Chapter 6
The Heiberg and Schröder Families
Carl Heiberg (10), the father of Nanny Heiberg (5), had been a lawyer in the city of Schleswig, but
now, in 1864, he ran a bookstore. To explain how this came about I must make a few historical
remarks about the Duchies of Schleswig, adjacent to Denmark, and Holstein to the south. These
duchies had been subject to the kings of Denmark for several centuries. But while Danish was
spoken in the northern part of Schleswig, only German was spoken in its southern part and in
Holstein. This difference of language was originally not felt to be very significant, but after the
French revolution the people became aware of their nationality, mainly defined by their language.
In 1848 the Germans in Schleswig-Holstein rebelled against their Danish ruler. They wanted to be
independent of Denmark and have their own duke they claimed to be entitled to. Carl Heiberg
played a considerable role in this uprising through his writings. Also he proposed the colors of the
flag, blue, white, red, for the new independent duchies to be reestablished. But the uprising failed.
Because of this support of the uprising, Heiberg was not allowed by the Danish government to
remain a lawyer. To make a living, Heiberg started to run a bookstore.
I should like to relate an incident that happened in one of the restrictive years after 1848. My
grandmother, Nanny (5), and two other girls, then about 14 years old, were walking somewhere
outside of the city, one girl wearing a blue, one a white, and one a red dress, when some Danish
sergeants approached them and rebuked them for displaying the forbidden color combination. The
girls claimed it was a coincidence. This incident aroused a big fuss in Copenhagen and Carl Heiberg
had to pay a heavy fine. I asked my grandmother many years later, whether that was really a
coincidence. Of course not, she answered.
After 1848 the Danish government had tried to force the Danish language on the people of the
duchy of Schleswig, but without success. Still, many educated Germans in this area knew Danish
more or less. I am rather sure that my grandmother, Nanny, understood some Danish; her mother
was even bilingual since she had lived in Denmark as a child and young teenager. My father,
Nanny's son, could read Danish and sometimes did.
In 1864 the desired independence from Denmark was attained after a successful war that Prussia
and Austria had made on Denmark; but, to the great disappointment of the people of Schleswig-
Holstein, these duchies were annexed by Prussia.
In the course of years, however, most Germans in Schleswig--Holstein accepted this situation and
their feelings against Prussia gradually subsided and also their feelings against Denmark mellowed.
Carl Heiberg (10) was born in 1796 in a small village north of the city of Schleswig as an illegitimate
child.*
*In the report of his birth in the church records of the village, the parentage of Carl Heiberg is
falsified.
His mother was Anna Marianne (Nannette) von Schwarzenfeld, who at that time stayed with
friends, a physician and his wife, in Schleswig. To cover up the illegitimacy, it was said that the
child had been found on a haystack, a Heuberg in German. The child was named Carl Friedrich
Heuberg; the name Heuberg was later changed to Heiberg. Carl grew up with the physician couple
mentioned above. At his confirmation he was told that the aunt who had sent him gifts each
Christmas was really his mother, but he did not see her then. In fact, he visited her for the first time
together with his wife in 1835, right after his marriage.**
** In the report of this marriage in the church records in Schleswig the parentage of Carl
Heiberg is falsified.
Carl grew up as a shy and modest child, displaying, as a teenager, an interest in philosophy and also
in art and music. Later on he went to various universities, among them the University of Berlin,
where he took a course with the philosopher Hegel. A slip on which Hegel certified that Heiberg
had taken the course successfully is in my son Christopher's possession. Actually, Heiberg was
mainly a student of law. In 1823 he established himself as a lawyer in Schleswig. He wrote
profusely, mainly about the political situation. On account of that he received in 1830 an honorary
doctor’s degree from the University of Rostock (which is at the Baltic Sea to the east of Kiel).
After the defeat of 1848, Heiberg had to leave the country, but was permitted to return somewhat
later. In 1857 he founded a book and music store. After 1864, under the Prussian regime, he was
again allowed to be a lawyer. In all these years he played a considerable role in the intellectual life
of Schleswig. He died in 1872.
Chart of Heiberg - Schroder Decendents
Heiberg's mother, Nannette von Schwarzenfeld (21), had come from Vienna. Her father, Franz
Carl, born in Prague, was a captain in the Austrian army. He died early. When Nannette was about
14 years old she entered a theater school in Vienna.
In the years from 1781 to 1785, Friedrich Ludwig Schröder, the greatest actor and theater director
in Germany at that time, played with his troupe at the Hoftheater in Vienna. There, he met
Nannette, then an orphan. When Schröder and his wife returned to Hamburg (1785) where he had
his headquarters, they took Nannette along. She was then about 19 years old. In Schröder's theater
Nannette played at first mostly boy's and girl's parts. Apparently she played only a limited number
of years.
