born in buenos aires in 1842, ernesto tornquist was the seventh son of jorge pedro ernesto tornquist (1801-1876), a lutheran born in baltimore, united states and whose parents came from a german family in the city of hamburg with roots in karlskrona in sweden. the father was consul of the city of bremen in montevideo, uruguay, and was an importer and property investor in buenos aires. his mother, rosa camusso alsina, a catholic, was born in buenos aires in 1805 and died there of yellow fever in 1871.