Picture it. I am sitting at my keyboard, tonight, trying to expand my fenced in area for my sheep on FarmTown (an addicting facebook app), when I look up and notice I have a message.
It is from some dude (sorry John...) that basically says "I found your blog. We are related." And lists relatives back to Sardin's son, Christian!
Then he made a suggestion. Now I dont know how many of you are familiar with geeks (the ones that can lay hands on your computers and bend them to their will, or painstakingly read the instructions on assembling nearly anything...and understand them!), but the suggestion awakened the geek in me. So...we now have a group on facebook!
Invitations went out to everyone in my facebook friends who is a Nesselroad (or related to one). Look for the group: Nesselroad, Nesselrode, Nazelroad...oh heck.
Here is a link to it (you do have to be a member of facebook). The group is wide open in the hopes that others will stumble across it and actually admit they are related to the rest of us!! :oD
It is free and if you message a Nesselroad (regardless of spelling), they can befriend you and hook you up ;o)
So, Welcome to the Family, John!
CHEERS!
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
The Haus Nesselrath and the Coat of Arms
Reading through the links that Angelika provided, here is the house that keeps popping up as the Haus Nesselrath and the Coat of Arms for same.
Here is the official description of the crest with the original German in parentheses:
The master Crest shows in red a silver exchange Peaks bar with the top four and bottom Three Peaks. (Auf dem Helm ist ein am Hals mit dem Zinnenbalken belegter roter Brackenrumpf.)
The helmet is a neck with the bar occupied Zinnen red Brack fuselage. (Die Helmdecken sind rot-silbern.)
The helmet covers are red and silver.
The hound is not mentioned, but as Angelika's post describes, meant that the family had hunting rights.
Remember the mantling that shows as a cape around the hound's shoulders was added AFTER Sardin had come to America.
Here is the official description of the crest with the original German in parentheses:
The master Crest shows in red a silver exchange Peaks bar with the top four and bottom Three Peaks. (Auf dem Helm ist ein am Hals mit dem Zinnenbalken belegter roter Brackenrumpf.)
The helmet is a neck with the bar occupied Zinnen red Brack fuselage. (Die Helmdecken sind rot-silbern.)
The helmet covers are red and silver.
The hound is not mentioned, but as Angelika's post describes, meant that the family had hunting rights.
Remember the mantling that shows as a cape around the hound's shoulders was added AFTER Sardin had come to America.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Confirmation of information from Germany!
Hello again, family!! What a wonderful happening today for us!!
Imagine my surprise when I checked the blog's email box today and there, in black and white (with some photos thrown in), is a response to an email I wrote to Schloss Dagstuhl over a month ago!
From Angelika Mueller in Germany:
"We are a conference center for computer science and our house Schloss Dagstuhl has a more than 1000 year old history. One of the main families who reigned over Dagstuhl was the family von Sötern (or Soetern). One of their daughters Anna Katharina von Sötern (1592-1629) married Adolf von Nesselrode zu Erishofen (or Nesselrode-Ehrishoven and more other spellings). Later their son Bertram became guardian for the young Phillip Franz von Sötern, who’s father died before he had the age to reign by himself.
Therefore the Nesselrode family had the regency over the Dagstuhl dominion from 1652 to 1660.
In one of our historical rooms are the coat of arms of Nesselrode-Erichshofen (see attached photo). A photo of the door you mention is also attached. The coats of arms of all Dagstuhl-related families are on that door.
Some information about the Dagstuhl history is here:
http://www.dagstuhl.de/en/about-dagstuhl/history/
We have also a brochure about the Dagstuhl history with many photos including this famous door. You can download this brochure (Note from me: 3.03 MB, 24 pages, about 30 min to an hour on dial up) from our history page or I can send you one specimen by air mail. In that case I need your surface mail address.
Some information about your ancestors:
Nesselrath is the village with a nearby medieval castle where the Nesselrode family once lived. This village is indeed at the boards of the river Wupper. (Search maps.google.com with "Haus Nesselrath")
Many other spellings are common for the family. But Nesselröden and Nesselrodt are other families. The word means "to stub the nettle". I found it funny, that when transforming this name to an english version in the 18th century, the word for stub (roden) was transformed to road! The sound is much the same!
Some pages about this family (in German):
http://www.tetti.de/SOLINGEN/NESSELRATH/
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesselrode_(Adelsgeschlecht)
In this page they explain the coats of arms:
A beam of pinnacles (merlons) as symbol of the castle or principality. The head of the hound symbolizes the hunting rights of the family. The hound also shows the beam of pinnacles around his neck.
The colors are read and silver.
