John Christmas (13 October 1757—6 January 1822) was an English-born Danish

sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel.Aragon and Messner, 2001, p.3. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficie ...

and general trader. Christmas was born in Bideford, and emigrated to Denmark in 1790. He became a merchant and businessman in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Personal life and family

Christmas was born on 13 October 1757 in Bideford, Devonshire and was the son of merchant John Smith and Judith Rebecca Hopkins. He was originally given his father's surname, and was baptized as John Christmas Smith. Through his mother's side of the family he was a descendant of the Irish noble family, Christmas of Waterford. In 1790, he was permitted by the crown to adopt the surname Christmas and to bear the family's coat of arms registered by the College of Arms in London. Thus he and his descendants bear the name ''Christmas''. Their coat of arms consists of a barrel above a helmet and a shield. The shield contains a field of red and a gold serrated fess over which there are three black ravens. Christmas was married at least three times. He was married to Charlotte Maria Bearsley 1778–1788, Johanne Henriette Heinrich 1797–1800, and lastly to Eliza Ferrall in 1816. He had no fewer than twelve children. Christmas married Charlotte Maria Smith in 1778. The couple had five children together: Charlotte Maria, Sophia, Laura, Susanna, and Eduard James. All of these children were given the surname ''Smith'', as they were born before their father had been given the right to use the name ''Christmas'' in 1790. John and Charlotte Maria separated in 1788, but were not formally divorced until 1 December 1796. On 14 March 1797, Christmas married Johanne Henriette Heinrich (1770–1802). Johanne Henriette was the daughter of Johan Friederich Heinrich, an advisor to the king and former director of the

Danish West India Company The Danish West India Company () or Danish West IndiaGuinea Company (') was a Denmark–Norway, Dano-Norwegian chartered company that operated out of the colonies in the Danish West Indies. It is estimated that 120,000 Atlantic slave trade, enslav ...

. The couple had three children. Their daughter Birthe (1797– 1872) married

William Frederik Duntzfelt William Frederik Duntzfelt (12 June 1792 – 12 October 1863) was a Danish merchant. He continued Duntzfelt & Co. but left the company in 1825. He was also a member of the 1848 Danish Constituent Assembly. Early life and education Duntzfelt was ...

. Their eldest son Admiral John Christmas (1799–1871) was acting governor of the Danish West Indies, and died on the his plantation ''Peters Rest'' on

St. Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

. Their youngest child George Beresford Christmas (1800–1867) also spent time in the Danish West Indies as a naval officer. Their great-grandson,

Walter Christmas Walter Christmas-Dirckinck-Holmfeld (10 February 1861–18 March 1924), commonly known as Walter Christmas, was a Danish author, naval officer, diplomat, and spy for MI6. Today, he is best known for his children's books. He also wrote novels, no ...

, later played a large role in the sale of the islands to the United States. John and Johanne Henriette's marriage was annulled in 1800. She later married Johannes Lorenzen (1774–1807) and then Niels Simonsen. After separating from Johanne Henriette, Christmas had several other children outside marriage. He acknowledged having three children with Anna Cathrine Lynge: Frederik Christmas (b. 1804), Ferdinand Christmas (b. 1806), and Albert Christmas (b. 1810). He may have been briefly married to Wilhelmine Bolt with whom he had a son: Julius William Boldt Christmas (1815–1890). Christmas married Eliza Ferrall (1778–1845) in 1816. Eliza had been widowed by the death of her first husband, merchant Philip Ryan, in 1808. John and Eliza Christmas are not known to have had any children.

Career

He moved to

in 1790. That same year, he was licensed as a merchant ('). He joined Charles August Selby's and Thomas ter Broch's trading firm Selby & Co. which from then on traded first as Selby, Christmas and ter Borch and after Selby's retirement as Christmas & ter Borch. The firm was from 1800 based in Thomas ter Borch's property at Dronningens Tværgade 7. Christmas obtained Danish citizenship 23 March 1801. Christmas traveled to India for trade at least three times and also sailed at least once to the Danish West Indies where he and a son owned properties.

Property

In 1798, Christmas bought a newly constructed property at the corner of Rådhusstræde and

Brolæggerstræde Brolæggerstræde (literally "Cobble-Layer Alley) is a street in the Old Town of Copenhagen, Denmark, linking Nytorv in the west with Badstuestræde in the east. Most of the buildings in the street date from the years after the Copenhagen Fire of ...

from

Andreas Hallander Andreas Hallander (13 November 1755 – 3 April 1828) was a Danish master carpenter and architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with the buildings of Johan Martin Quist, his classically styled apartment hous ...

. In 1801, he sold it to his father-in-law. He had already in 1800 bought the Barchmann Mansion at the corner of

Frederiksholms Kanal Frederiksholms Kanal is a canal in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs along the south-west side of Slotsholmen, together with Slotholmens Kanal separating the island from Zealand. The name also applies to the continuation of Rådhusstræde whi ...

and Ny Kongensgade. He sold it in 1804. In 1803, he purchased a large property at the corner of

Bredgade Bredgade ( lit. "Broad Street") is one of the most prominent streets in Copenhagen, Denmark. Running in a straight line from Kongens Nytorv for just under one kilometre to the intersection of Esplanaden and Grønningen, it is one of the major stre ...

and

Dronningens Tværgade Dronningens Tværgade ( lit. "The Queen's Cross Street") is a street in central Copenhagen, Denmark, which runs from Bredgade to Rosenborg Castle Garden. The street originally formed a link between the King's Garden (Rosenborg Castle Gardens) and t ...

(where

Hotel Phoenix Copenhagen Hotel Phoenix Copenhagen is a hotel located at the corner of Bredgade (No. 37) and Dronningens Tværgade (No. 1-3) in Copenhagen, Denmark. The first Hotel Phoenix opened at the site in 1848 but closed when it was confiscated by the Germans durin ...

stands today). In 1810, he sold it to merchant Wulff Salomon (–1842). He had the same year purchased the property at

Store Kongensgade 62 Store Kongensgade 62 is a listed property in central Copenhagen, Denmark. History Origins The site was in the late 17th century part of a larger property. This property was by 1689 as No. 130 in St. Ann's East Quarter owned by Hans Christ ...

and resided there until his death. He purchased the country house Rolighed in 1813 and was for a while also the owner of the country house Høveltegård.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christmas, John 18th-century Danish businesspeople 19th-century Danish businesspeople Danish businesspeople in shipping British emigrants to Denmark 1757 births 1822 deaths

Personal life and family

Career

Property

Further reading

References