A Potential Genealogy for Reitz, beyond 1100

I enjoy studying up on genealogy, in my spare time. My relatives have prepared a well–documented, hand-prepared database (gedcom) of ~6,000 people (mostly Reitz plus Jodon/Jaudon) going back to the 1600s, in Hessen, Germany. The surname (paternal line) stopped, however, at a man mysteriously named “Johannes of Röhig” (~1640).

Convention over Configuration

It turns out, Germans had a very strict naming convention that they used for naming they children, during this time period. Some families with German ancestry use remnants of this to this day, but it’s very rarely seen in action quite like it was then. The convention is as follows:

  1. 1st Daughter after the Mother's Mother

  2. 2nd Daughter after the Father's Mother

  3. 3rd Daughter after the Mother

  4. 4th Daughter after the Father's Father's Mother

  5. 5th Daughter after the Mother's Father's Mother

  6. 6th Daughter after the Father's Mother's Mother

  7. 7th Daughter after the Mother's Mother's Mother

  1. 1st Son after the Father's Father

  2. 2nd Son after the Mother's Father

  3. 3rd Son after the Father

  4. 4th Son after the Father's Father's Father 

  5. 5th Son after the Mother's Father's Father

  6. 6th Son after the Father's Mother's Father

  7. 7th Son after the Mother's Mother's Father

 

Origins of the Surname Reitz, Reitzenstein, and Van Der Grün:

The traditional Reitz coat of arms , as recorded in various Reitz books (e.g. Family History of the Descendants of Johan Friedrich Reitz , 1930). I believe it is not historically accurate, however.The traditional Reitz coat of arms , as recorded in various Reitz books (e.g. Family History of the Descendants of Johan Friedrich Reitz , 1930). I believe it is not historically accurate, however.

The traditional Reitz coat of arms, as recorded in various Reitz books (e.g. Family History of the Descendants of Johan Friedrich Reitz, 1930). I believe it is not historically accurate, however.

I took that information, and took this database a bit further — “Johannes of Röhig”, I turned into “Joh. Georg Lenhardt Reitz”, born in 1648 in Röhig, Germany — the potential full name of the father of our entire family.
Then, I took the naming convention (which appears to have been in full–swing, at the time), and kept going backwards.

Using the naming conventions, I determined that Joh. Georg Lenhardt was fathered by:

  • Peter Reitz, 1630

  • Georg Reitz, 1600

  • Georg Reitz, 1557

  • Hanß Reitz, 1525

  • Jacob Reitz, 1500


Then, I used the collaborative environment provided by the Latter Day Staints and FamilySearch.com, as well as their automated tooling, &c, to derive a jump — that Reitz was a shortened form of Reitzenstein. The paternal line continues:

A (potentially) more historically accurate family crest for Reitz .A (potentially) more historically accurate family crest for Reitz .

A (potentially) more historically accurate family crest for Reitz.

  • George von Reitzenstein, 1482

  • Hans von Reitzenstein, 1430

  • Thomas von Reitzenstein, 1414

  • Thomas von Reitzenstein II, 1383

  • Thomas von Reitzenstein I (unknown)

  • Konrad von der Grün II, 1295

  • Heinrich von der Grün, ~1280

  • Konrad von der Grün, 1250

  • Johan von der Grün, 1246

  • Eberhard von Berg, 1098

  • Adolfph III of Berg, 1080

  • Adolf II Altena, ~1040

 

Another classic rendition of the “von Reitzenstein” coat of arms.Another classic rendition of the “von Reitzenstein” coat of arms.

Another classic rendition of the “von Reitzenstein” coat of arms.

vdg-2.jpgvdg-2.jpg
BERG 8.jpgBERG 8.jpg

 

Going Further Back

According to Wikipedia, Reitzenstein was a German dynasty of Franconian knights.

Wappen_der_Säcke_im_Wappenbuch_des_Heiligen_Römischen_Reiches,_Mitte_16._Jh..jpegWappen_der_Säcke_im_Wappenbuch_des_Heiligen_Römischen_Reiches,_Mitte_16._Jh..jpeg