Preface
Introduction
This website is the result of research into the Seilern/Uhl/Woerishoffer and Ottendorfer families.
The starting point was a trunk (C.F. Woerishoffer, 29W 9, N.Y.) full of family papers I inherited from Uncle Antoine in 1979. It had originally belonged to my great-grandfather, Charles F. Woerishoffer, and contained several thousand letters, legal documents, photographs and other family records covering more than a century.
Since then, these papers have been supplemented by material gathered from archives, libraries, newspapers and, more recently, the internet. Their purpose is to preserve this history and make it accessible both to relatives and to others with an interest in it.
The website contains family trees, historical timelines, biographies, original documents and publications. Wherever possible, statements are supported by original sources.
Because many events are closely linked, one may find it helpful to begin with the Timeline, which provides the chronological framework of the website.
Family
The beginning of our family’s “modern” era began around 1836, when Jakob Uhl and his wife Anna (née Behr, later Sartorius) arrived in Manhattan from Würzburg (Bavaria). It marked the start of an extraordinary journey that, within a single generation, carried the family from poverty to the very summit of wealth and influence.
It was, in every sense, the American Dream. How that dream later unfolded is another story.
When I was growing up, family history was not discussed. We were simply told that the family’s prosperity originated from the New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, the leading German-American newspaper. That, however, was not quite true.
Jakob and Anna Uhl purchased the Staats-Zeitung in 1845, but the newspaper never became part of our inheritance. When Anna, then married to her second husband Oswald Ottendorfer, died in 1884, one half of the shares passed to her son Edward Ottendorfer, while the remaining half was placed in trust for her three grandsons—Hermann, Oswald and Manfred Uhl, the minor children of her deceased eldest son Hermann Uhl.
See Timeline and Last Wills - Mrs. Ottendorfer’s Estate
Our direct family’s fortune originated elsewhere.
Like the Uhls, Charles Frederick Woerishoffer (CFW) emigrated to the United States from Glenhausen (Hesse) at an early age. Through remarkable ability and determination, he rose to become one of the outstanding investors of Wall Street.
(See VIPs → Charles F. Woerishoffer → Fifty Years in Wall Street by Henry Clews → Chapter XL.)
When CFW died in 1885 at only forty-two years of age, he left behind his widow, two young daughters—my grandmother Antoinette and her younger sister Emma Carola—and an immense fortune. The sisters chose very different paths in life, yet both met tragic ends while still comparatively young.
Three events changed the course of the family:
- the untimely death of Charles F. Woerishoffer;
- Carlo Seilern’s marriage to Antoinette Woerishoffer at a time when no dominant male remained to maintain order, allowing circumstances to develop beyond control;
- Antoinette’s death at the age of twenty-five, only a few days after giving birth to Uncle Antoine in 1901.
Each is well documented, but their significance and the way they shaped subsequent generations become clearer when viewed chronologically in the Timeline.
The section Impressions contains many fascinating contemporary accounts. A few examples illustrate the remarkable fortunes, triumphs and tragedies experienced by members of the family.
Anna Josepha Behr (Sartorius) left Würzburg, Germany, for New York in 1834 with virtually nothing to her name. Fifty years later, when she died at the age of sixty-nine, The New York Times described her funeral as the largest ever held for a woman in New York City. The flags at City Hall flew at half-mast and more than two hundred carriages joined the funeral procession.
Following the death of Charles F. Woerishoffer in 1885, one newspaper wrote:
“Wall Street lost one of the most prominent figures which has ever appeared here.”
CFW, my great-grandfather, was only forty-two years old.
Another example appeared in the New York Herald of May 11, 1902:
“Count Seilern Seeks Dead Wife’s Fortune.”
The newspaper reported that Count Carlo Seilern claimed one million dollars from the estate of his late wife, valued at 1.25 million dollars, while their three sons (CHS, OS and Antoine Seilern) were not mentioned in the will. The article explained his legal argument that they could not benefit until his own legacy had first been satisfied and the required trust established.
(See Impressions → Carlo Seilern, 1898–1902.)
Many years later, on July 12, 1978, The Times of London published the following obituary:
“Count Antoine Seilern, Collector of Old Masters.”
It concluded:
“Count Antoine Seilern, who died on July 6, was probably the greatest European collector of Old Masters in the post-war period.”
The VIPs section offers insight into the lives of several distinguished members of the family, including Emma Carola Woerishoffer and Uncle Antoine. A few less admirable characters have also found their place there.
The Publications section includes the complete text of Some Seilern Memoires, written by Paps’ only first cousin, Jossleyn Hennessy. Covering the period from Johann Friedrich Seilern (1645–1715) to Hugo Seilern (1840–1886), it is probably the most comprehensive source available on the early history of the family.
Selected chapters from another of Jossleyn Hennessy’s books, The Amazing Marriage, are also included under Publications. Both works have been translated into German.
Finally, there remains the unresolved disappearance of the estate left by Uncle Antoine to my cousin Philippa.
Although I spent four years investigating the matter and gathered a considerable amount of documentation, I was ultimately unable to overcome the secrecy of Liechtenstein foundation law, which provides virtually no external oversight. It may take several more years before the full story becomes known—if it ever does.
Everything I was able to uncover is documented under Publications – philippaseilern.ch website. It does not make pleasant reading.
Although every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, this website may still contain factual errors, particularly in Trees & Charts, which have not always been kept fully up to date. Corrections would be greatly appreciated and may be sent to
Note: The home page features a painting of Kitzbühel by Alfons Walde (1891–1951), painted from almost exactly the spot where Haus Seilern now stands.
PS’36
Notes
- The website is open to everyone, except for the Family section, which requires a username, password and e-mail address.
- Important documents are available both in HTML and PDF format.
- Most material is available in both English and German.
- The website is best viewed on a desktop computer rather than on a mobile phone.
- The following inflation calculator may help place many of the historical figures in today’s terms: officialdata.org.