Jérôme de Salis, 2nd Count de Salis-Soglio (8 July 17098 August 1794) was a
Count de Salis-Soglio
Count de Salis-Soglio is a continental title of nobility that was recognized in the United Kingdom for a Swiss family which became British Subjects when Jerome, 2nd Count de Salis, was naturalized by Private Act of Parliament in 1743.
Emperor F ...
. He was a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...
and sometime British
Resident
Resident may refer to:
People and functions
* Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country
* Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training
* Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...
in the
Grisons. He was also known as ''Hieronimus, Gerolamo, Geronimo, Harry, Jerome the grandfather'' and ''Monsieur le Comte de Salis''. He is the founder of the English branch of the ''de Salis'' (or ''Fane de Salis'') family which produced a number of politicians, diplomats, officers and clerics.
Early life
He was born on 8 July 1709 in
Chur
, neighboring_municipalities= Arosa, Churwalden, Tschiertschen-Praden, Domat/Ems, Felsberg, Malix, Trimmis, Untervaz, Pfäfers
, twintowns = Bad Homburg (Germany), Cabourg (France), Mayrhofen (Austria), Mondorf-les-Bains (Luxe ...
, capital of the
Grisons, then an independent republic whose rule extended into present-day Italy, including the areas of
Chiavenna and the
Valtellina
Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...
. He would be the only surviving son of Colonel Peter de Salis-
Soglio (1675–1749), by his wife Margherita (1678–1747), daughter of Hercules de Salis-Soglio.
The ''de Salis'' family belongs to the old nobility of the
Three Leagues
The Three Leagues, sometimes referred to as Raetia, was the alliance of 1471 of the League of God's House, the League of the Ten Jurisdictions, and the Grey League, leading eventually to the formation of the Swiss canton of Graubünden (Grison ...
of which they were one of the leading families between the 16th and 18th centuries. They probably descend from the patrician family ''Salici'' of
Como
Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label= Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como.
Its proximity to Lake Como and to the Alps h ...
, Italy, traceable since 1202, and firstly appear in
Soglio, Switzerland
Soglio is a village and a former municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Maloja (district), Maloja in the Switzerland, Swiss Cantons of Switzerland, canton of the Grisons close to the border with Italy. It is now part of th ...
with ''ser Rodolfus de Salice de Solio'' between 1285 and 1293. The ''Palazzo Salis'' in Soglio, built in 1630, is still today owned by the Swiss Salis-Soglio family branch, just as the ''Palazzo Salis'' in
Bondo, Switzerland
Bondo ( rm, ) is a village and a former municipality in the district of Maloja in the Swiss canton of Grisons. It is now part of the municipality of Bregaglia.
Geography
The municipality is located near the Swiss–Italian border south of th ...
, which was built by Jerome, is still today owned by the British Salis-Soglio branch. During the ''
Bündner Wirren
The Bündner Wirren ( rm, Scumbigls grischuns/Scumpigls grischuns/Sgurdins grischuns, french: Troubles des Grisons, it, Torbidi grigionesi, English: ''Graubünden disturbances'' or ''Revolt of the Leagues'') was a conflict that lasted between 161 ...
'' (Revolt of the Leagues between 1618 and 1639) members of the von Salis family, such as Herkules von Salis-Grüsch (1566–1620) and Ulysses von Salis (1594–1674), stepped on the French-Venetian side, providing mercenary leaders who guarded the Alpine passes, and thus gained considerable influence on the country's fortunes.
His father, of a distinguished branch of his family,
[Salis's great-grandfather Antonio (1609–1682), with his brothers Rudolph and Friedrich, had bought the seigneurie d'Ober Aich and Engishofen in ]Thurgau
Thurgau (; french: Thurgovie; it, Turgovia), anglicized as Thurgovia, more formally the Canton of Thurgau, is one of the 26 cantons forming the Swiss Confederation. It is composed of five districts and its capital is Frauenfeld.
Thurgau is par ...
on 10 June 1646. Their father was a Knight of the Order of San Marco (22 August 1603) and in turn his father had been invested an hereditary Knight of the Golden Spur on 11 April 1571 by Pope Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
, ''omnibusque masculis eorum descendent in infinitum creatus''. Earlier the Venetians had also made him a (life) Knight of the Order of St. Mark. had been a soldier in France, in the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
and in England, where he became envoy of the Grisons Republic to the
Court of St. James's
The Court of St James's is the royal court for the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. All ambassadors to the United Kingdom are formally received by the court. All ambassadors from the United Kingdom are formally accredited from the court – & ...
during the reign of
Queen Anne. There he became an Anglophile and made influential friends amongst the
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
ians. On his return to Chur he resolved to send his son to London and Jerome De Salis became a naturalised British subject by private Act of Parliament on 24 March 1730/31.
![1734MarriageSettlementSchaub&Cobham](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/1734MarriageSettlementSchaub%26Cobham.jpg)
On 7 January 1734/35, de Salis married Mary Fane (baptised 18 September 1710), eldest daughter of
Charles, the first
Viscount Fane. Sir
Luke Schaub,
Lord Harrington
Earl of Harrington is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain that was created in 1742.
History
The earldom of Harrington was granted in 1742 to William Stanhope, 1st Baron Harrington, the former Secretary of State and then Lord President o ...
and
Lord Cobham were among signatories of the marriage settlement. They were to have four sons: Charles (1736–1781), who died at Hieres;
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
(1738–1807), who became 3rd Count de Salis;
Henry Jerome
Henry Jerome (November 12, 1917 – March 23, 2011) was an American big band leader, trumpeter, arranger, composer, and record company executive.
