sentences:  The founder of the Rhenish branch was Count Stephan I of Sponheim (d. 1080), who may have been a 1st cousin, a son or a nephew of Siegfried.One of his successors Gottfried III (1183–1218) married Adelheid of Sayn, sister and heiress of the last Count of Sayn, Henry II.In 1437 this branch's ruling male line in Sponheim died out, and female line descendants, namely the Margraves of Baden and the Counts Palatine of Simmern-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld, took on the title of Count to Sponheim, along with the Elector of the Palatinate, who had received a small part as dowry.