George Newton Spencer (Originally from Glasgow B 1882) Lived Hamburg 1908 - 1980

[davecapps]

Yes of course
Death Date 🙈

[davecapps]

Do you want me to See if can Get through the Jungle ?
I‘ll have Go if you like

[Scott_M]

Thanks Dave .. Ill give it a go .. Will let u know how I go.. If I raise the white flag maybe u can help ..  ... Again to you and Svenja.. thank you

[davecapps]

Here‘s a member of his company

[Scott_M]

Brilliant Dave... Julius Gross (1891–1935) was the authorized manager of Spencer & Co. in Hamburg and appears to have been George Spencer's principal representative within the business. The archive records show he died in an accident in 1935 and it was important enough to have a dedicated newspaper file preserved by the Hamburg State Archive.

Thinking...
Julius Gross was not an ordinary employee—he was a senior executive of Spencer & Co. and may have been George Spencer's right-hand man in Hamburg.

[Svenja]

Hi

There are three death notices of Julius Gross in the newspaper "Hamburger Fremdenblatt" (17.07.1935). https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/RYGWHEOAJIG44R4YVWAIWTLDABSLSPZ3?query=%22Julius%20Gross%22&issuepage=4

And here is another notice about Spencer & Co. in the Handelsregister, when G. N. Spencer left the business and it changed its name from Spencer & Co. to Helmts & Co. (17.09.1941) https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/ZJHUMVNOL5K5HWSP4HINWQTMKEIPL22M?query=%22G.%20N.%20Spencer%22&issuepage=4

Regards
Svenja

[Scott_M]

Hi

There are three death notices of Julius Gross in the newspaper "Hamburger Fremdenblatt" (17.07.1935). https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/RYGWHEOAJIG44R4YVWAIWTLDABSLSPZ3?query=%22Julius%20Gross%22&issuepage=4



Regards
Svenja

Great info again.. I have used AI tools but sharing the highlights in reference to the links and the learnings ...
This is a very valuable find. It contains three separate death notices for Dr. Julius Gross, two of them directly from Spencer & Co.

Top Left Notice (Family Notice)

Suddenly and unexpectedly, as the result of an accident, my beloved husband, the good father of my children, our dear son, son-in-law, brother-in-law and uncle

Dr. Julius Gross

passed away at the age of 44 years.

In deep sorrow:

Mrs. Else Gross, née Dunker

Theo and Ulli

Hamburg, 13 July 1935

Hansastraße 13

Funeral: Friday at 12 noon, Chapel 7, Ohlsdorf Cemetery.

Top Right Notice (From George Newton Spencer)

As the result of a tragic accident, my dear friend and loyal colleague

Dr. Julius Gross

was called away from his active life on 15 July.

Since the founding of our company, he contributed outstandingly to the development of the firm through his extensive knowledge and experience.

I shall always cherish his memory with gratitude.

G. N. Spencer

Spencer & Co.

Hamburg, 17 July 1935

What is important here?

This is perhaps the strongest evidence yet of the relationship between George Newton Spencer and Julius Gross.

George does not describe him merely as an employee.

He writes:

"my dear friend and loyal colleague"

and

"Since the founding of our company..."

This strongly suggests Gross was involved from the very beginning of Spencer & Co.'s Hamburg operation.

Bottom Right Notice (From Employees of Spencer & Co.)

As a result of injuries sustained in an earlier accident, our esteemed

Dr. Julius Gross

has been taken from us on 15 July.

He was a kind and always considerate superior to us all.

We shall never forget him.

The Employees of Spencer & Co.

Hamburg, 17 July 1935

Another Important Clue

The employees refer to him as:

"Vorgesetzter" (superior, manager, boss)

This confirms Julius Gross held a senior management role within Spencer & Co.

Historical Summary:

Dr. Julius Gross (1891–1935) was a senior executive and authorised representative (Prokurist) of Spencer & Co. in Hamburg. Newspaper death notices following his accidental death in July 1935 reveal that he was regarded by George Newton Spencer as both a close friend and trusted colleague. Spencer stated that Gross had played a key role in building the company from its foundation. Employees of Spencer & Co. remembered him as a respected and considerate manager, indicating that he occupied one of the most senior positions within the firm.

For me, the standout phrase is:

"Seit Gründung unserer Firma..."

"Since the founding of our company..."

That single sentence suggests Julius Gross may have been with George Spencer from the very beginning of the Hamburg venture, making him one of the most significant non-family figures yet discovered in the history of Spencer & Co. Hamburg.

