A Semi Royal 'Soap' Opera. The Love Affair Of A Germanic Graf & The Washerwoman's Daughter!

THE ROMANCE OF COUNT ERBACH

The Love Story Of A German Nobleman

Gave Up A Princely Inheritance

To Wed A Washer-Womans’ Daughter

(By. H. Elpherg, In New York, ‘Times Democrat’)

The Star

February 10, 1906

Count Francis Erbach, a young German nobleman of exalted rank, has created a sensation in Germany by marrying a washerwoman’s pretty daughter.

Some of the details given here in connection with it have not even been published in Berlin, but have been received from a reliable correspondent in the neighborhood of the Count’s ancestral estate in the German Grand Duchy of Hesse.  I think it will be agreed that the story they tell of sacrifices for love’s sake has had few parallels in either fact or fiction.

To begin with, it should be remembered that the German aristocracy is far more exclusive and far more jealous of its rights and privileges than the aristocracy of England, or France or Italy.  Germany counts and barons with a line of ancestors extending back to the darkest early middle ages look down with contempt on the mushroom families which have sprung up in England and other countries during the last three or four centuries.  The Erbachs are not only a noble family, but they are a mediatised family, which means that they enjoy absolute equality of birth with all the Royal Families of Europe. The Counts of Erbach trace their descent back to noble warriors of the tenth century.  Ever since that remote period every male and every female ancestor of the present reigning Count of Erbach has been of noble birth.  The children of those who contracted mesalliances have been excluded from the succession.

PRIDE OF RACE

Eight hundred years ago the Counts of Erbach were the independent monarchs of a state situated in South Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine, and they continued to rule over their dominions, which were some 300 square miles in extent, until the year 1815.  Their dominions were then absorbed in the Grand Duchy of Hesse. After the loss of their actual suzerainty the Counts of Erbach received the guarantee that their rank and that of their descendants should be considered equal to that of all reigning houses forever and ever.  At the same time the head of the family who is still entitled to call himself the ‘Reigning Count,’ received the right of styling himself ‘Serene Highness.’ In common with the members of the various reigning families in Germany the Counts of Erbach can never be arrested and are exempt from the necessity of appearing in any law courts, either as defendant in a civil action or as a witness to give evidence on oath.  If their evidence should be necessary a special commissioner is required to wait upon them in their own home and to take their evidence privately.  In such cases their simple assertions are considered as weighty as the evidence of ordinary mortals given on oath.  A Count of Erbach is thus absolutely equal in rank and birth to the German Emperor or the Czar of Russia, and his line of descent, from a genealogical point of view, is undoubtedly far purer than that of any monarch at present reigning in Europe.  It is necessary to bear these circumstances in mind in order to estimate the enormity of the offense which Count Francis Erasmus Erbach has committed in marrying a plebeian peasant girl.

The Counts of Erbach possess not only high rank and birth, but also large estates and great wealth.  Their landed possessions are dotted about in Hesse, Wurttemberg and Bavaria, as well as in the Austrian provinces of Bohemia and Salzburg.  The estates cover an aggregate area of rather more than 10,000 acres, and are a source of rich annual revenue to their owners.  The reign Count of Erbach possesses three stately castles, situated on his estates in Hesse, Wurttemberg and Salzburg, as well as a magnificent palace in Berlin, a smaller palace in Munich and a third town residence in Vienna.  A villa on the shores of Lake Constance, another villa at the fashionable South German summer resort of Baden-Baden, and half a dozen hunting lodges on their various estates, complete the number of houses at the disposal of the Erbachs.  The annual income of the reigning Count of Erbach is known to exceed  £200,000.

