Year: 2000

de Beauharnais

de Beauharnais

by Justin Durand
Joséphine Tascher de La Pagerie
Joséphine Tascher de La Pagerie

The Beauharnais were an ancient French family of pretended nobility. Through their relationship with Napoléon, they rose to high rank in French and Russian society. They descend from Guillaume Beauharnais, who lived in Orléans, France in the 14th century. The name means “good harness”.

François de Beauharnais, marquis de La Ferté Beauharnais (1714-1800), served as Lt. and Governor-General of the Islands of Martinique, Guadaloupe and Marie-Galande. He became a Chevalier of the Order of Saint Louis. His châtellanie of La Ferté-Aurain was erected into a marquisate by Letters Patent of Louis XV on 6 July 1764.

Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824)
Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824)

François’ son Alexandre, vicomte de Beauharnais (1760-1794) served in the American Revolution. He was Deputy of the Nobility of Blois to the States-General. During the French Revolution, he served as President of the Assembly and Major-General of the Army of the Rhine. He was arrested in March 1794, and executed during the Reign of Terror. His widow Joséphine married Napoléon Bonaparte, later Emperor of the French.

In 1786, the Genealogist of His Majesty’s Orders of Chivalry wrote of the Beauharnais family, “Monsieur [Alexandre] de Beauharnais is not entitled to the Court Honors which he solicits. His is a good middle-class family of Orléans which an old genealogy filed in the office of the Order of the Holy Ghost describes as having been originally known under the name of Beauvi, which it later abandoned to take that of Beauharnais. Some of its members were merchants, magistrates and minor judges in the tribunals of the same town, and other were counselors to the Parlement of Paris. One of its branches, known as Seigneurs de La Bretesche, was condemned by a judgment of M. de Machault, Intendant of Orléans, on 4 April, 1667, as usurping a title of nobility, to pay 2,000 francs fine, which was reduced to 1,000.”

Napoléon I, Emperor of the French
Napoléon I, Emperor of the French
Napoléon I, Emperor of the French
Napoléon I, Emperor of the French

Eugène de Beauharnais (1781-1824) came to prominence through his relationship with Napoléon. As the Emperor’s devoted step-son, Eugène became a General and was created “Prince français” in 1804, and Viceroy of Italy in 1805. He was adopted by his step-father, assumed the additional name “Napoléon”, and was named Heir Presumptive of Italy in 1806. The same year, he made a brilliant marriage to Augusta, daughter of Maximilian I, King of Bavaria. He became Arch Chancellor of the Empire and Prince of Venice in 1807. In a move that indicated he would not be Napoléon’s heir in Italy, he became Hereditary Grand Duke of Frankfort in 1810, but his installation was deferred. That same year he refused the Swedish crown. He remained loyal to Napoléon to the end. In 1817, after Napoléon’s fall, Eugène was created Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstädt by his father-in-law, with the qualification of Royal Highness ad personam.

Eugène’s daughter Josephine von Leuchtenburg (1807-1876) married Oscar I, a member of Sweden’s Bernadotte dynasty, and later King of Sweden. His son Maximilian, Duke of Leuchtenberg (1817-1852) married into the Russian royal family and became ancestor of the Princes Romanovski.

Lineal Genealogy
 

1. François de Beauharnais, Marquis de La Ferté Beauharnais (1714-1800), served as Lt. and Governor-General of the Islands of Martinique, Guadaloupe and Marie-Galande.

2. Alexandre, Vicomte de Beauharnais (1760-1794), married Joséphine Tascher de La Pagerie (1763-1814). He served as an officer in the American Revolution, and during the French Revolution as President of the Assembly. He was arrested during the Reign of Terror and executed. His widow Joséphine survived the Revolution and became the famous Empress Joséphine.

3. Eugène Rose de Beauharnais (1781-1824), married Augusta of Bavaria, daughter of Maximilian I, King of Bavaria and Augusta of Hesse-Därmstadt. He received many honors as step-son and loyal supporter of the the Emperor Napoléon. After Napoléon’s defeat, Eugène became Duke of Leuchtenberg and Prince of Eichstädt.

4. Josephine von Leuchtenberg (1807-1876), married Oscar I, King of Sweden (1799-1859).

Howery Coat of Arms

Howery Coat of Arms

by Justin Durand

Hauri Ancient
Ancient Arms of Hauri

The earliest record of the Hauri coat of arms is an illustration of them in the early 15th century Liber Vitae of the collegiate church of Beromünster, Canton Luzern, to memorialize an undetermined member of the Hauri family. The drawing at right was taken from the Liber Vitae. These arms would be blazoned as:

Azure a dove rising wings elevated and displayed Argent beaked and membered Gules; and for a crest, a dove as in the arms.

