This article is from the German Genealogy FAQ, by Jim Eggert EggertJ@crosswinds.net with numerous contributions by others.
The standard series of books on German nobility is the Gotha
series, which has appeared under various titles since the late
18th century. Look in your library catalog for a title similar
to "Gothaisches genealogisches Taschenbuch der adeligen H"auser"
or "Genealogisches Handbuch des Adels". The latter has an online
surname index at <http://www.rootsweb.com/~autwgw/sgi/index.htm>
Herbert Stoyan has an excellent online resource for noble
genealogy called WW-Person at
<http://www8.informatik.uni-erlangen.de/html/ww-person.html>
Paul Theroff has an online Gotha at
<http://pages.prodigy.net/ptheroff/gotha/gotha.htm>
Please be advised, however, that stories of noble relations in
American families are often exaggerated.
 
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