Richter Belmont was the last Belmont to wield the Vampire Killer against Dracula for over 200 years. It was not until Julius fought in 1999 did it happen again. While descendants of the Belmonts stepped up to face Dracula in the interim, the question has been in my head; how were all the descendants related?

          I don't claim that any of this is "Truth" because Konami has never confirmed nor denied any of it. My evidence is the times of the games and what I know about the stories. I am also basing all of this on 2 assumptions. The first being that Richter Belmont had several siblings, most likely sisters due to the apparent disappearance of the Belmont surname. It is however entirely possible that he had brothers as well. The second is that Richter's parents also had several siblings each.

          Let's look at the 1st point in the timeline where Belmont Descendants fight Dracula. Circle of the Moon takes place in 1830, and depicts the hunter Morris Baldwin, his son, Hugh, and the student they are training, Nathan Graves. All three are depicted as Belmont Descendants. The actual tie is never made clear, but there are theories out there as to what it is. My own theory is that Morris Baldwin is one of Richter's first cousins, the son of one of the sisters of one of his parents perhaps. Morris looks to be in his mid fifties in the game, which would place his birth sometime in the mid 1770's. It is very possible that he learned a few things from Richter as the game says Morris fought Dracula in 1820. As far as Nathan goes, since he too is a descendant, and that Morris took him in willingly. This leads me to believe that Nathan is Morris's nephew. They would have to have a close family bond in order to be in training. A weaker bond would have meant they were more distant.

          After Circle, it is said the whip fell to Michael Gelhardt Schnider, another descendant. The Family Tree says that Michael was born in 1798. If we assume that Richter was not an only child, we can theorize that Michael is Richter's nephew, the son of one of Richter's sisters. If Richter and his siblings were born in the 1770's, then for a sister to have a child in 1798 is plausible. The tree states that Michael's son, Reinhardt, hero of Castlevania 64, was born in 1827. This would make him 25 at the time the game takes place in 1852. While his sprite suggests he's 20 at most, this is not too serious an issue and I can accept 1827 as his year of birth.

          Now it becomes unclear as the next incident occurs in 1897 when Quincey Morris kills Dracula in the novel. Knowing that in the novel that he is from Texas, and that his son, John, was 2 years old at the time, we can theorize that Quincey is at most in his early to mid forties when the novel takes place. This means he was born somewhere between 1852 and 1857. If we consider Reinhardt's good ending from CV64, we know he got together with Rosa. We also know that Reinhardt was picked on as a child for being a Belmont Descendant. It is entirely possible that after CV64, Reinhardt and Rosa emigrated to the United States and settled in Texas. To further blend in and hide from anyone who might know of the Belmonts, they could have changed their last name. Morris as a surname would have been a way of honoring a relative and fellow hunter. The American Civil War beginning in 1860 would mean that this move would have to be before the start of the war. Which would make the dates line up much more smoothly.

          According to Portrait of Ruin's manual, Jonathan Morris, is 18 years old in 1944. This means he was born in 1926. We know that he remembers his father, John Morris, but that John died when he was young. John's death could have come in a number of years, but I am placing that date in 1932. Jonathan would have been 6 at the time, old enough to remember him, but not old enough to have learned a whole lot about fighting. The manual also says that Eric Lecarde died at age 50 when he went in to investigate the castle, contradicting the character selection screen of Bloodlines, which says he was born in 1892. Not too serious an issue, but I am going with 1894 as Eric's birth year.

          There now exists a gap of 55 years from Portrait of Ruin to Julius's battle in 1999. Aria of Sorrow's manual says that Julius, known as "J" was 55 at the time, 2035. Meaning he was born in 1980. No games cover that time frame so we cannot say if anything happened during that stretch. However, knowing that Jonathan learned that the Belmonts would reclaim the whip at that time, it is possible that he knew of the existence of Julius. While there could have been factions of the family that changed their name back to Belmont, I am of the belief that there existed one branch, directly descended from Richter, that kept the name all along, knowing that when the time came, they would be ready. The reason for this theory is that by keeping the surname alive throughout the whole period, the whip would know that a true successor still existed. It is possible that the whip would recognize Julius's branch of the family as changing its name from Belmont and changing it back, and thus considering them descendants, meaning Julius would have had to fight Whip's Memory. His being a "True Belmont" means he would not have to face such a trial, as the whip would recognize him.

          But if we want to get REALLY CRAZY, I have yet another theory regarding Morris Baldwin. What if Morris Baldwin…….IS RICHTER BELMONT! He looks to be about the same age as Richter. It is possible that after SOTN, Richter, fearing backlash from the local people, fled Transylvania with Annet, settled in another part of Europe and changed their name to Baldwin. Richter would have likely known about the 1999 prophecy, but this would have given him, and future Belmonts a potential loophole. But this would fall apart with Hugh not being named Morris's successor.

          Again, I do not claim any of this as "Truth." Everything I have said is purely theoretical. Maybe one day, Konami will shed light on the period between Richter and Julius and explain the full family tree of the Belmont clan.