The pharmacist-medical Freyer family and their family affinities

Abstract

The aim of the study is to present the fate of four generations of a family associated with Polish medicine. The article presents the biographies of four generations of distinguished pharmacists and doctors belonging to the Polonized Freyer family of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession, associated mainly with Warsaw and Radom, but also with Siedlce and Kielce. For their merits, they lived to see the granting of hereditary nobility. The study takes into account not only their numerous merits related to animating various social and charity activities, which have already been described in previous biographies. It is shown that the Freyers, despite their high social position, shared their fate with the fate of the country, as in the case of the November Uprising. It also shows family affinities that have not been described so far, which better illustrate the context of the social and professional functioning of family members. The source base for the study were archival materials stored in the State Archives in Radom which, with the use of a critical apparatus, are the most credible description of reality. These include record books and files: drawn up when examining pharmacists, record books, notarial and mortgage records. Particularly noteworthy is the wide social activity of subsequent family members, which is documented by their bequests and donations, and their responsibility for closer and further family which, in turn, can be seen in testamentary dispositions. Religiousness and involvement in the activities of the Evangelical church are also noteworthy. This probably had an impact on the hard work, gaining wealth, with the ability to share with those in need. Document citations are in italics. All dates are according to the Gregorian calendar.