Lewis Brantz (ca. 1768-1838) was a trader in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

; a ship captain; and the first president of the Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad, part of the first rail link between Philadelphia and points south. Born around 1768 in Württemberg, Germany, Brantz was educated in Switzerland. In 1784, the 16-year-old emigrated to Baltimore. The next year, Brantz led a group of other German immigrants to Nash's Station (today's

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

) via

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, where they commissioned riverboats and then sailed them down the

Ohio River The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illino ...

and up the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

to their destination. Brantz then led another group back to Baltimore. Nearly 50 years later, his heir

Brantz Mayer Brantz Mayer (September 27, 1809 - February 23, 1879) was an American author, lawyer, and historian. In 1844, he founded the Maryland Historical Society, which is today the oldest cultural institution in the U.S. state of Maryland. Early life Br ...

translated his trip diary from German and published it as "Memoranda of a Journey in the Western Parts of the United States of America, in 1785." Brantz himself returned to Pittsburgh in 1790 and painted the earliest known image of the city. Brantz later became a merchant captain, sailing his ships to Europe and the Eastern and Western Indies for 20 years. With

Christian Mayer Christian Mayer may refer to: *Christian Mayer (astronomer) (1719–1783), Czech astronomer and teacher *Christian Mayer (skier) (born 1972), Austrian former alpine skier * Christian Mayer (Wisconsin politician) (1827–1910), Wisconsin manufacture ...

, with whom he had emigrated from Germany, he formed the Mayer & Brantz trading company in Baltimore, which was most active from 1802 and 1820. In 1808 and 1809,

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...

ordered some French books from the company. Brantz also charted the waters around Baltimore and wrote a meteorological book based on weather observations between 1817 and 1837. Between 1828 and 1838, he sailed to China, South America, and Mexico, where he lived for several years. In the mid-1830s, he became president of the Baltimore and Port Deposit Railroad, a company chartered by the state of Maryland to build a railroad that would help link Baltimore with cities to the northeast. In 1838, the B&PD merged with three other railroads to create the first rail link from Philadelphia to Baltimore. (This main line survives today as part of

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

Northeast Corridor The Northeast Corridor (NEC) is an electrified railroad line in the Northeast megalopolis of the United States. Owned primarily by Amtrak, it runs from Boston through Providence, New Haven, Stamford, New York City, Philadelphia, Wilmington, a ...

.) Brantz' service as a railroad executive is noted on the 1839

Newkirk Viaduct Monument The Newkirk Viaduct Monument (also, Newkirk Monument) is a 15-foot white marble obelisk in the West Philadelphia neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Installed in 1839, it is inscribed with the names of 51 railroad builders and executives, ...

in Philadelphia. Brantz died suddenly on Jan. 21, 1838.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brantz, Lewis 19th-century American railroad executives 1760s births 1838 deaths