Count Francis Erasmus Erbach is the eldest son of the reigning Count, and was thus;

HEIR TO ALL THE WEALTH AND GLORY OF THE FAMILY

He was brought up in the strict seclusion, and his tutors took especial pains to imbue him with the family pride and with respect for the family traditions.  He was taught to regard as Erbach as a superior being, w ho must not on any account contaminate himself by contact with persons of plebeian birth.  He was taught to recite the names of his ancestors back to the tenth century, and to remember that those who had married women of lower birth than themselves had been expelled from the family in disgrace.  Count Francis Erasmus lived and grew up in this suffocating intellectual atmosphere until he reached the age of eighteen when, like most other young German noblemen, he became a student at the University of Bonn.  Here, for that first time, he came into contact with the outside world and gained some practical knowledge of other classes of society.

Being an intelligent, good natured and amiable youth, the young nobleman rapidly became a favorite among his fellow-students and had every opportunity of participating in all the riotous pleasures which characterize life at a German university.  He learned to be a swordsman and to be an expert shot with a revolver in order to fight the duels which fall to the lot of every well-born German student.  The rough and tumble life at Bonn knocked a good deal of the hereditary nonsense out of his head, and caused him mentally to revise many of the principles which his tutors had endeavored to impress upon his memory.  About a year after he began his studies at Bonn he was riding one day in the forests of the ancestral estate at Erbach, in Hesse, when he saw for the first time the girl who has now become his wife.  The young count, who made a striking figure on his spirited steed, accosted the peasant girl on the pretext of asking her which road he ought to follow, and contrived to enter into conversation with her.  He found that she was as intelligent in conversation as she was attractive in appearance.  Henceforth, the youthful aristocrat courted the peasant girl with unremitting patience, notwithstanding all the obstacles which were placed in his way.  His discovery that she was the daughter of the village washer-woman, Frau Schulz, did not dampen his ardor.  The meetings of the young couple had to be clandestine, for the Count recognized the

IMPOSSIBILITY OF COURTING

THE WASHERWOMAN’S DAUGHTER IN PUBLIC

Consequently they met in secluded paths of the surrounding forests and wandered arm in arm along the unfrequented ways where they were comparatively safe from observation.

It was impossible, however, that a young man of such distinguished appearance and so well known throughout the neighborhood as the young Count should walk abroad with a pretty peasant girl without sooner or later attracting attention.  The first opposition came from the relatives of the girl, whose father heard the rumor that she was keeping company with the young nobleman.  Happening to meet the Count on a country road soon afterward the sturdy peasant accosted him and said:  ‘My neighbors tell me that Your Serene Highness haunts the neighborhood of my cottage when I am away from home in order to pay attentions to my daughter Anna.  I do not want any fine gentlemen pursuing my daughter, who is a good girl and will marry a man in her own station of life. I must, therefore, beg Your Serene Highness to be good enough to cease your attentions to my daughter, and not to turn her head by flatteries, but to leave her in peace.’

Count Francis Erasmus, who was considerably disconcerted by this unexpected attack, replied that he was deeply in love with the girl and that he saw no reason why she should not continue to see her.  A scene occurred, in the midst of which, Anna’s brother appeared to back up his father.  More words ensued and finally the two sturdy peasants seized the young aristocrat, dragged him into an adjoining shrubbery, and there administered to him the soundest thrashing which their muscular arms were capable of inflicting.  Undaunted by this chastisement,  however, Count Francis Erasmus continued to woo the peasant girl, and Anna Schulz, who was very much in love with her handsome and high-born admirer, repudiated all responsibility for her relatives violence and…..

CONTINUED TO MEET HER LOVER IN THE FOREST

After that time, however, they took more care to keep their meeting secret.  Matters continued thus for nearly two years, the Count meeting the peasant girl as often as he came from the university to spend his vacations at home, and as months went by the people of the neighborhood began to gossip more and more about his romantic attachment.

