zum Schloss Haus geboren

My Stay at Schlosshotel Jößnitz

2 January 2015. I had the opportunity to stay at one of the von Watzdorf former castles in September 2014 during a trip to Germany with my partner, Paul. Schlosshotel Jößnitz in Plauen is a wonderful destination hotel. Great stay all around...wonderful room, excellent service, fantastic food, and a wonderful village to explore.

Below are a few of the photos from my stay in Jößnitz...

Senfft von Pilsach

The Senfft von Pilsach connection is a short one for now. My 7th Great Grandmother Eleonore Christine Dorothea Senfft von Pilsach (1692 - 1723) married Friedrich August von Watzdorf (1682 - 1749). I hope to find more on this ancestral line soon.

>> Senfft von Pilsach page on Wikipedia.de
>> Website of the modern Senfft von Pilsach family

Updated 1/10/15.

Path to Hartz/von Watzdorf...
Heinrich Christian Hartz (1784 - 1865)
Johanne Dorothea Albertine Auguste von Watzdorf (1792 - 1827)

Johann Christian August von Watzdorf (1757 - 1800)
Rahel Sophie Büfner (1765 - 1815)

Gottlob August von Watzdorf (1723 - 1787)
Christaine Magdealene von Röder (1725 - 1788)

Friedrich August von Watzdorf (1682 - 1749)
Eleonore Christine Dorothea Senfft von Pilsach (1692 - 1723)

von Pappenheim Ancestry

The von Papenheim connection begins with Maria von Pappenheim (? - 1346), wife of Asmus von Watzdorf (? - 1368). Maria von Pappenheim does not appear on Jamie Allen's "Fabpedigree' website which I use to crosscheck individuals and since Maria von Pappenheim is spelled slightly differently than Herbold von Papenheim - and they do appear to be different families - I still have some research to do here. Although multiple family trees on Ancestry.com make this connection. I will need to find documentation to confirm. It may be that the I can only go as far as Maria von Pappenheim with this line.

>> von Pappenheim page on Wikipedia.de

Updated 1/10/15.

Asmus von Watzdorf (? - 1368)
Maria von Pappenheim ( - 1346)

Herbold von Papenheim (1319 - 1382)
Mechtild von Schönberg (1325 - ?)

Herbold I von Papenheim (1275 - 1348)
Ermengard von der Asseburg (1291 - 1356)

Rabe (Raveno) von PAPENHEIM (? - 1306+)

Rabe V von PAPENHEIM (? - 1266+)

Rabe IV von PAPENHEIM

Ludolf von PAPENHEIM

Rabe II von PAPENHEIM (? - 1150+)

Rabe I von PAPENHEIM (? - 1149+)

Coats of Arms

Below is a collection of some of the coats of arms that appear in my ancestry. I am still looking for confirming documentation on some of these but for now, this is it. Click on the images to go to the page on that family ancestry.

The discovery of my von Watzdorf ancestor, Johanne Dorothea Albertine Auguste von Watzdorf (1792 - 1827) is what started this project...

Below are additional coats of arms that appear in my ancestry that began with Johanne von Watzdorf. As you might guess, the ancestral lines all start with a female ancestor that married into one of the many branches. Coats of arms from more recent ancestors (e.g. the 1700s) are at the top of the page while those towards the bottom of the page are lines from marriages that happened much earlier (e.g. the 1100s).

von Röder Ancestry

The von Röder connection is a short one for now. My 6th Great Grandmother, Christaine Magdealene von Röder (1725 - 1788), was married to Gottlob August von Watzdorf (1723 - 1787). Wikipedia states the von Röder is a family within the von Feilitzsch family. I hope to find more on this ancestral line soon.

>> von Röder/von Feilitzsch page on Wikipedia.de

Updated 1/10/15.