[Scott_M]

And here is another notice about Spencer & Co. in the Handelsregister, when G. N. Spencer left the business and it changed its name from Spencer & Co. to Helmts & Co. (17.09.1941) https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/newspaper/item/ZJHUMVNOL5K5HWSP4HINWQTMKEIPL22M?query=%22G.%20N.%20Spencer%22&issuepage=4

Regards
Svenja

This notice appeared in:

Hamburger Fremdenblatt

17 September 1941

Page 4

So we can now place the event firmly in the wartime period.

More Accurate Translation

Spencer & Co., Shipbrokers, Esplanade 61

A female limited partner (Kommanditistin) has joined the company.

At the same time, the partner G. N. Spencer has withdrawn from the partnership.

The business will continue as a limited partnership (Kommanditgesellschaft).

The company name has been changed to Helmrich & Co.

Historical Interpretation

The timing is fascinating.

17 September 1941 was during the Second World War, when Britain and Germany were at war.

George Newton Spencer was:

Scottish-born
British by birth
Operating a Hamburg shipping business

Yet he appears to have remained associated with Spencer & Co. until at least 1941.

This notice suggests one of two possibilities:

A forced withdrawal due to wartime regulations concerning British nationals and enemy property.
A voluntary transfer of the business to German ownership to allow it to continue operating during the war.

The renaming from Spencer & Co. to Helmrich & Co. is especially telling. During wartime Germany, an English-sounding company name could attract unwanted attention or administrative complications.

The Most Important Line

"Gleichzeitig ist der Gesellschafter G. N. Spencer aus der Gesellschaft ausgeschieden."

Literally:

"At the same time, the partner G. N. Spencer has withdrawn from the partnership."

This is direct evidence that George Newton Spencer was still officially a partner in Spencer & Co. immediately before September 1941.

That is a remarkable find.

17 September 1941 – Hamburg

Summarizing;
A legal notice published in the Hamburger Fremdenblatt announced that shipbrokers Spencer & Co., Esplanade 61, Hamburg, had been reorganised. The partner G. N. Spencer withdrew from the firm, a female limited partner entered the business, and the company was renamed Helmrich & Co.. This appears to mark the end of George Newton Spencer's formal association with the company he had founded in Hamburg and may have been connected to wartime conditions affecting British nationals in Germany.

What would be of great interest is whether there is a shared full name of the incoming Kommanditistin (female limited partner). If it was Johanna Louise Auguste Spencer (née Singenstrüh), that would be a major breakthrough because it would indicate the business remained within the Spencer family rather than being sold outright.

[Scott_M]

For many years, George Newton Spencer had built Spencer & Co. into a respected Hamburg shipping brokerage operating from prestigious offices at Esplanade 61. The company was supported by trusted colleagues, most notably Dr. Julius Gross, who George later described as a "dear friend and loyal colleague" and one of the key figures responsible for the firm's growth from its foundation.

The death of Dr. Julius Gross in July 1935 deprived Spencer & Co. of one of its most important executives. Newspaper tributes from George Newton Spencer and the company's employees reveal the esteem in which Gross was held and confirm that he had played a central role in developing the business.

Six years later, another pivotal event occurred.

A notice published in the Hamburger Fremdenblatt on 17 September 1941 announced a major restructuring of the company. The notice stated that:

"The partner G. N. Spencer has withdrawn from the partnership."

At the same time, a female limited partner (Kommanditistin) entered the business, and the firm ceased trading under the name Spencer & Co., being renamed Helmrich & Co.

This announcement marks the final known occasion on which George Newton Spencer appears as an active partner in the company he had founded.

The timing is significant. By September 1941, Germany and Great Britain had been at war for two years. As a Scottish-born British national living in Hamburg, Spencer occupied a unique and increasingly difficult position. Whether his withdrawal was voluntary, commercially necessary, or influenced by wartime regulations remains uncertain. However, the public notice demonstrates that Spencer remained formally connected to the company until this date.

The identity of the incoming female partner has yet to be confirmed. Should further records reveal her to be George's wife, Johanna Louise Auguste Singenstrüh Spencer, it would suggest that the business remained under family influence despite the name change.

For now, the 1941 notice stands as the closing chapter of George Newton Spencer's direct involvement in Hamburg's shipping industry. Although the company name disappeared, George himself remained in Hamburg, where he would live for another twenty-six years before his death on 16 March 1967.