This is a short essential coverage on Beethoven’s ancestry, who they were, where this family of musicians came from. Let’s dive in!
As far as the family’s history is traceable (beginning of the seventeenth century) the Beethovens came from a Belgian village near Louvain. The family name originally was written as Biethoffen, meaning Beet-garden in English.
|Related: What does Beethoven’s name mean?
A member of this family left the village and about 1650 moved to Antwerp. Some generations later, it was Louis (Ludwig) van Beethoven (the composer’s grandfather), gifted with beautiful bass voice, who first moved to Bonn around 1732 to join the Court’s musicians with a nice salary of 400 florins a year. It is unknown what was the reason of this move, but one possible explanation is that Elector Clemens August heard him singing in Liége and invited him to Bonn. Interesting fact that not only this branch of the Beethovens lived in the city, but an another part of the family was already represented here.
Ludwig van Beethoven (the grandfather) married Maria Josepha Poll and had 3 children together, from which only one survived. The one, called Johann (father of Ludwig van Beethoven the composer), was born around 1739. The singer had gradual advancement in the city’s musical life and in society, thus later petitioned to be a Kapellmeister at the Court. In 1761 he got the promotion and from then on he hold two positions, as he retained the singing duties. To be promoted from a singer to Kapellmeister is not unique in history, but to hold both positions at the same time was to be considered as a rare situation.
Despite the success and advancement in career, he had a cross to carry. His wife Josepha became an alcoholic and later was living and being treated in a monastery (a clinic by today’s terminology). This weakness was passed on to her son Johann, and in some degree even to Ludwig van Beethoven. Being institutionalized she was not present, when her husband died in 1773.
The Beethovens initially lived in the Fischer house in Rheingasse, where the elder Ludwig even ran a small wine trading business. Later the family moved to Bonngasse 386, where young Ludwig was born and lived in his childhood. The grandfather managed to save money and apart from the obvious musical talent to Ludwig the grandson, a considerable heritage was passed on after he died.
Johann van Beethoven married Maria Magdalena Keverich, a young widow. This marriage was very much opposed by his father, who refused to attend the wedding event. He simply opposed the relationship, because he considered the young widow as a member of a lower class (most probably meaning intellectually). Madam van Beethoven almost never smiled, many described her as quiet, suffering woman. She lost her first husband, then right after her second wedding, her mother. Johann made things even worse. Sinking into alcoholism he constantly failed to make his wife happy in their relationship. She was known by her piety and gentleness, the ability to handle people in a nice and perceptive way. She passed her time with sewing and knitting. Ludwig loved his mother and hated his abusing, severe and punishing father.
For more information about Beethoven’s childhood and his family look at his bio page or these related articles!
