Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld

Franz Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (b. Saalfeld, 25 September 1697 ndash d. Rodach, 16 September 1764) was a duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld.

He was the fourth living son of John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, the third being born by his father's second wife Charlotte Johanne of Waldeck-Pyrmont.

During his youth, Francis Josias served into the Imperial Army.

The death of his two older brothers Wilhelm Frederick (28 July 1720) and Charles Ernest (30 December 1720) made him the second in line in the succession of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, preceded only by his older half-brother, Christian Ernest.

When Christian Ernest married unequally in 1724, Francis Josias claimed the sole inheritance of the duchy. The testament of his father (1729) however compelled him rule jointly with his brother. In 1735, the support of the line of Saxe-Meiningen allowed him to effectively rule over Coburg on his own right, and Christian Ernest's death in 1745 made him the sole Duke. Already in 1733 he had proclaimed "primogenitur" in the duchy, which however was confirmed by the Emperor only in 1747. From 1750 to 1755, he was regent of the duchy of Saxe-Weimar on behalf of Ernst August II Konstantin.

Ancestry

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1= 1. Francis Josias, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
2= 2. John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
3= 3. Charlotte Johanne of Waldeck-Pyrmont
4= 4. Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg
5= 5. Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg
6= 6. Josias II, Count of Waldeck and Pyrmont
7= 7. Wilhelmine Christine of Nassau-Siegen
8= 8. John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
9= 9. Dorothea Maria of Anhalt
10= 10. Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg
11= 11. Elisabeth of Brünswick-Wolfenbüttel
12= 12. Philipp VII, Count of Waldeck-Wildungen
13= 13. Anna of Sayn-Wittgenstein
14= 14. Wilhelm, Count of Nassau-Siegen
15= 15. Christina, Countess of Erbach
16= 16. Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
17= 17. Dorothea Susanne of Simmern
18= 18. Joachinm Ernst, Prince of Anhalt
19= 19. Eleonore of Württemberg
20= 20. Frederick Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
21= 21. Anna Marie of Bavaria-Neuburg
22= 22. Heinrich Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
23= 23. Elisabeth of Denmark
24= 24. Christian, Count at Waldeck-Wildungen
25= 25. Elisabeth von Nassau-Siegen
26= 26. Wilhelm II, Count of Sayn-Wittgenstein
27= 27. Anna Ottilie of Nassau-Weilburg
28= 28. Johann II (VII), Count of Nassau-Siegen
29= 29. Magdalena of Waldeck-Wildungen
30= 30. George III, Count of Erbach
31= 31. Maria of Barby-Mühlingen

Issue

In Rudolstadt on 2 January 1723 Franz Josias married with Anna Sophie of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. They had eight children:
#Ernst Frederick (b. Saalfeld, 8 March 1724 - d. Coburg, 8 September 1800).
#Johann Wilhelm (b. Coburg, 11 May 1726 - killed in battle, Hohenfriedberg, 4 June 1745).
#Anna Sophie (b. Coburg, 3 September 1727 - d. Coburg, 10 November 1728).
#Christian Franz (b. Coburg, 25 January 1730 - d. Coburg, 18 September 1797).
#Charlotte Sophie (b. Coburg, 24 September 1731 - d. Schwerin, 2 August 1810), married on 13 May 1755 to Ludwig of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.
#Fredericka Magdalene (b. Coburg, 21 August 1733 - d. Coburg, 29 March 1734).
#Fredericka Caroline (b. Coburg, 24 June 1735 - d. Schloß Schwaningen, 18 February 1791), married on 22 November 1754 to Karl Alexander, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
#Frederick Josias (b. Schloß Ehrenburg, Coburg, 26 December 1737 - d. Coburg, 26 February 1815).

External links

* [http://www.geocities.com/kaiser_prussia/saxe_coburg_gotha_franz_josias.html Pedigree]
* [http://www8.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/cgi-bin/stoyan/l3/LANG=engl/F=Franz@Josias/N=v.Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld WW-Person: A data base of the higher nobility in Europe.]