House of Wettin‑Dernbach Lineage

A Direct Bloodline Preserved for Over 1,000 Years

The House of Wettin‑Dernbach represents an unbroken ancestral line descending from the ancient House of Wettin, one of Europe’s oldest noble dynasties. This lineage begins with Dedo I of Wettin (950) and continues through the early Margraves of Meissen, forming the foundation of countless European noble houses.

From Theodoric I, Margrave of Meissen, the line continues through his firstborn son with Maria, Heinrich von Dernbach, whose descendants carried the family name and heritage forward for centuries. This branch became known as the House of Wettin‑Dernbach, rooted in the medieval Lords of Dernbach and preserved through generations of nobility, landholding, and regional leadership.

As the centuries progressed, the Dernbach line migrated westward, eventually reaching the American colonies. Through this journey, the family name evolved into Turnpaugh and later Turnbow, but the bloodline remained intact. Each silhouette on the tree represents a direct descendant, honoring the continuity of the lineage even as eras, nations, and surnames changed.

The modern head of this line, Prince Carl D. Turnbow Sr., stands as the present representative of the House of Wettin‑Dernbach, carrying forward a heritage that spans more than a millennium. This tree preserves the story of a family whose origins lie in medieval Saxony and whose legacy continues today through its living descendants.