The story of the thrashing administered to the Count by the girl’s father and brother also began to be whispered about and lost nothing in repetition. The result was that Count Francis Erasmus’ father, the reigning Count, heard of the affair and demanded explanations from his son.  A violent quarrel ensued, in the course of which Count Francis Erasmus informed his infuriated parent that he was fully determined to marry the washerwoman’s daughter as soon as he came of age.  On this occasion Count Francis Erasmus, who was then within a few weeks of his twenty-first birthday, received his second thrashing in connection with his romantic love affair.  His father lost control of his temper to such an extent that he seized the nearest horsewhip and belabored the obstinate son with the butt end.

During the whole period of her attachment to the young Count, Anna Schulz continued to work in her mother’s little village laundry, and could be seen standing before the washtub, mangling or ironing the linen, or hanging the clothes on a line in the garden, from early morning till evening. She was a hard working, honest girl, and nothing could be said against her except that she loved a man far above her rank and station, a circumstance which excited both the suspicion and envy of her fellow villagers, as well as

THE ANGER AND RESENTMENT OF HER OWN PARENTS

Count Francis Erasmus had to face many other obstacles to his misalliance. All the members of the Erbach family agreed among themselves not to speak to him or to recognize him as a relative until he had given a solemn pledge to abandon his matrimonial project He was boycotted not only by his own relatives, but by the members of the other aristocratic families in the neighborhood.  On two occasions this social boycott involved the self-willed young nobleman in duels with other young aristocrats, whose neglect to treat him with the ordinary marks of respect irritated him to such an extent that he challenged them to combat.  One duel was fought with a certain Baron Gablenz and the other with a Count Buchwaldt.

The first duel was fought with swords, and Count Francis Erasmus, who had become most proficient in the use of this weapon in Bonn, disabled his antagonist by a wound on the right arm.  The other duel, with Count Buchwaldt, was fought under the most severe conditions.  The combatants took up their stand opposite one another at a distance of fifteen paces, and it was agreed that they should exchange shots with pistols until one of them was disabled.  In this case again, Count Francis Erasmus emerged from the encounter as victor, having disabled his opponent by a well-directed shot which lodged in the right shoulder. The social boycott, however, which continually extended, caused him much inconvenience and annoyance, and at times made life almost unbearable, but never for one moment did he waver in his devotion to the washerwoman’s pretty daughter.

As soon as he had attained his majority last December Count Francis Erasmus began to consider definite plans for marrying Anna Schulz.  In his own neighborhood he found the obstacles insurmountable.  In Germany a multitude of documents are necessary before a marriage can be solemnized, and the young Count was unable to obtain the necessary papers.  He was also unable to find a clergyman who was willing to marry him to the washerwoman’s daughter.  He soon decided that the marriage could be arranged in England with less difficulty than elsewhere.  A few weeks ago he walked out of the ancestral castle early one morning and announced that he was going on a hunting expedition, so that he would not return home until late at night.  An  hour later he met Anna Schulz at an appointed place in the forest and proceeded with her to a village a few miles away where,

A MOTOR CAR WAS AWAITING THE FUGITIVES

Mounting on the automobile they sped off in the direction of the French frontier, which was only some 150 miles distant.  Count Francis Erasmus chose this method of secret flight because he feared that if his design were prematurely discovered the powerful influence of his father might cause forcible measures to be taken for his detention.  Before sunset the lovers had crossed the French frontier and proceeded by train to Paris, whence they crossed to London.  After a residence in London of three weeks they were able to be married by special incense.  As soon as he reached London the Count informed his father of his intention, and in the intervening three weeks he was submitted to great pressure to abandon his design.  A special emissary of the  Erbach family came across to London and sought to dissuade him by all possible means from his intention of marrying the plebeian peasant girl.  This emissary was present at the wedding and telegraphed the news of the family disaster to the reigning count.

The ‘House Laws’ of the Erbach family which have been in force for the last 500 years provide that the head of the House may disinherit any male Erbach who marries a woman not of royal rank.  The reigning count on receiving the news of the misalliance contracted in London called a family council to consider the question of the family succession.  Without any ado whatever this family council resolved that Count Francis Erasmus must be

DISINHERITED AND REGARDED AS A SOCIAL OUTLAW

The council then proceeded to decide who should be nominated successor to the family title and estates in his place, and this question presented some difficulties.

