Emil and Maria - where they much different from you and me?

carina

Silver
Mar 13, 2005
2,691
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0
My interest in history is wide... and I am fascinated to learn about other people from the past...
I started a new life here on the island, as you and many more.. and yet I have done nothing spectacular.. to move, to find what you are searching for.. it has been done before, over and over again.

Here in Puerto Plata, history tells us the city is practically created by a mixture of people from all over the world..

My mind goes on.. who were they and why?
Where they so different from us, from you me?
Where they looking for fame and fortune or just an adventure?

It is 1865... The port of Bremen, Germany, is noisy and people are everywhere..
They have suitcases, bags.. some with smiles on their faces.. and some with tears in their eyes..
This is the moment.. time to board the ship and to board a new life.
Leave the old and known behind.
Paradise in the Caribbean pearl of Puerto Plata is awaiting..

We are in another time, no internet, no videophones..
The people on board, are leaving for a new life, based on hearings and by carrying a dream in their hearts...

Emil is there. A young lad of 29, who was to be Emilio very soon..
He is alone and have desided to try his luck and fortune in the Caribbean..
He has no one with him, and no one is waiting for him. Not anywhere.
His mind is full of expectations, life is an adventure..

The captain of the ship, Hinrich Hachtmann, has also made is mind up.
This will be his last trip.
He is staying in the Caribbean paradise, that he has been visiting so many
times when on duty as a captain.
This time is different.
His Danish born wife is on the ship, and their children too.
The family is leaving Bremen for a life in Paradise.

Hinrich have told the family stories about the small, shiny pearl of Puerto Plata.
Now, finally, the stories will become a reality!
They will see, feel, smell and touch it all for real!

One daughter, Maria, is a beautiful girl, only 19 years, full of life and
with dark, glittering eyes..
She spends her days talking to the other passengers;
families, business men, and people living the adventure..
Emil Bentz is one of those she fancy most..
She loves his spirit, his way of feeling free and going to a
place he have only heard of..
The feelings are mutual, Emil can do nothing else but fall deeply in
love with this young girl...

Upon arrival to Puerto Plata, the harbour is full of people..
everyone wants to see the proud ship arriving.

Hinrich Hachtman, the captain, says good bye to his crew.
His wife and the young kids, Elise, Amadeus, Ephraim, Johan and Claus are departing the ship and entering a new life.
Maria and Emil went with her family too.
The Hachtmann kids worked in real estate and owned many houses & land lots
in Puerto Plata and around.
The Notarius Publicus notes of that time tells us there was alots of selling
and buying going on.

Late in 1865 Emil asks Marias father of her hand.
They get married and spend the rest of their life together.
Their house, was located on Calle Dominicana 15 ( 12 de Julio today ),
and this is where they spent their lives and where their children played
and lived.
Emil and Maria opened a small hotel down by the port, and Emil was a frequent writer in newspapers, both on the island and in Germany.
The story tells us the two of them were always together, always in love.
They are burried together at the cemetery in Puerto Plata.

In 1870 their first child, Augusto is born, followed by Rudolfo and Ida...
Fernando and one more daughter.

Augusto and Rudolfo became businessmen in Puerto Plata.
Their first grocery shop was close to the "Guinea Bridge"
( where Separacion meets Camino Real ).
It is said the name of the brigde, still used today,
is because they always had many and tasty guineas for sale!

The brothers did not settle with this.
Augusto found his love in Puerto Plata, Carolina Castan, daughter of a Spanish immigrant.
And Rudolfo married Margarita de Ferrari, daughter of one of the most important families in Puerto Plata businesswise..
The Ferrari family home was on Calle Beller 72, unfortunately it is not there anymore..

Rudolfo and Augusto continued to build their empire..
Together with a few associates they bought Amistad sugarmill and also Monellano.
Sugar was they key to get rich!
Spain wanted sugar, America wanted sugar..and the brothers were
determind to provide.

Searching the files of Ellis Island we see that the brothers travelled alot.
They also brought their children along, once they were old enough to understand and learn the business.
But they always came back to the home of their hearts, Puerto Plata.