Relation to the Sötern family and genealogy (I converted the link to make the family name "clickable", the link didn't copy nicely on its own)
Hope this information helps you. If you once have the occasion to travel to Germany, please visit our house. You need to be announced, since it is usually closed for visitors."
And! And! here are the photos that corroborate with Talwin's research:
If you look closely, you can see the familiar shield with a dog's head on it (not quite what was pictured in the Coat of Arms post) on the wall in the dining room and also on the lower right hand side of the door (as you face it).
Needless to say,I sent a HUGE thank you to Angelika for her information and the photos.
So...how many of you are now applying for passports and buying tickets to Dagstuhl? :oD
Personally, I will be scrounging through the links sent by Angelika, much the same way I suppose as an anteater looking for ants in an anthill. Unfortunately, my gratification will be somewhat delayed as I have 2 tests this Thursday...
Cheers!
P.S. If you copy each link and paste it into the Google search engine, you can click the "Translate this" link to get it in English.
Imagine my surprise when I checked the blog's email box today and there, in black and white (with some photos thrown in), is a response to an email I wrote to Schloss Dagstuhl over a month ago!
From Angelika Mueller in Germany:
"We are a conference center for computer science and our house Schloss Dagstuhl has a more than 1000 year old history. One of the main families who reigned over Dagstuhl was the family von Sötern (or Soetern). One of their daughters Anna Katharina von Sötern (1592-1629) married Adolf von Nesselrode zu Erishofen (or Nesselrode-Ehrishoven and more other spellings). Later their son Bertram became guardian for the young Phillip Franz von Sötern, who’s father died before he had the age to reign by himself.
Therefore the Nesselrode family had the regency over the Dagstuhl dominion from 1652 to 1660.
In one of our historical rooms are the coat of arms of Nesselrode-Erichshofen (see attached photo). A photo of the door you mention is also attached. The coats of arms of all Dagstuhl-related families are on that door.
Some information about the Dagstuhl history is here:
http://www.dagstuhl.de/en/about-dagstuhl/history/
We have also a brochure about the Dagstuhl history with many photos including this famous door. You can download this brochure (Note from me: 3.03 MB, 24 pages, about 30 min to an hour on dial up) from our history page or I can send you one specimen by air mail. In that case I need your surface mail address.
Some information about your ancestors:
Nesselrath is the village with a nearby medieval castle where the Nesselrode family once lived. This village is indeed at the boards of the river Wupper. (Search maps.google.com with "Haus Nesselrath")
Many other spellings are common for the family. But Nesselröden and Nesselrodt are other families. The word means "to stub the nettle". I found it funny, that when transforming this name to an english version in the 18th century, the word for stub (roden) was transformed to road! The sound is much the same!
Some pages about this family (in German):
http://www.tetti.de/SOLINGEN/NESSELRATH/
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nesselrode_(Adelsgeschlecht)
In this page they explain the coats of arms:
A beam of pinnacles (merlons) as symbol of the castle or principality. The head of the hound symbolizes the hunting rights of the family. The hound also shows the beam of pinnacles around his neck.
The colors are read and silver.
Relation to the Sötern family and genealogy (I converted the link to make the family name "clickable", the link didn't copy nicely on its own)
Hope this information helps you. If you once have the occasion to travel to Germany, please visit our house. You need to be announced, since it is usually closed for visitors."
And! And! here are the photos that corroborate with Talwin's research:
If you look closely, you can see the familiar shield with a dog's head on it (not quite what was pictured in the Coat of Arms post) on the wall in the dining room and also on the lower right hand side of the door (as you face it).
Needless to say,I sent a HUGE thank you to Angelika for her information and the photos.
So...how many of you are now applying for passports and buying tickets to Dagstuhl? :oD
Personally, I will be scrounging through the links sent by Angelika, much the same way I suppose as an anteater looking for ants in an anthill. Unfortunately, my gratification will be somewhat delayed as I have 2 tests this Thursday...
Cheers!
P.S. If you copy each link and paste it into the Google search engine, you can click the "Translate this" link to get it in English.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
The Coat of Arms we have...
Hello again, to the Nesselroads and assorted other-named relatives!
Finally was able to get my hands on the Coat of Arms plaque that hung in my Grandpa Nesselroad's house for years. Ma thinks they were purchased from someplace in Ireland in the mid-60's ("like '64 or '65"). Actually as you refer to the picture and the decriptions, you can see that the folks that did this in Ireland did their homework!
Here is what I have managed to dig up on the parts of the whole:
Starting at the top working our way down:
Obviously the family name. (In English heraldry, the motto and name are reversed)
Red dog: Ok, so it isn't called a red dog. Technically it is a"Rampant Dog". It stands for courage, vigilance, loyalty. The erect tail means (of all things) aggression. So, we are aggressively loyal, vigilant, and courageous. :o)
The crown the dog is standing in is called a "ducal coronet". It isn't an official part of the blazon (ie "the official written description of all the parts") and its shape/style varies with rank.
