The following articles were saved and carefully copied by my great-grandparents.
It is thought that our ancestors share the same heritage (Gerlach von (E)Isenberg 966-1008 A.D.) as this line of (E)Isenbergs. We know that in every family, the elder brother succeeded the father in line. The descendants of the remaining children lived on to become tradesmen and merchants. I have included the photos that appeared with the following stories. The resolution of the photos is not very good, but they are still prett The newspapers are in very poor condition or very good condition depending on your point of view, as they are from about 1904-09 and are quickly on their way to becoming dust. . .
 | Prince Leopold of Eisenberg, or to give his full name and title, Seine Durch Laucht Leopold Wolfgang Ernst Maria Ferdinand Karl Michael Antonius Victor Ludwig Joseph Johann Baptista Franz Erbprinz von Eisenberg yesterday kept himself very quiet at the St. James Hotel, only taking a short walk in the afternoon in the company of his major domo, in order to enjoy the fresh air and to review the
processions of Baltimore beauties who passed up and down Charles and Lexington
Streets. |
(Isenberg) |
In this connection it appears but proper to correct a statement concerning his age,
which would make him a middle aged bachelor, the prince born in 1866, is the
eldest son of Prince Karl von Eisenberg of Birstein, and Marie Louise of Austria
(Archduchess) is only 26 year old and is First Lieutenant A La suite of the German
Army. Which he entered after absolving his studies at the University of
Straussburg.
| He belongs, however, like his uncle Franz Joseph of Austria Hungary, to a pretty
old family whose name is first mentioned in the history of Germany in the 10th
Century, when Gerlach von Eisenberg (966-1008) was one of the counts of the
German Empire in what is now called the Rhine Province of Prussia. His castle,
the Eisenberg, was situated near Coblenz, ruins of it still stand on a hill side in the
borough or town by the same name. Out boys of the American Army after the
World War, who occupied this Rhine valley then (1919) occupied or spent much
time in the same castle their ancestors lived in centuries before. |  |
of Austria |
Carmen Silva the Queen of Roumania, whose family is also related to the
Eisenbergs was born and is now spending her last days in a castle new by. By
intermarriage the Eisenberg's became powerful vassals of the German Empire,
and in he 13th and 15th centuries, the posers of large estates in Hessen, among
them Berstein and Buedingen. During the 30 years war the tow sons of Count
Wolfgang Ernst founded the two lines still existing as the Princely houses of
Eisenberg Birstein and Eisenberg Buedingen. The former became Prince of the
Empire in 1744. The Dominions of the family embrace estates quite extensive in
the Prussian Province of Hessen-Darmstadt, with towns, boroughs, and villages,
and numerous castles.
Prince Karl, the father of Prince Leopold, who succeed to the principality in 1866,
is hereditary of the house of Lords of the Prussian Diet and member of the First
Chamber of deputies of Darmstadt. He is a gentleman of Literary attainment and
a great influence among the conservative party. Among his political writings the
new era 1866 attracted considerable attention, through a warlike race, fighting
most all of the time, for or against the Emperor, or in other words at this stage of
history, among their own people.
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The Imperial courts of Austria is in a turmoil because come ten years ago Prince
Leopold of (E) Isenberg failed to marry Consuelo Vanderbilt and thereby acquire
enough money to pay his own end his fathers debts. The matter became public
through the trial of a suit brought by the estate of Lawyer Umlauff against
Archduke Francis Salvator for the recovery of 30,000 florins loaned to Prince
(E)Isenberg under his imperial highness's guarantee.
Duchess of MarlboroughIt appears that the (E)Isenbergs were mortgaged to the limit, when young Prince
Leopold started for America with borrowed money to attack the hearts of
American heiresses, notably that of Consuelo Vanderbilt, who was singled out as
the richest plum to be plucked. In order to pay his traveling expenses the elder
(E)Isenberg borrowed nearly 60,000 on his estates and when Leopold returned
minus a wealthy wife things were looking black in the principality. The servants
went without wages, and the horses went without fodder, the princesses without
pin money and the Prince himself without the where with all to play baccarat and
other notable games.
In this crisis Isenberg, Sr., persuaded a Hungarian lawyer named Umlauff to lend
him 30,000 florins, now sued for, but Umlauff insisted upon a guarantee by
Isenberg's imperial relatives. This guarantee was finally obtained from Archduke
Francis Salvator, a nephew of Prince Isenberg. Francis, it appears wrote to
Umlauff setting for the that he (the Archduke) would repay the loan if his uncle
failed to do so. When Isenberg died Umlauff attempted to levy Sr. on his estates,
but the German law guarantees the integrity of entailed estates, barred such
procedure. Then Umlauff sued Francis Salvator but again the law stood in his way,
for an Archduke cannot be sued like ordinary debtors. There are many miles of
red tape to protect him, and the Minister of the Imperial Family shields him from
rude attacks by creditors. Twice Umlauff carried his case before the Cabinet
court, and twice he was defeated. This misfortune excited and chagrined Umlauff
to such an extent that he died, leaving his family of young children to want.
