Person:Franciscus Mentzel (1)

Introduction

Franciscus Exeverius Mentzel (born 3 December 1786), better known as Frans Mentzel, is a Dutch soldier who is regarded as the progenitor of all people with the surname Mentzel in the Netherlands. He grew up in a period of great turmoil and was part of great changes. He was father to 12 children.

The Prussian period

Frans Mentzel was born on 3 December 1786 in Fraustadt, Prussia. Fraustadt is currently known as Wschowa ([1]). All information related to the birth of Frans Mentzel is second hand information (marriage certificate, birth certificates of his children and military registries), since we were unable to find first hand information about his birth. As a consequence information about his parents is also second hand and is deducted from official documents of Frans Mentzel referring to his birth and parents.

After his birth the first time Frans was mentioned again was during his military career in the Prussian Army. On 1 August 1805 he was enlisted as a 19 year old musketeer in the infantry regiment von Zenge (Alter Armee), later known as Regiment 24 (Neuer Armee). From his enlistment registries we can conclude that prior to his enlistment he was occupied as a needlemaker. His enlistment was undoubtedly the consequence of the Prussian military buildup during the war of the third coalition ([2]). In August 1806 the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm III declared war on Napoleon Bonaparte resulting in the crushing defeat of the Prussian army at the Battle of Schleiz (9 October 1806), the Battle of Saalfeld (10 October 1806; [3]) and the Battle of Jena-Auerstedt (14 October 1806;[4]). Frans Mentzel was stationed at the Kustrin fort with the two reserve batallions of the Regiment von Zenge ([5]). On 1 November 1806 the commander Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Ferdinand von lngersleben negotiated the surrender of the fort with the Napoleonic commander Gauthier, despite holding a formidable force in a fort that had never before been captured. For this, von Ingersleben was later sentenced to death by the Prussians although the sentence was never carried out. Frans Mentzel was taken prisoner of war by the Napoleonic army. It is unknown what happened to Frans between 1 November 1806 and 10 June 1807 but it was a known practice for the victors in the Naopleonic wars to force prisoners of war to incorporate them into their own army.

The Kingdom of Holland period

In January 1795 the Netherlands were conquered by the French army and the so-called French-Batavian period started in the Netherlands. On 5 June 1807 Louis Napoleon Bonaparte was positioned as a king in the newly formed Kingdom of Holland, a vassal state of the first French Empire. On 10 June 1807 Frans Mentzel enlisted in the Dutch army for a period of 6 years and 4 months at the 6th line infantry regiment, third batallion, fifth company, number 176 (see his military records below). At that time he was 21 years old and he was described as approximately 1,63 meters with brown hair and eyes. His enlistment was 5 days after the formation of the kingdom of Holland. In his military records it was found that he participated in the Walcheren campaign of the English army on the side of the French Empire, although in the records no specific information can be found on the 6th regiment related to the Walcheren campaign.

It is known that in December 1808 the third batallions of all regiments were disbanded and the soldiers were absorbed in the other regiments. Due to his military career records in 1814 we assume that he was absorbed in the 7th regiment although no facts could be found in the military records. In the same military records Frans Mentzel was noted to have served in Zeeland in 1809 and 1810. The Walcheren Campaign was an unsuccessful British expedition to the Netherlands in 1809 intended to open another front in the Austrian Empire's struggle with France during the War of the Fifth Coalition. Some 39,000 soldiers, 15,000 horses together with field artillery and two siege trains crossed the North Sea and landed at Walcheren on 30 July 1809. This was the largest British expedition of that year, larger than the army serving in the Peninsular War in Portugal. Nevertheless, it failed to achieve any of its goals. The Walcheren Campaign involved little fighting, but heavy losses from the sickness popularly dubbed "Walcheren Fever"[6]. Although more than 4,000 British troops died during the expedition, only 106 died in combat; the survivors withdrew on 9 December 1809. Frans Mentzel apparently remained in Zeeland during 1810. On 19 August 1809 Frans Mentzel was promoted tot corporal.

After British troops launched an ill-fated invasion of Walcheren in the Walcheren Campaign of 1809, Napoléon lost patience with his hesitant brother and decided to make Holland an integral part of France. After annexing the southern provinces of Holland into the Empire, he forced King Louis to abdicate in 1810. Louis's son, Napoléon Louis Bonaparte, reigned for a week as Louis II before Napoléon annexed the rest of the kingdom into the French Empire. During that period Queen Hortense acted as Regent of the Kingdom. On 18 August 1810 the Dutch army was disbanded and absorbed in the French Imperial Army.

