OT: The Mysterious Baron von Stein

[Kelsey Jackson Williams]

Dear all,

Louisa Carolina Wilhelmina von Wimpffen, daughter of Johann Christoph von Wimpffen and Sophia Friederica von Traubnitz (and thus aunt of Freiherr Tobias Peter von Wimpffen, Oberlandweginspector in Holstein), was baptised 3 June 1719 in Durlach, Baden. She died 16 or 17 March 1779 and was buried on 24 March in the Johanniskirche in Dorpat, Livland (modern Tartu, Estonia). She had at least one child, a daughter, Baroness Charlotta Helena von Stein (1758-1831) who married (1) Magnus Friedrich Wilhelm von Rahden (1723-1779), Platz-Major in Dorpat, and (2) Baron Gerhard Christoph von Bruiningk a. Kioma (1751-1805), leaving issue by both marriages.

That much at least seems certain and is amply documented by contemporary church records, revision lists, etc. What's puzzling me is the identity of Louisa Carolina Wilhelmina's wife and Charlotta Helena's father, the mysterious Baron von Stein. The burial record for Louisa in the Johanniskirche's kirchenbuch describes her as "Frau Louisa Carolina Wilhelmine verwittwet Baronne & Majorin von Stein geboren von Wimpf", so it would appear that the baron was a major, though in what service is not stated. We can also conclude that he died at some point between 1758 and 1779.

The only other clue I've come across which might help identify him is a footnote in a 1913 genealogy of the family of Charlotta's second husband - the barons von Bruiningk - noting that her father's coat of arms appeared on an object preserved in the Riga Dommuseum and was a lion (no tinctures noted). This together with the baronial title makes me wonder if the baron might have been from the Steins zu Lausnitz who did, indeed, bear a lion for their arms, but both the name and the arms are so common that I'd hesitate to go any further.

I realise that it's rather off-topic chronologically, but could anyone suggest further avenues of research which might identify the mysterious Baron von Stein and his family?

All best wishes,
Kelsey

[Kelsey Jackson Williams]

Dear all,

I thought I might offer a follow-up to my original post to save anyone in future working on this problem from unnecessary labour if nothing else. I've located two more children of the von Stein - von Wimpffen marriage I named above:

1. Baron Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm von Stein, bap. 23 July 1749 in Ksp. Holmhof, Kr. Riga, + 5 at Tellerhof and bu. 7 Nov 1749, Ksp. Koddafer.

2. Baron Heinrich Wilhelm von Stein, bap. 9 Sep 1750, Ksp. Schlock, Kr. Riga.

Strangely, however, of the three church book entries discovered none of them give Baron von Stein's given name, although they do indicate that in 1749-1750 he was a captain in the Sibirsky Infantry Regiment.

More intriguingly, there was another Baron von Stein who was also active in Riga and Tartu and who may, perhaps, have been a brother of the mysterious baron: Heinrich Wilhelm von Stein. He entered the Russian service as a lieutenant in the Cadet Corps, 20 March 1732, and was later commandant of Riga, commandant of Narva, and ultimately a brigadier-general. On 17 January 1745 in the Citadel of Riga he married Baroness Constantia Catharina Josepha von Eisenberg (1713-1768), stepdaughter of Chancellor Count Alexei Petrovich Bestuzhev-Ryumin. She later lived and died in Tartu, where her possible sister-in-law and niece also resided. A burial in the Narva churchbooks also tells us that Baron Heinrich Wilhelm had a sister who married a Baron von Bendeleben, leaving at least one child, Baron Christian Wilhelm Gottlieb von Bendeleben (1740-1749) who died in Narva while still a child.

So far, so good. None of this tells us who the mysterious baron was, but I think it's some progress. The seal matrix I mentioned in the previous post contains a lion, the arms of the von Steins zu Lausnitz in Thuringia amongst many, many others. Now von Bendeleben is another Thuringian name and the given names Ernst, Friedrich, Heinrich, and Wilhelm all appear amongst the children and grandchildren of Christian Heinrich von Stein a. Neunhof (who is about the right generation to be the mysterious baron's grandfather). On top of that, one of those grandchildren - Christian Wilhelm a. Neunhof (* 1707) - is known to have been in the Russian service before returning home in 1742 to inherit his paternal estate.

