Isabelle Brunelle (1724–1805), countess d'Harscamp, was a refugee and philanthropist.

Life

Brunelle was born in

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

on 3 September 1724, the daughter of Herman Brunelle and Jeanne-Marie Tilmans. She was educated in

Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...

, and in 1748 married François-Pontian d'Harscamp, a member of the noble house d'Harscamp who had extensive interests in arms manufacturing. Jean Bovesse, "Brunelle (Isabelle)", '' Biographie Nationale de Belgique''
vol. 41
(Brussels, 1979), 53–57. Their early married life was spent in Hungary, where they had considerable property. Friedrich Haagen,
d'Harskamps, Maria Isabella
, ''

Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie ''Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie'' (ADB, german: Universal German Biography) is one of the most important and comprehensive biographical reference works in the German language. It was published by the Historical Commission of the Bavarian Aca ...

'', vol. 10 (Leipzig, 1879), 646–647. Three children were born to them there, all of whom died young. After 1765 the couple moved to

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Namu ...

, in the Austrian Netherlands, where they became part of Belgian high society. Pontian d'Harscamp died at Fernelmont lol in May 1794 and was buried in Noville-les-Bois. Isabelle inherited his fortune but left the Low Countries due to the French invasion, finding refuge first in Bavaria and later in Prussia. She briefly returned to the Low Countries in 1797, before again becoming a refugee in Germany and then Poland. Finally returning to the Low Countries again, on 24 November 1800 she took an oath of loyalty to the Constitution of the French Republic in Liège. She died in Namur on 8 May 1805 and was buried beside her husband in Noville-les-Bois.

Foundations

By her will, first drawn up in Fernelmont on 28 April 1788, and modified in 1784 and 1805, Brunelle established four foundations for the poor in

and an almshouse in Namur. The almshouse, named Hospice d'Harscamp, was opened in 1812 in the buildings of the former Recollect convent. On 15 May 1872 a stone statue of Brunelle, sculpted by Guillaume Geefs, was unveiled in the almshouse garden. In Aachen, a street was named Harscampstrasse in her memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brunelle, Isabelle 1724 births 1805 deaths People from Aachen German refugees German philanthropists German women philanthropists People from the Holy Roman Empire