The French empire period

The Dutch line infantry regiments were reorganised into the 123-126 line infantry regiments. Although Frans Mentzel was mentioned to have served in the 125 line infantry regiment, famous due to the enormous loss of life at the Berezina river during Napoleon's failed campaign against Russia, he was never found in the military records at Vincennes Centre historique des archives. If he was enlisted in one of the French Empire regiments or whether he remained in the Netherlands during the Russian campaign is unknown. We find Frans Mentzel again in the Dutch military records in the 1814 military records when he was enlisted again in the Dutch army. It is known that he was promoted to sergeant on 19 March 1813 and that he served during the sixth coalition war in Magdeburg. The siege of Magdeburg started on 15 september 1813 and ended on 20 may 1814, after the defeat of Napoleon at the battle of Leipzig [7]. After the Treaty of Paris in may 1814 Frans Mentzel was enlisted in the 12th batallion line infantry of the The Sovereign Principality of the United Netherlands which was a short-lived sovereign principality and the precursor of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, in which it was reunited with the Southern Netherlands in 1815. The principality was proclaimed in 1813 when the victors of the Napoleonic Wars established a political reorganisation of Europe, which would eventually be defined by the Congress of Vienna. On 16 may 1814 Frans Mentzel received his Dutch passport.

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands period

The United Kingdom of the Netherlands is the unofficial name given to the Kingdom of the Netherlands as it existed between 1815 and 1839. The United Netherlands was created in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars through the fusion of territories that had belonged to the former Dutch Republic, Austrian Netherlands, and Prince-Bishopric of Liège in order to form a buffer state between the major European powers. The polity was a constitutional monarchy, ruled by William I of the House of Orange-Nassau. The polity collapsed in 1830 with the outbreak of the Belgian Revolution. With the de facto secession of Belgium, the Netherlands was left as a rump state and refused to recognise Belgian independence until 1839 when the Treaty of London was signed, fixing the border between the two states and guaranteeing Belgian independence and neutrality as the Kingdom of Belgium.

Frans Mentzel was enlisted in the Dutch army as a sergeant on 8 June 1814 with the 12th batallion line infantry. On 10 September 1814 this batallion was incorporated in the 4th batallion line infantry and on 1 May 1815 again incorporated in the 36th batallion national militia. On 4 November 1817 he signed again for 6 years, on 10 March 1826 again signed for 3 years and 3 months, on 11 March 1830 again for 6 years and on 11 March 1836 signed again until his retirement on 4 November 1841. During this period he had one more battle to fight, being the cessation of Belgium in 1830 during which time he was stationed at the base in Dendermonde.

Biography

After these periods of turmoil on 8 July 1818 Frans Mentzel married Anthonia Arnolda Heer [8] in the city of Gent. Prior to this marriage they had two children (Marie Jeanne Mentzel in 1817 and Anne Theodore Elisabeth Mentzel in 1818) which were recognized as legitimate children by this marriage. They were both stationed in the garrison base in Gent, Anthonia Arnolda Heer as a private person (presumedly a camp follower).

In the birth certificate of Marie Jeanne Mentzel (Gent, 28 February 1817) Frans was mentioned as Francois Xavier Mentzel, sergeant with the sixth company of the 36th batallion national militia and stationed at the garrison base (most likely the base which is currently known as the Leopold Kazerne). This is confirmed in the birth certificate of Anne Theodore Elisabeth Mentzel (Gent, 3 May 1818), the death certificate of Marie Jeanne Mentzel (Gent, 21 December 1818) and the birth certificate of Joannes Franciscus Mentzel (Gent, 4 March 1820).

From the birth certicate of Gustavus Adolphus Philippus Mentzel (Dendermonde, 22 February 1822) Frans Mentzel was mentioned as a sergeant with the first batallion of the 17th division national infantry and garrisoned in Dendermonde. Not only was the army reorganised but Frans Mentzel was also garrisoned in Dendermonde instead of Gent. The birth of his daughter Christina Gustave Mentzel (Gent, 15 October 1823) and her death (Dendermonde, 5 April 1827) indicates that the family had once again moved between Gent and Dendermonde. Martinus Carolus Mentzel birth (Gent, 20 Juli 1825) gives us the indication that the family stayed in Gent between 15 October 1823 and 20 July 1825. In 1827 the family was again in Dendermonde. Here his children Charlotte Bernardina Mentzel (Dendermonde, 22 January 1828) and Fredrik Martinus Leonardus Mentzel (Dendermonde, 7 March 1830) were also born. The birth of Frederik Martinus Leonardus was half a year before the independence declaration of Belgium on 4 October 1930. Frans Mentzel received the metal cross [9] for his service in Dendermonde.

