Because felis might not know the relevant Lehndorff entry (it's not in my Rheinsberg collection of Lehndorff diary entries), here it is again, from June 1765 in Volume II, Lehndorff Unplugged: Alles beschäftigt sich jetzt mit dem Handel. Die Bank kommt nach dem Jägerhof. Frau von Keith, der der König dieses Haus auf Lebenszeit überlassen hatte, wird von Sr. Majestät mit jährlich 1800 Talern sehr großmütig enschädigt.
It occurs to me this doesn't actually have to mean Peter and Ariane were living at the Jägerhof before Peter's death. Just that Ariane, as a widow, had been given the Jägerhof for her lifetime and now got a pension instead. Given there was a war inbetween Peter's death and this entry, during which Berlin had been occupied twice, which is why Lehndorff's mother was taken in by Ariane during one of these events, I wouldn't be surprised if either new living space or just something to draw an income from would have been necessary. After all, owning property can be profitable without you ever living there. (One of the reasons why Wusterhausen was an issue briefly after Fritz' death, see my reply elsewhere, was that it was still a florishing country estate worth about 40 000 Taler per annum.) So giving Ariane the Jägerhof might have been an attempt to make her financially secure, given she was a widow with two sons to raise, which was subsequently replaced by a direct pension.
BTW, looking up that Lehndorff entry has reminded me this was a terrible time for him. In the previous month, May 1765, he got sick, both his daughter and son died shortly after another, and then his wife got sick (though would not die yet).
All my happiness and my only joy were my dearly beloved children. My three years old beautiful boy who could walk and talk already was my everything. On the 7th, these dear children and my entire family celebrated my birthday. Since I was sick and in bed, these two angels came into my room and both handed me flowers. Of all the celebrations ever done for me, this was the dearest. With intense joy, I regarded these two dear sprouts, and my heart was overflowing. But my God, what a blow was ahead of me! I had started to recover somewhat, and my sister Podewils, who had lived with us for eight months, decided to return to Stettin. This made me very sad, and on the day of her departure a nameless misery came upon me. In order to distract me a bit, I searched for my children and found them both rather well, but they did cough, which didn't seem dangerous to me. At 5 pm I was told that the children suddenly had started to have fits. Immediately I was with them. It had been only a slight attack, and after a quarter of an hour, they were both calm again, so that I, too, started to calm down. When I went to bed in the evening, I was again given good news about their state. But on the 15th, my little daughter (Töchterchen, the pet form of the word) woke up at 4 am in terrible fits, and despite all ossible attempts and help, the dear child died at eight in the morning. The pain which this sad event had caused me can not be put in words. I pleaded with all the world and prayed to God to let me keep at least my son. This dear child seemed to do better again, I let him be moved to my room and did not leave his bedside for an instant. All the 15th, I had hope that God would let me keep him, but on the 16th, at 11 in the morning the fits started anew, and on the 17th at 5 in the morning I had lost my son as well. My hand cannot hold the pen. What one feels in such a situation cannot be expressed through words. I can only say that one does not die of pain despite prefering to be dead. My God! Is it possible that a human being survives such a blow! I was shattered, went from one room to the next and then went to my wife, whom I found extremely distressed but at least calm. I sat down at her bedside in order to commiserate our misfortune. Suddenly she tells me she feels sick; I jump up to support her, but she falls into my arms cold as death. I call for help. My brother-in-law Schlippenbach, Fräulein v. Horn and Fräulein v. Chaselons wo have just arrived to give me their condolences enter and stand around horrified when they saw the extent of the misfortune that had attacked me. I believed my wife would not live an hour longer; she had such terrible fits that I saw the moment arrive when she would take her last breath. She was bled, and one gave her the strongest smelling salts, but she still was between life and death for 24 hours longer.
And then she recovered.... for now. It's the kind of passage that didn't make it into the original volume because I guess Schmidt-Lötzen figured the readers wouldn't be interested in Lehndorff's family, but which really contribute to show who he was aside from his relationships with the Hohenzollern.
Jägershof and Lehndorff
It occurs to me this doesn't actually have to mean Peter and Ariane were living at the Jägerhof before Peter's death. Just that Ariane, as a widow, had been given the Jägerhof for her lifetime and now got a pension instead. Given there was a war inbetween Peter's death and this entry, during which Berlin had been occupied twice, which is why Lehndorff's mother was taken in by Ariane during one of these events, I wouldn't be surprised if either new living space or just something to draw an income from would have been necessary. After all, owning property can be profitable without you ever living there. (One of the reasons why Wusterhausen was an issue briefly after Fritz' death, see my reply elsewhere, was that it was still a florishing country estate worth about 40 000 Taler per annum.) So giving Ariane the Jägerhof might have been an attempt to make her financially secure, given she was a widow with two sons to raise, which was subsequently replaced by a direct pension.
BTW, looking up that Lehndorff entry has reminded me this was a terrible time for him. In the previous month, May 1765, he got sick, both his daughter and son died shortly after another, and then his wife got sick (though would not die yet).
All my happiness and my only joy were my dearly beloved children. My three years old beautiful boy who could walk and talk already was my everything. On the 7th, these dear children and my entire family celebrated my birthday. Since I was sick and in bed, these two angels came into my room and both handed me flowers. Of all the celebrations ever done for me, this was the dearest. With intense joy, I regarded these two dear sprouts, and my heart was overflowing. But my God, what a blow was ahead of me! I had started to recover somewhat, and my sister Podewils, who had lived with us for eight months, decided to return to Stettin. This made me very sad, and on the day of her departure a nameless misery came upon me. In order to distract me a bit, I searched for my children and found them both rather well, but they did cough, which didn't seem dangerous to me. At 5 pm I was told that the children suddenly had started to have fits. Immediately I was with them. It had been only a slight attack, and after a quarter of an hour, they were both calm again, so that I, too, started to calm down. When I went to bed in the evening, I was again given good news about their state. But on the 15th, my little daughter (Töchterchen, the pet form of the word) woke up at 4 am in terrible fits, and despite all ossible attempts and help, the dear child died at eight in the morning. The pain which this sad event had caused me can not be put in words. I pleaded with all the world and prayed to God to let me keep at least my son. This dear child seemed to do better again, I let him be moved to my room and did not leave his bedside for an instant. All the 15th, I had hope that God would let me keep him, but on the 16th, at 11 in the morning the fits started anew, and on the 17th at 5 in the morning I had lost my son as well. My hand cannot hold the pen. What one feels in such a situation cannot be expressed through words. I can only say that one does not die of pain despite prefering to be dead. My God! Is it possible that a human being survives such a blow! I was shattered, went from one room to the next and then went to my wife, whom I found extremely distressed but at least calm. I sat down at her bedside in order to commiserate our misfortune. Suddenly she tells me she feels sick; I jump up to support her, but she falls into my arms cold as death. I call for help. My brother-in-law Schlippenbach, Fräulein v. Horn and Fräulein v. Chaselons wo have just arrived to give me their condolences enter and stand around horrified when they saw the extent of the misfortune that had attacked me. I believed my wife would not live an hour longer; she had such terrible fits that I saw the moment arrive when she would take her last breath. She was bled, and one gave her the strongest smelling salts, but she still was between life and death for 24 hours longer.
And then she recovered.... for now. It's the kind of passage that didn't make it into the original volume because I guess Schmidt-Lötzen figured the readers wouldn't be interested in Lehndorff's family, but which really contribute to show who he was aside from his relationships with the Hohenzollern.