It's still speculation, but I'm inclined to think that the origin of the mysterious baron and his possible brother Heinrich Wilhelm may lie amongst these Steins zu Lausnitz. Unfortunately, the 1727 published genealogy of the family by Valentin König gives no Heinrich Wilhelm in the right generation nor does it indicate any baronial title being used by these people. However, I've noticed that a number of secondary sources credit Friedrich Heinrich von Stein zu Lausnitz (1677-1729) - one of Christian Heinrich's sons - with the title of Freiherr. He married a Gräfin Eva Aemilia von Reuß a. Burgck (1667-1716) so appears in a fair number of printed genealogies. I wonder: could any kind soul (Leo, perhaps?) take a look at the relevant entries in the Europaische Stammtafeln or L'Allemagne Dynastique and comment on what, if any, title is given to Friedrich Heinrich? If there was a baronial/freiherrliche title circulating in this family it would give some added support for their connection to the Livonian von Steins.

All best wishes,
Kelsey

[Kelsey Jackson Williams]

Dear all,

A further update on this question. I've now located three other Barons von Stein in the Russian service during the first half of the eighteenth century, at least one of whom seems to be clearly relevant to the family I've been discussing. They are:

1. Freiherr Joseph Ignatius von Stein (or vom Stain) zu Eberstall, * 26.vii.1678, Kammerherr and lieutenant-colonel of the guard in the Bavarian service, + s.p. [1]. He came to Russia with Colonel Nikolaus Karl von Enzberg in 1709 and was a captain on the Aral Sea, ii.1710 [2].

2. Freiherr Johann Philipp Ernst von Stein (or vom Stain) zu Jettingen, first cousin once removed of Joseph, * 20.xii.1689, + unm. 1711, a captain in the Russian service in 1709 [3].

3. Freiherr Franz Theodor Otto Maximilian von Stein (or vom Stain) zu Jettingen, first cousin once removed to Johann and first cousin twice removed to Joseph, * 24.vi.1713 [4]. He had served in the Polish and Saxon services and was a colonel in the Saxon Life Cuirassier Regiment by 26.ix.1747 [5]. By 9.vii.1749, however, he and his wife, Anna Christina von Klingenberg, were living in Narva and he was bearing the rank of brigadier, apparently in the Russian service [6]. He was subsequently the Russian Governor of Kymmenegård län in Finland and the partner of a lead mine which was closed by the state, 22.iii.1761 [7]. He appears to have returned to Saxon service for a time after this, but his wife later came back to Narva and was buried in St. Johanniskirche there, 28.iii.1777 [8].

Baron Franz Theodor and his wife were resident in Narva at least from 1749 to 1755 - based on their appearances as godparents in the local churchbooks - and thus overlap with the tenure of Baron Heinrich Wilhelm (who I discussed in my previous post) as commandant of Narva in the 1740s and 1750s. It seems a stretch that there could be two unrelated Barons von Stein active in the same remote Russian provincial town in the mid-eighteenth century and I'm tempted to imagine a relationship between the two.

However, there are some problems with that theory. The von Steins (more properly vom Stains, though the two spellings are used interchangeably in the early modern period) zu Jettingen bore three wolfsangels as their arms, not the lion reported to appear on the seal matrix of the Russian Barons von Stein. In addition, the seemingly detailed and complete genealogy of the family in the _Hoheit des Teutschen Reichs-Adels_ which I've cited below gives no obvious Heinrich Wilhelm who might be the Narva commandant. Finally, the onomastic similarities are very weak, certainly much weaker than those of the von Steins zu Lausnitz who I've mentioned before.

In sum, the problem is unresolved, although I suspect that further investigation into the Barons von Stein zu Jettingen is the way forward. As always, I'd love to hear others' thoughts on the matter.

All the best,
Kelsey

[1] Die Hoheit des Teutschen Reichs-Adels (Fulda, 1740), ii. 405.
[2] Erik-Amburger-Datenbank, no. 45720.
[3] Die Hoheit des Teutschen Reichs-Adels (Fulda, 1740), ii. 404.
[4] Die Hoheit des Teutschen Reichs-Adels (Fulda, 1740), ii. 402.
[5] Ulteriorem Deductionem Causarum Restitutionis in Integram (Wetzlar, 1761), 37.
[6] St. Johannis, Narva, Kirchenbuch, 1704-1777, EAA.4380.1.2, fol. 236r.
[7] Erik-Amburger-Datenbank, no. 45693.
[8] St. Johannis, Narva, Kirchenbuch, 1704-1777, EAA.4380.1.2, fol. 428r.

[PDeloriol via]

Have you tried the pedigree of the Barons vom Stein von Ettingen, of
Switzerland from whom I descend countless times.....The Swiss got abut a bit!
Peter


In a message dated 02/04/2016 10:50:16 GMT Daylight Time,

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[Kelsey Jackson Williams]

Dear Peter,

Thanks for the suggestion! Is there a good source on this family you could point me towards?

All the best,
Kelsey