After the cessation of Belgium in October 1830 Frans Mentzel and his family went to Haarlem where Rosina Anthonia Mentzel (Haarlem, 27 May 1832), Hendrik Karolus Mentzel (Haarlem, 29 march 1834), Theodora Johanna (Haarlem, 27 February 1836) and Johannes Engelbertus Mentzel (Haarlem, 10 June 1838) were born. In police records of the city of Haarlem [10] it can be found that Frans Mentzel and his family lived in a house on the Bakenessergracht in Haarlem which was owned by Jean Maigniel (who died on 16 June 1832 and was a soldier in the 10th division infantry)

The first census registration in 1839 of Frans Mentzel can be found in Haarlem in the military housing (garrison base) [11]:
1. Frans Mentzel, 53 years old, Fraustadt, sergeant with 6th division;
2. Antonia Arnolda Heer, 43 years old, Breda;
3. Martinus Carolus Mentzel, 14, Gent;
4. Martinus Frederik Mentzel, 10, Dendermonde;
5. Johannes Engelbert Mentzel, 1,5, Haarlem;
6. Elizabeth Theodora Mentzel, 22, Gent;
7. Charlotte Bernardina, 12, Dendermonde;
8. Rosina Anthonia Mentzel, 7, Haarlem.
We also know from the retirement records of Frans Mentzel that in November 1841 Frans was located in Haarlem.

The second census registration can be found over the period 1850-1860 in the city of Den Helder [12]:
1. Frans Mentzel, 3 December 1786, Germany, married, Roman Catholic, occupation: rijksportier, left the city on 11 October 1851 to Bergen op Zoom;
2. Antonetta Arnolda Heer, 13 July 1796, Breda, married, Roman Catholic, no occupation, left the city on 11 October 1851 to Bergen op Zoom;
3. Johannes Engelbert Mentzel, 10 June 1837, Haarlem, unmarried, school pupil, left the city on 11 October 1851 to Bergen op Zoom;
4. Rouanna Antonetta Mentzel, 27 February 1832, Haarlem, unmarried, no occupation, left the city on 11 October 1851 to Bergen op Zoom;

We can indeed find Frans Mentzel and family in the census 1850-1860 of Bergen op Zoom, Vischmarkt 232 [13]:
1. Frans Mentzel, 3 December 1786, Germany, married, Roman Catholic, occupation: rijksportier, arrived on 11 October 1851 and moved to I.159;
2. Antonetta Arnoldina Heer, 13 July 1796, Breda, married, Roman Catholic, no occupation, arrived on 11 October 1851;
3. Johannes Engelbertus Mentzel, 10 June 1838, Haarlem, unmarried, Roman Catholic, no occupation, arrived on 11 October 1851;
4. Rounna Antonetta Mentzel, 27 February 1832, Haarlem, unmarried, Roman Catholic, no occupation, arrived on 11 October 1851;

We find the Frans Mentzel family again in Bergen op Zoom 1860-1870 at the "Wachthuis" 106 [14]:
1. Frans Mentzel, 3 December 1786, Germany, married, Roman Catholic, occupation: rijksportier, arrived on 11 October 1851;
2. Antonetta Arnoldina Heer, 13 July 1796, Breda, married, Roman Catholic, no occupation, arrived on 11 October 1851;
3. Johannes Engelbertus Mentzel, 10 June 1838, Haarlem, unmarried, Roman Catholic, no occupation, arrived on 11 October 1851;
4. Rounna Antonetta Mentzel, 27 February 1832, Haarlem, unmarried, Roman Catholic, no occupation, arrived on 11 October 1851, moved to Middelburg 25 July 1855;
5. Johannes Engelbertus Mentzel, 2 December 1854, Bergen op Zoom, illegal child of Rosina Anthonia Mentzel, unmarried, Roman Catholic, moved to Middelburg 25 July 1855;

And we find the Frans Mentzel family again in the census records of 1860-1880 at the south harbor C.105[15]:
1. Frans Mentzel, 3 December 1786, Germany, married, Roman Catholic, occupation: rijksportier, died 15 August 1863;
2. Antoinetta Arnolda Heer, 13 July 1796, Breda, married, Roman Catholic, no occupation, left 1 October 1863 to Amsterdam;
3. Johannes Engelbertus Mentzel, 10 June 1838, Haarlem, unmarried, Roman Catholic, occupation: printer's assistant, left on 11 January 1863 to Breda, returned 5 May 1863 and left again on 1 October 1863 to Amsterdam;

We find the death registry of Frans Mentzel in Bergen op Zoom [16]. From this registry we can see that Frans Mentzel died at 3 a.m. on 15 August 1863 at 76 years old. His occupation was rijksportier. Witnesses to his registry were:
1. Elias Antonius Fredericus Siegmund, 40 years old, ordonance officer;
2. Johannes Bijl, 44 years old, sergeant-major.