Talwin's Research Family Crest

This is a Paintshop of the family crest (real pic of crest will follow), The following is from a group of papers gathered together by the late Talwin W. Nesselroad.

"This is the family symbol. It is on the family seal, and on the family crest. The original 'Coat of arms' had a dog standing on his hind legs with a black collar band of the above design. The lion and the black band with a six pointed star were added in 1389, when the family obtained the properties of the Stein and Ehreshofen families through marriage. The spelling of our name was derived from the name of the castle 'House Nesselrath'. It is located on the Wupper river, where it flows into the Rhine river. When 'sur' names were being added, these people adopted the name of 'Nesselroth'.

The first record I was able to find of this 'Coat of Arms' was in 600 AD. it belonged to the Masters of Opladen. Opladen is a city located on the Rhine river, about 15 miles north of Cologne, Germany. A man named Flede, a son of the Masters of Oplanden, was one that adopted the name Nesselroth. In 1288, eight sons of Count Nesselroth were knighted using the spelling 'Nesselrode'. In 1303, Count Flede Von Nesselrode was the head of the family.

There were other members of the family that had moved to other parts of Germany, Holland, and Austria, that kept the spelling Nesselroth. I have been unable to find the parents or the birthplace name of Sardin Christian. Nesselroth's were still living along the Rhine from Cologne to Dusseldorf in 1750, and some still live there today. Also, some Nesselroth's were in Austria in 1750. I believe Sardin Christian is descendant from this group that kept the 'Roth' spelling. He was probably from Germany, because they used the German language.

The 'eagle wings' that appear on some 'coat of Arms' does not belong to our family in America. They were added when Wilhelm Nesselrode married into Russian royalty. He was born in Germany in 1724. Wilhelm is the father of Count Karl Robert Nesselrode, the famous Foreign Minister of Russia, during the 1800's. They are descendants of those that changed to the Nesselrode spelling. Furthermore, the wings were not added until after Sardin Christian was already in America.

I'm sorry I was not able to find more accurate information, but I did the best I could with the time and effort I was able to put into this project.

*signature of Talwin W. Nestlerode*
Talwin W. Nestlerode

"PS*- There is one other family in this country that has a simular overseas connection. Aman named Fredrick Nesselrode came from Hesse, Germany with the British. After the Rev. War, he decided to stay in America. He settled in the area of Rockingham, and Pendleton County, Virginia. Due to his looping the end of his signature over the large 'e' and 't', his descendants spelled their name Nesselrodt. some of his grand children changed it to Nesselrotte. Two of his sons that lived in Shennandoah County, changed the spelling to Nazelrod, because of the unfriendliness towards Germans. Their descendants spread into Ohio, Ill., Missouri. Many of these Nazelrod's have changed the spelling back to Nesselrode or 'road in the early 1900's."

*Note from Jen: I will publish the photo as soon as I receive it.*