Now the socialists have taken up the matter in Parliament, and promise to make
trouble for Francis Salvator, who hill either have to pay or give up his position in
the Army and forfeit his rights to the throne "as a cheat". The Socialists are
determined to force the Minister of Justice to answer to complaint of the
defrauded family in public--no more secret Cabinet courts for them. The Socialists
say that Francis Salvator and Archduchess Marie Teresa, widow of old Prince
Isenberg, Sr., are jointly responsible, as her Imperial Highness helped to persuade
Umlauff to part from his money for the benefit of the bankrupt Prince.
The whole truth be hold, and if there was a conspiracy between an archduke and
an heiress-hunting, bankrupt princeling to fleece a confiding man, that conspiracy
will have to be laid bare.
Umlauff, they say, was dazzled by so much imperial prestige, and his loyal heart
was broken when he discovered that the nephew of Francis Joseph so far lowered
himself as to refuse payment of a just debt. All Vienna is on a tip-toe of
expectation, for it is expected that the Socialists will bring a bout such an airing of
imperial dirty linen as never before flaunted in the breeze of public opinion.
Besides The Archduke and Archduchess named, another prince of the reigning
house is involved in the conspiracy, namely, the former Duke of Parma. This prince
is said to have extracted a commission from Umlauff for getting him a patron of
the rank and prestige of Isenberg. Part of the loyal Austrian press blames America
for the scandal. "Why didn't some rich American girl marry Isenberg Jr., and
forestall all this trouble?" argue the papers. Meanwhile, Umlauff's widow and
children are kept from starving by public charity.
Story of the search of the Golden Fleece (Special cable to New York American)
Darmstadt Jan 17-- The heiress hunting trip of Prince Eisenberg that failed
continues to make trouble. Some time ago the chief of the family had to retire for
failure to pay back the money advanced him for his tour of the United States,
undertaken to capture a rich girl.
Now his brother, Prince Ernest, has fired a bullet into his head because he was
tired of guilded poverty. Ernest is a Lieutenant of the 115th Infantry and will die.
Though a nephew of Francis Joseph (Emperor) he is so poor that he had to take up
residence in the barracks.
The heiress hunting trip referred to in the dispatch refers to Leopold the sometime
hereditary Prince of Isenberg-Birstein, and his attempt, some ten years ago, to
recoup the lost fortunes and estates of his family by seeking the hand of a wealthy
American heiress. This scheme and it's attendant failure are well remembered by
many American people.
The Eisenbergs were mortgaged up to the limit. The princely jewels were pledged
and Leopold was woefully in need of funds. Things were becoming desperate and
banks holding the Eisenberg paper were beginning to clamor for a settlement,
when after a family consultation, Leopold decided to come to America and marry a
wealthy girl. Having no funds sufficient to procure a suitable equipment, the Prince
appealed to the Bergische Bank, the Vereinsbank and the Werttemberg
(Wuttemberg) Bank to come to his assistance. He explained his scheme and it
appeared to plausible to the bankers they readily loaned him something like
100,000 as a pledge for payment of the loan upon the marriage of the Prince.
Leopold sailed for America with his vales and a dozen trunks, arriving in New
York, and without the slightest foundation of fact, first cabled to Germany that he
had captured the heart and hand of Miss Consuelo Vanderbilt. Next it was
rumored he was engaged to Miss Anna Gould. All these were fairy tales and
Leopold, a sadder and more impoverished prince, recrossed the ocean and faced a
stormy interview with his parents and the bankers. The story closes with suits,
which completely wrecked the Eisenbergs, brought the bankers who had backed
the prince by accommodating.
 |  |
|---|---|
| Princess Alexandra of Isenburg | Baron Paganhardt |
|
" She has refused to be photographed . . . this portrait, taken two years ago, is the only recent picture of her." |
" Who helped the Princess Spend $8,000,000 in five years." |
Berlin Nov 8.... Announcement that a warrant was recently issued for the arrest of
Princess Alexandra of Isenberg makes it permissible to unveil this woman's
remarkable career. She comes of on e of the oldest and proudest families of the
Higher German nobility, for the Eisenbergs can trace their descendants back to a
valiant warrior of the tenth century, and they were loaded with riches, honors, and
titles 800 years ago.
At the age of 20 Princess Alexandra married her kinsman Prince Adalberg of
Eisenberg, who belonged to another branch of the clan, and it was thought that the
young couple had every prospect of long-like happiness.