The Liber Vitae does not say which Hauri bore these arms, but it was probably either Johann Hauri, Bailiff (Vogt) of Beromünster from 1411, or his first cousin Jacob Hauri, a Canon of Beromünster who served as a judge of the court of lower jurisdiction at Ludigen in 1415. Johann’s descendants and the descendants of Jacob’s brothers used many variations of these arms, usually with the addition of a mill rind.

The arms are notable for being one of the few illustrations in the Liber Vitae to include a crest. In that period, a crest was an additional dignity, usually indicating that a family was of tournament rank. However, the arms have no torse or motto, perhaps a sign that the family was not of knightly rank.

Conrad Hauri, who might have been the ancestor of this family, was a Knight of the Order of Saint Lazarus in the early 1300s. He might have borne these arms. Conrad’s immediate descendants do not seem to have been noble, so the status of the family in the 14th and 15th centuries is uncertain. My own theory is that Conrad Hauri belonged to a noble family, probably one of the ministeriales, but was himself impoverished by the lavish lifestyle expected of the nobility; a common story. I think that Conrad took the only noble occupation open to him, membership in an hospitaller order. His descendants sank in status, to emerge a hundred years later as wealthy burghers and prosperous officials of the collegiate church of Beromünster. Thus, the Hauris circa 1415 were able to claim not only arms, but also a crest, when their peers were adopting simple arms without the crest.

Originally a Gamecock? 

The bird in the Hauri arms is now understood to be a dove and as a dove it appears in the arms of succeeding generations, according to the Staatsarchiv des Kantons Aargau. However, one scholar has suggested that the bird was originally a gamecock hardi (that is, a rooster with comb and wattle cut off for cock fighting). If so, the arms were canting arms, that is, arms that were a picture of the surname. In the Alemannic dialect of Switzerland, the wordhauri means a person who is very loud or boisterous. According to this theory, the arms became corrupted through poor draftsmanship. It is easy to see from the drawing at the top of this page that the bird might be either a gamecock or a dove.

Howery Modern
A modern drawing of the ancient Hauri arms. Many Howerys, Howrys and Howreys in America use some version of these arms.

Variations 

The Hauris in what is now Cantons Aargau and Luzern used many variations of the original arms. The Staatsarchiv des Kantons Aargau has a record of half a dozen variations used by Hauris who served as Untervogts, judges and other local officials. The Staatsarchiv des Kantons Luzern has records of still more variations. The one common element is a white dove on a blue shield. Most variations also contain a mill rind or two. The mill rind symbolized the Hauri’s customary occupation of miller.

My Line

My ancestor Hans Hauri was Untervogt of Reinach. In 1605, he carved his version of the Hauri arms over the door of Schneggen, the new residence he built in 1586:

Bern
Arms of Bern

[Azure] a dove rising wings elevated and displayed upon a trimount [Vert] and in chief two mill rinds addorsed [Argent]; for a crest, a dove as in the arms; and for supporters, two bears passant [Proper].The bear supporters were a deft reminder that the Hauris owed their civic offices to the goodwill of the urban patriciat of the city of Bern, which derives its name from the German word for “bear” and consequently has a bear in its arms. Bern ruled the Aargau at that time.

Similar Arms 

L'Hopital Coat of Arms
L’Hopital Coat of Arms

If the Hauri arms were originally a gamecock, then the Hauris used the same arms as the French de l’Hôpital family, who were descendants of the first royal family of Naples. The de l’Hôpitals later changed their blue shield to red, while an English branch of the family, the Lospitals, retained the blue shield. The coincidence would not be at all remarkable — many families used simple arms that were the same as other families in distant areas — except for the fact that the surname of the French family means “of the Hospital“. I make this point because there might have been some reason why a gamecock was emblematic of membership in a hospitaller order or of hospitals in general.

