Karl van Beethoven,
m. p.
Carl Gaber, m. p.
House owner, Breitenfeld No. 9.
Benedikt Gaber, m. p.
House owner, Breitenfeld No. 25.
Johann Naumann, m. p.
House No. 5, Breitenfeld.
(“This testament was delivered under seal to the R. I. L. Austrian General Court, by the Karl Scheffer Solicitor Dr. Schönauer, on November 17, 1815, etc.”)
Codicil to my Will
Having learned that my brother, Hr Ludwig van Beethoven, desires after my death to take wholly to himself my son Karl, and wholly to withdraw him from the supervision and training of his mother, and inasmuch as the best of harmony does not exist between my brother and my wife, I have found it necessary to add to my will that I by no means desire that my son be taken away from his mother, but that he shall always and so long as his future career permits remain with his mother, to which end the guardianship of him is to be exercised by her as well as my brother. Only by unity can the object which I had in view in appointing my brother guardian of my son, be attained, wherefore, for the welfare of my child, I recommend compliance to my wife and more moderation to my brother.
God permit them to be harmonious for the sake of my child’s welfare. This is the last wish of the dying husband and brother.
Vienna, November 14, 1815.
Karl van Beethoven
m. p.
We, the undersigned, certify in consonance with truth that Karl van Beethoven declared in our presence that he had read the statement on the opposite page and that the same is in accordance with his will, finally we certify that he signed it with his own hand in our presence and requested us to witness the act.
Thus done on November 14, 1815.
Carl Gaber, m. p.
Benedikt Gaber, m. p.
Johann Neumann, m. p.