Two of the reigning Count’s younger brothers both contracted morganatic marriages, so that their sons were excluded from the succession.  His third brother is only five years younger than himself and is married to a Princess of Bentheim-Tecklenburg.  Their eldest son, Count Conrad, aged twenty-four, has already contracted a morganatic marriage, so that he too, was excluded from the succession.  Consequently the choice of the family council fell on the reigning Count’s nephew, Count Eberhard, aged nineteen, who will thus on the death of the present reigning Count succeed to the position.  Count Francis Erasmus, the husband of the washerwoman’s daughter, has been reduced to an annual allowance of £200. By his marriage he sacrificed not only one of the foremost positions of Europe, but also an annual income estimated at £200,000.  Questioned, on his return from London, by a newspaper interviewer, Count Francis Erasmus said:

‘My relatives have offered me an allowance of 4000 marks a year, but only on the condition that I renounce my princely rank and abandon the name of Erbach.  I have no intention of accepting their offer on this condition.  I intend to remain a Count Erbach and to reject their money.  They can disinherit me so far as the property is concerned, but they cannot rob me of my own name.  I do not for a moment regret the step I have taken, on the contrary we are perfectly happy.  I intend to work for my living, and I have already taken steps to find employment.  I am not sure yet what form of work I shall obtain, but I believe I shall choose the newspaper field.  After undergoing a course of training in a newspaper office in Germany I believe I shall go to Paris or to London as the correspondent of a leading German newspaper.’

1.       Graf Erasmus zu Erbach-Erbach.

23 Dec 1883, Erbach - 10 Feb 1920, Frankfurt am Main

PARENTS:

2.       Graf Georg Albrecht IV zu Erbach-Erbach.

22 Aug 1844, Erbach - 19 Apr 1915, Ober-Mossau

m. 12 Sep 1878, Stolberg

3.       Gräfin Erika Julienne zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

15 Jul 1856, Stolberg - 20 Mar 1928, Rottleberode

GRANDPARENTS:

4.       Graf Eberhard XV zu Erbach-Erbach.

27 Nov 1818, Erbach - 8 Jun 1884, Erbach

m. 2 Nov 1843, Michelstadt

5.       Gräfin Klothilde zu Erbach-Fürstenau.

12 Jan 1826, Fürstenau - 18 Oct 1871, Erbach

6.       1.Fürst Alfred zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

23 Nov 1820, Stolberg - 24 Jan 1903, Stolberg.

m. 15 Jun 1848, Arolsen

7.       Prinzessin Auguste zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.

21 Jul 1824, Arolsen - 4 Sep 1893, Norderney

GREAT GRANDPARENTS:

8.       Graf Karl II zu Erbach-Erbach.

11 Jun 1782, Erbach; d. 14 Apr 1832, Erbach.

m. 6 Jan 1818, Fürstenau

9.       Gräfin Sophie zu Erbach-Fürstenau.

25 Sep 1796, Fürstenau; d. 14 Jun 1845.

10.     Graf Albrecht zu Erbach-Fürstenau.

18 May 1787, Fürstenau - 28 Jul 1851, Krahenberg

m. 26 Jun 1810, Oehringen

11.     Prinzessin Emilie zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen.

20 Nov 1788, Breslau - 1 Oct 1859, Fürstenau

12.     Graf Joseph zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

21 Jun 1771 -  27 Dec 1839

m. 22 May 1819

13.     Gräfin Luise zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

13 Jan 1799 - 15 Aug 1875

14.     Fürst Georg zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.

20 Sep 1789, Weil am Rhein - 15 May 1845, Arolsen

m. 26 Jun 1823, Schaumburg

15.     Prinzessin Emma von Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym.

20 May 1802, Schaumburg - 1 Aug 1858, Pyrmont.

GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:

