Page:Notes and Queries - Series 11 - Volume 10.djvu/76

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NOTES AND QUERIES. m s. x. JULY 25,

was an heir to seven million dollars, or was of a family worth that much. Personally, I do not think they were worth more than several hundred thousand at the most, and that in landed property. Tradition has it also from all sides that he intermarried with the Jewish race. I do not want to try to recover any money, &c., but I want to establish his relationship (if any) with an armigerous family located in Erdenmoos(bei Biberach), on a manor called " Hof Wasen- burg."

This family descends from a Notar (notary) Wiest, who was granted arms at Gmiind, 1592, as follows : A griffin segreant upon three mounts in base. Helm a demi- griffin segreant between wings addorsed upon a helmet affronte. The colour is murrey.

I have the birth record of a Johannes Wiest, b. 1690, son of Johannes Wiest in Ochsen- hausen (near Biberach), but cannot find out if he had any children born around 1720, or if his father was very wealthy.

The first record of the Wiests of Hof Wasenburg was August Wiest, b. 1650, who had two sons, viz., Georg, b. 1680, and Jacob, b. 1685. Could it be that Johannes sen. was a brother to August ? Johannes or his father must have come from Hof Wasenburg, or such traditions as being of a family of wealth would not have been handed down to his descendants, surely. Is it possible he may have been disinherited for marrying a Jewess ? The family held the manor of Wasenburg in fief from the Abbey of Ochsenhausen. The family is supposed to have been resident there ever since the Abbey was built, which was around the year 1000.

The Wiests in this district spell the name Wiest, while in other parts of Wiirttemberg and Germany it is always spelt Wiist or Wues t. My ancestor spelt it Wiest, as do all of his descendants.

I have also heard that the first of the name was a robber-knight, and the name Wiest (wild, dissolute, lawless) would be an appro- priate name for one, although they were more than likely poor peasants.

In Nordlingen, Bavaria, there is a branch of this family that has been located there ever since the Reformation. Could Johannes Wiest have come from them ?

I will be deeply indebted to any one who c;vn help me prove that my ancestor had a r.ght to the above arms, and if he was con- nected with that family.

lft T. BRYANT WIEST.

442, Jefferson Street, Portland, Oregon.

THE LAST KING OF NAPLES. I should bo very glad if any of your readers could tell me where I can get information about Francis II., ex-King of Naples, who lost his throne in 1860. Beyond the fact that he wintered in Paris, and passed most of his summers in Bad Kreuz, I have been able to ascertain but little about him. Was he pensioned by the Italian Government ? Did he leave any heir ? Francis lived until 1894, I believe, and during his thirty-four years of exile made no attempt to regain his throne. Was he recognized to the last as a monarch by the European Governments ? I shall be glad of any information on this subject. ARTHUR HAY WARD.

Croydon.

" THE POOR " AS GODPARENTS. St. Jure in his life of M. de Renty says of his hero that he had

"the Poor to present him at the Font, God so ordering it by a particular Providence, that the Poor should be Godfathers to him, who afterwards during his life should be a Sollicitor, Protector, and Father of the Poor."

Will some reader kindly cite other and specially earlier instances ? PEREGRINTJS.

DWARKANAUTH TAGORE. I am desirous of obtaining some information concerning this Indian visitor to England during the forties of the last century, whose portrait was painted by Count D'Orsay. Engravings of this portrait attained considerable popu- larity. See 'D.N.B.,' v. 1157.

R. NEVILL.

St. James' Club, Piccadilly, W.

1. INDIAN GALLOPING TO THE SEA. In a letter to Walpole, Richard West speaks of " the wild Indian that galloped with full speed till he came to the sea, and then won- dered that he could gallop no further." Can any reader of ' N. & Q.' say where this incident is related ?

2. " MR. GOOD " GEORGE II. In a letter written in 1737, on the occasion of the death of Queen Caroline, George II. is referred to as " Mr. Good." Was this a recognized nickname for the King ? If so, what was the origin of it ? PAGET TOYNBEE.

Fiveways, Burnham, Bucks.

ST. KATHERINE'S-BY-THE-TOWER. Can any one tell me in whose custody are the registers of this parish ? G. S. PARRY.

17, Ashley Mansions, S.W.

VOLTAIRE IN LONDON. Can any reader inform me where Voltaire stayed in Wands- worth during his residence in England ? R. S. PENGELLY.