The two brothers are rich now, and it shows..
Augusto and Rudolfo are the 2 first to have cars in Puerto Plata!
They are members of all business clubs available and they
participate in the forming of the Puerto Plata Commercial Club
( the white wooden house you see today by Parque Central ).
Margarita and Carolina, the wifes, live lives where money is no object and they entertain other women in the city in the Cultural Womens Club
on Calle Beller.

Children are being born, and Augusto is soon the proud father of 7 children.
Augusto married Carolina in 1901 and the now proud family father
needs a big house to live in.
He has it all, a beautiful wife, more money than he can spend and 7
healthy children.
In 1918 Augusto hires a Spanish architect to build the family a house.
He choses a piece of land close to Parque Central on Duarte Street.
One year later, the white dream is a reality.. Augusto, a short and lean man,
has the most beautiful house in Puerto Plata!
Villa Bentz is there, as it will stay forever.

A year later, their daughter Luisa, is getting married to Augustin Puig,
the patio and galleria of the house comes well to use..
Hundreds of guests arrive to the dream wedding..
Silver covered plates, tables covered with laces of Flandern..
elegant guests surrounded by the beauty of nature, so carefully kept by Augusto Bentz..
The orchestra is playing to celebrate the young couple..

Every weekend the "white house" as it was called in the city, became a crowded place,
with endless receptions, tastfull dinners on the roof..
orchestra playing to keep the magic in the air..

Time goes by, thats what the song says.. and this is what happened to Augusto and Rudolfo also.
The first warning of danger appear and make real with the great economic
depression in 1929, that forced Augusto and Rodolfo to sell their Sugar Mills,
due the great world crisis: the sugar price falls from 25 pesos to 1 peso per quintal (100 kg).
Following Augusto?s death in 1933, the Bentz family is forced to lower its level of living and gives the villa out for rent,for several years serving as a Secondary School, attended by all the Puerto Plata bourgeoisie?s children.

Someone also made the house to a hotel for a short amount of time, with very little success.
The house falls in to a long, unearned sleep and bit by bit the beauty is gone.

The children of Augusto and Rodulfo end up living quite common lives in Puerto Plata.
Rudolfos daughter Nidia, lives on Calle Kennedy 1, until her last breath in 1991.

Augustos daughter, Zaida, married to an Italian immigrant, Blas di Franco, lives in the city until 2000, when she dies at the age of 90.

The families Bentz and Hachtmann, burried in peace at the cemetery here in Puerto Plata,lived in success and failure in Puerto Plata.
They met their new life with open arms, learned, created...
and most of all, lived life to its fullest.

Were they so different from you or me?
Didn?t they grab the chances life offered them when arriving to the Caribbean pearl?
They were formed by their time and the possibillities of it, and so are we
of course.
They made business the way it was possible to do it at their time, as well
as we do it today...
Was it easier or harder for them than for you and me?
Would it be better to arrive like they did, to a new world knowing nothing
at all other than what your heart tells you?
Or the way we do it, planning and using the internet, newspapers and so on?
I think no one knows the answer, but they did what we did, they changed
their way of living, adapted to a new country in which they participated and
became one with.


The Villa Bentz?
It is still there, reconstructed to its first glory, standing tall and proud in the
heart of Puerto Plata.
Today it is the Amber Museum.
A story of reconstructing the beautiful house and creating a museum,
also by an immigrant...
I truly think Augusto Bentz would have liked that!

That will be another tale to tell... ;)
 
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luzcace

New member
Aug 19, 2004
588
6
0
68
www.luzcace.info
carina said:
My interest in history is wide... and I am fascinated to learn about other people from the past...
I started a new life here on the island, as you and many more.. and yet I have done nothing spectacular.. to move, to find what you are searching for.. it has been done before, over and over again.

Here in Puerto Plata, history tells us the city is practically created by a mixture of people from all over the world..

My mind goes on.. who were they and why?
Where they so different from us, from you me?
Where they looking for fame and fortune or just an adventure?

