André Falquet (* February 11, 1681 in Geneva;Entrée pour André Falquet dans le registre de la paroisse protestante de Saint-Pierre avec l'Auditoire: 1) Baptêmes du 1er janvier 1678 au 14 avril 1699. Archive de l'Etat de Genève, «CH AEG E.C. Saint-Pierre B.M. 10», Photo of the record. † January 28, 1755 ibid) was a Geneva merchant and trader, and a member of the

Council of Two Hundred The Councils of Two Hundred (; ) were the legislative authorities in four Swiss cities (Zürich, Bern, Fribourg, Basel), as well as in the independent Republic of Geneva prior to the French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a peri ...

Life

Falquet's paternal ancestors came from Pouilly ( Contamine-sur-Arve). His great-great-grandfather Aymé Falquet was a vinegar manufacturer there. André Falquet's great-grandfather eventually acquired a property in Geneva. Falquet's father Pierre was a jeweler. André Falqet was baptized on Monday, February 14, 1681, in Saint-Pierre Cathedral by Charles Dufour. The godfather was André Rousseau, the brother of David Rousseau,

Jean-Jacques Jean-Jacques is a French name, equivalent to "John James" in English. Since the second half of 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau was widely known as Jean Jacques. Notable people bearing this name include: Given name * Jean-Jacques Annaud (born 1 ...

' grandfather. Falquet worked in his father's business (jewelry trade) from the completion of his studies (1703). In 1703 he traveled through Southern Germany. While there, he became involved in the turmoil of the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

and, since he spoke

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, was able to plead with the French Marshal de Villars for the release of four confiscated wagons with merchandise belonging to

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

merchants. For this he received from the city of Augsburg a

silver-gilt Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling) which has been gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear to be gold are actually ...

cup, the Gobelet André Falquet. For the services rendered to the Imperial Austrian Army (trade transactions), Falquet was ennobled and his coat of arms was improved by the Nobilization Certificate of June 16, 1725. André Falquet married Suzanne Lullin on June 10, 1731. From 1734 Falquet was a member of the Geneva

Nobility Diploma

In 1725 he was ennobled by a document of Charles VI and his coat of arms was improved. The document contains thirteen inscribed parchment pages, of which the depiction of the coat of arms fills an entire page. The entirety of the document is written in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, since the chancery regulations did not allow the use of French – André's native language – but prescribed the use of German or Latin. The document is signed and witnessed several times, as required by letters of nobility and arms of the Imperial Court Chancellery, namely by * Charles IV; * Friedrich Karl Graf von Schönborn, the Imperial Vice-Chancellor; * Philipp Wilderich Johann Georgendiel von Georgenthal, the "secret secretary and referendary of Latin expedition" of the Imperial Court Chancellery; * Jodoc Pein, the Registrar of the Imperial Court Chancellery. The seal of Charles VI is also attached to the letter.

Family

Some of his descendants, Jean-Louis Falquet, were again statesmen.

Literature

* ''Archives Héraldiques de la Suisse'', Bd. XXXII (1918), S. 24. * ''Anzeiger für Schweizerische Altertumskunde'', Zürich. Jg. 25 (1892). * J. Haller & S. Brügger: ''Adelsbrief André Falquet. Aspekte einer kaiserlichen Urkunde von 1725'', Aarau 2007 (Maturaarbeit). * Gustave Chaix d'Est-Ange: ''Dictionnaire des familles françaises anciennes ou notables à la fin du XIXe siècle: Fab-For'', Éditions Vendôme, 1983, S. 82 ff.,
gallica.bnf.fr: Full view
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. * C.F. Lendorff: ''Almanach généalogique suisse'', Band 4, 1913, S. 192,
archive.org: Full view
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. * J.-A.Galiffe: ''Notices généalogiques sur les familles genevoises, depuis les premiers temps, jusqu'à nos jours'', Genève, 1831, S. 25
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* Vermerk über den Taufpaten André Rousseau in Rosenblatt, H.: ''Rousseau and Geneva: From the First Discourse to the Social Contract, 1749–1762'', 1997, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-57004-2, Seite 31, Fussnote 99
Googlebooks
* CH AVG (Archives de la Ville de Genève): ''Factums judiciaires'', Band 2, Nummer 14 und 14bis.

Website links

Origunal Latin text of the nobility diploma

adelsbrief.info – Haller, J. & Brügger, S. – Excerpts of a high school thesis (Maturaarbeit) about the Nobility Diploma of André Falquet

References