Hermann, Prince of Wied (; 22 May 18145 March 1864) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

nobleman, elder son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied. He was the father of

Queen Elisabeth of Romania Elisabeth of Wied (Pauline Elisabeth Ottilie Luise; 29 December 18432 March 1916) was the first Queen of Romania as the wife of King Carol I from 15 March 1881 to 27 September 1914. She had been the princess consort of Romania since her marri ...

and the grandfather of

William, Prince of Albania Wilhelm, Prince of Albania (Wilhelm Friedrich Heinrich; , 26 March 1876 – 18 April 1945) was sovereign of the Principality of Albania from 7 March to 3 September 1914. His reign officially came to an end on 31 January 1925, when the country w ...

Early life

Hermann was the second child and first son of Johann August Karl, Prince of Wied (1779–1836), son of Friedrich Karl, Prince of Wied and Countess Marie of

Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg was one of several imperial counties and later principalities ruled by the House of Sayn-Wittgenstein. Most of the former county is located in the present district of Siegen-Wittgenstein (in the modern state of North ...

, and his wife, Princess Sophie Auguste of

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. History Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Princi ...

(1796–1855), daughter of

William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels Wilhelm Christian Karl, 3rd Prince of Solms Braunfels (9 January 1759, in Braunfels – 20 March 1837, in Braunfels) was by succession an immediate Prince, then a nobleman and head of the Princely House of Solms-Braunfels, a Prussian major genera ...

and his wife Countess Auguste of Salm-Grumbach.

Texas

In 1842, along with 20 other representatives of the

German nobility The German nobility () and Royal family, royalty were status groups of the Estates of the realm, medieval society in Central Europe, which enjoyed certain Privilege (law), privileges relative to other people under the laws and customs in the Ger ...

, Prince Hermann founded the "''

Adelsverein The ''Mainzer Adelsverein at Biebrich am Rhein'' (''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwanderer in Texas''; "Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas"), better known as the ''Mainzer Adelsverein'' (; "Nobility Society of Mainz"), orga ...

, Society for the Protection of German Immigrants in Texas". The settlement of

New Wied, Texas New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

, a few miles north of

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north of San Antonio, and part ...

on the Guadalupe River located on the eastern side of

Comal County Comal County ( ) is a County (United States), county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 161,501. Comal County is known for its rich German-Texan and Eu ...

, was established after more than 300 German settlers in the New Braunfels region died in the epidemic of 1846. The society also established the village of

Wied, Texas Wied is an unincorporated area in west central Lavaca County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is located near U.S. Route 90 Alternate (US 90A) west of the county seat at Hallettsville. The first Anglo-American settlers arrived here in the 1830 ...

in Lavaca County. Hermann purchased a share in the society after he became engaged to the sister of

Wilhelm, Duke of Nassau Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unti ...

, the protector of the society. He took no active part in the society until 1847, when it became apparent that, because of debts and dissension, a new, more businesslike approach had to be taken in order to save the reputations and investments of the noblemen. Starting in 1847, Hermann's director of business affairs,

August von Bibra August Ludwig Karl Georg Friedrich Freiherr von Bibra (30 January 1808, Romrod – 1894) was director of the business affairs of Hermann, prince of Wied. He became general manager of the Adelsverein, or ''Verein zum Schutze Deutscher Einwand ...

became actively involved in the affairs of the Verein. When the prince was elected president of the society in 1851, following Carl, 3rd Prince of Leiningen, Bibra took over complete management of the enterprise. Bibra struggled for more than ten years to repay the Verein debts and to revitalize the emigration program.

Marriage

Hermann married on 20 June 1842 in Biebrich,

Princess Marie of Nassau Princess Marie of Nassau (; 29 January 182524 March 1902) was the eighth child and fourth daughter of William, Duke of Nassau and wife of Hermann, 4th Prince of Wied. She was the mother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. Early life Marie was born a ...

(1825–1902), daughter of

William, Duke of Nassau Wilhelm (Given names: ''Georg Wilhelm August Heinrich Belgicus''; 14 June 1792, Kirchheimbolanden – 20/30 August 1839, Bad Kissingen) was joint sovereign Duke of Nassau, along with his father's cousin Frederick Augustus, reigning from 1816 unti ...

and his first wife

Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen Princess Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen (''Charlotte Luise Friederike Amalie Alexandrine''; 28 January 1794 – 6 April 1825) was a member of the House of Saxe-Hildburghausen, and a Princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen by birth. Through her marriage ...

. They had three children: * Princess Elisabeth of Wied (29 December 1843 – 3 March 1916) married

Carol I of Romania Carol I or Charles I of Romania (born Karl Eitel Friedrich Zephyrinus Ludwig von Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen; 20 April 1839 – ), was the monarch of Romania from 1866 to his death in 1914, ruling as Prince (''Domnitor'') from 1866 to 1881, and as ...

, had issue. *

William, Prince of Wied William V, Prince of Wied (; 22 August 184522 October 1907) was a German army officer and politician, elder son of Hermann, Prince of Wied. He was the father of William, Prince of Albania and brother of Queen Elisabeth of Romania. By birth he ...

(22 August 1845 – 22 October 1907) married

Princess Marie of the Netherlands Princess Marie of the Netherlands (; 5 June 184122 June 1910) was the fourth child and younger daughter of Prince Frederick of the Netherlands and wife of William, 5th Prince of Wied. She was the mother of William, Prince of Albania. She was the ...

, had issue. * Prince Otto of Wied (22 November 1850 – 18 February 1862)

Ancestry

Notes and sources

*Neue Deutsche Biografie (NDB), Band 3, Seite 149 *The Royal House of Stuart, London, 1969, 1971, 1976, Addington, A. C., Reference: 336 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermann of Wied 1814 births 1864 deaths Members of the Prussian House of Lords People from Neuwied People from New Braunfels, Texas House of Wied-Neuwied