John, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen

John, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen
Spouse(s) Sophie Charlotte of Salm-Dhaun
Noble family House of Wittelsbach
Father John Charles, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen
Mother Marie Esther of Witzleben
Born 24 May 1698(1698-05-24)
Gelnhausen
Died 10 February 1780(1780-02-10) (aged 81)
Mannheim

John, Count Palatine of Gelnhausen (24 May 1698 in Gelnhausen – 10 February 1780 in Mannheim) was Count Palatine and Duke of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld at Gelnhausen.

Life

John was the younger son of the Duke and Count Palatine John Charles of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen (1638-1704) from his second marriage with Marie Esther ( 1665-1725), a daughter of Baron George Frederick of Witzleben at Elgersburg.

He was a Feldzeugmeister in the army of the Electoral Palatinate and commander of all troops and knights of the Palatinate Order of St. Hubert. John was also a governor of Palatine Duchy of Jülich and commander of the fortress of Jülich. He mainly lived in Mannheim. After the death of his brother Fredrick Bernard in 1739, he succeeded as Count Palatine of Birkenfeld-Gelnhausen.

Marriage and issue

Johann married in 1743 in Dhaun with Sophie Charlotte (1719-1770), a daughter of the Wild- and Rhinegrave Charles of Salm-Dhaun. Theu had the following children:

married Count Henry XXX of Reuss-Gera (1727-1802)
married in 1780 Countess Palatine Maria Anna of Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1753-1824)

References

This article incorporates information from the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.