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Osterstein Castle
location
According
Wikipedia there are two Osterstein castles
one is in the
town of Zwickau. The river
Zwickauer Mulde flows
through it but not the Elster
river. The castle
is in Gera. The
White Elster flows through Gera
so that must be the proper one since the invitation says the "Castle Osterstein on the Elster". The castle was
rebuilt
1686-1735 so it was only completed 11 years before the wedding.
It is still listed as a major attraction in Gera.
Until their
branch of the royal line ended in 1802 the castle was the seat of the line
of Reuss-Gera (Reuß-Gera
in German)
A tower (the keep) is all that remains, the rest was largely destroyed
in World War Il.
The brides
family is Reuss
(Reuß in German),
Reußen means of the lineage of Reuß. The family is described as:
Counts and Misters von Plauen,
Misters Graiz, Cnannichfileld,
Gera,
Schleiz and Lobenstein, etc.
Plauen 50 KM South
of Gera
Graiz does not exist but
Greiz does, it is 30 KM south of Gera
Cnannichfileld may actually be
Kranichfeld In which case it is 80 KM West of Gera
Gera
is in the state of
Thuringia and
is the third
largest city
in that state. It is also where the wedding was held. It is close to the
western border of Saxony.
It is where the wedding invitations were printed and is associated with
the bride’s family.
Schleiz 50 KM
south south west of Gera.
Lobenstein, Bad Lobenstein,
in the state of Thuringia, is 70 KM south south west of Gera
As a side note Reußen is also a tiny town 90 KM North of Gera
There is an
80 page book
about the bride's father's family history. "Herrn Heinrich des XXV of the house of
Reuß". The book was
published in German by subscription for interested parties. It is a
chronicle of the bride's family, the royal family of Reussen von
Plauen. This chronology begins in 1307. Two sets of eyes could not
find any mention of Ludwig. There were several Christiane Sophie
Henriettes born around the time of the wedding. Most men in the family
were called Heinrich so it is difficult to distinguish who was who.
The bride's father was born 27 August 168? and died 13 March 1748. He
was married twice. His first wife died in 1718. He remarried in August 1722
to Sophia Maria and she is the mother of the bride.
Most of the book dealt with births, deaths, exchange of
land and special monetary payments.
One
bit of interesting information in it was that the city Gera was destroyed by fire on 18
September 1780, 26 years after our Ludwig immigrated to America. Both
churches, city hall, jail, school and all other public buildings were
destroyed. Just a few houses remained. If Ludwig lived in Gera as it
is assumed from the invitation, all records would probably be lost. If
the papers escaped that disaster, they would have also have had to survive
the heavy
bombing of Gera during World War II. The book is part of the
Google Books Collection. It
was published in 1811 in Leipzig, about 70 KM north north east of Gera.
1811 is just 9 years after
the
end of that branch of the
royal line of
Reuß-Gera
or in English,
Reuss-Gera.
The Groom,
Count and Lord Frederick
Bodo
Described as
of H.R. Empire Count of Stolberg, Königstein,
Rochefort, Wernigeroda
and
Hdrenstein, Lord Epstein, Munzenberg, Breuberg, Aigmont, Lohra
and Clettenberg and Thro Kömigl.
Majesty in Pohlen and Churfurstl. Highness of Saxony, High appointed
position of major general and colonel over a foot regiment.
Stolberg, there are 3 of them discussed in detail
below. The most likely one is 60 KM east south east of Gera and in
the state of Saxony.
Königstein It is in the state of Saxony 270 KM east
south east of Stolberg.
Rochefort. The only Rocheforts I can find are in
France and Belgium.
Wernigeroda does not seem to exist but
Wernigerode
(ending with an "e" not an "a") does exist. It is about 250 KM
north east of Stolberg in the current state of
Saxony-Anhalt.
The spelling in the original manuscript is clear. The last letter is an
"a". I do not know if spelling changed or if this word refer to something
else.
Hohenstein, there are 2 of them. One is about 250
KM north east of Stolberg near the Belgium border and the other is now
called
Hohenstein-Ernstthal and is about 15 KM north north west of Stolberg
Lord Epstein. There does not seem to be a town of
Epstein but it is an interesting name. The surname Epstein is one of the
oldest Jewish
family names in
the Slavic
countries such as the Czeck Republic that is about 50 KM south of
Stolberg.
Munzenberg a town about 15 KM north of Stolberg.
Breuberg 400 KM west south west of Stolberg it is
a small town near Frankfurt
Aigmont Not a city in Germany and not a very
common last name.
Lohra
370 KM west of Stolberg a little north of Frankfurt
Clettenberg is not a city in Germany but Plettenberg
is. It is 400 KM west of Stolberg, and north west of Frnakfurt.
