Oidtman - The Family Chronicles of the Lieutenant General
Ernst von Oidtman was an accomplished collector of genealogical material. His collection, which he bequeathed to the Philosophical Faculty of the University of Cologne in his will, includes his library as well as his genealogical sheets. Oidtman had collected and recorded genealogical documents in 1333 folders. This handwritten collection, which was widely used in the UCL, was published by Herbert M. Schleicher in 18 volumes in 1992-1999 under the title "Ernst von Oidtman und seine genealogisch-heraldische Sammlung" and indexed by a register volume. The collection also included over 200 portraits. The portraits are now included in the portrait collection of the UCL. Oidtman's library has been incorporated into the stock of the University and City Library. The volumes often contain Oidtman's ex-libris or a handwritten record of ownership.
Biographical notes on Ernst von Oidtman
Ernst von Oidtman was born in Bonn on 9 October 1854 as the tenth child of the former major Josef von Oidtman and his wife Caroline, born Freifrau von Eberstein. In 1870 he left the Gymnasium without graduation to enter the Kadettenhaus in Berlin. His military career began here in 1871 and ended in 1912 as a Prussian lieutenant general. The service allowed him to pursue his extensive family research. For a total of sixty years Oidtman collected genealogical data, mainly from Rhenish noble families. He created family trees, searched for source material in many archives and collected genealogical artefacts such as nobility diplomas, illustrations of emblems, sketches of newspaper clippings, obituaries and much more. He published about 280 articles in various historical journals, but mainly in the "Mitteilungen der Westdeutschen Gesellschaft für Familienkunde" published from 1913 onwards. Oidtman was an honorary member of various regional history associations. The University of Cologne awarded him an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Philosophy in 1922. From 1893 he was married to Luise Freiin von Ritter zu Groenesteyn (1868-1936). The marriage remained childless. Ernst von Oidtman died in Wiesbaden on 18 September 1937.
Selected Literature (German)
Limburg, Hans: Ernst von Oidtman (1854-1937), in: Kölner Sammler und ihre Bücherkollektionen in der Universitäts- und Stadtbibliothek, Köln, 2003.