Chapter 81
Germany / 973 – 1945
Germany and the Sodens
Finally, after many decades of research into the possible German origins of the our Soden branch, I have to conclude that there is no substantial evidence for a connection between the Irish and German branches of the name.
There may be between the English and German branches but this would be very late, such as the mid 19th century. There almost certainly is a substantial link between the German branches and some early American ones but this is something only the American researchers can investigate with certainty.
I will leave the pages on the German name on the website as many people have found it of great interest and assistance in clarifying the claim of a connection.
Felix Soden, Dublin, Ireland
15th January, 2023
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| GERMANY : THE SODEN AND VON SODEN FAMILY NAME / 973 – 1945 INTRODUCTION The Soden/von Soden name has been in Germany since 1323 in a variety of forms. Its origins are in Hannover,in North Germany later spreading to the south and in the process involving a change of religion to Roman Catholicism. There were so many attractive points for me to discovering a German link . Firstly , as a student I worked in my first job in Hanover , North Germany on the Messegelände , where incidentally Ute, my wife, also worked as a student. There is , of course , a strong Soden connection with Hannover. There is a Sodenstrasse ,north of the Central Station and an old peoples home in the Braunschweigerstrasse near the Aegidientor founded by the Soden family, called Kloster Soden. (Soden Strasse , Hanover, North Germany between the Central Train Station and the Main Post Office) There are at least 4 Bad Sodens in central and southern Germany . Some of these are connected with the family and others with the salt industry of the area.In the year 1500 , a German/Hanoverian burgher , Dietrich vamme Sode,is recorded as being alderman in London.Also, in 1549 some 1500 German mercenaries helped the Duke of Warwick in the suppression of the Ket revolt in Norfolk,as they were on their way to Scotland to fight for the king of England. Despite all these exciting coincidences which all showed great promise , there is no substantial historical link between either Ireland and Germany or England and Germany. The two above – mentioned historical events are primary possibilities and will be investigated in the coming years. The reality of an American / German connection is great and numerous , but of course , of a far later date. Places with the name Soden are the following: 63628 Bad Soden Salmünster 63384 Bad Soden bei Aschaffenburg 65812 Bad Soden im Taunus 37242 Bad Sooden-Allendorf n the Year 1549 some 1500 German mercenaries aided the Duke of Warwick ,John Dudley, to repell the Ket Uprising in Norfolk. These were under the command of Markgraf Albrecht Alcibiades von Brandenburg-Kulmbach (*1522,+1557) belonged to line of Markgraf of Brandenburg – Kulmbach which resided in Franken. He had under his command 1529 mercenaries from Northern Germany. Details on this house lie in the Staatsarchiv Bamberg,Hainstr. 39,Bamberg,Germany. A book on the subject is Johannes Voigt,Markgraf Albrecht Alcibiades von Brandenburg-Kulmbach Bd. 1,Berlin 1852,Seiten 202 – 206. ETYMOLOGY OF THE NAME SODEN The following is a very brief summary of the etymological & phonetic development of the name Soden according to German sources. Sode(n),ÖN to middle high German S^OT means marsh or lake. Middle Low German SODE means peatlawn. Brechenmacher: Deutsche Namen Page 615/Celle Stadtbibliothek Hermann zi Sode,at Freiburg in Breisgau Nr. 142 Hilbrant vamme Soden (also van dem Zode) Hannover THE SODENS OF HANNOVER There follows a short historical account of the von Soden family in Hannover,Lower Saxony,North Germany taken from the Hannoverscher Anzeiger of the 29th March,1903. LOCAL NEWS,HANNOVER 28TH MARCH, THE SODENS – AN OLD HANNOVERIAN PATRICIAN FAMILY The former General Chief of Staff of the 10th Army ,COLONEL VON SODEN, comes from the ancient and old noble Hannoverian family which can trace its history far back into the millenium.In the year 973 a Soden founded the well known salt works which is still thriving called Soden an der Werra near the town of Allendorf which was still in the possession of the family in the year 1300. The family then joined the Frankish Imperial Knighthood. Since 1341 the Sodens appear in documents in Hannover where they built the Leibnizhouse which had previously a Gothic brick facade. At the beginning of the 14th century we find HILDEBRAND VON SODEN as Mayor of Hannover. (Statues of Ss.Peter & Paul donated by Mauritius von Sode to the Cathedral at Hildesheim,Germany) MAURITIUS VON SODEN who in the year 1590 was in charge of the Cathedral at Hildesheim distinguished himself by the number of donations he made to charity and in particular with the foundation of the Citizens? Hospital in Hannover ,the so-called Soden cloisters. JOHANN HERMANN VON SODEN became Professor of Law in Erfurt in 1658 and was very welll known as an academic and a writer. A further branch of the family of JOHANN HERMANN was in the year 1702 a Government Advisor and Court Assessor in Churmainz and