Family and Friends -- Father, Johann Georg Kulmus -- Biography
Johann Georg Kulmus (Breslau 1680-Danzig 6 November
1731) was Luise Kulmus's father. His father had been
Adam Kulmus, a baker in Breslau, and his mother Maria
Flegel. We must imagine this as a wealthy baker family,
for Kulmus studied in Leipzig and Halle. He graduated in
medicine at Leyden in 1702, where he may have heard
lectures by Hermann Boerhaave (1668-1738), who soon
became the leading professor of medicine in Europe. At
that time Boerhaave was only a lecturer, although he also
gave private lectures. He was a keen observer and
believed in experimental science. He reintroduced
bedside instruction of students and taught them the value
of postmortems. He is considered a "materialist" in
medicine and was later opposed by Kulmus's professor in
Halle, Ernst Georg Stahl (1660-1734), who became famous
in his own right. As a devout pietist Stahl believed the
soul animated the functions of the body and is considered
an "animist". In 1703 Kulmus published his dissertation
in Breslau, Oneirologia
sive tractatus de somniis, dedicated to his former
teacher at the university of Halle, Ernst Georg
Stahl.
In 1704 Kulmus arrived in Danzig as a practicing
physician and married the daughter of the Schöppen (lay
lawyer) Valentin Ernst Tessin, the
well-educated and musically gifted Regina Konkordia on
May 12 of that year. Three children were born in this
marriage: 1) Johanna Konkordia Kulmus
(1707-1772); 2) Johann Ernst Kulmus
(1709-1769); 3) Regina Elisabeth Kulmus (1710-1711).
Their mother, Regina Konkordia Kulmus, died of the plague
in 1710.
Johann Georg Kulmus married again on 12 April 1712.
Katharina Dorothea Schwenk was the
well-educated daughter of Nathanael Schwenk, a wealthy
merchant from an Augsburg patrician family. Three
children were also born in this marriage: 1) Luise
Adelgunde Victorie Kulmus (1713-1762); 2) Renate Dorothea
Kulmus (1715-1718); and 3) Charlotte Elisabeth Kulmus
(1717-1718).
In Danzig Kulmus was Royal Court Physician for August
II King of Poland, Elector of Saxony. He seems to have
possessed a temperamental nature derived from firm
principles. At the time of the plague of 1709 he was
active on behalf of the citizens of Danzig, and answered
inquiries from a colleague about these experiences in
several letters. Written in the spirit of advancing
effective treatments for the plague, they not only give
evidence of Kulmus's attempt to use empirical evidence in
his treatments, but also of his efforts to apply the
remedies of his teacher Ernst Georg Stahl. When the
correspondence was published without Kulmus's knowledge
in 1711, the City Council of Danzig took great exception.
They had tried to minimize the negative economic effects
of the plague on Danzig and accused Kulmus of advertising
its continuance. Kulmus tried to defend himself, saying
that as Royal Court Physician he was not bound by
restrictions placed on citizens by the Council. This
turned the charge into a power struggle and ended with
Kulmus having to pay a fine to the city. In addition,
Kulmus had tried to make his own medicines. Perhaps they
were the prescriptions he learned from Stahl that are
given in his letter. These
would have been unknown in Danzig and controversial.
Whatever the truth of that, local apothecaries took
umbrage at Kulmus usurping their privilege and complained
to city officials. Kulmus was charged for this as
well.
Of possible interest for the general background of
Luise Kulmus is her father's correspondent regarding the
plague. Christian Hölmann (1677-1744) was a
Silesian doctor, whom he had most likely known in
Breslau. Hölmann had studied at the Magdalena
Gymnasium there until 1699. After he graduated in
medicine at the university in Wittenberg, he became a
doctor first in Breslau and then (by preference) in the
village of Rosenberg in Silesia. Hölmann was
probably a member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft
in Wittenberg, and among his friends were other writers
well known in Hamburg circles: Michael Richey, Christoph
Gottehr Burghart, Barthold Feind and Ephraim Gerhard. In
1704/5 Hölmann edited two volumes of Neukirch's
collection of poetry. He himself wrote gallant poetry
which appeared in these and other volumes.
Kulmus was a member of the Imperial Leopoldine Academy
of Scientists. He died of consumption in 1731. Luise
Kulmus wrote at least one occasional poem for him.
[Einiger Medicorum Schreiben / von der
. . . grassireten Pest . . . Ed. Johann
Kanold. Breslau, 1711]
[Walther Killy. Literatur Lexikon. Autoren und
Werke deutscher Sprache. Bertelsmann. Vol. 4. 1989]
[Christian Gottlieb Jöcher. Allgemeines
Gelehrten-Lexicon. Bd. 2 rpt: Hildesheim: Olms,
1966. 2182f.]
[Christian Krollmann Altpreußische
Biographie. Marburg/Lahn: N.G. Elwert Verlag,
1974. S 374]