Prince Adalbert was immensely wealthy and the Princess brought a dowry of
$5,000,000 into the marriage. They were both handsome and young, they
possessed nine magnificent homes and estates and they had a brilliant social future
before them.
Soon however things assumed a different aspect. Princess Alexandra grew cold
toward her husband and fell in love with an officer nabbed Pagenhardt in a
regiment stationed at Struttgart, where they lived. Lieutenant Pagenhardt was a
man of plebeian birth, penniless and nor even good looking. Nevertheless he was
able to fascinate the princess, who deserted her husband and throe her lot with his.
Prince Adalbert filed an action for divorce, citing Lieutenant Pagenhardt as
co-respondent and the divorce decree was pronounced just two years after he had
led the Princess to the alter. One year later Princess Alexandra married Lt.
Pagenhardt, who, through her influence was able to obtain the rank and title of
Baron. At the settlement of her divorce she received back most of her dowry of
$5,000,000 though she was not quite as wealthy as she was in her first marriage.
But, she still had enough of the $5,000,000 to live comfortable for the rest of their
days.
The Baron and the Princess began to live in great style shortly after their
marriage. They maintained a palace in Struttgart--for they continued to live there,
notwithstanding the presence in the town of the princess' first husband--they had a
country house in Bavaria, a shooting lodge in the Tyrol, a villa in the Riviera and a
town residence in Berlin. At their various homes they kept several hundred horses
and employed a regular army of several thousand domestics and servants of all
kinds.
During one winter they gave a banquet to 100 guests on 50 evenings in succession,
and each one of these sumptuous feasts, at which the rarest dishes and the
choicest wines invariable served, cost a fortune. Princess Alexandra never wore an
evening dress costing less than $500.00 and frequently appeared in theaters and
public places of amusement with diamonds to the value of $250,000.00 attached to
various parts of her person. They kept a yacht almost as big as an Atlantic liner,
and never made a railway journey without their own special train, made up of the
most luxurious sleeping, dining, and saloon cars. The Baron never smoked a cigar
costing less and $1.00, nor did he offer guests a less costly blend than his own.
It would have been clear to any sane individual that even princely fortune would
not last long at this rate of expenditure, but the Princess and the Baron had no real
conception of the value of money until it was all gone.
Almost immediately after their expensive style of living was commenced it became
apparent or evident to them they could not keep it up on he interest yielded by the
princess fortune so without hesitation they began to draw freely on the capital of
course with disastrous results. The Princess came into three substantial legacies,
amounting to $2,500,000, but this amount, too, failed to save them from ruin.
Counting capital and interest together the princess and the baron, her husband
spent some $8,000,000. Within five years, and when they had exhausted all their
money they tried to borrow from others.
The style in which they had lived enabled them to do this with facility for no one,
not even the shrewdest of money lenders, had the least idea that they had come to
the end of their resources. It was thought that some temporary financial difficulty
had occurred, and fund for them were for the coming, in plenty at exorbitant rates
of interest. This went on for about two years, until at last it began to be whispered
about that the Princess and the Baron had lost their fortune. Immediately their
was a panic among their creditors, who began to grow importunate in their demand
for payment. At the first signs of trouble violent quarrels commenced between the
Princess Alexandra and Baron Pagenhardt, her husband, each reproaching the
other with being the cause of all their common mis-fortunes.
Before long they obtained a divorce on the plea of mutual disagreement and seven
years after her second marriage, when she was just 30 years of age, the princess
became for a second time a divorcee. That was eighteen years ago, for the
princess is now 48 and during these last 18 year life has been one long struggle
against impending ruin and utter disgrace.
Princess Alexandra sold her possessions in Bavaria and Tyrol, also her residences
in Berlin and the Riviera and embarked on various financial speculations with the
proceeds. She understood nothing of finance, so that her speculations dragged her
still more into debt. Finding speculation unprofitable Princess went on the turf, and
sought to restore her fortunes by bold gambling on all the fashionable race courses
in Europe. Betting, however proved to be as disastrous as financial speculations
and more and more added to the princess already advanced debts and accounts.
After these failures, Princess Alexandra lived from hand to mouth for number of
years, borrowing money in small amounts from old acquaintances and contriving
along with all kinds of make shifts.
Meanwhile neither interest nor principle and some of them resolved to take
(receiving a legal step which the German law allows.) One afternoon as the
princess was walking down one of the streets in Berlin she was seized by the public
bailiff, who carried a warrant authorizing him to seize any portable property which
she was carrying on her person, for the benefit of her creditors, Accordingly she
was held upon in the street, while the bailiff and his assistants searched her
pockets, and person, taking possession of her watch, several articles of jewelry, of
her purse containing eight dollars and several smaller articles. Her highness
attempted to resist arrest, with the result that there was a row in the street,
ending in something like a free for all between the bailiff and the princess.
