^Actually, you always get good service in Germany, I think it's great, at least compared to the service culture here in the Netherlands.

Just had dinner with some associates, one of them is going out with a lovely Germany girl, quite adorable. I am sure she would be better off with a man like me, 20 years his senior, married, bald, with two kids and I almost wanted to serenade her with that old Heaven 17 song, but the missus was with me, you know the one though.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgO9fBaVsYw

Impossible, by a strange quirk of fate, completely scuppering any of my plans for extracurricular activities my missus is starting work in a new job, in the same non-tax paying EU funded organisation on Monday morning.

Last edited by Sammy Ambrose (2015-10-31 21:17:30)

The sad news for you is that at least under the German system of nobility (which was abolished, more or less, in 1919, although - unlike in Austria - the noble title became part of one's last name, even in the appropriate form of gender, i.e. Graf Wilhelm von der Ambroseburg became MISTER Wilhelm Graf von der Ambroseburg, although socially he would still be known and addressed as "Dear Graf Ambroseburg" ("von der" only applies in written form)), nobility could only be passed on via the parternal side.

If a commoner would have married a woman from the aristocracy, by no means this would make him a nobleman. Countess von der Ambroseburg would have become Mrs Ambroseburg, end of. And as we are talking about ancient times (your grand- and great-grandfathers times), surely the souvereign (either the Kaiser, of one of the many regional souvereigns, i.e. the Kings of Bavaria or Württemberg, the Margrave of Baden, the Grand Duke of Hesse etc) would have to give his thumbs-up simply for letting the man taking over the family name of his wife (more or less impossible until as late as 1977, when Chancellor Helmut Schmidt reformed legislation by creating the Erste Gesetz zur Reform des Ehe- und Familienrechts (1. EheRG), allowing couples to choose between his and her birth name to become the family name).

Now, things ARE entirely different in the Anglo-Saxon world where an instrument called "deed poll" basically allows anyone to pick any name one fancies as family name. I also would not be surprised if said marriage would have taken place under U.S. or U.K. law, where most likely the nobility status of your Great-Grandfather's wife would have not been recognized, so no one gave a damn.

Still, under German law of nobility this by no means does make him "noble", not even in today's times. An example: Princess Ingeborg von Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg (a cadet branch of the DoE's family btw) is married to Nikolaus Broschek, a wealthy industrialist. Never ever would this make him a prince, let alone would he ever pretend to be one. He plays his role well, and thanks to Ingeborg's family connections, he has quite a colourful social life. But even their children are commoners, not aristocrats.

For further reading I recommend:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_nobility
which is actually written quite wellm although THIS
"Some states within the Holy Roman Empire had strict laws concerning proper conduct, employment, or marriage of individual nobles. Failure to comply with these laws could result in temporary or permanent Adelsverlust ("loss of the status of nobility"). Until about the early 19th century, for example, it was commonly forbidden for nobles, theoretically on pain of Adelsverlust, to marry persons "of low birth", i.e. commoners. Moreover, nobles employed in menial labour could, theoretically, lose their noble rank, as could nobles convicted of capital crimes. Adelsverlust only concerned the individual who was in violation of noble laws of conduct, meaning that their kin, spouse and living children were generally not affected."
describes such an exceptional matter (see my other link above) that it is really unlikely your ancestors would have been affected by a proper incident of Adelsverlust.

Anyway - if you are sure your ancestor's wife was of noble birth, here is a link to the publisher's website.
http://www.starkeverlag.de/shopfactory/contents/de/d54.html
if you are really sure that she was a countess, "Gräfliche Hauser" is the right department. If she was an untitled noblewoman (only "von der"), then "Adelige Hauser" is the right place to look.
PM me if you need help with the German website.

Last edited by Beestonplace (2015-11-01 05:54:43)

Totally different story then. In that case, your Great-Grandfather's ancestors should be quite easy to find. It is not even that long ago.

Last edited by Beestonplace (2015-11-01 06:36:52)

Most people of European origin will be related to aristocracy/nobility if they go back far enough. Statistically speaking, it will be very high.

Last edited by formby1 (2015-11-01 07:39:53)