Is Marshal Davout Maltese?

By Loïck PORTELLI

Introduction

"Françoise Adélaïde Minard de Velard, the mother of one of Napoleon's greatest marshals, Louis Davout (1770-1823), made Duke of Auerstaedt (1808) and Prince of Eckmühl (1809), was herself descended from the Teuma family, one of the principal families of Gozo." [1]

This is what we learn in passing from an interview given by Mr. GAUCI, Chief Herald of Arms of Malta [2] to the Australian Heraldry Society on 30 September 2021. He is also the author of reference works concerning the Maltese nobility, including The Peerage and Knightage of Malta [3] where this claim also appears in the chapter devoted to Ferdinando Teuma, Count of Għajn Tuffieħa.

The allegation concerning Marshal Davout also appears on an English-language Maltese genealogy website. The latter is more detailed and gives us valuable genealogical information:

1 Francesco Teuma, x 1576 (Matrice Gozo) Marietta Meilach
1.1 Anna Teuma, x 1600 (Senglea) Mro Vincenzo Azzopardi
1.1.1 Caterina Azzopardi x 1630 (la Valette) Mro Domenico Minardi (from Marseille, France).
1.1.1.1 Vincenzo Minardi x 1657 in La Valette Teresa Agius.
1.1.1.1.1 François Minard (returns to Marseille, merchant) x Marie Josèphe de Clugny
1.1.1.1.1.1 Lieutenant-Colonel Etienne Mynard de Velard x Thérèse Minard de Lautreville
1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Françoise Adélaïde Minard de Velard ( - 1810) x Jean-François Davout.
1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1 Louis Nicolas Davout (1770-1823), Marshal.

So-called "Maltese" supposed genealogy of Marshal Davout.

The French Minards

Let us now undertake the painstaking verification of these allegations by consulting the baptismal record of Marshal Davout dated 11 May 1770 at Annoux (Yonne):

on the eleventh of May one thousand seven hundred and seventy was baptized by me the undersigned priest, Louis Nicolas Davoult son of Messire Jean François Davoult, lieutenant of the Royal Champagne Cavalry regiment, lord of Annoux, and of dame Adélaïde Minard du Vélard his wife, born the day before of legitimate marriage.
The godfather was Messire Nicolas Davoult his uncle, captain aide-major in the carabineer corps of Monseigneur the Comte de Provence.
The godmother was Madame Minard du Velard, widow of Messire Etienne Minard du Velard, lieutenant-colonel in the Forez regiment.
The godfather was represented by Jean Vatar and the godmother by Jeanne Porte, both servants in the household of Monsieur Davoult, who do not sign, authorized at the said baptism.
Jean François Davoult and Marguerite Davout, aunt, who signed with me.
[Marginal note:] B[aptism] Louis Nicolas Davout Marshal of France Prince of Eckmühl Duke of Auerstaedt

Baptismal record of Marshal Davout [4]

The baptismal record confirms the first generation given by the "Maltese tree." Marshal Davout's mother was indeed named Adélaïde Minard du Vélard.

Let us now turn to her marriage record:

In the year 1768 on the 24th of September in the parish church of Fussey the marriage was celebrated between messire Jean François Davout knight lieutenant in the Royal Champagne Cavalry regiment co-lord of Annoux residing there, of legal age, son of the late messire Nicolas Davout knight co-lord of the said Annoux cavalry captain and of dame Catherine de Somme, and Françoise Adélaïde Minard Develars demoiselle, of legal age, daughter of the late Etienne Minard Develars esquire lord of Lautreville, Velars and Villiers les polots [?] in part, knight of the Royal and Military Order of Saint-Louis, lieutenant-colonel in the Forest regiment, and of Dame Louise Minard […]

Extract from the marriage record of Adélaïde Minard du Vélard and Jean-François Davout [5]

Let us note for information, and to confirm the identity of her husband, that Adélaïde died on 8 September 1810 at Ravières.

[…] Françoise Adélaïde Minard aged sixty-[eight] years, widow of Messire Davout former cavalry officer died at her home […].

Extract from the death record of Adélaïde Minard du Vélard [6]

The identity of Françoise-Adélaïde Minard de Velard's parents is confirmed by their marriage record dated 2 March 1735, which took place at Avallon. They are indeed Etienne Mynard (lieutenant-colonel in the Forez regiment) and Marie Louise Minard:

[…] Marriage of Etienne Mynard knight of the Military Order of Saint-Louis in the Forez regiment on service in Italy, of legal age, son of the late Georges Mynard, under the authority of dame Anne Personnier his mother on the one part, and of demoiselle Marie-Louise Mynard demoiselle under the authority of Edmé André Mynard esquire lord of Lautreville residing at Avallon, and of dame Louise Thérèse du Buisson her father and mother on the other part […]

Extract from the marriage record of Etienne Mynard and Marie Louise Minard [7]

Our research thus reveals the following tree:

1. Lieutenant-Colonel Etienne Mynard de Velard x on 2 March 1735 at Avallon Marie-Louise Mynard
1.1 Françoise Adélaïde Minard de Velard (1741-1810) x on 24 September 1768 at Fussey Jean-François Davout (1739-1779).
1.1.1 Louis Nicolas Davout (1770-1823), Marshal.

A difficulty arises: Marshal Davout's maternal grandparents bear the same surname.