Jerome formed his first dance band in 1932 in Norwich, Connecticut. His bands flourished throughou ...
(1740–1810) and William (1741–1750).
De Salis was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
on 19 March 1741, proposed by
Philip, 2nd Earl Stanhope (his wife's cousin),
Martin Folkes
Martin Folkes PRS FRS (29 October 1690 – 28 June 1754), was an English antiquary, numismatist, mathematician, and astronomer.
Life
Folkes was born in Westminster on 29 October 1690, the eldest son of Martin Folkes, councillor at Law.Albe ...
(former president of the society),
Andrew Mitchell
Andrew John Bower Mitchell (born 23 March 1956) is a British politician who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sutton Coldfield since 2001. A member of the Conservative Party, Mitchell was previously the MP for Gedling from 1987 to 1 ...
, and his brother-in-law,
Lord Sandwich
Earl of Sandwich is a noble title in the Peerage of England, held since its creation by the House of Montagu. It is nominally associated with Sandwich, Kent. It was created in 1660 for the prominent naval commander Admiral Sir Edward Montagu ...
. (He may have introduced Sandwich to his native
bresaola
Bresaola ( , , , ) is air-dried, salted beef (but it can also be made of horse, venison and pork) that has been aged two or three months until it becomes hard and turns a dark red, almost purple color. It is made from top (inside) round, and ...
and hence help to associate his brother-in-law with the
sandwich
A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...
).
Diplomatic service in the Grisons
![Bondo Palazzo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Bondo_Palazzo.JPG)
In 1743, de Salis was appointed British
Resident
Resident may refer to:
People and functions
* Resident minister, a representative of a government in a foreign country
* Resident (medicine), a stage of postgraduate medical training
* Resident (pharmacy), a stage of postgraduate pharmaceuti ...
. This means he served as
King George II's extraordinary envoy or minister plenipotentiary to the Grisons Leagues. He arrived in
Coire on 10 April 1743, and resided there in a public character until 13 March 1750.
In 1748, by a patent dated of 12 March
Emperor Francis I created his father Peter, together with his descendants, a
Count
Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...
of the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 ...
; the father died the following year.
During and after his time as British Resident in the Grisons he lived in both Chur and in Chiavenna and, in the mid-1760s, he started to build an Anglo-Palladian double-pile summer villa
in
Bondo, a village in the
Val Bregaglia
The Val Bregaglia ( lmo, Val Bregaja; german: Bergell, ; rm, ) is an alpine valley of Switzerland and Italy at the base of which runs the river Mera ( lmo, Maira in Switzerland).
Most of the valley falls within the Swiss district of Maloja ...
between Chiavenna and the
Maloja Pass
Maloja Pass ( Italian: ''Passo del Maloja'', German: ''Malojapass'') (1815m a.s.l.) is a high mountain pass in the Swiss Alps in the canton of Graubünden, linking the Engadine with the Val Bregaglia, still in Switzerland and Chiavenna in It ...
. The house was completed by his son
Peter in 1774.
Return to London
De Salis returned to London in 1768 and lived in
Harley Street until his death on 8 August 1794, at ''the first door on the left-hand from Cavendish square'' (then no. 1).
In the meantime, his wife lived in Knightsbridge, Margate, Marseilles, Harlington and, from 1780, at Smallborough Green, Isleworth. She died there of
dropsy
Edema, also spelled oedema, and also known as fluid retention, dropsy, hydropsy and swelling, is the build-up of fluid in the body's tissue. Most commonly, the legs or arms are affected. Symptoms may include skin which feels tight, the area ma ...
on 31 March 1785 aged 74 and was buried at Harlington, on the same day as her granddaughter, the first of six generations of her family to be buried there.
Ancestors
Notes
Further reading
* R. de Salis, ''Quadrennial di Fano Saliceorum, volume one'', London, 2003
* Rachel Fane De Salis, ''De Salis Family : English Branch'',
Henley-on-Thames, 1934..
* C. de Salis, secretary of the British Salis Family Association.
* ''Die Zeitschrift Der Kultur'', du, Heft Nr. 3, Marz 1989.
* ''Der Grafliche Hauser'', Band XI
olume 11 ''Genealogisches Handbuch Des Adels'', C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg an der Lahn, 1983 (pps 331–356).
*
William Coxe, ''Travels in Switzerland'' (London, 1789)
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salis, Jerome, 2nd Count de
1709 births
Salis, Jerome, 2nd Count de Salis
De Salis
De Salis is the surname of an old noble family from Grisons, Switzerland.
People with the surname
They were one of the most influential families of the Three Leagues. At first the family appears in Soglio, Switzerland with ''ser Rodolfus de Sal ...
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
Fellows of the Royal Society
de Salis
De Salis is the surname of an old noble family from Grisons, Switzerland.
People with the surname
They were one of the most influential families of the Three Leagues. At first the family appears in Soglio, Switzerland with ''ser Rodolfus de Sal ...
de salis
De Salis is the surname of an old noble family from Grisons, Switzerland.
People with the surname
They were one of the most influential families of the Three Leagues. At first the family appears in Soglio, Switzerland with ''ser Rodolfus de Sal ...
Swiss emigrants to the United Kingdom
Val Bregaglia
Swiss-Italian people
Counts de Salis-Soglio and Comtes de Salis-Seewis
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
Jerome
Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is co ...
People from Chur