Could the first letter be a "P" rather than a "C"?
Thro Kömigl
I can not find anything on this.
Majesty in Pohlen and Churfurstl
Pohlen, Linda bei Weida
is 60 KM west of Stolberg.
Churfurstl
is more of a puzzle. There is no city by that name. It is another
reference and title
applied to the upper classes
and aristocrats during that era.
I find “Chursurstl” in Google including one reference of “Pohlen
und Chursurstl” from 1756
but I can not figure it out. I
can not even find the words "Pohlen" and Chursurstl" at the reference.
Stollberg:
The groom was H.R. Empire Count of Stolberg so I am assuming
he was from Stolberg. Germany was not unified at this time so I
would think you would have to live close to what you were the count of.
There are three possible locations for Stolberg according to
Wikipedia.
1) on the Western border,
Stolberg (Rhineland) (500 KM west of Gera,
where the bride was)
2) In about the middle of the country,
Stolberg, Saxony-Anhalt (150 KM
north west of Gera)
3) Just north of the western end of the Czech Republic, Stollberg which
is also called Stollberg/Erzgeb and Stollberg/Erzgebirge (60 KM east
south east of Gera) in the Free State of Saxony now just called
Saxony. It is the southern most state in what used to be East
Germany. These
are connected towns or perhaps one
town with about 12,000 inhabitants, 3,000 in 1834. The spelling of
Stolberg is different, one "l" in the wedding papers and two on the map
but considering how lax people used to be with spelling I do not see
that as a problem since this is substantially closer
than the other 2, I will assume it is the correct one.
The Elster River
Elster a river that the invitation says the castle is on. There is the
black (Schwarze Elster) and the White (Weisse Elster) The city of
Zwickau is not on either one although they both are in the same general
area. The river that runs through Zwickau is the
Zwickauer Mulde not the Elster.
The White Elster is about 20 KM west of Zwickau and runs through
Gera, the town where the invitations were printed and the town
associated with the bride’s family.
The Black Elster is about 160
KM east north East of Gera so it is not likely to be the one
referred to.
The White Elster or Weisse Elster (German:
Weiße Elster ) goes through
Plauen,
Greiz,
Gera,
Zeitz,
Pegau and
Leipzig. It flows into the river
Saale in
Halle.
The Black Elstter, or Schwarze Elster, flows through the cities
Kamenz,
Hoyerswerda,
Senftenberg,
Lauchhammer,
Elsterwerda,
Bad Liebenwerda,
Herzberg and
Jessen. It flows into the river
Elbe at
Elster (Elbe), upstream from
Wittenberg.
Unanswered Questions
1) One would assume that a printer who got his name on the wedding
announcement would be fairly old and important enough to not be a likely
candidate to immigrate.
2) Was there any obvious political turmoil near
Gera
is in the state of
Thuringia around 1754
when Ludwig immigrated.
3)
It is relatively well established that Ludwig died in 1792, 38
years after he immigrated to America in 1754. This would have been 46
years after the wedding 1746. It is odd that someone who was important
enough to get his name on the invitation would live another 46 years.
4) One would think that if our Ludwig was an accomplished printer, he would have
worked as one in this country. It is possible that lack of skill with
English forced him into another line of work.
5) It would be useful to see if there is any connection between our
Ludwig and printing in the area he lived, York Co., Pennsylvania
possibly in Dover Township which since the early 1800s has been
known Conewago Township or Newberry Township or York (town) in York
county.
5) It is possible that the two Freysingers are not brothers, one might
be a father or uncle.
6) Can any other data on
Christian Willhelm Freysinger be found in Germany.
7)
In the list for the groom's family connections there are a number of
puzzles.
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a)
Wernigeroda is
mentioned. It does not seem to exist but
Wernigerode
(ending with an "e" not an "a") does exist. It is about 250 KM
north east of Stolberg in the current state of
Saxony-Anhalt.
The spelling in the original manuscript is clear. The last letter is an
"a". I do not know if spelling changed or if this word refer to something
else.
b) Clettenberg is mentioned. It is not a city in Germany but Plettenberg
is. It is 400 KM west of Stolberg, and north west of Frankfurt.
Could the first letter be a "P" rather than a "C"?
c) Thro Kömigl
is mentioned.
I can not find anything on this.
d) "Majesty in Pohlen and Churfurstl" is mentioned.
Pohlen, Linda bei Weida
is 60 KM west of Stolberg.
Churfurstl
is more of a puzzle. There is no city by that name. It is another
reference and title
applied to the upper classes
and aristocrats during that era.
I find “Chursurstl” in Google including one reference of “Pohlen
und Chursurstl” from 1756
but I can not figure it out. I
can not even find the words "Pohlen" and Chursurstl" at the
reference. |
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