References 

  • Stift Beromünster, Liber Vitae (early 15th century).
  • Peter Steiner, Die beiden Reinacher Schneggen (1987/88).
  • The Augustan Society, The Augustan Society Roll of Arms, 52-53 (Justin Durand, 5 March 1983).
  • American College of Heraldy, No. 1943 (Justin Howery, 29 February 2000).
Strömsborg

Strömsborg

by Justin Durand

Svensk

Strömsborg by Per Lundqvist

Strömsborg är ett torp som ligger på Sundets västra kant, precis utmed gränsen till Korsbo. Det är från början byggt som undantagsstuga till knekten, när han pensionerades från sin tjänst. Men när man sålde av Sundet från frälset 1911 följde Strömsborg med i affären, men styckades 1929 ? av och blev ett eget torp (Ekvik 3:11). Knekten Svanström hade dock rätt enligt ensittarlagen att bo kvar där under sin och hustruns livstid. Det består av ett hus av normal torpstorlek med en lagård för två stycken nötkreatur, en bod samt en jordkällare. Åke Rickard byggde under sin tid där till det, så att det idag ser ut som Southfork i Dallas. Första gången jag har hittat någon skriven där är 1877 och familjen kommer från Sundet:

Avskedade knekten Karl Johan Svanström f. 1823, hustrun Anna Sofia Jonsdotter f. 1826 de hade under tiden i Sundet fått barnen Karl Oskar f. 1848 (1872-76 skriven som Karl Oskar Hylen nr 72 vid livgrenadjärerna), Johan August f. 1851, Sofia Matilda f. 1856 (senare till Räfshult), Charlotte Eleonora f. 1858 (senare till Ljusne), Adolf Ferdinand f. 1862, Frans Evald f. 1865, Hilma Ottilia f. 1868, de yngsta bör ha flyttat med.

Nästa jag hittat är arbetarkarlen Axel Valdemar Johansson och hustrun Alida Sofia Andersson som 1912-07-09 får dottern Dagmar Margareta.

Hämtat ur Sveriges bebyggelse från år 1959 är den som vi nog mest har i minnet, sågverksarbetaren David Lundgren och hustrun Emmy de har barnen Maj och Britta. Torpet övertogs på 1970-talet som sommarstuga av Britta med maken Åke Rickardsson samt barnen Donald, Dag, Urban, Bo, Margareta samt Ted. I början var de bosatta hos Brodds i Broddebo, och när Urban föddes sa Ebba “jag förstår inte hur de kan hitta på namn till alla barn”.

English

This page is machine translation into English of the Swedish text. The translation was made by Systrans. Some day I will take time to turn it into a real translation.

Strömsborg by Per Lundqvist

Strömsborg is a farm that lies on Sundet’s western edge, exactly along the boundary to Korsbo. In the beginning, it was built as exception cottage for the soldier at Sundet, when he was granted a pension for his service. But when one sold of Sundet from frälset 1911 followed Strömsborg with in the business, but was parcelled out 1929? of and became its own farm (Ekvik 3:11). Soldier Svanström had however fairly according to ensittarlagen to live left there during his and his wife’s life. It is comprised of a normal farmhouse with a lagård for two paragraphs bovine animals, a shed and a land cellar. Åke Rickard built during your time where to the, so that the today sees out as Southfork in Dallas. The first time I have found some written there is 1877 and the family comes from Sundet:

Retired soldier Karl Johan Svanström b. 1823, his wife Anna Sofia Jonsdotter b. 1826 previously, in Sundet, had the children Karl Oskar b. 1848 (1872-76 called Karl Oskar Hylen, life grenadier at number 72), Johan August b. 1851, Sofia Matilda b. 1856 (latter to Räfshult), Charlotte Eleonora b. 1858 (later to Ljusne), Adolf Ferdinand b. 1862, Frans Evald b. 1865, Hilma Ottilia b. 1868, the youngest should have moved with.

Next I found is worker Axel Valdemar Johansson and the wife Alida Sofia Andersson that 1912-07-09 had the daughter Dagmar Margareta.

Retrieved from Sweden’s settlement from years 1959 is the as we enough most has in the memory, sawmill working clean David Lundgren and his wife Emmy had the children Maj and Britta. The torpet became in the 1970s a summer cottage of Britta with her husband Åke Rickardsson and the children Donald, Dag, Urban, Bo, Margareta and Ted. In beginning each the resident at Brodds in Broddebo, and when Urban were given birth to sa ebb away “I do not understand how the can to getupto names to all children”. is a croft that lies on Sundet’s western edge, exactly along the boundary to Korsbo. In the beginning, it was built as exception cottage for the soldier at Sundet, when he was granted a pension for his service. But when one sold of Sundet from frälset 1911 followed Strömsborg with in the business, but was parcelled out 1929? of and became its own farm (Ekvik 3:11). Soldier Svanström had however fairly according to ensittarlagen to live left there during his and his wife’s life. It is comprised of a normal farmhouse with a lagård for two paragraphs bovine animals, a shed and a land cellar. Åke Rickard built during your time where to the, so that the today sees out as Southfork in Dallas. The first time I have found some written there is 1877 and the family comes from Sundet:

