page_title: Ludwig Erdwin Seyler
section_title: Berenberg Bank
hierarchical_section_title: Ludwig Erdwin Seyler / Berenberg Bank
caption_attribution_description: English: Anna Henriette Gossler (born 1771 in Hamburg, died 1836 in Hamburg), who went by the name of Henriette. Heiress from Hamburg, member of the Berenberg/Gossler banking dynasty, eldest child of Johann Hinrich Gossler and Elisabeth Berenberg (owners of Berenberg Bank), wife of banker Ludwig Erdwin Seyler (co-owner and head of Berenberg Bank), daughter-in-law of the theatre director Abel Seyler
context_page_description: Ludwig Erdwin Seyler was a Hamburg banker, merchant and politician. He was by marriage a member of the Hanseatic Berenberg banking dynasty, and was a partner in the Hamburg firm Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. for 48 years, for 46 years as the company's senior partner. The "Co." part of the company name refers to him. Seyler was one of the first merchants and bankers from modern Germany to establish trade relations with the United States and East Asia. He served as a member of the government of Hamburg during the Napoleonic Wars and later as the President of the Commercial Deputation, one of the city-state's main political bodies, and as a member of the Hamburg Parliament. Ludwig Seyler was a son of the Swiss-born theatre director Abel Seyler and a son-in-law of the bankers Johann Hinrich Gossler and Elisabeth Berenberg through his marriage to their eldest daughter Anna Henriette Gossler.
context_section_description: He joined the Berenberg & Gossler company in Hamburg as an apprentice in 1775, aged 17. Founded in 1590 by the immigrant Berenberg family from Antwerp in modern Belgium, it was one of Hamburg's most respected companies. On 20 May 1788, he married Anna Henriette Gossler (1771–1836), the eldest child of the company's owners, Johann Hinrich Gossler (1738–90) and Elisabeth Berenberg (1749–1822). His mother-in-law was the only heir and last member of the Berenberg family. During his lifetime and beyond his wife's family was regarded as one of the two most prominent families of the city-state of Hamburg.
  Shortly after his marriage, his father-in-law made him a partner in the Berenberg company. Upon the death of his father-in-law in 1790, he succeeded him as the company's senior partner and effective head. His mother-in-law was a partner in her own right from 1790 to 1800, and in 1798 his seventeen years younger brother-in-law, the later senator Johann Heinrich Gossler, joined the company as a partner. Under his leadership and to reflect his entry into the partnership the company name was changed to Joh. Berenberg, Gossler & Co. in 1791, and has remained unchanged since.
  As head of the Berenberg company Seyler greatly increased the company's international trade, and was one of the first merchants and bankers from Germany who established trade relations with the newly independent United States and with East Asia. By 1800 the capital of the company has doubled since he became a partner. The company lost half its capital during the Napoleonic Wars, but quickly regained and exceeded its former size once the war ended. Ludwig Seyler remained one of the two dominant partners, with his brother-in-law, until his death in 1836. At the time of his death he had worked for the company for 61 years, been a partner for 48 years and been the company's senior partner for 46 years.
caption: His wife Anna Henriette Gossler, eldest child of Johann Hinrich Gossler and Elisabeth Berenberg
exif: {"Image PhotometricInterpretation": "2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image ExifOffset": "62", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1460", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1820"}