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THE BULLETIN OF THE CATHOLIC LAYMEN'S ASSOCIATION OF GEORGIA
13
father of the bride, occurs together with the signa
tures of other witnesses to the marriage.
The very next record is of the death on Jan. 9,
1800 (note the date) of Renee Michel Mirault, wife
of John Berard Montalet, the burial occurring on
Jan. 11, 1800. Several witnesses sign their names,
but Pierre Mirault’s name does not appear.
Visions of a deception, a murder, and a father’s
anger would naturally come into the reader’s mind;
and the following records would confirm this:
On Monday, Feb. 10, 1800, there is the marriage
record of Claudius de Segur, son of Anthony Lewis
de Segur and Mary Nicole Rolin to Caroline de
Chadivac, and at this marriage there occurs the sig
nature of Pierre Mirault. It looks as if the father
had repudiated his unfaithful daughter and took
sides with the deceived bridegroom.
However, there occur later on several baptismal
records of the children of Claudius Lewis de Segur
and Renee Michel Heloise Mirault and of Claudius
de Segur and Caroline de Chadivac, duly signed and
witnessed by the priest and others.
The Explanation.
The explanation is simply this: Renee Michel
Mirault, wife of Jean Berard Montalet was sister to
Renee Michel Heloise Mirault, wife of Claudius
Nicholas Lewis de Segur; while Claudius de Segur,
who married Caroline de Chadivac was brother to
Claudius Nicholas Lewis de Segur, husband of Renee
Michel Heloise Mirault. And thus the old parish of
St. John the Baptist is spared the history of a
tragedy.
These marriages occurred doubtless in the home
of F’ierre Mirault, which was situated “in the west
ern part of the city.” His house was the Catholic
Chapel of Savannah in the earliest days of the min
istry of Father le Mercier, and he remained a promi
nent member of the congregation until the day of his
death. His signature occurs many times on the old
records, and always in connection with the “select
occasions” of baptisms, marriages and deaths where
the old French aristocrats were concerned.
Financial reverses do not seem to have made any
difference in the social standing of those who had
in former years mingled with the gentry and nobility
of France. In spite of his former wealth, Pierre
Mirault was in reduced circumstances when he died
in 1806, as the following newspaper notice would
indicate:
DIED—Peter M. I. Mirault, formerly a sugar
planter, lately a baker, native of San Domingo.
His death record does not appear on the old
Church register, as there was no priest in Savannah
at the time. All of the representatives of the Mirault
family have disappeared from Savannah, but the
name is still borne here by the descendants of their
slaves whose baptismal records appear on the old
book.
The Marquis de Montalet.
Jean Berard Macquet, Marquis de Montalet, to
whom Mirault gave his daughter Renee in marriage,
was of noble birth and an officer of distinction in
France. His parents died before he left France for
San Domingo, as appears on the old record quoted
above. He came to Savannah with his wife, Renee
Michel Mirault at the same time that her father left
the island; and it was here that his wife, Renee
Mirault, died on the day following her sister’s mar
riage. In accordance with the general practice of
the French of those days, the Marquis did not re
main widowed long, but married on the 5th of April,
1804, Servanne Angelique Charlotte Picot de Bois-
fieullet. She was the daughter of Picot de Boisfieul-
let, who had been a captain in the Royal Army of
Louis XVI but came to America at the outbreak of
the troubles in France. Together with his nephew,
Julian Hyacinthe de Chappedelaine, Poulain du Big-
non, and two others, he had purchased the islands
of Sapelo, Little Sapelo, Blackbeard, Cabaretta and
other lands on the Georgia coast. In a duel fought
with his nephew, the latter was killed by Boisfieullet
(the death-record appearing on the old Parish
Record) and the two other purchasers sold their
shares in the estates to Boisfieullet and Du Bignon.
The Hermitage.
After his marriage to Boisfieullet’s daughter, the
Marquis de Montalet spent most of his time on
Sapelo Island, which he finally owned himself with
Du Bignon; but he made frequent visits to his broth
er, Jean Baptiste William Polycarp_ Montalet, who
had purchased the beautiful estate just west of Sa
vannah on the river, and which he had named “The
Hermitage”—a name which is attached to it to this
day. Servanne Angelique Charlotte Boisfieullet,
second wife of Jean Berard Montalet died at the
Hermitage June 13, 1805; and in the handwriting of
Charles Harris, mayor of Savannah, her death is
recorded in the Parish Register, there being no priest
in Savannah at the time.
Jean Baptiste William Polycarp Montalet, owner of
the Hermitage, finding himself unable to preserve
his property, appealed to a friend who had also
escaped from San Domingo and had settled in South
Carolina. This friend, Jean Caradaux (whose sig
nature appears on the old Parish Book) advanced
sufficient funds to protect the property, this mort
gage being recorded in the books of Chatham County.
The career of Jean Caradaux was not free from many
adventures and hair-breadth escapes, and although
not a resident of Savannah he seems to have been a
frequent visitor here. His descendants are still found
in South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and in Sa
vannah the name remains, only slightly changed in
the spelling. Under the name of De Caradeuc the
descendants of Jean Caradaux form some of the best
and most respected members of the Cathedral con
gregation at the present time.
The Marquis de Montalet retired to Sapelo Island
where he lived for many years and entertained lav
ishly being visited by the most prominent people of
Savannah and Charleston. Among these was his
sister, Madame Cottineau, concerning whom a spe
cial article will have to be written. The memory of
those old days in and around Savannah is now al
most forgotten, but enough has been preserved in
the old Parish and Court records to enable us, even
at this late day, to put the pieces together and make
of them a continued story.
Boston College has brought its campaign for
$2,000,000 to a successful conclusion. The fund is
already $100,000 over the amount sought, and when
all returns are in, it is expected that it will total
$2,400,000.
Twenty-five American Jesuits left New York Mon
day, June 13, for the Philippines. Most of them
were members of the faculties of Georgetown, Holy
Cross, Fordham and other Jesuit colleges in the
East.
The State Council, Knights of Columbus, has
voted to affiliate with the National Catholic Welfare
Council, thus emulating the good example set by the
Catholic Laymen’s Association of Georgia.
The Knights of Columbus wired $5,000 for the
relief of the sufferers from the Pueblo flood the
first week in June, and in addition shipped a great
quantity of supplies to the stricken people.
A subscription to The Bulletin is a very welcome
gift to members of-the religious orders in Georgia
and elsewhere, and Catholic Georgians now living
in other parts of the United States.
A movement has been started in Louisiana to place
the statue of the late Chief Justice Edward Doug
lass White in Statuary Hall at the National Capi
tol. Louisiana has no representative in the Hall.
The matter cannot be actea upon until the Louisiana
Legislature convenes in May, 1922.