Henriette Anne Louise d'Aguesseau, Duchess of Noailles, Princess of Tingry (12 February 1737 – 22 July 1794), was a French salon hostess and duchess, the heiress of her grandfather, Henri François d'Aguesseau, 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 (; 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 France. It should not be c ...

. Her mother died the day after she was born, on 13 February 1737. She was the paternal granddaughter of Henri François d'Aguesseau (1668–1751),

Chancellor of France The Chancellor of France (), also known as the Grand Chancellor or Lord Chancellor, was the officer of state responsible for the judiciary of the Kingdom of France. The Chancellor was responsible for seeing that royal decrees were enrolled and ...

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, Henri François d'Aguesseau, 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 Marriage, 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 matchmaki ...

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 beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...

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

of her daughter Adrienne with

Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, Marquis de La Fayette (; 6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (), was a French military officer and politician who volunteered to join the Conti ...

, 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: ''La Terreur'', literally "The Terror") was a period of the French Revolution when, following the creation of the French First Republic, First Republic, a series of massacres and Capital punishment in France, nu ...

, she was arrested at Hôtel de Noailles and imprisoned in Luxembourg Prison (see Prison du Luxembourg) 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, 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 Unidentified decedent, 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 exec ...

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

. The

Château de la Grange-Bléneau A château (, ; plural: châteaux) is a manor house, or palace, 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 reg ...

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. On 11 April 1774, she married Gilb ...

References

External links

Neil Jeffares, ''Pastellists, Genealogies Aguesseau'' planete-genealogie.fr''Famille de Montagu'', archivesnationales.culture.gouv.fr
(PDF)

(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Aguesseau, Henriette-Anne-Louise d' 1737 births 1794 deaths Burials at Picpus Cemetery Duchesses of Noailles Executed French women French duchesses by marriage French people executed by guillotine during the French Revolution French suo jure nobility French salon-holders House of Noailles Executed French nobility