Jens Friedenreich Hage
Jens Friedenreich Hage (6 October 1752 - 17 June 1831) was a Danish merchant and landowner. Early life. Hage was born on 6 October 1752 in Stege on the island of Møn, the eldest child of Johannes Jensen Hage and Bolette Margrethe Friedenreich. The Hage family was of Dutch origins and had counted merchants at least since the 17th century. He was the elder brother of Christopher Friedenreich Hage. Career. On 11 July 1765, Hage passed his exams as a helmsman. In 1777 he moved to the Danish West Indies where he made a fortune as a merchant  and plantation owner. He was the owner of the plantation Frederikshaab on St, Croix. He also purchased the Clairfield estate in Pennsylvania, In 1790, he was back in Stege. In the late 1890s, he settled as a merchant in Copenhagen. He traded under the name J. F. Hage & Co. in spite of the fact that he had no partners. In 1800, he became chairman of Det Danske Fiskeriselskab. In 1801, he was sent on a confidential mission to the Danish West Indies with as Rotal West Indian Government Commissioner ("kgl. vestindisk regeringskommissær"). On 2 May 1801, He was appointed to  kommerceintendant with rank of "justitsråd". As of 28 July 1815, Personal life. Hage was married twice, first to Gertrud Heitmann (29 December 1766 - 1 ;arch 1801) and then to Marie Sophie Ruspini (c. 1783 - 16 January 1864). His first wife bore him 11 children, eight daughters and three sons: he was also active as a brewer in Copenhagen. He owned a country house at Frederiksdal and Benzonseje at Køge.