Marriages, Parish of Morges, 1785

In 1785, a century after their arrival as refugees, many Huguenot families had developed impressive commercial networks that criss-crossed Europe. No matter how far they traveled, though, my Huguenot ancestors who settled in Morges took pains to see that all of their family members were recorded in the parish register. This example reveals the well-developed bureaucracy of the period, and the amount of genealogical information that it recorded.

Transcription:

Leenhardt M[onsieu]r André Chrêtien, Natif de Francfort sur
    le Mein, fils de George Guillaume Léenhardt
    et de Marie Emelie Gross, d'une part;
    Et Mademoiselle Jeanne Marie, fille de M[onsieu]r Jean
    Johannot et de M[adam]e Anne née Johannot d'autre
    part, ont reçu la Bénediction Nuptiale par
    le pasteur deBruël le 19 Aoust 1785 dans
    l'Eglise de Préverenges, L'Epoux aïant produit
    un Brevet dont voici la Teneur
                                          LL.Excell.
[next page:]
    Mariages        1785
    Leurs Excellences du Consistoire de la
    Ville de Berne ensuitte d'une permission qui 
    leur a été presentée de la part du Senat (ou
    petit Conseil) ont accordé à André Léenhardt de
    Francfort, et à Demoiselle Jeanne Marie
    Johannot de Morges, la liberté de se marier
    sans les annonces accoutumées, en quel endroit
    qu'il leur plaira, sous la Domination de
    L[eurs] Excellences; Donné le 11 Aoust 1785.
            (L[ocus] S[igilli])   Signé  Gabriel LeVerdt
                          Secret[aire] du Consistoire

Translation:

  
Leenhardt Mr. André Chrêtien, Native of Frankfurt on
    the Main, son of George Guillaume Léenhardt
    and of Marie Emelie Gross, of the one part;
    And Miss Jeanne Marie, Daughter of Mr. Jean
    Johannot and of Mrs. Anne née Johannot of the other
    part, received the Nuptial Benediction from
    the pastor deBruël the 19th August 1785 in
    the church of Préverenges, The Groom having produced
    a certificate of which here are the terms, 
                                          Their Excellencies
[next page:]
    Marriages        1785
    Their Excellencies of the Consistory of the
    City of Bern as a result of a permission that 
    was presented to them by the Senate (or
    Small Council) have accorded to André Léenhardt of
    Frankfurt, and to Miss Jeanne Marie
    Johannot of Morges, the liberty to be married
    without the accustomed banns, in whatever place
    they please, under the Dominion of
    Their Excellencies; Given the 11th August 1785.
            (Seal)   Signed  Gabriel LeVerdt
                             Secretary of the Consistory

Notes

During the period of Bernese domination, ultimate authority in Vaud resided in the city of Bern, for religious as well as civil matters. The Consistory of Bern could issue a certificate that would be honored throughout the Bernese territory. With a little knowledge of the Johannot family, I can guess what happened: A branch of the Johannot family had moved on to Frankfurt, where they established a paper mill. They had been papermakers in their home town of Annonay, France since at least 1634, and before that near Ambert, in the Auvergne region. Evidently the branch in Morges needed a suitable husband for young Jeanne Marie, and the branch in Frankfurt suggested a likely candidate. The terms of the marriage were concluded either through personal visits of family members, or through the scheduled postal service. When everything was settled, the groom and some of the Johannot family of Frankfurt traveled to Morges, stopping in Bern to take care of the paperwork. Since the groom was not a citizen of the Bernese territory, formalities of some sort would be expected. The town council directed the Supreme Consistory to approve the marriage, and the latter obliged with the certificate quoted in the register at Morges. There is a separate record of this marriage, by the way, in the parish that contains Préverenges (near Lausanne). The record at Morges is there because that was the parish where the bride's family had their citizenship.

This example makes us wonder what else may be contained in the records of the Consistory of Bern. If anyone has further information on the present state of these records, please let me know!

By 1785, the spelling is almost the same as modern French, and the handwriting requires only a little study.

The mother and father of the bride were second cousins once removed as well as fourth cousins once removed. Marriages between relatives were commonly arranged in order to keep assets within the family. Family fortunes were consolidated, if not actually built, through the skillful arrangement of marriages, generation after generation. The bride had been baptised in Morges as Marie Louise, but is listed here as Jeanne Marie. It is most likely that her name should have been recorded at the baptism as Jeanne Marie Louise.

More than two centuries after the marriage recorded here, I was pleased to hear from a descendant of this couple! His family notes made it clear that the Marie Louise of the baptismal record was the same as the Jeanne Marie of the marriage record.

Coordinator for this site is John W. McCoy French translation by Anne Bohy This page last updated