Herman Petersen (13 December 171313 August 1765) was a Swedish

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

and director of the

Swedish East India Company The Swedish East India Company (; SOIC) was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden, in 1731 for the purpose of conducting trade with India, China and the Far East. The venture was inspired by the success of the Dutch East India Company and the British Ea ...

, amassed significant wealth through copper trade with

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was part of the 'Skeppsbroadel' and owned several notable properties, including Erstavik and the

Petersen House The Petersen House is a 19th-century Federal architecture, federal style row house in the United States in Washington, D.C., located at 516 10th Street NW, several blocks east of the White House. It is known for being the house where President o ...

in Stockholm.

Early life

Herman Petersen was born on December 13, 1713, to Abraham Petersen, a

wholesaler Wholesaling or distributing is the sale of goods or merchandise to retailers; to industrial, commercial, institutional or other professional business users; or to other wholesalers (wholesale businesses) and related subordinated services. In ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, and his wife Christina Tham, a member of the

Tham family Tham is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Carl Tham (born 1939), Swedish politician * Hilary Tham (1946–2005), Malaysian-born American poet * Jason Tham, Indian dancer, choreographer and actor * Jennifer Tham (born 1962), Singa ...

. His grandfather had migrated from

Stettin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major seaport, the largest city of northwestern Poland, and se ...

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

, to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, and subsequently, his father relocated to Gothenburg.

Business career

Petersen was elected to serve as director of the

for a period during the 18th century. Additionally, Petersen traded great amounts of copper with France. He did so with his company ''Petersen & Bedoire'', that he had started with his

brother-in-law A sibling-in-law is the spouse of one's sibling or the sibling of one’s spouse. More commonly, a sibling-in-law is referred to as a brother-in-law for a male sibling-in-law and a sister-in-law for a female sibling-in-law. Sibling-in-law al ...

, Fredrik Bedoire. Petersen was a member of the so called 'Skeppsbroadel'. Petersen possessed Erstavik, a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

-like structure located in

Nacka Nacka () is the municipal seat of Nacka Municipality and part of Stockholm urban area in Sweden. The municipality's name harks back to a 16th-century industrial operation established by the Crown at Nacka farmstead where conditions for water mi ...

, as well as the

, built in the Dutch Baroque architectural style, in

Gamla stan Gamla Stan (, "The Old Town"), until 1980 officially Staden mellan broarna ("The Town between the Bridges"), is the old town of Stockholm, Sweden. Gamla Stan consists primarily of the island Stadsholmen. Gamla Stan includes the surrounding islets ...

. In 1746, Petersen acquired Stora Nyckelviken by

Saltsjön Saltsjön is a bay of the Baltic Sea that extends from Stockholm archipelago to the inner city of Stockholm. Its innermost part reaches the eastern shore of Gamla stan at Skeppsbrokajen. It is navigable for large craft and the major ferry lines t ...

, where he built a summer residence. The property is now located in

Nacka Municipality Nacka Municipality () is a municipality in Stockholm County in east-central Sweden. Its seat is located at Nacka. The municipality is situated just east of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, and its western parts are considered a suburban part of ...

and is a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

. After his death, the properties were established as a ''

fideicommissum A is a type of bequest in which the beneficiary is encumbered to convey parts of the decedent's estate to someone else. For example, if a father leaves the family house to his firstborn, on condition that they will bequeath it to their first child ...

''.

Family

In the year 1741, he entered into

matrimony Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

with Magdalena Bedoire, and in 1753, he espoused her cousin, Charlotta Bedoire. Both were members of the Bedoire family, tracing their ancestry to the

French Huguenots The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Besançon ...

. The familial unions resulted in the birth of five offspring. A

nobiliary particle A nobiliary particle is a type of onomastic particle used in a surname or family name in many Western cultures to signal the nobility of a family. The particle used varies depending on the country, language and period of time. In some languages, it ...

, denoted as "af," was appended to their familial surname. Herman Magnus af Petersens was his 2nd great-grandson. The af Petersens family gained official recognition within the

Swedish House of Nobility The House of Nobility () in Stockholm, Sweden, is a corporation and a building that maintains records and acts as an interest group on behalf of the Swedish nobility. Name The name is literally translated as ''House of Knights'', as the knigh ...

in Stockholm, assigned the number 2071. Additionally, this noble lineage was acknowledged in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in 1810, bearing the identifier of number 166. The final resting place of Petersen, is situated at the

Maria Magdalena Church The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene () is a church on Södermalm in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to and named for Jesus' companion Mary Magdalene. The church plan has a nave but no aisles. In its eastern end is a three-sided choir and t ...

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

Notes

References

Sources

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Petersen, Herman 1713 births 1765 deaths 18th-century Swedish businesspeople Swedish East India Company people Swedish people of German descent 18th-century Swedish landowners Businesspeople from Gothenburg Politicians from Gothenburg