Herff (noble family)

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Coat of arms of those von Herff

Herff is the name of a Franco-German noble family . One of their estates was in Herve near Liège ( Belgium ). The family is often mentioned there under the names "de Goer, de Gru, de Greff, de Greiff, de Greffier de Herff, seigneur de Montfort". As a result of religious persecution, the von Herve family emigrated to the Palatinate around 1572 .

history

Origin and emigration

According to old family documents, the von Herff family originally came from France (border with Belgium). She was also wealthy in “Brabant and the so-called Lütticher Land”, which both belonged to the former Austrian Netherlands . One of their estates was at Herve near Liège. More information about the family is contained in the work “Collection of coats of arms of the mayors of the noble city of Liège”, in which one finds the genealogy of the bishops and heads of the nobility and the most distinguished families of this country. The following family members are mentioned in this work:

  • Jakob de Chochier had Marie de Bois, the daughter of Jakob de Bois, Mr. Nivelle an der Maaß, and Anna de Herve, daughter of Johannes de Herve, Commissaires of the city of Liège v. 1340–1358, to the wife.
  • Julian de Herve has his gravestone to St. Nicolaus an der Maaß, in front of the altar on the left, with the following inscription: "Here rests Julian de Herve, who was formerly the head of the city of Liège and died on November 25th in 1363."
  • Arnold de Bergler married Inde, daughter of Collard Jakob de Herve, in 1485.
  • A certain Dollen de Chenemont was married to Roccaw de Herve's sister, Herr von Montfort and bailiff of Condroz.
  • At the time of the Hohenstaufen, however, a "Herve de Donzi" in the wake of a French king is already being thought of.

In the middle of the 16th century, when the Reformation spread to the former Austrian Netherlands, the von Herve family joined the new denomination . For this reason she was expelled from her possessions in 1572 at the time of the religious persecution associated with the Spanish rule. After this expulsion, the von Herve family settled in Germany, divided into different lines and resided in the cities: Kreuznach (later St. Goar and Hanau ), Frankfurt , Strasbourg , Alzey , Worms , where the immigrants were found the place of their origin, the men of Herv (pronounced Herff in German) called. From this time on, all lines of the family continued only the name Herff as a common family name, except for the branch, which settled in Augsburg and there retained the old family name, as a document reports. The old French name fell into oblivion and has only survived through tradition in a few lines, which is why it is given in various forms: "Baron de Gru, Greffn, Greffier de Herff".

tradition

In all branches something has remained with the family to this day. It is the old noble French family coat of arms, which is continued unchanged by all lines. This old coat of arms was exactly as stated in the coat of arms letter, with the only difference that two silver eagle wings float in the middle as a helmet jewel, and two lions were used as a shield holder at times. Only a few fragments remain from the genealogical registers and are kept by the family; the line from Kreuznach, later moved to St. Goar and from there to Darmstadt.

Status survey

Adolf Friedrich von Herff (born August 29, 1779 in Darmstadt ; † January 1 / May 1827 there), Grand Ducal Hessian major in [Heppenheim], and his brother Christian Samuel (born October 30, 1784/1785 in Darmstadt; † 17. December 1853 ibid), Grand Ducal Hessian Government Councilor at the Higher Appeal and Cassation Court in Gießen , Herr auf Neutsch i. Odenwald, Darmstadt received the nobility of the Grand Duchy from 29 July 1814 through the Grand Duke Ludwig I of Hesse and the Rhine. - The father of the aforementioned two brothers, namely Johann Friedrich Vollrath von Herff (* May 14 / April 10, 1750 in St. Goar a. Rhein, † September 15, 1815 in Gießen) Grand Ducal Hessian Privy Councilor and Chief March Commissioner to Gießen received from the same prince from Darmstadt August 1st, 1814 the nobility.

The father with the two sons mentioned later received a letter of arms from Darmstadt on September 17th, 1814 with an improvement to their inherited arms.

