Ehrenfried von Willich (5 September 1777– 2 February 1807) full name: ''Johann Ehrenfried Theodor von Willich'') was a Protestant
chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
at the Swedish Queen's Regiment in
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
.
Life
Ehrenfried von Willich was from a family of theologians from the
Margraviate of Brandenburg
The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe.
Brandenburg developed out o ...
. He was born in
Sagard
Sagard is a municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
History
Sagard is first mentioned in 1250 as ''Zagard''. The name of the municipality of Sagard comes from the Slavic and means something like '' ...
on the island of
Rügen
Rügen (; la, Rugia, ) is Germany's largest island. It is located off the Pomeranian coast in the Baltic Sea and belongs to the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
The "gateway" to Rügen island is the Hanseatic city of Stralsund, where ...
, the son of the pastor (1720-1787) and half-brother of the country doctor (1750-1810), the first country physician in
Swedish Pomerania
Swedish Pomerania ( sv, Svenska Pommern; german: Schwedisch-Pommern) was a dominion under the Swedish Crown from 1630 to 1815 on what is now the Baltic coast of Germany and Poland. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held ...
.
At first Willich was the tutor and business-partner of Wilhelm Graf von Schwerin-Putzar in
Prenzlau
Prenzlau (, formerly also Prenzlow) is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, the administrative seat of Uckermark (district), Uckermark District. It is also the centre of the historic Uckermark region.
Geography
The town is located on the Uecker, Ucke ...
. From the spring of 1803 he was a chaplain in the Queen's Regiment in Stralsund, which at that time belonged to Swedish Pomerania.
In 1803 Willich became engaged to Henriette von Mühlenfels (1788-1840), who was just 15 years old and had been an orphan for two years. She was daughter of the
royal Prussian
The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German states, German Monarchy, kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the ...
lieutenant-colonel
Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
Friedrich Gottlieb von Mühlenfels († 1801), a
Squire
In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight.
Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...
on Sissow (today part of
Gustow
Gustow is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Vorpommern-Rügen district, in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany.
History
The place name comes from the Slavic ''Gostov'' and means "place of Gost". Until the 18th century the farm and v ...
, island of Rügen), and of Pauline of Campagne. She was 16 by the time he married her on 5 September 1804. This marriage produced two children: Henriette (1805-1886) and
Ehrenfried von Willich (1807-1880).
Almost two months before the birth of his eponymous son, while Napoleon's troops were besieging
Stralsund
Stralsund (; Swedish: ''Strålsund''), officially the Hanseatic City of Stralsund (German: ''Hansestadt Stralsund''), is the fifth-largest city in the northeastern German federal state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania after Rostock, Schwerin, Neub ...
(see
Coalition Wars
The French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, sometimes called the Great French War, were a series of conflicts between the French and several European monarchies between 1792 and 1815. They encompass first the French Revolutionary Wars agains ...
), Willich died of nerve fever (
typhus
Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure.
...
), which at that time was rampant in the city.
Since May 1801 Willich had been a close friend and correspondent of the theologian
Friedrich Schleiermacher
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...
. In 1809, two years after Willich's death, Schleiermacher married Willich's widow, the now 21-year-old Henriette.
Further reading
*Rainer Schmitz: ''Bis nächstes Jahr auf Rügen. Briefe von Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher und Henriette Herz an Ehrenfried von Willich 1801-1807''.
''Bis nächstes Jahr auf Rügen. Briefe von Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher und Henriette Herz an Ehrenfried von Willich 1801-1807''
on Worldcat Evangelische Verlagsanstalt
The Evangelische Verlagsanstalt (EVA) is a denominational media company founded in Berlin in 1946. Its shareholders are the and the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Saxony. The managing director is Sebastian Knöfel.
Book publisher
The range inc ...
publisher, 1984
External links
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Willich, Ehrenfried von
18th-century Lutheran clergy
19th-century Lutheran clergy
1777 births
1807 deaths
Clergy from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania