Hello,

Please forgive the length of this post...I am looking for any
information anyone may have on a cross. (Please view photos of the
cross at: http://www.geocities.com/kristin223/cross.html). The cross
is supposed to have come from Venice with Florentine stones (possibly
from Catherine De Medici or the Hapsburg line). It is supposed to
offer proof of the title given to one of my Dalmatian ancestors of the
title "Baroness Von Jeager." The title is matrilineal handed down to
the firstborn girl of each generation. My aunt died in April of this
year and passed the cross on to me (firstborn girl of my generation).
I have a six year old daughter (the firstborn of her generation) and
would like to have this all worked out before I die and pass it on to
her...

I am especially interested in the portions of the mosaic that are
missing. I would like to know what should go in those spaces so that I
can restore the cross before passing it down. I think that it may be a
family crest with one of the four sides missing. On the back of the
cross is imprinted: "Baroness Von Jeager" down one side and "Kathe
Viens" down the other. If you have seen one similar to this or know
where I might find more information about titles given from Hasburg
royalty in Dalmatia, I would very much appreciate it!

I am also not sure who was the ancestor who received the cross
originally. So far, I have traced that side of my family back to
Orasac, Dalmatia in Croatia. My great grandmother's mother is listed
as Mary Valles. My great grandmother was Domenica Ann Janovich who was
born there in Orasac on 14 May 1883. I am confident about Domenica's
information but Valles doesn't sound very Croatian to me (it may just
be one of the many translations that make genealogy in Croatia such a
special challenge or she may not have been from Croatia**gasp**).

To be fair, my aunt was filled with wild and wonderful stories. I was
floored when the cross she had always talked about actually existed.
So now, I'm just trying to sort out fact from fiction. While it's a
delicious mystery, I really do want to learn the truth, so I genuinely
appreciate any and all input from people more familiar with these
things then I am.

I'm not expecting royalty, it was a title given to my family, not a
blood line. What I am hoping for is someone who would recognize the
type of workmanship, family crest or basically anything about the
cross, the story or any part of any of this. I just have no idea where
to start. I did take the cross into a reputable jeweler (before
posting the message) and was told that the cross was definitely not
from this century (to ensure that my aunt, in her zeal, didn't pick it
up somewhere to try and make the story seem more credible)...

Thank you for taking the time to read all the way through this. I
can't wait to hear from anyone who might have any suggestions on ways
to solve this mystery.

Thank you, again,
Kristin (Millich) Rivers