It is 1865... The port of Bremen, Germany, is noisy and people are everywhere..
They have suitcases, bags.. some with smiles on their faces.. and some with tears in their eyes..
This is the moment.. time to board the ship and to board a new life.
Leave the old and known behind.
Paradise in the Caribbean pearl of Puerto Plata is awaiting..

We are in another time, no internet, no videophones..
The people on board, are leaving for a new life, based on hearings and by carrying a dream in their hearts...

Emil is there. A young lad of 29, who was to be Emilio very soon..
He is alone and have desided to try his luck and fortune in the Caribbean..
He has no one with him, and no one is waiting for him. Not anywhere.
His mind is full of expectations, life is an adventure..

The captain of the ship, Hinrich Hachtmann, has also made is mind up.
This will be his last trip.
He is staying in the Caribbean paradise, that he has been visiting so many
times when on duty as a captain.
This time is different.
His Danish born wife is on the ship, and their children too.
The family is leaving Bremen for a life in Paradise.

Hinrich have told the family stories about the small, shiny pearl of Puerto Plata.
Now, finally, the stories will become a reality!
They will see, feel, smell and touch it all for real!

One daughter, Maria, is a beautiful girl, only 19 years, full of life and
with dark, glittering eyes..
She spends her days talking to the other passengers;
families, business men, and people living the adventure..
Emil Bentz is one of those she fancy most..
She loves his spirit, his way of feeling free and going to a
place he have only heard of..
The feelings are mutual, Emil can do nothing else but fall deeply in
love with this young girl...

Upon arrival to Puerto Plata, the harbour is full of people..
everyone wants to see the proud ship arriving.

Hinrich Hachtman, the captain, says good bye to his crew.
His wife and the young kids, Elise, Amadeus, Ephraim, Johan and Claus are departing the ship and entering a new life.
Maria and Emil went with her family too.
The Hachtmann kids worked in real estate and owned many houses & land lots
in Puerto Plata and around.
The Notarius Publicus notes of that time tells us there was alots of selling
and buying going on.

Late in 1865 Emil asks Marias father of her hand.
They get married and spend the rest of their life together.
Their house, was located on Calle Dominicana 15 ( 12 de Julio today ),
and this is where they spent their lives and where their children played
and lived.
Emil and Maria opened a small hotel down by the port, and Emil was a frequent writer in newspapers, both on the island and in Germany.
The story tells us the two of them were always together, always in love.
They are burried together at the cemetery in Puerto Plata.

In 1870 their first child, Augusto is born, followed by Rudolfo and Ida...
Fernando and one more daughter.

Augusto and Rudolfo became businessmen in Puerto Plata.
Their first grocery shop was close to the "Guinea Bridge"
( where Separacion meets Camino Real ).
It is said the name of the brigde, still used today,
is because they always had many and tasty guineas for sale!

The brothers did not settle with this.
Augusto found his love in Puerto Plata, Carolina Castan, daughter of a Spanish immigrant.
And Rudolfo married Margarita de Ferrari, daughter of one of the most important families in Puerto Plata businesswise..
The Ferrari family home was on Calle Beller 72, unfortunately it is not there anymore..

Rudolfo and Augusto continued to build their empire..
Together with a few associates they bought Amistad sugarmill and also Monellano.
Sugar was they key to get rich!
Spain wanted sugar, America wanted sugar..and the brothers were
determind to provide.

Searching the files of Ellis Island we see that the brothers travelled alot.
They also brought their children along, once they were old enough to understand and learn the business.
But they always came back to the home of their hearts, Puerto Plata.

The two brothers are rich now, and it shows..
Augusto and Rudolfo are the 2 first to have cars in Puerto Plata!
They are members of all business clubs available and they
participate in the forming of the Puerto Plata Commercial Club
( the white wooden house you see today by Parque Central ).
Margarita and Carolina, the wifes, live lives where money is no object and they entertain other women in the city in the Cultural Womens Club
on Calle Beller.