Retired soldier Karl Johan Svanström b. 1823, his wife Anna Sofia Jonsdotter b. 1826 previously, in Sundet, had the children Karl Oskar b. 1848 (1872-76 called Karl Oskar Hylen, life grenadier at number 72), Johan August b. 1851, Sofia Matilda b. 1856 (latter to Räfshult), Charlotte Eleonora b. 1858 (later to Ljusne), Adolf Ferdinand b. 1862, Frans Evald b. 1865, Hilma Ottilia b. 1868, the youngest should have moved with.

Next I found is worker Axel Valdemar Johansson and the wife Alida Sofia Andersson that 1912-07-09 had the daughter Dagmar Margareta.

Retrieved from Sweden’s settlement from years 1959 is the as we enough most has in the memory, sawmill working clean David Lundgren and his wife Emmy had the children Maj and Britta. The croft became in the 1970s a summer cottage of Britta with her husband Åke Rickardsson and the children Donald, Dag, Urban, Bo, Margareta and Ted. In beginning each the resident at Brodds in Broddebo, and when Urban were given birth to sa ebb away “I do not understand how the can to getupto names to all children”.

Johansson

Johansson

by Justin Durand
  1. Anders Johansson (c1751-?), a crofter at Hallingeberg in Småland, Sweden. He married Catharina Jonasdotter (c1753-?).
  2. Johan “Jaen” Andersson (1776-?), a crofter at Bjorksnås in Dalhem. He married Anna Helena Hultsberg (1784-?), daughter of Peter Hultsberg and Christina Catharina Hammarstand.
  3. Anna Sofia Jaensdotter (1826-aft 1895) married Carl Johan Svanström, a soldier.
Russian Connection

Russian Connection

by Justin Durand

Rudolf Hauri of Zofingen wrote an article in 1961 claiming that the Hauris are descendants of Hovri, a Russian merchant who settled in Switzerland in the 13th century (Rudolf Hauri, “Die Familie Hauri”, Zofinger Neujahrsblatt 1961, pp. 94-105):

“Zur Zeit der grossen Völkrwanderung im 13. Jahrhundert kamen auch Kaufleute mit Namen Hovri in unsere Gegend. Diese Leute stammten aus Russland. Es war ein strammer, arbeitsamer Volksschlag (J. Meier, Reinach).”

[During the great folk migrations of the 13th century merchants with the name Hovri came into our region. These people originated from Russia. They were a sturdy, industrious people (J. Meier, Reinach).]

The citation is to J. Meier, of Reinach, Etwelches über den Name Hauri. I have not been able to trace this source.

Historians agree that there was no known settlement by Russians in 13th century Switzerland. Apparently, this story draws on a local legend that the river Reuss takes its name from a settlement of Russians. Similarly, canton Schwyz in legend is said to take its name from a settlement of Swedes.

Later in the same article Rudolf Hauri says:

“Über die erste Ansiedlung gibt des Stifstarchiv Beromünster Auskunft. Am 17. Februar 1313 taucht der Name Houri erstmals in Beromünster auf. Die Familie war angeblich russisch-katholisch.”

[The Stifstarchiv of Beromünster gives information about the first settlement there. On 17 February 1313 the name Houri appears for the first time in Beromünster. The family was allegedly Russian Catholic.]

I read this to mean that the early Hauris were supposedly Russian Old Catholics (starokatoliki) rather than Russian Orthodox. Therefore, there would have been no conflict with them becoming parishioners, officials, priests and canons at the church of Beromünster. However, if Rudolf Hauri meant to imply there is some documentary evidence that they were Russian Catholics, he was surely mistaken.

Dr. P. R. Máthé of the Staatsarchiv des Kantons Aargau comments that a Russian settlement in Switzerland in the 13th century “must be a very hard misunderstanding.” (Personal Communication, 10 July 1990)

The misunderstanding comes into focus when we know there was a medieval legend the Reuss River in Switzerland took its name from a settlement of Russian merchants. Rudolf Hauri was following what he thought was good scholarship. I’m surprised the Staatsarchiv was not able to make the connection.

Alternatively, one history of Reinach says that the Hauri or Hovry family came from the Balkan states in the 10th century and settled at Sursee (H. Hauri, 1997). I find occasional mentions of a Balkan family surnamed Hovry or Hovri. Someone seems to have speculated about a connection.