Difference between revisions of "Frederick Marchand"

Revision as of 10:18, 12 March 2018

The following information was provided by Jeffery B. Marchand of Fairlawn, Ohio. He gave permission to include these documents on the Wayne County, Ohio Online Resource Center.

Letter

The following letter was dated 7 October 1915. It was written from Florien Giauque to his cousin, Mrs. Nettie Giauque Brenneman of Abeline, Kansas. The letter was written on letterhead of Giauque & McClure Attorneys at Law located in Cincinnati, OH.

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Letter Text

October 7, 1915.

Mrs. Nettie Giauque Brenneman, Abeline, Kansas

My dear Cousin,

Whom I have never seen, but hope to, some time; and who must have formed a poor opinion of me for not answering sooner her interesting letter of May 27th last.

I didn't, because it made me want, for reasons mad obvious below, more than ever, even before answering that letter, to set some photographs of; first, the passport of our Uncle by marriage, Frederic Marchand, which passport is very old, worn at its folds almost into seeral pieces, stained with age and mildew; second, the certificate obrained also long ago by or for our "Uncle Charlie" Giauque, your grandfather's and my father's brother, for use outside of Switzerland; third, an affidavit which shows that my father was (among other things) an almost supernaturally strong man physically, and I think well endowed mentally. So were my "Uncle Dave" and all other uncles and aunts, so endowed, I believ.

I have now gotten these photos; and also as good a photo as I could get of a title page in a very old French Bible, printed at Berne, Switzerland, in year 1731, which has been in the Giauque family almost ever since then, family tradition says. From it as her text book, my mother taught me, when about nine years old, and later, to read, write and parse French. I yet well remember when it contained a record of the births, deaths, etc. of many of that family, including the date of birth of my father's father, in the year 1769. I am not sure of the month and day, but am sure of the year.

2. Later, these records and the title page of the Old Testment and a few other next following pages were torn out of it by some little children who got hold of it. I could therefore get no photo of that page. But the one of the New Testament is still in place and in good condition. A good photo of its left side cannot be made, because the book's binding so bends this page back that it canno be flat before the camera. I state later why I send you these four phoographs. I send you also one of the few printed catalougies I still have as tocertian books. See some commendations in the catalogue. I can lso send you a copy of an Oration I delivered in 1868 in Kenyon College, while a student there; and also of "An address to the Alumni" there, some years later. This one about Switzerland is really the result of my grandmother (mother's mother) so feelingly telling me, her little grandchild sitting on her lap or near her, about William Tell, Arnold of Winkleried, and others, and about the many battles the Swiss fought with the Austians and others in defense of their homes, their liberties, their country, etc., not as aggressors, but as defenders, and therefore probably with an ardor and a thrill not felt by their opponents. See that oration.

I am much interested in the intensity of your fellings, in your wonderful enthusiasm, in the fervor of your pride arrising from what you considered dto be the distinguished positions of some of your and my relateives; in the joy it gave you to get hold of a certian book in your State Library at Topeka that a cousin of yours had written; and the taunt of a little playmate to effect that your grandmother could

3. not read nor write, and the figurative sack-cloth and ashes you put on and crushing disgrace you felt because of that fact. Not one of your Swiss relatives nor child of theirs was illiterate. Only one of those on your mother's side seems to have been. Even Abraham Lincoln had very many illiterate relatives. Don't worry about that.

Passport

Frederick Marchand Passport, page 1
Frederick Marchand Passport, page 2

Passport Translation

Translation, by Florian Giauque, of passport of Frederick Marchand.
Uncle to said Giaque by marriage to sister of said Giauque's father.

PAGE 1

Left column is as follows:
Passport

Controle No. 52

Description of bearer

Aged fifty-one years
Form, tall
Height 5 ft. 6 1/2 inches
Hair,"blond, ardent"
Forehead, high
Eyebrows, blond
Eyes, gray
Nose, ordinary
Mourh, Medium
Chin, round
Face, oval
Distinctive marks,
(none stated)

Signature of bearer
Frederick Marchand

Right column is as follows:
Swiss Confederation

Canton of Berne

In the Name of the Government

Prefacture of Oerlier, District of Neuville

All officials charged with maintaining
order and safety are requested to permit to
pass freely Mr. Frederick Marchand, shoemaker,
wife Marguerite Sophia, born Giauque, and
their six children, Frederic, aged 13 years,
Jacob (???), aged 11 years, Edward, aged
9 years, Henry, aged 6 years, Charles
Frederick, aged 3 years, and Sophie Julie,
aged nine months; -- a native of Sonvilier,
residing at Prele, going to New York, America,
intending to establish himself there.
Requesting that aid and assistance be given
him in case of need, under offer of reciprocity.

This passport is effective for one year.

Delivered over due Legitimation.

Issued at Neuveville June 8, one thousand

eight hundred and thirty six (1836)

The Prefect Neuveville

Florian Imer

PAGE 2

No. 1665 Geschen in Bern
The 9th of June 1836

No. 2938 Seen at Embasy
of France in Switzerland for entering
France going to America
Berne the 10th of June 1836.
The Secretary of the Embassy
A. de Montigay

Seen at General Consulate of
the United States of America
in Switzerland, to betake
himself to said States,
passing through France

Basle, this 11 of June,

1836.

For the Consul General
The Consular Agent

Nicholas Bernouth

Werthmann

Seen for New York
(Can't read it) Havre
Havre the 14th July, 1836
(?) The commissary of the delegate (?)

(Can't read signature)

Explanation Letter

October 20, 1990

Dear Jeff & Freya,

Attached is some information we received from an
acquaintance who is also a member of Mission Hills and
a couple ith whom we have occasionally played tennis.
Now we find that Bob Geauque is a distant relative.

Meribeth, his wife is a retired nurse and was hosting
the 32nd reunion of her graduating class of nurses.
In preparing for this event, she rummaged thruogh an
old chest containing family memorabilia and came
across the original Passport of Friederich Marchand,
as well as an english translation thereof. Also there
is a page headed "Sketch of Some Early Swiss Settlers"
which somehow came into their hands many years ago.

As you can see, Friederick Marchand (Frederick) came
to the USA on June 8, 1836 along with his wife,
children, the Geauque and the Guillaume families who
all came from near Bern, Switzerland and were related
through intermarriages.

One of Frederick's children, Jacob was 11 years old at
the time they settled in Holmes County, Ohio and he is
buried in the Marchand family plot in the Wooster
cemetary along with John Marchand, his son and father
of Walter March (Pop), your grandfather.

The reason we are certain the enclosed refers to our
family is because it says that Jacob was the editor
and owner of the Wayne County Democrat which Pop often
referred to since his father, John, was also still
connected with this newspaper.

We have the original Passport which we will put in the
Safe.

It just seems like such an incredicle coincidence
since the Geauques, although only casual acquanances,
recalled that I was from Ohio and asked if we knew
where Holmes County was did we have any relatives
there.

We will include this information in the Grandfather
Book.

We hope you and the children are well and having a good time.

Love,
Dad and Susan