Let us establish their respective family trees to remove any ambiguity:

Jacques Minard (lawyer) x Thérèse Collas-Cromot
Georges Minard (officer in the Orléans regiment) x 7 June 1688 at Tharoiseau Anne Personnier [8]
Etienne Mynard de Velard (Lieutenant-Colonel) x on 2 March 1735 at Avallon Marie-Louise Mynard

Family tree of Etienne Mynard de Velard, grandfather (maternal side) of Marshal Davout.

Edmé André Mynard x Louise Thérèse du Buisson
Marie-Louise Mynard x on 2 March 1735 Lieutenant-Colonel Etienne Mynard de Velard.

Family tree of Marie-Louise Mynard, grandmother (maternal side) of Marshal Davout.

No trace whatsoever of any Maltese person…

François Minard, the Maltese merchant?

But what about François Minard, the supposed merchant in Malta of Marseille origin who allegedly married Marie Josèphe de Clugny?

An article from the Revue des Deux-Mondes dated 1909 [9] gives us a glimpse of the individual mentioned in the fanciful family tree. He did not live under the scorching sun of Malta but in Burgundy:

"The Minards […] were respectable bourgeois of Avallon, of modest fortune, very recently elevated by some kind of ennobling office purchase [10]. The modest functions fulfilled by most of them, from generation to generation, at the registry or the salt warehouse of the town, were not such as to allow a sumptuous way of life. The most notable of the family seems to have been the great-grandfather of Mme de Genlis, François Minard, counsellor of defaults at the bailliage of Avallon. The good man had acquired a sort of authority in his town. But he aimed higher. It was he who ennobled the family by purchasing an office of secretary at the Parliament of Dijon. Shrewd and cunning, he strove, with tenacious eagerness, to increase his wealth through sales, exchanges, and lawsuits, and to give himself the lordly bearing befitting his new status. But, whatever he did, his modest fortune and his recently acquired nobility earned him little more than purely provincial esteem. Although he had married a woman of good birth, Edme-Marie-Josephte de Clugny, people never spoke of the Minards and their pretensions without a smile."

The study of the genealogy of François and Marie-Josèphe Declugny [11] reveals no link among their descendants with Marshal Davout or with Malta among their ancestors.

The Maltese Minardi

Minardi are indeed found in Malta, but no link whatsoever with the Minards of Burgundy can be established in any way.

Two probably related branches are present on the island:

1 Domenico Minardi (from Senglea) x 12 February 1630 in La Valette Caterina Azzopardi
1.1 Isabella Minardi x 8 January 1651 in La Valette Giuseppe Dimech
1.2 Vincenzo Minardi x 21 January 1657 in La Valette Teresa Agius
1.2.1 Lorenza Menardi x 7 January 1694 in La Valette Giovanni Borg
1.2.2 Caterina Minardi x 8 January 1690 Tomaso Aiosa
1.2.3 Diana x 26 January 1693 in Porto Salvo Diaspano Felici
1.2.4 Giovanna x 24 February 1695 in Porto Salvo Domenico Bajardo
1.2.5 Anna Minardi x 10 April 1701 in Porto Salvo Lorenzo Attard
1.2.6 Geronimo Minardi x 7 August 1701 in Porto Salvo Giovanna Farrugia
1.3 Agostina Minardi x 3 February 1654 in Porto Salvo Battista Cauchi
1.4 Francesco Minardi
1.5 Ignazio Minardi

1 Giovanni Minard (originally from Marseille) x 25 May 1619 in Vittoriosa Diuzza Maluni
1.1 Natale Menardi x 23 April 1651 in Porto Salvo Lucrezia Stivala
1.1.1 Giovanni Minardi x 22 October 1685 in Porto Salvo Caterina Baldacchino xx 31 October 1705 in Porto Salvo Anna Maria de Pescingh.
1.1.2 Agnese Minardi x 7 January 1674 in Porto Salvo Giovanni Grech
1.1.3 Domenica Minardi x 6 February 1684 in Porto Salvo Antonio Russiotto

Conclusion

This research establishes that Marshal Davout had no Maltese ancestors. The only link he has with the archipelago is his presence alongside Napoleon during the capture of Malta in June 1798.

Linking the Marshal's ancestry to the Teuma family is not without irony, as Count Ferdinando Teuma-Castelletti was among the four deputies elected by the people of Malta in revolt on 4 September 1798 against its occupation by the French.

Once again [12] we are dealing with a curious forgery that appears to have been carefully crafted. Its author did not merely connect two distinct trees but took care to combine several elements from different existing trees.

The spread of these false trees, particularly through the internet, poses a real problem. They gradually manage to infiltrate serious publications and deceive experienced genealogists. They discredit those who reproduce them in good faith and make fools of those who believe themselves to be related to a historical figure.

Published with the kind permission of Loïck PORTELLI

1. Maltese surnames, Joëlle Pawelczyk
2. Aspects of maltese surnames, Mario CASSAR
3. Weddings in Malta in the eighteenth century, Aurore Verié
4. Sultan Djem and his alleged Maltese descent, by Nicolas VELIN
5. The legendary Eugène Matteo d'Armenia, by Loïck PORTELLI
6. Jacques and Marguerite de Pellegrino, by Loïck PORTELLI
7. Headquarters Gozo in 1551 and repopulation of the island (excerpts), Stanley Fiorini
8. Marriage in Malta in the late eighteenth century (excerpts), Frans CIAPPARA
9. The three CUMBO brothers, by Georges GANDER and Nicolas VELIN
10. Nicola SOLTANA, the founder, by Nicolas VELIN
11. Is Marshal Davout Maltese?, by Loïck Portelli
12. Who is Marguerite d'Aragon?, by Loïck PORTELLI
13. The Maltese Roots of Gérald DARMANIN