August Heitz, one of a dozen children born to Carl Theodor Heitz and Anna Maria Moog, was born on 26 March 1846 in Trarbach, Bernkastel-Wittlich, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. His father was a tanner, and August was destined to work with leather as well: following an apprenticeship to learn the trade, and time spent as a journeyman to hone his skills, he became a sattlermeister, or master saddler.

_{Trarbach, Marktplatz vor dem Stadtbrand von 1857 [Marketplace before the Town Fire of 1857], Holzstich; ; Wikimedia Commons, copyright Bligny.}

August was thirty-one, likely well established in his trade, when he married Julianna Carolina Faust on 18 August 1877. Julianna, then twenty-one years of age, was the daughter of a cooper and likewise a native of Trarbach. The couple settled in their hometown, idyllically situated along the Mosel River and surrounded by abundant vineyards, and raised five children there: Julchen, Carolina, Anna Maria, Ida, and Adolf Heitz. A sixth child, August, died in infancy.

As a saddler in the final years before automobiles became widespread, August would have worked to make and repair saddles, bridles, and harnesses. He would also have trained others who wished to learn his trade, and the handwritten contract of at least one of his apprentices is extant. On 20 June 1901, the widow Anna Faust contracted her son, Otto, to a three-year apprenticeship under August Heitz, paying him a one-time fee of fifty marks for his tutelage. August promised to provide Otto with thorough instruction, health insurance and “contributions from his means,” whereas Otto agreed to diligent, orderly work and conduct. Otto would also be free on certain days to assist his mother “with her own work.” Interestingly, this contract notes that August was a tapezierer, or upholsterer, in addition to being a saddler.

It is unknown whether August also shared his knowledge of his trade with his surviving son, Adolf, as he ultimately made his career as a wine merchant. This trade was shared by two of August’s sons-in-law, as well, the husbands of both Julchen and Ida; Carolina’s husband was an innkeeper. Only Anna Maria did not marry; she joined a religious order.

_{August Heitz photograph, circa 1910, Germany; digital image 2011, privately held by Melanie Frick, 2023.}

Little else is known of August’s life in Trarbach, although it appears that through his trade he was able to provide a comfortable life for his family. The only known photograph of him seems to have been taken when he was in his sixties, sometime around the year 1910. Sporting a dapper mustache and a pleasant expression, he wore a collared shirt, necktie, vest, and double-breasted wool suit coat for the occasion.

August Heitz died at the age of sixty-seven on 23 December 1913, survived by his wife, five children, and, eventually, six grandchildren.

Copyright © 2023 Melanie Frick. All Rights Reserved.

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