Was the stepfather of Christian Theodor von Pincier a Swedish Nobleman? I don't think so.

Question

Christian Theodor was born in 1750. His mother was soon widowed and then married Georges-Henri de Pincier.

The article in Wikipedia states that Georges-Henri de Pincier was a descendant of Baron Pincier, whose family had received their patent of nobility in Stockholm from Charles XII of Sweden in 1698.

There was indeed a Pincier ennobled in Sweden in 1698 baron Johan Ludvig Pincier (1660-1730) - full name and titles Johan Ludvig Pincier, friherre Pincier, friherre till Königstein, arvherre till Öhe och Dallroth

According to Gustaf Elgenstierna (1925-36), Den introducerade svenska adelns ättartavlor (republished at https://www.adelsvapen.com/genealogi/Pincier_nr_109) Johan Ludvig Pincier had roots in a noble family in Thüringen, later in Hessen and lastly in Lübeck (uncertain if they still had a noble title by then).

Johan Ludvig Pincier was born in Lübeck 1660. He eventually became a tutor to Frederick IV, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, whom he followed everywhere on his journeys, also in Sweden. Frederick of Holstein Gottorp married Princess Hedwig Sophia of Sweden in 1698, which was also the year that Johan Ludvig Pincier was appointed a baron by Charles XII of Sweden.

However, Johan Ludvig Pincier was the last of his male line. He had three daughters and two sons, who both died in Lübeck, before their father.

So Georges-Henri de Pincier was not a descendant in the male line of a Pincier ennobled in Sweden.

Answer 1

I think you answered your question when you state that Christian was born to his mother wed to another man firstly.  He would not become ennobled through his mother's second or subsequent marriages, even if she managed to marry a king.  

For the other point, it is possible that Georges-Henri is descended from a family who became ennobled.  It would not make him ennobled necessarily, especially if the original Johan Ludvig was some type of uncle or half brother of Georges-Henri's direct male line.  It could also be that Pincier is also an illegitimate child of the noble family using the last name without title.

But for the most part, nobility has to be proven.  There are "colleges" of this information in every country across Europe for this express purpose. If you cannot locate a "DeBrett's" like reference for his title, chances are you are correct.

Comments

Thank you for answering. It's true that in a manner I'm answering my own question, in pointing out that Georges-Henri de Pincier could not be a descendant in the male line of the Pincier who was ennobled in Sweden. You are right that Georges-Henri could be descended from another branch of the Pincier family. Unfortunately I have no idea about Pincier genealogy in Germany or France, I just wanted to contribute the information that I can access by my ability to read and understand Swedish.

Christian Theodor von Pincier has an interesting background: His profile and Wikipedia explain that he was the illegitimate son of duke Karl I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel and a married Frenchwoman, Marie Claire Desmarets, whose husband, a captain de Martigny committed suicide. Marie Claire Desmarets then married Georges-Henri de Pincier, who was either "of French origin" or a "baron Pincier of Sweden", and who adopted Christian Theodore.

It was brought to my attention - through this G2G question: https://www.wikitree.com/g2g/31037/children-of-german-noble-karl-i-welf?show=1523976#a1523976 - that, since a record of his birth is proving hard to find, a "birth certificate" for Christian Theodor was being sought in Sweden, because of the Swedish origin of his adoptive father. My small contribution to the matter was to check the facts and discover that the connection of the Pinciers to Sweden was very short-lived and the Pincier who was ennobled in Sweden died without male heirs.

Looking at the given information, it seems to be difficult for the interested parties to find a reliable source for Marie-Claire Desmarets as well. It isn't clear if there have been attempts to find sources for the ancestry of Georges-Henri de Pincier. Neither of them have a WikiTree profile.

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Much of the Wikipedia article particularly concerning his supposed father and mother is unsourced.  Even the details about his mother, having that name and those marriages is not adequately sourced..

Europaische Stammtafeln, new edition vol 1 (1) which usually includes mention of illegitimate lines, has no illegitimate children for Karl I, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel.

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Thanks, John.

I must say that when I looked up the piece of reliable info in Swedish and saw that the claims of Christian Theodor's stepfather being a Swedish baron could not be true, this fabrication, together with the general lack of sources for Christian Theodor's early life and close relatives, gave me a strong impression that the whole story of his beginnings was a family myth.