Nicolle POTERAT (ID #I8165)
(female)- BIRTH: 1555, of Demanges-aux-Eaux, Lorraine, FR
- DEATH: BEF 1593
Mother: Annon CHAPELLIER (b. abt 1535, d. AFT 1574)
Family 1 : Bernard GÉLIEU (b. ABT 1548, d. 6 SEP 1618)
- MARRIAGE: 24 JUN 1570, Gerbéviller, Meurthe-et-Moselle, FR [14621]
- +Bernard GÉLIEU (b. 1580, d. 1654)
- +Jean GÉLIEU (b. 1582, d. AFT 1617)
- Jonas GÉLIEU (b. 1584, d. AFT 1620)
Surname appears also as Paterat and Potterat, according to Bernhard von Gélieu. The latter spelling is found in records of Neuchâtel, suggesting the family might have come with Gélieu in the 1570's. Bernhard also has notes (likely from H. L. Henriod, historian of the family) that her father was "syndic de Genève" about 1560 and that her mother Annon Chapellier remarried about 1570 (to whom?). Part of this is supported from notarial records, part is not.
The marriage contract shows that Fourquignon Poterat has died before 1570, and that his widow has remarried to Gerberon. The family lived at Gerbéviller. The local seigneur's wife, the "dame douairière de Deuilly", has arranged the marriage at the request of the Gerberon family (Gerberon is the local Prévoste, and has been granted "curatelle" or guardianship of Nicolle by Monseigneur le procureur général de la Lorraine, 21 apr 1569, "Blehougre," notaire). Nicolle's age is given as "14 or 15 years." Thus, it appears Henriod's assertion that the father was a syndic in Geneva is in error. It would not be too surprising if the Poterat families that appear later in Geneva are connected to this one, but we have no evidence of this. The Dame de Deuilly is identified as Jeanne de Scépeaux, widow of Olric Du Châtelet, Seigneur de Deuilly. Olric was converted to the reformed religion about 1555, and converted his immediate family and household. He brought in a protestant minister, Nicolas de LaBorne, and set up a small protestant temple. Olric was killed at the battle of La Charité in 1569, where he fought as an ally of Condé. Because of this treason against the crown, his possessions and titles and children were given over to a Catholic uncle, and his widow eventually married Antoine d'Espinay, a Catholic relative of the husband of her sister.
The marriage contract calls the Dame de Deuilly the "maitresse" of Gerberon, and notes that the signing took place at the Château de Deuilly. The document actually encapsulates two others, which give a little more of the story. One dated 21 jan 1570, Briot, notary, is quoted word for word, and it in turn contains reference to another document dated 21 apr 1569, "Belhougre," notary. The latter document shows that Martin Gerberon has been granted "curatelle" or guardianship of Nicolle, by order of Monseigneur le procurateur de la Lorraine ("Bernard Le Hougre"), and that the marriage was being negotiated. (The similarity of names leads to a speculation: Might the notary "Belhougre" actually be the same person as the procurateur de Lorraine? Officials and notaries often used a signature that combined their initials with their surname. One might parse "Belhougre" — the form transcribed by Henriod — as "Be.l.Hougre". There are several references in historical accounts to the procureur général de Lorraine, Bertrand de Hongre, in this period.) Presumably, this document of 1569, if it still exists, will give another reading of the name of Nicolle's father and other interesting information. The document of Briot, meanwhile, establishes that the mother and step-father (Gerberon) agree to the marriage and release Dame de Deuilly from any liability. The outermost document, dated 24 jan 1570, witnessed by the minister Nicolas de LaBorne, and prepared by J. Urbain and Cl. Bresson, spells out the final terms.
The history of the reforms in Lorraine also notes a further example from the same neighborhood. A certain Madame d'Isches, Dame of a neighboring fief, also appointed a minister, but did not get as far as building a church. Her heir Nicolas de Choiseul was forced in 1586 to cede his right to her lands to a Catholic lord. Now, Bernhard notes that Choiseul was one of the possessions of Anthoine d'Amboise, Bernard Gélieu's first benefactor. If Nicolas was his son, and Madame d'Isches his mother, then was the latter the same as the Countess "d'Alingen" who gave Bernard Gélieu sanctuary after he fled Lorraine? The Count of Alingen, whoever he was, possessed a fief called Rynel in 1573, the same Rynel appearing in the title of Anthoine d'Amboise! Clearly, we need a much more detailed account of these noble families in order to understand the story of Bernard Gélieu and Nicole Poterat.
Information gleaned from Père Anselme's Histoire de la Maison Royale de France clearly identifies Nicolas de Choiseul, seigneur d'Isché, as the son of Pierre de Choiseul, seigneur d'Isché, and Jeanne d'Oiselet. The latter would seem to the Madame d'Isches who had retained a protestant minister, and Nicolas would be her heir, the only son. Nicolas himself had 5 daughters but no sons, and his title ended up with his first cousin once removed, Antoine de Choiseul. As the father of Nicolas was surely dead by the 1570's, it is not out of the question that his mother remarried, but we have not found any evidence of this. Meanwhile, the identity of Antoine d'Amboise requires more explanation. His titles include seigneur de Bussy, Choiseul, de la Fauche, Reynel (en Bassigny), and others. These titles are associated with the seigneurs de Bussy descended from Pierre d'Amboise, seigneur de Chaumont. Jean son of Pierre married Catherine de Saint Belin, bringing with her title to Choiseul and de la Fauche, among others. Jean's titles were passed to his first son Jaques, who died at the battle of Marignan in 1515 without male heirs. The titles then passed to the next son Jean, bishop and duke of Langes, then to the third son George d'Amboise cardinal and archbishop of Rouen, who bequeathed his estate, his name, and his arms to his nephew Jaques de Clermont in 1550. Antoine [de Clermont] d'Amboise seigneur de Bussy, Choiseul, Reynel, etc. turns out to be the son of Jaques de Clermont. Antoine was killed in the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre (or possibly a few days earlier, one source says he was murdered in Paris, 18 aug 1572). His wife was Anne de Savoie. She had married first (before 1561, when a document in the Archives of Turin refers to Jacques de Saluces as the son-in-law of Anne's father, Claude de Savoie, Comte de Tende) Jacques de Saluces, Baron of Miolans, who died in 1569. Anne married next Antoine de Clermont d'Amboise. Within a few months of his death, 01 feb 1573, she was married to George de Clermont, and it was at that time, as the "Comtesse de Tende" etc., that she recommended Bernard to the Vénérable Classe de Thonon. While we can assume that Anne shared her second husband's affiliation with the new protestant religion, we have found no additional information about her or her third husband to indicate whether she retained that affiliation at the time she recommended Bernard Gélieu for a position at Thonon.
[14621] Contract signed at the Château de Deuilly, near Gerbéviller.
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_Fourquignon POTERAT _|
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|--Nicolle POTERAT
| (1555 - 1593)
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|_Annon CHAPELLIER ____|
(1535 - 1574) |
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