The Stelling of Venezuela

Translation of a newspaper article published in Venezuela in the early 1990’s. The Stelling of Venezuela Georg Stelling came to Puerto Cabello (a haven in the north-central coast of Venezuela) as a consular agent of the Kingdom of Hanover at a time around 1850 and he settled in this port after finishing his time of service or consular duty, due to his occupation as a wine importer. He married Miss Mercedes Smith, second daughter of Lieutenant Guillermo (William) Smith, aide-de-camp of the Venezuelan Liberator or freedom fighter Simon Bolivar. Guillermo Smith in turn arrived from England to fight in the Venezuelan war of independence and stayed in the country that received him so well, being one of the most faithful followers of Bolivar. One of Guillermo Smith’s sisters, married with one Mr. Hamilton who lived in a sugar cane farm (plantation) nearby the site of the San Mateo siege, was known in the Stelling family as “the English aunt”. She managed to stop a band of soldiers belonging to the central faction when these tried to assault the large old house taking advantage of the fact that both Hamilton and Guillermo Smith had left for the war. The British matron took one of the heavy door keys and while putting it in the pocket of her dress, went out to the inner front door of the house to threaten the invading soldiers saying in broken Spanish: “I kill whoever dares to enter”. Until a short time ago the key rested on one of the tables of the house as a reminder of the courage and willpower of this blond forebear. Georg Stelling only son and descendant, also named Georg, was born in La Guaira (another haven in the central coast of Venezuela near to the capital Caracas), in the old large house that was one the headquarters of the Guipuscuan Trading Company (a trade monopoly akin to the West Indies Company), by then belonging to the family (around 1860). He was a well-regarded merchant of the family and he is the grandfather of José Álvarez Stelling. In 1880, the family returned to Valencia, city where they owned a manorial house located on what today is the Bolivar Avenue, in the El Palotal zone. Behind this house, they installed a factory to manufacture mineral oil and candles. Soon thereafter and following a visit to International Exposition of Paris they noticed that the future of the lighting business lay in electricity and not in gas or candle production and little by little they transformed the family business in a flowering industrial company, la Electricidad de Valencia. The oldest son of the family, Carlos Stelling, married Doloritas Arismendi, granddaughter of the General Juan Bautista Arismendi and of his heroic wife, Luisa Cáceres de Arismendi, heiress of a strong willed lineage from the state of Nueva Esparta. All Stelling brethren devoted themselves to work and education. Hermann Stelling constructed, among other buildings, the bridge of the El Paraíso neighborhood in Caracas and he was one of the first supporters of the establishment of an Athenaeum (Civic and arts Center) in Caracas. Among the traders and businessmen of Valencia the idea began to take hold of founding a Bank of Carabobo (the province’s name) and one of its first shareholders was Carlos Stelling, whose grandson would merge the three banks of the central zone and form a sole entity that would provide better service to the region of the country. (Note of the translator: This bank called Banco Consolidado went bankrupt in 1994). José Álvarez Feo, a well-regarded trader from Caracas and a relative of Bishop Monsignor Fernández Feo, married Carlos Stelling’s oldest daughter and they had only one son, who in turn studied engineering at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello. The son, José Álvarez Stelling, prepared himself well for his business duties by obtaining a master degree at the MIT in the USA, and married Pilar Landaluce, pharmacist and daughter of a trader that emigrated from the Canary Islands in Spain to Venezuela and established a saddlery. Three children were born out of this marriage. The Stelling as well as the Álvarez are families based on solid principles, accustomed to hard work and the service to the public. As a remarkable detail it ought to be mention that no member of the family has ever occupied any public or political office.