Augustus Waldemard MENTELLE 
(ID #I4317)
(male)- BIRTH: abt 1769, Paris, France
- DEATH: 26 JUN 1846, Lexington, Kentucky
Mother: Léone VINCENT (dates unknown)
Family 1 : Victoire Charlotte LECLERC (b. 22 OCT 1770?, d. 08 SEP 1860)
- MARRIAGE: 15 APR 1794, Washington Co., Ohio
He and his wife (not yet married) are supposed to have favored the royalists in France, and so had to flee the country about 1791. They eventually joined the Gallipolis colony in Ohio (some accounts seem based on the assumption that they traveled together, but they were not married until 1794, in Washington Co., Ohio), and then settled at Lexington, Kentucky in 1798, where they were prominent in cultural and educational ventures. His account of the Gallipolis settlement was published in The American Pioneer in 1843 (vol. 2, no. 4, 182-187). He is the W. Mentelle mentioned in some of the early documents of the First Vineyard settlement. In particular, Bob Scott's "Swiss Census of Jefferson and Switzerland Counties" notes that W. Mentelle witnessed a deed dated 20 jan 1803, for which the English translation was certified by "Charles Mentelle". Since Mentelle did not have son Charles, who in any case must have been far too old to be a son of Waldemard and Charlotte, and since there seems to be no report of any other family members accompanying Waldemard to the United States, we have to wonder if the translation was not prepared and certified by Charlotte, not Charles. Examination of the recorded deed might reveal whether this is a possibility.
A collection of family papers, said to include information about relatives in France, is at Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky (Mentelle Papers, MSC 31,Special Collections, Transylvania University).
His name is often seen in secondary sources as Waldemar, Waldemare, or Waldemarde. He himself appears to have used the spelling Waldemard, which also has the advantage of being etymologically and linguistically sound. It was under this spelling that he advertised his dry goods store in Lexington (e.g., in the Kentucky Gazette, 29 jan 1811, p. 1, col. 4). Another notice, in the 01 aug 1798 issue, p. 8, col. 2, says: "FRENCH SCHOOL. The subscriber, encouraged by a number of respectable persons, has lately removed to the town of Lexington. He proposes, with the assistance of his wife, to instruct young people of both sexes, in the French language and dancing. His terms will be moderate; and those who entrust him with the care of their children, may rely on his attention and assiduity. He will commence teaching on the 23rd of this month. Woldemard Mentelle. July 20, 1798."
There are other facets to the influence of Waldemard Mentelle. One of his daughters, Maria, married the son of Henry Clay.
__
|
______ MENTELLE _____|
| |
| |__
|
_Edmé MENTELLE ______|
| (1730 - 1815) |
| | __
| | |
| |_____________________|
| |
| |__
|
|
|--Augustus Waldemard MENTELLE
| (1769 - 1846)
| __
| |
| _____________________|
| | |
| | |__
| |
|_Léone VINCENT ______|
|
| __
| |
|_____________________|
|
|__