Children are being born, and Augusto is soon the proud father of 7 children.
Augusto married Carolina in 1901 and the now proud family father
needs a big house to live in.
He has it all, a beautiful wife, more money than he can spend and 7
healthy children.
In 1918 Augusto hires a Spanish architect to build the family a house.
He choses a piece of land close to Parque Central on Duarte Street.
One year later, the white dream is a reality.. Augusto, a short and lean man,
has the most beautiful house in Puerto Plata!
Villa Bentz is there, as it will stay forever.

A year later, their daughter Luisa, is getting married to Augustin Puig,
the patio and galleria of the house comes well to use..
Hundreds of guests arrive to the dream wedding..
Silver covered plates, tables covered with laces of Flandern..
elegant guests surrounded by the beauty of nature, so carefully kept by Augusto Bentz..
The orchestra is playing to celebrate the young couple..

Every weekend the "white house" as it was called in the city, became a crowded place,
with endless receptions, tastfull dinners on the roof..
orchestra playing to keep the magic in the air..

Time goes by, thats what the song says.. and this is what happened to Augusto and Rudolfo also.
The first warning of danger appear and make real with the great economic
depression in 1929, that forced Augusto and Rodolfo to sell their Sugar Mills,
due the great world crisis: the sugar price falls from 25 pesos to 1 peso per quintal (100 kg).
Following Augusto?s death in 1933, the Bentz family is forced to lower its level of living and gives the villa out for rent,for several years serving as a Secondary School, attended by all the Puerto Plata bourgeoisie?s children.

Someone also made the house to a hotel for a short amount of time, with very little success.
The house falls in to a long, unearned sleep and bit by bit the beauty is gone.

The children of Augusto and Rodulfo end up living quite common lives in Puerto Plata.
Rudolfos daughter Nidia, lives on Calle Kennedy 1, until her last breath in 1991.

Augustos daughter, Zaida, married to an Italian immigrant, Blas di Franco, lives in the city until 2000, when she dies at the age of 90.

The families Bentz and Hachtmann, burried in peace at the cemetery here in Puerto Plata,lived in success and failure in Puerto Plata.
They met their new life with open arms, learned, created...
and most of all, lived life to its fullest.

Were they so different from you or me?
Didn?t they grab the chances life offered them when arriving to the Caribbean pearl?
They were formed by their time and the possibillities of it, and so are we
of course.
They made business the way it was possible to do it at their time, as well
as we do it today...
Was it easier or harder for them than for you and me?
Would it be better to arrive like they did, to a new world knowing nothing
at all other than what your heart tells you?
Or the way we do it, planning and using the internet, newspapers and so on?
I think no one knows the answer, but they did what we did, they changed
their way of living, adapted to a new country in which they participated and
became one with.


The Villa Bentz?
It is still there, reconstructed to its first glory, standing tall and proud in the
heart of Puerto Plata.
Today it is the Amber Museum.
A story of reconstructing the beautiful house and creating a museum,
also by an immigrant...
I truly think Augusto Bentz would have liked that!

That will be another tale to tell... ;)
Carina, I came across this today and must say it's a beautiful story, very well written, and so true, yes we all have the same possibility, no matter where we come from or where we end up, I also found a happy life here in Puerto Plata
Thanks for the story
Helmut
 

Hillbilly

Moderator
Jan 1, 2002
18,948
514
113
This gets my vote

As one of the five best post in 2005!

Very well done Carina.

:D:D:D:D

HB
 

rellosk

Silver
Mar 18, 2002
4,169
58
48
Carina, great post! Helmut, thanks for resurrecting it. I don't know how I missed it when it was first posted.
 

carina

Silver
Mar 13, 2005
2,691
4
0
Here is Emil & Maria with their kids

carina_12.jpg


And here is Zaida, that would be Emil & Marias grand daughter ( Daughter of Augusto Bentz ). She was a guest of honor at the opening of the Amber Museum in her home as a child, Villa Bentz.
On the picture together with Mr & Mrs Costa, immigrants from Italy.
Their sons, Paolo & Miguel are running the museum today.

carina_mrsbentz1980.jpg
 
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