16.     Graf Franz zu Erbach-Erbach.

29 Oct 1754, Erbach - 8 Mar 1823, Erbach

m. 1 Sep 1776, Durkheim

17.     Gräfin Luise Charlotte zu Leiningen.

27 May 1755, Emichsburg - 13 Jan 1785, Erbach

18.     Graf Christian Karl zu Erbach-Fürstenau.

18 Sep 1757, Fürstenau - 10 May 1803, Fürstenau

m. 25 Jul 1786, Heilbronn

19.     Gräfin Luise von Degenfeld-Schonburg.

12 Mar 1765 - 14 Dec 1827, Fürstenau

20.     Graf Christian Karl zu Erbach-Fürstenau.

18 Sep 1757, Fürstenau - 10 May 1803, Fürstenau

m. 25 Jul 1786, Heilbronn

21.     Gräfin Luise von Degenfeld-Schonburg.

12 Mar 1765 - 14 Dec 1827, Fürstenau

22.     2.Fürst Friedrich Ludwig zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen.

31 Jan 1764, Ingelfingen - 15 Feb 1818, Slawentzitz

m. 8 Apr 1782, Gleina Div.1799

23.     Gräfin Amalie von Hoym.

6 Oct 1763, Droyssig - 20 Apr 1840, Marienhof

24.     Graf Carl Ludwig zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

18 Feb 1742 - 2 Aug 1815

m. 22 Sep 1768, Lichtenwalde

25.     Gräfin Charlotte von Flemming .

17 Sep 1748, Lichtenwalde - 12 May 1818, Stolberg

26.     Erbgraf Friedrich zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

12 Nov 1769 - 23 Dec 1805

m. 17 Mar 1797, Div.1799

27.     Gräfin Marianne von der Marck.

29 Jan 1780 - 11 Jun 1814, Paris

28.     Fürst Georg zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.

6 May 1747, Arolsen - 9 Sep 1813, Rhoden

m. 12 Sep 1784, Otterwisch

29.     Prinzessin Auguste von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

1 Feb 1768, Sondershausen - 26 Dec 1849, Arolsen

30.     Fürst Viktor II von Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg.

2 Nov 1767, Schaumburg - 22 Apr 1812, Schaumburg

m. 29 Oct 1793, Weilburg

31.     Prinzessin Amalie von Nassau-Weilburg.

6 Aug 1776, Kirchheimbolanden - 19 Feb 1841, Schaumburg

GREAT-GREAT-GREAT GRANDPARENTS:

32.     Graf Georg Wilhelm von Erbach-Erbach-Reichenberg .

19 Jul 1686, Fürstenau - 31 May 1757, Wiesbaden

m. 3 May 1753

33.     Gräfin Leopoldine von Salm, Wild- und Rheingrafin in Grumbach.

17 Nov 1731 -  28 Feb 1795

34.     1.Fürst Carl zu Leiningen.

