Jean Georges Weiss

Tanner, interim Mayor of Mulhouse

Born: 12 June 1785, Mulhouse
Died: 26 February 1874, Mulhouse

Father: Jean Gaspard Weiss, 1739-1815
Mother: Marie Baumgarten, 1755-1798

Spouse: Barbara Blech, 1786-1843
Married 27 March 1809, Mulhouse. Jean Georges' occupation was listed as a tanner. Groom's witnesses: Jean Schön, retailer, aged 52, and Paul Blech, retailer, aged 35, both Jean George's uncles. Bride's witnesses: Henri Reber, retailer, aged 38, and Alexandre Koenig, retailer, aged 40, both Barbara's uncles.

Children:

Biographical information
Gravestone of Jean Georges Weiss,
Protestant cemetery, Mulhouse
Also known by the German variation of his name: Johann Georg.

Jean Georges Weiss was the seventh child of Gaspard and Marie Weiss, their second born in Mulhouse.

In 1797 a Jean Georges Weiss along with Jean Gaspard Weiss, entered into partnership with the fabric printing company Dollfus Père et Fils, and the business became Dollfus Père, Fils, Weiss et Cie. Reports suggest that the business did not go well, and by 1800 Jean Georges and Jean Gaspard Weiss had removed from the business and it was then known as Dollfus et Cie (Clouzot, 1928). Was Jean Georges Weiss, a twelve year old, in business with his father and the Dollfus family? Or was it another Jean Georges Weiss - a cousin perhaps?

Whether he did start off in fabric printing with his father or not, Jean Georges Weiss ended up as a tanner. His tannery is listed in 1823 in Dollfus-Ausset (1865), under the name of Weiss-Blech - often, because there were so many people with the same name, a man would add his wife's surname to the end of his, either officially or unofficially, so that they could be more easily identified.

He certainly was a man of standing in the community, and was called to serve as a juror in the district of Altkirch in 1841 and 1842 (Haut Rhin Conseil Général, 1841, 1842) and held the position of interim mayor of Mulhouse from 9 March 1843 until 2 August 1843, after the previous mayor André Koechlin resigned. According to his son Jean Georges' 1846 marriage record, he was also deputy mayor at the time.

After his father died, Jean Georges seems to have taken on a patriarchal role within the family, often present at the registering of family births, marriages and deaths.

Jean Georges Weiss died on 26 February 1874 in Mulhouse. His death record, which is very difficult to read, appears to say that the death was registered by his son Jean Gaspard. He is buried in the Protestant cemetery in Mulhouse, next to his wife Barbara.

References
Clouzot, H. (1928). Histoire de la manufacture de Jouy et de la toile imprimée en France. G. Van Oest, Paris.
Dollfus-Ausset, D. (1865). Materiaux pour la coloration des étoffes, Volume 2. F. Savy, Paris.
Haut Rhin Conseil Général. (1841). Rapports et délibérations - Haut Rhin, Conseil général. Conseil général du Haut Rhin, Colmar.
Haut Rhin Conseil Général. (1842). Rapports et délibérations - Haut Rhin, Conseil général. Conseil général du Haut Rhin, Colmar.