order the certificate.

Janis

[peter brownlee]

Since his wife doesn't say she is widowed, Frederick must have been at sea during the later censuses. He doesn't appear in the Lloyd's Captains list but judging by his wife's frequency of childbirth he was probably aboard a regular collier or timber ship and frequently back in the Tyne. A shipmaster on those ships didn't require a Certificate of Competency at that time.
There is an index of seamen aboard ships in the 1881 census available on CD from the LDS or at their family history centres.
Most of the sources require a ships name to access the crew lists.
Peter

[Michael Dixon]

PP,

My membership to Newcastle City Library allows me access to the contents of The Times ( of London) from 1785-1985 and of many regional newspapers 1800-1900.

 Using key search words e.g. " fire" "berlin" " opera" produces no "hits" at all.

 In late 1830s an Italian operahouse burned down... the fireworks used in the performance of Don Giovanni, set the place alight.

 As far as Prussian officialdom's secretiveness goes, also in late 1830s there was a full report in the Times of a deadly riot in Hamburg. The guards on the city's gates, shut them perhaps too early one night, demanding tolls from the latecomers trying to get inside the walls. The angry crowd torched the Toll Booth  and threw the guards into the moat !

Michael

[Michael Dixon]

 Yesterday in Tyne & wear Archives I had a browse of Richard Keys book, " Dictionary of Tyne Sailing Ships 1830-1930"

 Book consists of three main section

Ships in ship name alpha order
Masters in surname alpha order
Owners ( sole and part) in surname alpha order

No entries any name like Loffstadt or Lofthouse.

Michael

[PorterzPennellz]

Hi Janis, Peter and Michael--Thank you all so much for your thoughts, suggestions and research!  I really appreciate your taking the time to think about and look into these records--especially the Newcastle records, newspapers and books, to which I don't have access, Michael.  And Peter, thanks also for the heads up about the 1881 Census Index of Seamen at the LDS.  Looks like my next best avenue of research is obtaining that marriage cert, as Janis suggested.  Best regards and many thanks, Jenny

[peter brownlee]

In passing I looked for Loffstadt in the on-line back copies of the Newcastle Courant. He is not among the masters of ships mentioned there, but unfortunately there were so many sailings and arrivals of colliers that the paper only gives names of foreign-going ships or casualties and merely sums up the passing to and fro of colliers with the total number of ships and keel loads of coal. He is certainly noted as Master mariner in the local directory so must have had good fortune enough to keep out of the papers.
In one newspaper summing up of theatre fires was mention in 1817 of a fire at the Karlsruhe Theatre with 104 dead.
Hope this helps, Peter

[PorterzPennellz]

Hi Peter--

It's very kind of you to have done some more checking on Captain Loffstadt for me-- thank you so much!  You told me before that he didn't appear in the Lloyd's Captains list, but he does appear in some local directory of Master Mariners?  Is that a directory you found somewhere in Newcastle or at a library?  I would like to note the name/location of the directory in my family tree.  Thanks so much for all your help!

Best Regards,
Jenny

[peter brownlee]

Some commercial directories are on line at www.historicaldirectories.org
Search by county and select Ward's Directory of Northumberland for 1898 will turn up the entry in Willington Quay, 6 Argyle st, Frederick Loffstadt snr, m mariner.
The 1890 version only describes him as mariner.
Peter