his son THEODOR who died in the year 1716 was the Lord and Captain at Gleidingen. From the latter came HEINRICH GABRIEL who was a Baron ,an Ansbacher Chamberlain and Major .He in turn had two sons.One was FRIEDRICH JULIUS HEINRICH who was born in 1754 and JOHANN CARL AUGUST. The older of the two brothers who died only in 1881 was until 1796 a Royal Prussian Advisor and a Minister in Frankish district of Nurnberg. As a dramatic poet and a writer and particularly in the area of economics and State affairs he is extremely well known. He is the inventor of the phrase National Economy of which he treated in his nine volumed work, The National Economy,a philosophical discussion on the source of national wealth and its use. FRIEDRICH JULIUS HEINRICH was elevated to the Imperial nobility by Elector Karl Theodor of Palatinate Bavaria on 24th September,1790 and became therefore the founder of the baronial line of the Sodens which has the title Hannoverian. He was involved also as the Head of theatre and died in the 1831. The Hannoverian line thrives today in the sons and daughters of BARON JULIUS VON SODEN,the great grandson of the founder and his wife,LOUISE nee BARONESS VON THURHELM. One of the sons,BARON ALFRED VON SODEN is well known after being decorated with the Order Pour le Merite as the defender of the German Embassy in Peking and is now Captain and Commander in Chief of the First Sea battalion in Kiel. The brother of the founder of the baronial line JOHANN CARL AUGUST was a Major in Würzburg continued the baronial Franconian line which in contrast to the Hannoverian line is to a great degree Catholic. To this line belong amongst others,BARON HERMANN VON SODEN and the former Governor of German West Africa,BARON JULIUS VON SODEN, who is now the present Foreign Minister in Wurtemberg. The Sodens have in their coat of arms two golden lions and above,in red they have a silver rose and below, in silver they have a red rose. On the coat of arms there is the baronial as well as the count crown on which there are two helmets in red and silver.On the right helmet on the outside there are golden flag holders. These have two flags in red and silver and on the left side there is a crowned black eagle. END OF SECTION 1 Account Number Two entitled:- FIRST SUPPLEMENT THE SODENS ONCE AGAIN From Lindenau in Leipzig we received the following account. I read with great interest in your esteemed newspaper an article about the Sodens this old Hannoverian Patrician family. One is encouraged when one thinks of the history of an old family and hears of what their achievements were in more recent times.This would be especially interesting to any Hannoverian who is interested in the history of this family. For many reasons and for this reason in particular I hope I would be allowed to write a few lines on the subject. One reason for this is the very special way in which the former Chief of Staff of the 10th Army was honoured by the inhabitants,or the members of the Soden cloister with which the present members of this family during their stay in Hannover have always kept a close tie. Whoever is even engaged in such a small thing as a coffee circle has occasion to think of the name Soden in connection with the name of Broyhans,that famous drink which indeed is known not just all over Germany but beyond its borders.In the meantime, the name of the family Sode as also the old house with cloisters proves and also the article in the Sunday newspaper will prove,the name Soden is not just related with the southern German branch of the family,with the Bavarian baronial and Count family in Würtemberg but also with the Hannoverian branch. To the heraldry expert who knows the coat of arms on the new Soden cloisters the difference will also be noticed in the description of the Coat of Arms. First of all in the baronial line the old Coat of Arms had a blue and red background on a red and white rose of five leaves. In the course of the centuries the name and the shield as with many families has changed.The southern German branch today is called SODEN. The Hannoverian,however, has still today its old name of SODE,something which was not touched on at all in the above-mentioned article. This last line is the oldest of the family whose nobility was confirmed on the 5th October,1724 with special permission to name itself VON DER SODE, besides which they also obtained on the family crest two golden lions n a blue backgound. (The next note marked with two crosses is rather hard to make out.) It is an explanation with 4 different sections. Section 1 says,a red rose/Section 2 and 3 say a golden lion and Section 4 says a white rose. The family shield can be seen today on one of our nicest gable houses in the town, if I am not mistaken, on the Calenberger Strasse opposite the chief Präsidium. The Hannoverian line has property in Mecklenburg and had at the beginning of the 60s a house on the Cellerstrasse. This was called Sodenstrasse. On the 300th anniversary celebrations of the Soden cloisters in the Autumn of 1897 representatives of both lines,of the Hannoverian and South German,were guests at a function held by the city of Hannover. End of article |
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