Georg Wolff

For those of a similar name, see George Wolff (disambiguation).

Georg Wolff (1736–1828) was a Norwegian-born merchant who lived in London and served as the Danish Consul to Great Britain from 1787 to 1804.

Wolff's father, Franz Christopher Wolff, came to Christiania from Schmalkalden and set up a large and well-stocked general store. In 1729 Franz Wolff married Inger Brunn, and the couple had six children.

By 1759 Gerog had moved to London and worked as an assistant for Jens Pedersen, the owner of a timber export business. The company was part of a small Danish-Norwegian community centred on Wellclose Square. Most residents were involved in the export of Norwegian timber to London, a trade which, following the Great Fire of London in 1666, had become a booming business.

In 1760 Wolff married Elizabeth Gorham, an 18-year-old English woman from St Neots. They had two daughters, Elizabeth and Martha Ann, and one son, Jens. In June 1770 the elder Elizabeth died. Wolff later married Sarah Cheesement, who bore him two additional daughters, Sarah Augusta, and Inger Maria. Following Sarah's death in 1790, Wolff never remarried. Though he was raised Lutheran, while in London Wolff became a Methodist and was close friends with John Wesley.

After serving Pedersen for a time, in 1767 Gerog was joined in London by his brother, Ernst Wolff, and the two established Geo. & Ernst Wolff at No. 21, Wellclose Square. That same year Gerog became naturalized, allowing him to own English land.

In 1787 Wolff was appointed the Danish Consul in London, replacing Peder Anker. The Danish consulate in London was responsible for Danish-Norwegian interests throughout the southern coasts of England, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. All Danish-Norwegian ships arriving in London were required to report information concerning their cargo and journey to the consulate, placing Georg Wolff and his firm at the center of the northern timber trade and greatly raising Wolff's status in society. Upon Britain's entry into the War of the First Coalition in 1793, the Royal Navy began taking Danish ships as prize ships. Georg Wolff's son, Jens, was appointed Adjunct Consul at his father's request. Jens spent most of his time assisting Danish captains whose ships had been captured. Though few timber shipments from Norway were taken as prizes of war, in total nearly 1,000 Danish and Norwegian ships were sized by the British between 1793 and 1807.

Georg Wolff retired in 1804, at which time Jens Wolff became acting consul until the closing of the consulate in 1807 following the Bombardment of Copenhagen.

References

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