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Martina,

Some questions for you at first. What is a nobility diploma? Do you have a copy, and by whom was it issued?

If he was stationed in the Austro-Hungarian Empire then you should consult those archives since that data will be stored there. I don't know about what Nobility Almanach you are talking though so I would apreciate some more detailed information.

Dear Sergej,
The nobility diploma (may be my incorrect translation) is document (letter, in German it is called Adelsbrief or Wappenbrief) issued by the emperor; in case of Isácovics it was Franz the First in 1806. It promotes the Gabriel Isákovics to the aristocracy (noble) level and explains the reasons why he is promoted are mentioned in the letter (heroic and charity acts during the war against Turkey and plague epidemy in a in Syrmian??? for instance). The document also describes the heraldic sign (crest or coat of arms) that man can use. Since that time all descendants of Gabriel begun to use the "von" before their surname. The original of the letter is probably stored in some archive in Wien. I have a transcript of this letter in old German and also the picture of the crest. In the document are mentioned people from my first message in this forum. From all the sources I have I deduced they were from Mitrovica (which one I do not know) I would like to visit this town once I will be sure which one it is, as I can understand, there are more towns of this name in former Yugoslavia. Here in Czech the noble and aristocracy statuts were cancelled in 1918. So my Great grandpa wos born Von Isakovics but died as Isakovics:-). Von Isákovics were the members of so called lower aristocracy and the belonged to Hungarian aristocracy.

Nobility Almanachs are the genealogical books that were and they still are printed in various countries and mention the family members, their childrens and some data. Most famous were printed in Gotha in Germany. I have a copy of one printed in 1878 in Brno/BrÃјnn. But it mentions only the Czech line from Georg the son of Gabriel. So I hope to find some Serbian or Chroatian aristocracy genealogy books that my list the other Gabriel's children.

May be there are some information in Mitrovica about births of all Isákovics' children or siblings. I would also like to trace the ancestors of Gabriel and Petr, to learn where were they from and it is always fun to find some Great cousins all around the world:-)
I hope this is explanation you asked for.

Have a good day,Martina

And Sergej, I forgot to mention that my Grandma used to say we have Serbian blood in our veins, and she thinks it explains our temper, noisy behavior and taste to live.
M.

Hello Martina,

Thank you, the reason I asked the questions is because we sometimes get people claiming things they can't proof.

The Adelsbrief is crucial, I am glad you have it without it you couldn't proof he was granted anything. I do not know if you have a family tree online, but if you want you can use the system we have on our site and put your family tree there. That way any relatives will find you in the (near) future. So let me know if you want that. See http://www.rodoslovlje.com/rodoslov/

Now there are a lot of Serbs that served in the Austro-Hungarian empire, some of them were granted some form of nobility due to their service. See it as a Purple Star. There was no nobility in Serbia (even not today) it was abolished since the Ottoman occupation. Now the surname Isaković is a name being used even today. So what we could do is write the archives in Mitrovica.

Also it would be nice to see a copy/scan of the Adelsbrief and the letter of arms to verify it. See if we have something on file here. Do you have the date of birth of your direct ancestor? Or that of his spouse? It will make it easier.

Let me know what you think and feel free to send me PM through the forum.