Recently I came across the archive of “Das Ostpreußenblatt”, later the “Preussische Allgemeine Zeitung” online. I started having a look at all the family announcements in the newspaper, as they include several noble announcements. Today I even found a Stolberg-Wernigerode engagement announcement, and was puzzled.
The engagement announcement in “Das Ostpreußenblatt” of 14 September 1957 says:
Die Verlobung unserer Tochter HANNELORE mit CHRISTIAN ALBRECHT GRAF ZU STOLBERG-WERNIGERODE beehren wir uns aunzuzeigen. REGIERUNGSBAUDIREKTOR A.D. WALTHER DAHMS UND FRAU ELSE, GEB. JOEL. Köln-Marienburg.
Meine Verlobung mit FRÄULEIN HANNELORE DAHMS Tochter des REGIERUNGSBAUDIREKTOR A.D. WALTHER DAHMS UND SEINER FRAU GEMAHLIN ELSE, GEB. JOEL beehre ich mich anzuzeigen. CHRISTIAN ALBRECHT GRAF ZU STOLBERG-WERNIGERODE, Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe. IM AUGUST 1957.
Nothing strange about it at first, until I started checking the genealogy of the family.The genealogy I checked said they got married at Köln-Marienburg on 13 July 1957. That is the date already mentioned in the Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels Fürstliche Häuser Band V 1959, which has been copied ever since. But the announcement above says that they didn’t get engaged until August 1957. Luckily the same newspaper, this time of 12 July 1958, also had the marriage announcement.
Ihre Vermählung zeigen an CHRISTIAN ALBRECHT GRAF ZU STOLBERG-WERNIGERODE-KREPPELHOF, HANNELORE GRÄFIN ZU STOLBERG-WERNIGERODE, GEB. DAHMS. 13. Juli 1958.
Also exactly one year later. That would to my opinion mean that all genealogies have given the wrong year of marriage for almost 60 years. Quite funny that the family never found it necessary to correct the mistake.
Count Christian-Albrecht zu Stolberg-Wernigerode was born in 1926 as the fourth child of Count Reinhard zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1889-1973) and Countess Mariagnes zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1894-1972). He was adopted in 1938 by his relative Count Albrecht zu Stolberg-Wernigerode (1886-1946) and his wife Countess Magna Maria zu Solms-Wildenfels (1883-1966), and was to be the heir of the Kreppelhof in Silesia. He died in 1991. His wife Hannelore was born in 1934 and is still alive.