After she ceased to be an actress, Nannette continued to live with Schröder and his childless wife in
their country home in Rellingen, not far from Hamburg. After the death of Schröder (1816) and the
death of his wife (1829), Nannette inherited their fortune. (We have in our possession the bank
accounts of Schröder's wife from the time after his death and various silver pieces.) Nannette died
in the Schröder's country home in 1846.
The family tradition and the opinion of biographers, who have written about Schröder and Heiberg,
is that the father of Carl Heiberg, born 1796, was Schröder himself. My father, who was a lawyer,
wrote a very careful and convincing "lawyer's brief" to prove this. One must assume that Heiberg
knew that Schröder was his father. There are definite indications implying this.
About the person of F. L.Schröder and his role as an actor, I can make only a few remarks. First of
all I mention that Schröder's paternity is also clouded. Schröder's mother, Sophie Charlotte
Biereichel (41), the daughter of a court goldstitcher (82) in Berlin, married an organist Diedrich
Schröder in 1734. But, the marriage did not last long; the couple separated - without divorce - in
1738. Sophie Charlotte then joined a travelling theater group, which somewhat later was run very
successfully by Conrad Ackermann, the son of a Paechter in Mecklenburg and his wife Sophia
Metta Tholeni.
In 1744, a son was born to Sophie Charlotte; he was named Friedrich Ludwig Schröder. In 1749,
while the theater group was in Moscow, Sophie Charlotte married Conrad Ackermann. It must be
assumed that at that time it was known that Diedrich Schröder had died.
The story is told that Diedrich Schröder, described as a drunkard, had visited Sophie Charlotte in
January or February 1744 at the place where she was at that time and had fathered the child.
That story is most unlikely; it was probably invented to cover up the illegitimate birth of the child.
One must assume that Ackermann was the father of F. L. Schröder. This assumption is also made,
as a matter of course, in a recent biography of F. L. Schröder.
Friedrich Ludwig Schröder grew up under awkward circumstances since his parents constantly
traveled, except for one year in Königsberg (1755), where Ackermann had built a theater. There F.
L. Schröder, then 11 years old, went to a regular school for one year. Soon after that Schröder
made himself independent, but met his parents again, when he was 15 years old. Then he started
training to become an actor and a dancer. In 1764 he joined the theater that Ackermann had
founded in Hamburg. When Ackermann had died, 1771, Schröder took over. After his last
performance, in 1798, he withdrew to his country home in Rellingen. He died in 1816.
Several books and articles have been written describing Schröder’s role as an actor and director,
and also his great role in Freemasonry.
Go to Chapter 7 Go to main History page
The Heiberg and Schröder Families
Carl Heiberg (10), the father of Nanny Heiberg (5), had been a lawyer in the city of Schleswig, but
now, in 1864, he ran a bookstore. To explain how this came about I must make a few historical
remarks about the Duchies of Schleswig, adjacent to Denmark, and Holstein to the south. These
duchies had been subject to the kings of Denmark for several centuries. But while Danish was
spoken in the northern part of Schleswig, only German was spoken in its southern part and in
Holstein. This difference of language was originally not felt to be very significant, but after the
French revolution the people became aware of their nationality, mainly defined by their language.
In 1848 the Germans in Schleswig-Holstein rebelled against their Danish ruler. They wanted to be
independent of Denmark and have their own duke they claimed to be entitled to. Carl Heiberg
played a considerable role in this uprising through his writings. Also he proposed the colors of the
flag, blue, white, red, for the new independent duchies to be reestablished. But the uprising failed.
Because of this support of the uprising, Heiberg was not allowed by the Danish government to
remain a lawyer. To make a living, Heiberg started to run a bookstore.
I should like to relate an incident that happened in one of the restrictive years after 1848. My
grandmother, Nanny (5), and two other girls, then about 14 years old, were walking somewhere
outside of the city, one girl wearing a blue, one a white, and one a red dress, when some Danish
sergeants approached them and rebuked them for displaying the forbidden color combination. The
girls claimed it was a coincidence. This incident aroused a big fuss in Copenhagen and Carl Heiberg
had to pay a heavy fine. I asked my grandmother many years later, whether that was really a
coincidence. Of course not, she answered.
After 1848 the Danish government had tried to force the Danish language on the people of the
duchy of Schleswig, but without success. Still, many educated Germans in this area knew Danish
more or less. I am rather sure that my grandmother, Nanny, understood some Danish; her mother
was even bilingual since she had lived in Denmark as a child and young teenager. My father,
Nanny's son, could read Danish and sometimes did.
In 1864 the desired independence from Denmark was attained after a successful war that Prussia
and Austria had made on Denmark; but, to the great disappointment of the people of Schleswig-
Holstein, these duchies were annexed by Prussia.
In the course of years, however, most Germans in Schleswig--Holstein accepted this situation and
their feelings against Prussia gradually subsided and also their feelings against Denmark mellowed.
Carl Heiberg (10) was born in 1796 in a small village north of the city of Schleswig as an illegitimate
child.*
*In the report of his birth in the church records of the village, the parentage of Carl Heiberg is
falsified.
