Leopold von Morgenstern

Lithograph by Leopold v. Morgenstern based on a photo by Leopold Ahrendts

Leopold von Morgenstern (born July 29, 1790 in Sandersleben , † August 31, 1864 in Dessau ) was a doctor of law , real Privy Councilor , government and consistorial president in Dessau.

Life

Leopold von Morgenstern was the son of the judicial officer in Sandersleben Johann Andreas Morgenstern (* 1752; † 1809) and Johanna Maria Bach (* 1766). He initially aimed for an academic career and in 1810 accepted a position as a government lawyer in Dessau . Then, however, he took part in the Russian campaign as auditor and quartermaster for the Anhalt contingent , was promoted to captain in 1814 and fought against France in the wars of liberation in the Netherlands .

After the war he was appointed government assessor and secret cabinet secretary, and as such gained the trust of Duke Leopold Friedlich Franz . In 1816 and 1817, he was commissioned to give the Hereditary Prince an overview of the political and legal sciences in oral lectures . At the beginning of 1816 he was promoted to the government council and in 1817, when Duke Leopold Friedrich came to power, he was involved in the introduction of the town structure and legislative issues.

After the death of President Ludwig von Basedow in 1835, he was made a real Privy Councilor and District President. In this position, where he had to manage the judicial affairs of the country, those of the cult and public education, the general house, federal and foreign affairs, he devoted particular care to the educational institutions, like the new establishment of the schools in Dessau in the year 1837 and the new citizen school in Zerbst in 1839 are his work.

His merit is also said to have made a significant contribution to the implementation of the railway connection between Berlin and Leipzig via Dessau. The King of Prussia awarded him the Second Class Red Eagle Order , in 1836 the Duke elevated him to the nobility, the city of Dessau granted him honorary citizenship in 1837, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Austrian Leopold Order and in 1838 that of the Anhalt General House Order of Albrecht the Bear , and In 1840 he became a judge at the German Federal Arbitration Court .

As a result of the revolution , he had to resign in 1848. He was followed by the Habicht - Köppe March Ministry .

family

Leopold von Morgenstern founded a noble family through his ennoblement , but since his only son died three days before him without leaving an heir, this family did not exist. Morgenstern was married twice, first to Wilhelmine Morgenstern (* 1795; † 1842) daughter of Johann Christian Morgenstern, electoral economist in Sittichenbach , (* 1756; † 1825), then in 1848 to Hedwig Adelheid Fanny Richter (* 1825; † 1851) daughter of the government and foundation council in Dessau, Carl Richter. The family lived at 65 Zerbster Strasse from 1818 to 1861.

Children:

• Clara Wilhelmine (* 1820; † 1892),

∞ Otto Heinrich von Jagow (* 1810; † 1893), royal Prussian district administrator and heir to Wachsdorf , with whom she had three sons and two daughters.

• Berta Leopoldine (* 1825; † 1901),

∞ Dr. Eduard Morgenstern (* 1800; † 1867), councilor and university judge in Leipzig , with whom she had a child.

• Christian Leopold (* 1827; † 1864), trainee lawyer, died unmarried.
• Helene (* 1849; † 1934),

∞ Albert von Römer (* 1844), royal Saxon colonel, the marriage remained childless.

coat of arms

Morgenstern coat of arms

The coat of arms from 1836 shows an iron-colored morning star in silver to the left . On the helmet with steel-colored silver covers, three green oak leaves.

Works

• Killing with the consent of those killed. Dessau 1829. In: Annals of the German and foreign Criminal Law Care. Berlin 1829, pp. 197-253
• Assessment of the draft constitutional charter for the Duchy of Anhalt-Dessau, as well as the electoral law and the rules of procedure for the assembly of estates. Dessau 1848

literature

• Der Morgenstern - magazine of the German Morgenstern clans. Hamburg 1940, No. 2; 1942 pp. 17-18
• Genealogical manual of the nobility, Adelslexikon Volume IX, Volume 116 of the complete series, p. 185, Limburg (Lahn) 1998
• Adolf Maximilian Gritzner : Class surveys and acts of grace of German sovereigns during the last three centuries. Görlitz, 1880, Volume 1 (under Anhalt-Dessau)
• Otto Titan von Hefner : Register of the thriving and dead nobility in Germany. Volume 3, 1865, p. 65 left
• Otto Wigand : Wigand's conversation lexicon for all stands. Leipzig 1849, Volume 9, p. 217