The affair caused such a scandal the princess' relatives, having previously washed
their hands of her, felt bound to interfere to prevent their noble name being mixed
up in any more street brawls with bailiffs. They declined to settle any of the
enormous debts contracted, but they promised to pay the Princess Alexandra an
annual allowance of $2500.00 if she would leave Germany and live some where
quietly out of the reach of further public scandals. The princess being thoroughly
tired of her life and adventure, accepted the proposition, and spent the next then
or eleven years of her life at English, French, and Belgian water places, spending
the winters in Italy, all at the expense of the relatives who were subscribing her
annual allowance. Eventually the respectable like proved too tedious for the gay
princess, who broke out into her old ways two years ago.
Having managed in some way to obtain a substantial loan somewhere or other--it
is not difficult for a princess to borrow money in Europe-- she went back to
gambling at the race courses in the most reckless style. Losing money this way she
next tried financial speculations again, losing all she had risked, contracting lager
debts in addition. Her next move was to Monte Carlo where losses continued.
By this time relatives, hearing she had broke lose in her old practices cut off her
allowance, reducing her to destitution. At the beginning of this year, the Princess
Alexandra appeared at Stuttgart in shabby attire and persuaded a member of the
Isenberg family to lend her money to start a hotel on the banks of Lake
Constance. The hotel was opened on April 15 and fact that the manageress was a
princess was advertised extensively. The princess, swallowing pride, actually
working hard in her new position, drawing up the menu everyday, engaged the
waiters, received the visitors when they arrived and was polite to them, and
walker around the restaurant at every meal to make the little bow, which is the
custom in the German restaurants, to the clients.
Ill luck again followed her and the hotel was found to cost more than it produced.
It continued for two more months more at which time its door closed and the
princess disappeared from Germany.
On August 15 it was announced by the courts of Stuttgart that the debts of
Princess Alexandra of Isenberg amounted to $15,000,000.00 and as for the
creditors, they could ascertain no sizable property to compensate them for their
heavy losses. It was alleged that one usurer had committed suicide when he
discovered that he had lent money on bad security, and other sad stories of the
distress caused by the princess failure to pay her dues were related. Subsequently,
a warrant was issued authorizing the arrest of Princess Alexandra, on a charge of
obtaining money by false pretenses and of contracting debts while knowing that
she had no chance of repaying them.
Princess Alexandra, the descendant of the famous knight of the tenth century, is
now reduced to keeping a lodging house at a continental watering place. She is
endeavoring to earn a living by honest means, and hopes to be able to reform her
ways. She does much of her housework herself and spares no effort to make the
establishment a success. It is to be hoped that this enterprise will prove to be less
disastrous than her previous efforts to make money.
Although his rank is no so high as that of the princess, there are striking points of
resemblance to her story int he career of Baron Franz Josef von Lerchenfeld, who
was sentenced in Vienna a few days ago to fifteen months imprisonment and loss
of his title for contracting debts which he knew he could not pay. There is no doubt
about the man pedigree. He comes from one of the proudest old Bavarian families;
he is god son of Emperor Franz Josef, and his mother was a playmate of the
murdered Empress Elizabeth. He inherited a goodly fortune, and lived for a time in
the palace of the Archduke Ludwig Victor, trying to keep the pace set by the
average Austrian Archduke--the swiftest in all Europe. After wasting all of his
fortune and borrowing all that his aristocratic friends would lend and squeezing all
he could from the money lenders, he reached the point where he was willing to
fraternize with any one who could be touched for a loan of a few dollars.
Berlin Oct 13, 1928 Prince Eitel Friedreich, second son of the former Kaiser,
intends to re-enter matrimony. According to evening paper "tempo". His bride will
be Mrs. Sielcken-Schwarz, owner of beautiful Mahalden castle at Baden-Baden.
Mrs. Sielcken has been twice a widow and once divorced. Her 2nd husband
Herman Sielcken of N.Y. died in Germany some years ago, leaving a large fortune
in coffee. Her 3rd marriage was to a singer Joseph Schwarz. Prince Friedreich in
1906 married Duchess Marie Charlotte of Oldenburg, from whom he was divorced
in 1926 in October.
Mrs. Schwarz is said to be worth $5,000,000. Born in Brunswick, Germany, the
daughter of the late Paul Isenberg, a wealthy sugar grower in the Hawaiian
Islands, she was married in 1898 in Bremen to Adolph Wendroth. Three years later
she divorced him at Kiel and obtaining custody of their tow children, now grown.
She married Herman Sielcken of New York and Baden-Baden, a German
American "coffee King" who was then 65 years old. He died in 1917 leaving her
$4,000.000 which she regained after some litigation after the war. She married
Schwarz in 1922, Baritone of the Berlin, Chicago, and San Francisco Opera
companies.
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