Stem row

The family line begins with Jean Herve (born November 1, 1584 in Frankenthal; † 1633), brewer in Worms (1627), ⚭ around 1620 Elisabeth Philippi

  • Their son Johann Friedrich Herff (* 1621 Frankenthal, † Jan. 13, 1682 Kreuznach), kurfst. Conductor to St. Peter, councilor in Kreuznach, ⚭ around 1654 Susanna von Wingen (* December 9, 1623 Frankfurt am Main, † October 27, 1694)
  • Their son Abraham Heinrich (* December 1655, † September 19, 1727 Kreuznach), joint customs officer and transfer in Kreuznach, ⚭ Maria Margarethe Wienold (* April 7, 1676 Kreuznach, † April 12, 1748 ibid)
  • Their son Johann Daniel (born Aug. 11, 1705 Kreuznach, † Oct. 26, 1760 ibid), merchant and mayor of St. Goar, 3. St. Goar, Sept. 3, 1731 Christina Goedecke (April 29, 1742 St. Goar)
  • Their son Vollrath Friedrich called Johann Friedrich Vollrath von Herff (born May 14 / April 10, 1750 in St. Goar a. Rhein, † September 15, 1815 in Gießen), Grand Ducal Hessian privy councilor, real war and tax council and chief commissioner, ⚭ Oct. 26, 1776 Arnoldinge Christine Reichmuthe Diesterweg (born March 4, 1750 Siegen, † Sept. 21, 1824 Dillenburg), daughter of the prince. Nassau. Chamber Council Adalbert Adolf Diesterweg and the Arnoldine Adolfine.
Their children
1. Adolf Friedrich von Herff (born August 29, 1779 in Darmstadt ; † January 1 / May 1827 there) Wilhelmina Dietz
2. Albertine von Herff (born June 9, 1782 Darmstadt, † October 18, 1858 Wiesbaden) ⚭ Holland May 12, 1798 Wilhelm Eduard von Heemskerk (born March 2, 1779 Holland, murdered in Wilna in the Russian campaign in 1812 as a heart. Nassau. Lieutenant Colonel)
3. Wilhelmine von Herff (born June 9, 1782 Darmstadt, † November 15, 1848 Gießen), twin sister of the previous ⚭ March 13, 1799 Henri Cliquot (* 1778, † 1815 Rheims as Imperial French captain)
4. Christian Samuel von Herff (born October 30, 1784/1785 in Darmstadt; † December 17, 1853 ibid) ⚭ May 26, 1819 or December 12, 1819 Karoline Christine Elisabeth Freiin v. Meusebach (* May 2, 1795 Dillenburg, † April 28, 1870 Bonn a. Rh.), Daughter of the prince. Wied. Oberstallmeister Ludwig von Meusebach, on Voigtstedt in Saxony and Friederike, born. from Neufville.
5. Maria Elisa von Herff (* March 11 / December 1796 Gießen, † July 31, 1875 Eschau) ⚭ Gießen-Wieseck October 13, 1814 Andreas Lahr (* September 13 / October 1790 Wendelsheim, † April 14, 1814) March 1855 Gießen-Wieseck) Luther. Pastor of Albig-Rheinhessen

The above-mentioned Christian Samuel von Herff (* October 30, 1784/1785 in Darmstadt; † December 17, 1853 there) became the progenitor of four lines through his sons:

coat of arms

Wappenbrief: Sept. 17, 1814 In blue, a curved silver ledge reaching to the heart point, ending in a ledge post , accompanied on both sides by a golden lily, below by a gold-lined silver rose. On the crowned golden helmet a golden ostrich feather between two silver covers : blue-golden.

A coat of arms on a tombstone shows a golden field and blue-gold ceilings as a different tinging in the shield under the rafter.

Known family members

literature

  • Genealogical manual of the nobility . Adelslexikon Volume V, Volume 84 of the complete series, CA Starke Verlag, Limburg (Lahn) 1984, ISSN  0435-2408 , pp. 139-140.
  • Karl Kiefer: Contributions to the history of the Walloon family Herf. Frankfurt am Main 1909, DNB 361051875 .
  • Frankfurter Blätter f. FamGesch. Vol. 2 (1909), pp. 164-165. (Supplements to this ibid., Vol. 3 (1910), pp. 60-61)
  • Genealogical paperback of noble houses. (Brno) 1882 (older genealogy)
  • Genealogical manual of the nobility . Goth. Noble. Tschb. B 1907, 1921 (stem series) u. 1940
  • Genealogical manual of the nobility. Noble. Houses B, Vol. X (1972)

Individual evidence

  1. Dr. Zimmermann, history of the Hohenstaufen
  2. a b c d e f Gen. Tschb. The nobility. Houses (Brno) 1882.
  3. a b c d GHdA, Adel.-Häuser B, Vol. X (1972)
  4. a b Goth. Noble. Tschb. B 1921 (trunk series)
  5. Handwritten marriage certificate in the Protestant church in Gießen-Wieseck