Watty Family Businesspeople

Hanseatic Merchants, Shipowners, Bankers and more...

Merchants and shipowners

Like the Watty family goldsmiths, we also have a long tradition of being Hanseatic merchants. The tradition began with the 3rd generation of Hamburg Watty’s. The previous generation had been wig makers and hair stylists following in the footsteps of Joseph Watty.

Hermann Alexis Watty
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The 3rd generation of Hamburg Watty’s included Johannes Georg Watty’s oldest son, Hermann Alexis Watty, and his younger brother Carl Richard Watty. Hermann took over for his father who was the chief collector of the Hamburg city lottery, a banker and money changer. Carl began his career as a merchant. Around 1850 Carl and his partner were operating an import and export business called “Romberg et Watty” (Romberg and Watty).

The brothers would work together in the import and export business for many years. They were the founders of the shipping company H.A. & C.R. Watty (in 1865 in Hamburg, Germany). The address of the business changes a few times between 1865 and 1919. The first location “Alterwall No. 48” (until 1859), was followed by “Plan 5” (1860-1880) and “Holzbrücke 5 – Entresol” (1881-1897) where it is traded on the Hamburg stock exchange. After Carl’s death in 1897 E.A. Romberg runs the business from Grosse Burstah 48, Hamburg, Germany. According to exportation records from the stock exchange hall between 1897 and 1899, the company dealt primarily in ship equipment, provisions, and raw materials to North America, India and Brazil. The company was not listed in the Hamburg Commercial Register after December 2, 1919.

The shipping company H.A. & C.R. Watty

From 1865 to 1870 Hermann Alexis Watty, and his younger brother Carl Richard Watty do business together as shipowners. In 1865 they found the shipping company H.A. & C.R. Watty to participate in the thriving and highly profitable import/export business with China and the East Indies.

The Prospero

The Prospero
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On May 22, 1856 they purchase a brig, flying the Bremen flag, from the Bremen shipping company Dransfeld & Cordes, named “Fortuna”. They changed the name of the brig to “Prospero” and replaced the Bremen flags with their own. The brig was originally built in 1851 at the Oltmann shipyard in Motzen. In the mid 19th century this type of ship was very common along Germany’s North Sea coast. It was fast, maneuverable and able to go on long journeys.

When the Prospero was purchased in 1856 it was given a new captain and crew. The captain J.P.C.C. Moller and 10 crew members embarked on the first and last trip of the Prospero for H.A. & C.R. Watty in 1856. They sailed from Hamburg to Indonesia (Surabaya on Java Island) and reached their final destination Bangkok, Thailand in 1859. The Prospero is then sold along with captain and crew to the British shipping company G.W. Johnstone from Ipswich. It is renamed again to the “Elizabeth & Mary Ann” and sails under the English flag. As of 1866 there are no more records of it.

The Juno

While the Prospero was on its long journey, H.A. & C.R. Watty purchased their second ship. On June 18, 1857 the barque “Juno”, previously known as “The Crown”, was purchased from the shipping company H.C. Bock in Hamburg. It was built in 1852 at the Eggert shipyard in Königsberg. From 1857 to 1861 the Juno, captained by H.L. Tell, sailed from Hamburg to Liverpool and London and back. In 1861, L. Eckmann became the new captain and sailed the Juno from Hamburg to Newcastle upon Tyne. From there the Juno sails to Rio de Janeiro. In 1862 it returns to Hamburg. The same year the Juno is back out to sea stopping at various ports on its way to Rangoon, Burma. Four years later (1866) the Juno is back in Hamburg. In 1867 it is sold to Jan Tecker Gayen shipping company in Altona.

The Miranda

The Miranda
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T.R.F. Karlowa
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In 1859, only two years after purchasing the Juno, a third ship is purchased. It was built at the Paulsen shipyard in Brake/Unterweser. The barque named “Miranda “, set sail to East India on December 2, 1859 with captain P. Zybrantz at the helm. While in East India, the former captain of the Prospero, J.P.C.C. Moller took command of the ship in 1860. Five years later, after stops in Hong Kong, Whampoa (Guandong,China) and other harbors the Miranda is back in Hamburg. In 1865/66 a new captain H.F. Ausborn sails the ship to Rio de Janeiro in South America, then on to New York and finally to Hamburg. H.F. Ausborn continues as captain on a voyage to Callao, west of Lima in Peru. In 1867 J.P.C.C. Möller returns as captain and sails from Hamburg to Punta Arenas (Strait of Magellan) and back again. Later in 1867 J.P.C.C. Möller begins the last journey for the Miranda under the ownership of H.A. & C.R. Watty. The trip lasted three years from 1867-1870 with Captain T.R.F. Karlowa taking command in 1868. The Miranda stopped at ports in Hong Kong, and Baker Island in Polynesia before returning to Hamburg with a cargo of Guano in December 1870.

In December of 1870 the Miranda was sold to Captain Friedrich Wilh. Franz Alex. Meyer from Pinneberg. From 1871-74 the ship, renamed “Hermine”, under the command of the owner, sailed to Rio de Janeiro, Santos (Sao Paolo / Brazil) and other ports on its way back to Altona. In 1874 Meyer sold the ship once again to Visby Skibsrederi from Sweden. It was renamed “Gotland”. Finally, in 1890 the ship was purchased by Eckmann shipping company in Oskarshamn, Sweden. In 1895 the ship, along with new captain Ideström and his crew are lost in the North Sea with a cargo of coal.

Merchants and Shipowners Epilogue

As of 1870 all of ships owned by H.A. & C.R. Watty, named for characters in Shakespeare’s “The Tempest”, had been sold. It is uncertain why they did not purchase any more sailing ships, but it is possible that the advent of steam powered ships and the growth of the Hamburg America Line made a sailing ship company unprofitable. Hamburg Watty’s would continue the merchant tradition for generations.

Hamburg Businessmen: The profitable and sometimes perilous life

Johannes Georg Watty
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Johannes Georg Watty (A member of the freemason lodge “Vom Rothen Adler”) started a successful trade business in Hamburg. He founded J.G. Watty & Co. and worked as one of six main revenue collectors for the Hamburg city lottery. In 1832 he became a money changer, which meant he managed foreign currency trades and transactions between trading partners that maintained accounts with the same bank. Later he studied to become a banker.

His widow and sons also contributed to their wealth and prosperity running a profitable trade business. A Hamburg merchant was not only an importer and exporter but also involved in many aspects of the retail business.

Carl F. Robert Watty
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The merchant life was not without sacrifices. In addition to sending ships around the world merchants also sent their sons to oversee the successful voyage and to work from distant trading posts. The unpredictable nature of these trips sometimes resulted in lost lives. Ship manifests show that our ancestors traveled to the Americas, Australia and West Africa for these reasons. The Mexican branches of the Watty family are descendants of the son of a merchant from Hamburg.

Businessmen in our family also had an influence on politics. Carl Friedrich Robert Watty, for example, was a member of the Hamburg City-State Parliament, a military commissioner, lower court judge and commercial judge.

Our merchant ancestors not only influenced the economy and politics of Hamburg, but also contributed to the spread of the Watty name all over the world.

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