Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, Duchess of Noailles, Princess of

Tingry Tingry () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Tingry is situated southeast of Boulogne, at the junction of the D901 (formerly the N1 – the Paris-Calais highway) and D238 roads. ...

(12 February 1737 – 22 July 1794), was a French salon hostess and duchess, the heiress of her grandfather,

Henri François d'Aguesseau Henri François d'Aguesseau (; 27 November 16685 February 1751) was Chancellor of France three times between 1717 and 1750 and pronounced by Voltaire to be "the most learned magistrate France ever possessed". Early life He was born in Limoges, ...

, and wife of Jean Louis François de Noailles, Count and Duke of Ayen.

Life

She was the daughter of Jean Baptiste Paulin d'Aguesseau de Fresne, Count of Compans and of Maligny, who married, on 29 February 1736, her mother, Anne Louise Françoise du Pré, Dame of la Grange-Bleneau. Her father was successively adviser to the Parliament, Commissioner of the Second Chamber of the Palais Queries, Master of Requests, State Councilor regular (in 1734), Dean's Council, and Provost Master of Ceremonies of the

Order of the Holy Spirit The Order of the Holy Spirit (french: Ordre du Saint-Esprit; sometimes translated into English as the Order of the Holy Ghost), is a French order of chivalry founded by Henry III of France in 1578. Today, it is a dynastic order under the House of ...

. Her mother died the day after she was born, on 13 February 1737. She was the paternal granddaughter of

(1668–1751),

Chancellor of France In France, under the ''Ancien Régime'', the officer of state responsible for the judiciary was the Chancellor of Francesometimes called Grand Chancellor or Lord Chancellor (french: Chancelier de France). The Chancellor was responsible for seei ...

three times between 1717 and 1750. After her father remarried, she was educated by Mme. d'Héricourt at the Convent of the Visitation at Saint-Denis. At the age of fourteen, she was educated by her stepmother, Mme. d'Aguesseau de Fresnes:

She preferred reading and gardening--into which latter skill she had been initiated, in the park at Fresnes, by her grandfather the chancellor. His death in 1750 came as a dreadful shock to her. She had adored the courteous and attentive old gentleman.

Hôtel de Noailles

After the death of her grandfather,

, she became an heiress. She was married to Jean-Paul-François de Noailles on 25 February 1755. The

arranged marriage Arranged marriage is a type of marital union where the bride and groom are primarily selected by individuals other than the couple themselves, particularly by family members such as the parents. In some cultures a professional matchmaker may be us ...

had been worked out by Adrien-Maurice, 3rd duc de Noailles, who had worked with Chancellor d'Aguesseau. She maintained a

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

at the family residence in Paris, the Hôtel de Noailles. She disapproved of the

of her daughter

Adrienne Adrienne is the French feminine form of the male name Adrien. Its meaning is literally "from the city Hadria." * Adrienne Albert (born 1941), composer * Adrienne Ames (1907–1947), American actress * Adrienne Armstrong (born 1969), wife of Gr ...

with

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemasonry, freemason and military officer who fought in the Ameri ...

, in view of their youth. After a year's delay while she managed their courtship, they were married at the Hôtel de Noailles.

Death

At the death of her father-in-law, Louis de Noailles, 4th Duke of Noailles, she returned to France. In May 1794, during the

Reign of Terror The Reign of Terror (french: link=no, la Terreur) was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the First Republic, a series of massacres and numerous public executions took place in response to revolutionary fervour, ...

, she was arrested at Hôtel de Noailles and imprisoned in Luxembourg Prison (see

Prison du Luxembourg The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of the ...

) in Paris. Along with her mother-in-law, Catherine de Cossé-Brissac duchesse de Noailles, and daughter, Anne Jeanne Baptiste Louise vicomtesse de Noailles, she was

guillotined A guillotine is an apparatus designed for efficiently carrying out executions by beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secured with stocks at the ...

, on 22 July 1794. She was buried in a

mass grave A mass grave is a grave containing multiple human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. The United Nations has defined a criminal mass grave as a burial site containing three or more victims of execution, although an exact ...

Picpus Cemetery Picpus Cemetery (french: Cimetière de Picpus, ) is the largest private cemetery in Paris, France, located in the 12th arrondissement. It was created from land seized from the convent of the Chanoinesses de St-Augustin, during the French Revolut ...

. The

Château de la Grange-Bléneau A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. Nowaday ...

passed from her maternal grandfather, through her, to her daughter,

Adrienne de La Fayette Marie Adrienne Françoise de Noailles, Marquise de La Fayette (2 November 1759 – 25 December 1807), was a French marchioness. She was the daughter of Jean de Noailles and Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, and married Gilbert du Motier, Marquis ...

References

External links

Neil Jeffares, ''Pastellists, Genealogies Aguesseau'' planete-genealogie.fr''Famille de Montagu'', archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguesseau, Henriette-Anne-Louise d' 1737 births 1794 deaths Burials at Picpus Cemetery Duchesses of Noailles Executed French women French duchesses French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution Grange-Bleneau, Lady of, Henriette Anne Louise French salon-holders House of Noailles