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Archiver > Huguenot > 2002-06 > 1024687877


From: "pioneer genealogy" <>
Subject: Re: [Huguenot] Jean de Christains- Geneva 1800
Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 14:31:17 -0500


Roy,

I respectfully disagree. Please read "The Memoirs of the Court of Marie
Antoinette" by Madame Campan published in 1850. She mentions the Col. of
the Swiss Guard as a Swiss protestant named Baron de Besenval. The baron's
estate in Paris later became the Hotel d'Besenval and is now the Swiss
Embassy.(see http://amis.chateaubcr.free.fr/histo/18e.html)
It is well known that as many as 800 Swiss died defending the king at the
Tuilleres when he gave no order to retreat. See
http://www.fotw.ca/flags/ch-merce.html
Have you ever heard of the Lion of Lucserne? It is a monument in
Switzerland to these fallen men.
Also, two swiss guard were beheaded by the mob and the heads stuck on poles
during the ride back to Paris from Versailles when the King was imprisoned
according to M Campan's memoirs.
The swiss guard for centuries were mercenaries hired out to foreign powers
until the mid 1800s when two armies (I believe austrian and russian or
prussian) used primarily swiss mercenaries to attack each other. Obviously
primarily swiss were killed. The Swiss gov't then made it against the law
for their men to be hired by foreign lands. You are correct that there are
many websites concerning the swiss guard...but they only concern themselves
with those swiss guard that protect the pope.

Roy, I am at work right now and do not have my materials in front of me, and
I also do not really want to conduct a disagreement on rootsweb. I have
read your posts on HWE for a long time with delight and was actually
counting on you to be someone that could shed some light on my mystery. I
will contact you privately give you more of my sources. Please feel free to
contact me privately at .


>From: "Roy Day" <>
>Reply-To:
>To:
>Subject: Re: [Huguenot] Jean de Christains- Geneva 1800
>Date: Fri, 21 Jun 2002 19:05:56 +0100
>
>There are a number of historical errors in the story you tell.
>
>There are excellent articles available on the web giving the history of the
>'Swiss Guard' and although formed in the 16th century all members were
>catholic. As far as I can tell they also never operated outside Italy.
>
>The King of France from 1774 to 1792, Louis XVI, was also a catholic.
>
>Similarly it was not Napoleon who 'made France a Catholic country'. Again
>there is plenty of information fully describing his revolutionary period on
>the web.
>
>Whilst Jean de Christains may well have performed the duties you describe I
>think it 100% certain that he was not a Protestant and therefore not a
>Huguenot.
>
>Roy.
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: "pioneer genealogy" <>
>To: <>
>Sent: Friday, June 21, 2002 6:09 PM
>Subject: [Huguenot] Jean de Christains- Geneva 1800
>
>
>| Hello,
>|
>| I am searching for information concerning members of the Swiss Guard in
>the
>| service of the King of France and his family during the time period of
>1775
>| to 1795.
>|
>| Family history tells of a Jean de Christains, a protestant from Geneva,
>and
>| a Captain of the Swiss Guard in Paris before and during the revolution.
>He
>| was later an officer in the French army with Napoleon and imprisoned for
>six
>| months around 1803. He escaped with his wife Suset Brudit (also of
>Geneva)
>| and his familiy to the United States via Belgium. They arrived in the
>| United States in 1804. The reason given for the imprisonment and
>subsequent
>| departure is that they were Protestant and Napoleon made France a
>Catholic
>| country at this time (and Geneva had recently become a part of France).
>The
>| family property on Lake Geneva was confiscated because they refused to
>| become Catholic.
>|
>| Did records of the Swiss Guard survive the revolution?
>| How can I confirm that this family existed in Geneva around 1775-1800?
>|
>| Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I can not find information
>| concerning this family besides what was passed down through the family.
>|
>| Thank you,
>| Chris Litzsinger
>|
>|
>|
>|
>|
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>
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