Gottlob August von Watzdorf (1723 - 1787)
Christaine Magdealene von Röder (1725 - 1788)

von Watzdorf Ancestry

As I mentioned on the Background page, it was the discovery of my GGGG Grandmogther, Johanne Dorothea Albertine Auguste von Watzdorf, that started me on this ancestry project. Below you will find Johanna and the von Watzdorf line. The information below was retrieved from the Jahrbuch des Deutschen Adels that I refer to in the Background page.

>> von Watzdorf page on Wikipedia.de

Heinrich Christian Hartz (1784 - 1865)
Johanne Dorothea Albertine Auguste von Watzdorf (1792 - 1827)

Johann Christian August von Watzdorf (1757 - 1800)
Rahel Sophie Büfner (1765 - 1815)

Gottlob August von Watzdorf (1723 - 1787)
Christaine Magdealene von Röder (1725 - 1788)

Friedrich August von Watzdorf (1682 - 1749)
Eleonore Christine Dorothea Senfft von Pilsach (1692 - 1723)

Johann Friedrich von Watzdorf (1649 - 1699)
Katharina Sophia von Metzsch (? - 1682)

Hanz Friedrich von Watzdorf (1611 - 1649)
Esther Sophie von Güntheroth (1615 - 1656)

Georg Friedrich von Watzdorf (1583 - 1622)
Agnes von Schöberg (1592 - 1646)

Friedrich von Watzdorf (1553 - 1608)
Helene von Streicher (? - ?)

Christof von Watzdorf (1528 - 1589)
Sibille Wurmser von Schaffoltsheim (? - ?)

Caspar von Watzdorf (1482-1525)
Magdalena von Thüna

Stained glass window of Caspar von Watzdorf at St.Anne's Church in Eisleben, Germany
Rudolf von Watzdorf (1460-1501)
Magdalene von Steinsdorff (? - ?)

Kaspar von Watzdorf (? - 1470)
Katharine von Berglas (? - ?)

Heinrich von Watzdorf (? - 1442)
Hedwig von Haugwitz (? - ?)

Wilhelm von Watzdorf (? - 1394)
Eva von Schönberg (? - ?)

Asmus von Watzdorf (? - 1368)
Maria von Pappenheim

Poppo von Watzdorf (? - ?)
? von Pappenheim (? - ?)

Konrad von Watzdorf (? - 1297)
Elizabeth von Könitz (? - ?

Ridel von Watzdorf (? - 1291)

Hermann von Watzdorf (? - 1266)
Jutta von Witzleben (? - ?)

Heinrich von Watzdorf (? - 1261)

NSDAP Documents

As I mentioned on the background page, in 2011 my cousin in Germany sent me a large envelope of documents that consisted of 'official copies' and summaries of data from birth, marriage, death, and other records that were part of genealogy research the National Socialist German Workers' Party (in German, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP)), aka Nazi Party, was conducting on my family, starting with Alois Hartz (1880 - 1962).

Mind you, my family at the time was Catholic so not quite sure why the research was undertaken. I've been told that it was done on all public servants at the time and I do know that one of my great uncles served in the SS. I've also been told that the Nazi Party was beginning to harass and persecute Catholics, particularly politically active Catholic priests so perhaps my family's Catholicism landed them on the research list (see articles on this subject on Wikipedia here and here). Another possibility that was revealed to me for the first time in 2011 by my now late Mother Ingrid Hartz was that her Grandfather Alois Hartz (Gustav Aloysius Richard Hartz) helped several Jewish families escape the country. If this became known or even suspected, that may have instigated the research. More on that story here.

One of the final pages of the document listed information for the death of my GGGG Grandmother, Johanne Dorothea Albertine Auguste von Watzdorf (1792-1897) who was married to my GGGG Grandfather, Heinrich Christian Hartz (1784 – 1865).

It was finding Johanne von Watzdorf that sparked this whole project that has turned out to be much bigger than I ever imageined. Below are images of all the documents I received, click on the images to enlarge...