14 Aug 1724, Durkheim - 9 Jan 1807, Amorbach

m. 24 Jun 1749, Rödelheim

35.     Gräfin Christiane zu Solms-Rödelheim und Assenheim.

24 Apr 1736, Rödelheim - 6 Jan 1803, Strassburg

36.     Graf Georg Albrecht III zu Erbach-Fürstenau.

14 Jun 1731 2 May 1778, Fürstenau

m. 3 Aug 1752, Neustadt an der Orla

37.     Prinzessin Adolfine Wilhelmine von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

2 Feb 1737, Sondershausen -  27 Jul 1788, Michelstadt

38.     Graf August Christoph von Degenfeld-Schonburg.

21 Mar 1730, Frankfurt am Main - 17 Apr 1814, Eybach

m. 3 Aug 1762, Frankfurt am Main

39.     Freiin Helene Elisabeth Riedesel zu Eisenbach.

14 Aug 1742, Hollrich - 3 Aug 1811, Eybach

40.     Graf Georg Albrecht III zu Erbach-Fürstenau.

14 Jun 1731 2 May 1778, Fürstenau

m. 3 Aug 1752, Neustadt an der Orla

41.     Prinzessin Adolfine Wilhelmine von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

2 Feb 1737, Sondershausen -  27 Jul 1788, Michelstadt

42.     Graf August Christoph von Degenfeld-Schonburg.

21 Mar 1730, Frankfurt am Main - 17 Apr 1814, Eybach

m. 3 Aug 1762, Frankfurt am Main

43.     Freiin Helene Elisabeth Riedesel zu Eisenbach.

14 Aug 1742, Hollrich - 3 Aug 1811, Eybach

44.     1.Fürst Heinrich August zu Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen.

10 Jul 1715 - 13 Feb 1796

m.

45.     Gräfin Wilhelmine Eleonore zu Hohenlohe-Oehringen.

20 Feb 1717 - 30 Jul 1794

46.     Graf Julius Gebhard von Hoym.

d. 14 Feb 1769, Dresden

m. 5 Oct 1754, Thalwitz bei Wurzen

47.     Christiane Charlotte von Dieskau.

20 Nov 1733, Trebschen bei Grimma -  6 Jul 1811, Berlin

48.     Graf Christoph Ludwig zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

14 Mar 1703, Stolberg - 20 Aug 1761, Stolberg

m. 4 Mar 1737, Rossla

49.     Gräfin Luise Charlotte zu Stolberg-Rossla.

5 Jun 1716, Rossla - 15 Jun 1796, Stolberg

50.     Graf Karl von Flemming.

17 Nov 1705, Iven - Aug 1767, Dresden; bur. Frauenkirche, Dresden

m. 23 Sep 1745, Wölkau bei Pirna

51.     Princess Henriette Charlotte Lubomirska.

18 Jul 1720 - 24 Feb 1782, Dresden

52.     Graf Carl Ludwig zu Stolberg-Stolberg.

18 Feb 1742 - 2 Aug 1815

m. 22 Sep 1768, Lichtenwalde

53.     Gräfin Charlotte von Flemming.

17 Sep 1748, Lichtenwalde - 12 May 1818, Stolberg

54.     King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia.

25 Sep 1744, Berlin - 16 Nov 1797, Marmorpalais nr Berlin

m.

55.     Gräfin Wilhelmine Enck von Lichtenau.

19 Dec 1753, Dessau - 19 Jun 1820, Berlin

56.     Fürst Karl August Friedrich zu Waldeck und Pyrmont.

24 Sep 1704, Hanau - 29 Aug 1763, Arolsen

m. 19 Aug 1741, Zweibrücken

57.     Pfalzgräfin Christiane von Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld.

16 Nov 1725, Rappoltsweiler - 11 Feb 1816, Arolsen

58.     Fürst August II von Schwarzburg-Sondershausen.

8 Dec 1738, Ebeleben - 10 Feb 1806, Sondershausen

m. 27 Apr 1762, Bernburg

59.     Prinzessin Christine von Anhalt-Bernburg.

14 Nov 1746, Bernburg - 18 May 1823, Coswig

60.     Fürst Karl Ludwig von Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym.

16 May 1723, Schaumburg  - 20 Aug 1806, Schaumburg

m. 16 Dec 1765, Braunfels

61.     Prinzessin Eleonore zu Solms-Braunfels.

22 Nov 1734, Braunfels - 19 Apr 1811, Schaumburg

62.     Fürst Karl Christian von Nassau-Weilburg.

16 Jan 1735, Weilburg - 28 Nov 1788, Münster-Dreyssen

m. 5 Mar 1760, 's-Gravenhage

63.     Prinses Carolina van Oranje-Nassau.

28 Feb 1743, Leeuwarden - May 1787, Kirchheim-Bolanden

NR

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