His mother was Anna Marianne (Nannette) von Schwarzenfeld, who at that time stayed with
friends, a physician and his wife, in Schleswig. To cover up the illegitimacy, it was said that the
child had been found on a haystack, a Heuberg in German. The child was named Carl Friedrich
Heuberg; the name Heuberg was later changed to Heiberg. Carl grew up with the physician couple
mentioned above. At his confirmation he was told that the aunt who had sent him gifts each
Christmas was really his mother, but he did not see her then. In fact, he visited her for the first time
together with his wife in 1835, right after his marriage.**
** In the report of this marriage in the church records in Schleswig the parentage of Carl
Heiberg is falsified.
Carl grew up as a shy and modest child, displaying, as a teenager, an interest in philosophy and also
in art and music. Later on he went to various universities, among them the University of Berlin,
where he took a course with the philosopher Hegel. A slip on which Hegel certified that Heiberg
had taken the course successfully is in my son Christopher's possession. Actually, Heiberg was
mainly a student of law. In 1823 he established himself as a lawyer in Schleswig. He wrote
profusely, mainly about the political situation. On account of that he received in 1830 an honorary
doctor’s degree from the University of Rostock (which is at the Baltic Sea to the east of Kiel).
After the defeat of 1848, Heiberg had to leave the country, but was permitted to return somewhat
later. In 1857 he founded a book and music store. After 1864, under the Prussian regime, he was
again allowed to be a lawyer. In all these years he played a considerable role in the intellectual life
of Schleswig. He died in 1872.
Chart of Heiberg - Schroder Decendents
Heiberg's mother, Nannette von Schwarzenfeld (21), had come from Vienna. Her father, Franz
Carl, born in Prague, was a captain in the Austrian army. He died early. When Nannette was about
14 years old she entered a theater school in Vienna.
In the years from 1781 to 1785, Friedrich Ludwig Schröder, the greatest actor and theater director
in Germany at that time, played with his troupe at the Hoftheater in Vienna. There, he met
Nannette, then an orphan. When Schröder and his wife returned to Hamburg (1785) where he had
his headquarters, they took Nannette along. She was then about 19 years old. In Schröder's theater
Nannette played at first mostly boy's and girl's parts. Apparently she played only a limited number
of years.
After she ceased to be an actress, Nannette continued to live with Schröder and his childless wife in
their country home in Rellingen, not far from Hamburg. After the death of Schröder (1816) and the
death of his wife (1829), Nannette inherited their fortune. (We have in our possession the bank
accounts of Schröder's wife from the time after his death and various silver pieces.) Nannette died
in the Schröder's country home in 1846.
The family tradition and the opinion of biographers, who have written about Schröder and Heiberg,
is that the father of Carl Heiberg, born 1796, was Schröder himself. My father, who was a lawyer,
wrote a very careful and convincing "lawyer's brief" to prove this. One must assume that Heiberg
knew that Schröder was his father. There are definite indications implying this.
About the person of F. L.Schröder and his role as an actor, I can make only a few remarks. First of
all I mention that Schröder's paternity is also clouded. Schröder's mother, Sophie Charlotte
Biereichel (41), the daughter of a court goldstitcher (82) in Berlin, married an organist Diedrich
Schröder in 1734. But, the marriage did not last long; the couple separated - without divorce - in
1738. Sophie Charlotte then joined a travelling theater group, which somewhat later was run very
successfully by Conrad Ackermann, the son of a Paechter in Mecklenburg and his wife Sophia
Metta Tholeni.
In 1744, a son was born to Sophie Charlotte; he was named Friedrich Ludwig Schröder. In 1749,
while the theater group was in Moscow, Sophie Charlotte married Conrad Ackermann. It must be
assumed that at that time it was known that Diedrich Schröder had died.
The story is told that Diedrich Schröder, described as a drunkard, had visited Sophie Charlotte in
January or February 1744 at the place where she was at that time and had fathered the child.
That story is most unlikely; it was probably invented to cover up the illegitimate birth of the child.
One must assume that Ackermann was the father of F. L. Schröder. This assumption is also made,
as a matter of course, in a recent biography of F. L. Schröder.
Friedrich Ludwig Schröder grew up under awkward circumstances since his parents constantly
traveled, except for one year in Königsberg (1755), where Ackermann had built a theater. There F.
L. Schröder, then 11 years old, went to a regular school for one year. Soon after that Schröder
made himself independent, but met his parents again, when he was 15 years old. Then he started
training to become an actor and a dancer. In 1764 he joined the theater that Ackermann had
founded in Hamburg. When Ackermann had died, 1771, Schröder took over. After his last
performance, in 1798, he withdrew to his country home in Rellingen. He died in 1816.
Several books and articles have been written describing Schröder’s role as an actor and director,
and also his great role in Freemasonry.
Go to Chapter 7 Go to main History page
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