How can I find a German family by their crest?
I just inherited a ring that has been passed down in my family since WWI. My great grandfather (who was a scoundrel) took a brooch off of a dead German officer in 1915 in Belgium. He had it converted into a ring.
In 1931, my great grandfather coincidentally met the brother of the dead officer. The brother saw the ring and said, "That looks remarkably like a brooch that has been in my family in Bavaria for a long time."
I'm not actually sure if it's a crest, now that I write this. And it's pretty small. If possible, I'd love to figure out how to get it back to that family, but I have no idea where to begin.
I happen to be extraordinarily familiar with a similar situation (long story). I think you should be careful who you discuss this with, particularly if the previous owners might get involved.
My advice would be to go to Bavaria yourself, and destroy the ring.
It sounds like an interesting thing to look up. One thing you might want to remember though is that some in Europe, Irish and Scots particularly, get a kick out of winding up guys from America who look a bit gullible and inquire about some connection they have to someone’s country. You’d be surprised how many times I’ve heard Oh you’re from Scotland, do you know Kenneth/Hamish/Calum/etc?” and it is genuinely tempting to say “Yes” and make something silly up.
So just mentally prepare yourself that this could end up being the punchline of a joke that was originally told 100 years back :-)
I'd probably just post it here or on Reddit, there are people who'd take up the challenge for free.
Post on reddits /r/whatisthisthing
They can find almost anything.
At least in the Nordic countries there's a book released every 5 years with a list of all noble families including the very minor ones, and all currently living members of said families, with their crests. There's probably a German equivalent if you look for it and you could find it there.
If the OP would just post a picture of the ring he would probably have the answer by now.
If it's heraldic, it's sometimes pretty easy to figure out the blazon (The verbal description, which is considered the real definition, the actual picture can have artistic license) for simple things, and then a search can often tell you.
In spite of all the various potential high-tech solutions -- i.e., Google Lens -- I would strongly advise just contacting an antiques brooch specialist. They will know where to look, or may even know the crest from taking an immediate look.
I love the power of technology to make knowledge accessible, but sometimes I feel that we forget that deep expertise exists in people too. There will be someone -- if not a couple of people -- have have likely spent their full life /only/ learning about Bavarian brooches.
First step is to post a link to an image of the supposed crest.
I'd try a google lens, or google image search, as a first try. Reddit and history stackexchange could prove useful too.
I'm based in Munich (with roots in north-eastern Bavaria), so if you have something specific only a local can do to help, I can see what I can do. Contact details are in my profile.
Use r/whatisthisthing that subreddit is like the research department of the internet.
Have you tried Google Lens?