Red and White wreath: The wreath was originally 2 braided silk scarves which set the helm apart from the shield and hid the joining seam. One was in the color representative of the metal and the second in the first named color. So our metal would be "argent" (silver) and the color would be "gules" (red). Collectively called "the colors".
Helm: In profile means warrior, peer. Since we know we aren't royalty, thanks to Talwin, it is a given the helm would be steel and the closed visor means: Gentleman
Shield: Three parts: Red, White and Stepped line:
- Red stands for military strength, brave, strong, generous and just.
- White stands for peace and sincerity.
- Stepped line means walls of a fortress or town or fire.
The flower vines on either side: hope and joy.
If you refer back to Talwin's description of the coat of arms and some of the history, yes, it matches! HOORAY!!
Now, if we were to construct a "blazon" (remember, it means official, written description) of our parts, it may read something like: "Arms: Gules, argent embattled fesse. Crest: A dog rampant gules"
Fesse is referred to as "an ordinary". We know it is honorable as it occupies 1/3 of the shield.
Pretty fancy wording for: "red shield with white double-sided stepped line, across the middle. Topped with a red dog standing on its hind legs", isn't it? ;o)
The websites where I dug up some of this stuff:
http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm
http://www.fleurdelis.com/coatofarms.htm
http://www.fleurdelis.com/shieldsdividing.htm
http://genealogy.about.com/od/heraldry/Heraldry_Coats_of_Arms_and_Family_Crests.htm
http://www.coatsofarms.addr.com/pimbley.htm
Now with your curiosity piqued, I have a question for you: How many of you out there have a similar plaque hanging in, or have seen hanging in, an elderly relatives house?
And don't be bashful about sharing this blog with relatives! The more information we can gather together in one area for the purposes of posterity and linking us together, the better!
Finally was able to get my hands on the Coat of Arms plaque that hung in my Grandpa Nesselroad's house for years. Ma thinks they were purchased from someplace in Ireland in the mid-60's ("like '64 or '65"). Actually as you refer to the picture and the decriptions, you can see that the folks that did this in Ireland did their homework!
Here is what I have managed to dig up on the parts of the whole:
Starting at the top working our way down:
Obviously the family name. (In English heraldry, the motto and name are reversed)
Red dog: Ok, so it isn't called a red dog. Technically it is a"Rampant Dog". It stands for courage, vigilance, loyalty. The erect tail means (of all things) aggression. So, we are aggressively loyal, vigilant, and courageous. :o)
The crown the dog is standing in is called a "ducal coronet". It isn't an official part of the blazon (ie "the official written description of all the parts") and its shape/style varies with rank.
Red and White wreath: The wreath was originally 2 braided silk scarves which set the helm apart from the shield and hid the joining seam. One was in the color representative of the metal and the second in the first named color. So our metal would be "argent" (silver) and the color would be "gules" (red). Collectively called "the colors".
Helm: In profile means warrior, peer. Since we know we aren't royalty, thanks to Talwin, it is a given the helm would be steel and the closed visor means: Gentleman
Shield: Three parts: Red, White and Stepped line:
- Red stands for military strength, brave, strong, generous and just.
- White stands for peace and sincerity.
- Stepped line means walls of a fortress or town or fire.
The flower vines on either side: hope and joy.
If you refer back to Talwin's description of the coat of arms and some of the history, yes, it matches! HOORAY!!
Now, if we were to construct a "blazon" (remember, it means official, written description) of our parts, it may read something like: "Arms: Gules, argent embattled fesse. Crest: A dog rampant gules"
Fesse is referred to as "an ordinary". We know it is honorable as it occupies 1/3 of the shield.
Pretty fancy wording for: "red shield with white double-sided stepped line, across the middle. Topped with a red dog standing on its hind legs", isn't it? ;o)
The websites where I dug up some of this stuff:
http://www.fleurdelis.com/meanings.htm
http://www.fleurdelis.com/coatofarms.htm
http://www.fleurdelis.com/shieldsdividing.htm
http://genealogy.about.com/od/heraldry/Heraldry_Coats_of_Arms_and_Family_Crests.htm
http://www.coatsofarms.addr.com/pimbley.htm
Now with your curiosity piqued, I have a question for you: How many of you out there have a similar plaque hanging in, or have seen hanging in, an elderly relatives house?
And don't be bashful about sharing this blog with relatives! The more information we can gather together in one area for the purposes of posterity and linking us together, the better!
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