Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (1797–1871) | From Cradle to Manufacturer

Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (1797–1871) was born on February 22nd, 1797 in Wolfshagen near Goslar. His father Zacharias Steinweg (1761–1812) was a charcoal maker. For most of the year, this profession demanded working in the woods, where together with his colleagues, he devoted himself to the tedious, hard labor of producing charcoal – needed as energy supply in the Harz smelting works, where metal was extracted from ore. Heinrich Engelhard and his brothers would accompany their father from the age of ten. They learned the trade, their intended livelihood, from scratch. There was rarely a thought wasted on schooling, as coal producing meant to be constantly on the move between various locations within a radius of up to thirty kilometers.

In 1810, Heinrich’s mother Rosine Elisabeth Bauerorchse (1768–1810) passed away; two years later he witnessed both his father and brother struck by lightning on the Ochsenberg mountain near Altenau. Orphaned, Heinrich Engelhard entered the military in Wolfenbüttel and allegedly fought against Napoleon at Waterloo (1769–1821). In 1818, he was honorably discharged from the army. 

In the following years, Heinrich earned his living primarily with carpentry work in the Northwest of the Harz region.  In 1825, he was entered in the master book of the carpenters' guild in Seesen and one year later, the city awarded him the license to work in his profession. The decision to settle in Seesen may have been influenced by a woman: Johanne Juliane Henriette Thiemer (1804–1877), whom he married at the local Andreas Church. In 1829, the growing family moved into their own premises at Junkernstraße (now Jacobsonstraße). Next to the living space, there was also enough room for a workshop.