Albert Conrad Soterius von Sachsenheim was born on 7 May 1824 in Sibiu. He was the son of Imperial Transylvanian General-Perceptor1 JM von Sachsenheim, who died in 1838, and his wife Justine Conrad. He attended Leschkirch Primary School and thereafter went to the Gymnasium in Sibiu. On 15 October 1842, after completion of his 4th year of secondary school, he volunteered as a regiment cadet with the k. k. 3. Chevauxlegers Regiment B. von Wernhardt3. In this regiment, which in 1851 was transformed into a lancers’ cavalry regiment, he was promoted to Lieutenant in 1847, to Senior Lieutenant in 1849, and Second Cavalry Captain in 1854, before he became Squadron Leader in 1857. During the Hungarian Campaign in Transylvania in 1848 and 1849, he was involved in 19 battles and skirmishes. Incidentally, he lost his horse underneath him in the very first battle on 31 October 1848 near Szent- Iván. As a Senior Lieutenant, he held the regimental adjutant office for more than a year. Shortly before his promotion, he was appointed to the squadron commando, which he continually led as Second Cavalry Captain, with the exception of a difficult year in which he was put in charge of the regiment treasury, the perambulating chancellery, as well as the uniform distribution. From 1854 to 1856 he was deployed in the Danubian Principalities Occupation Army in Romania and 1859 in the Cavalry Corps in Moravia in the army reserves.

In September 1860 – after an end to the concentration of forces - Sachsenheim had to report sick due to an eye condition. He took extended leave, after which he was granted retirement, at first temporarily in 1861, thereafter permanently in 1862. Having been the regiment’s longest serving Squadron Commander, His Majesty awarded him the title of Major in Honour of Hungary. In October 1860 he took up residence in Mediasch, the birthplace of his wife Jeanette Schaffendt, and started to engage with keen interest in public life. In 1861 he was involved in the founding of the "G. A. Association of Transylvania". In 1862, when the main association was formed, he was elected a board member, which he remains to the present day. In 1862 he participated in the founding of the “Mediascher Spar- und Vorschußverein”4, the first of its kind in Transylvania. In 1867 he was involved in the founding of the "Wein - Export - Gesellschaft"5 in which he acted as a committee member until 1873. As a member of the upper management of the "Siebenbürgisch-Sächsischen Landwirtschafts Verein" 6, he presided over the Regional Association in Mediasch for two years. For several years he has now been a member of the “Lutheran Parish Council Augsburgischen Bekentnisses “7 as Deputy Councillor. Since the re-organisation of the Greater Local Council he has been a city representative and a member of the Committee of the Mediasch District Assembly.

In 1864, the newly formed Evangelical Lutheran Church in Elisabethstadt - the existence of both church and school was very much owing to Sachsenheim’s tireless efforts - made him "Honorary Presbyter". In 1872 he was appointed a corresponding member of the Chamber of Commerce in Kronstadt.

In 1872, having gained the trust of his fellow citizens in the town and countryside, Sachsenheim was awarded a parliamentary mandate for Budapest Country Council for the legislative period 1872 – 1875. In 1875 his fellow Mediasch citizens elected him Member of the Reichstag for another three-year term.

1 The highest ranking tax collector in the Kingdom of Hungary

2 Grammar School

3 Royal cavalry regiment under the command of B. von Wernhardt

4 Association for Savings and Advancements, an association that often preceded the foundation of a bank

5 Wine Export Association

6 Transylvanian - Saxon Agricultural Society

7 The Augsburg Confession is the primary confession of faith of the Lutheran Church after the reformation

This document has been translated by www.janserKraft.com