FLORIAN - The Most Traveled Man on Earth

Note on the Title Count and Countess
And Saving the Life of the King
Articles in the 1960s and many current descendants describe Jean Baptiste and his wife as
“the Count and Countess.” This is almost certainly an error. Research on both sides of
the Atlantic reveals the following:
• <strong>The</strong> original letters do not refer anywhere to the title Count or Countess for the
Florians.
• While the family had a coat of arms, there are no listings for Jean Baptiste or his
ancestors as Counts or other members of the upper noble class.
• Some of the ancestors of Jean Baptiste were referred to formally as
“Squire”(Ecuyer) “Maitre” (Master) or “Honorable <strong>Man</strong>” (H.H. or Honorable
Homme), but these are titles of minor nobility, in a unique titled French class
above the gentry but below the equivalent of an English Knight.
• In 1747 Jean Baptiste’s grandfather purchased the office of Secretary Advisor to
the House and Crown of France, a post which he bought for 55,000 livres, and
which conveyed hereditary nobility. But again, this was a minor nobility, not
equivalent to a Knight, Baron, Marquis, Earl or Duke.
• One ancestor is referred to as “Sieur de la Dauphinoise” and Jean Baptiste was
described in his marriage certificate as the “high and mighty lord of the
Pontcadeuc” but these titles actually referred to ownership of parcels of land, not
to noble titles such as Count or Duke. And the reference to “Dauphinoise” does
not likely refer to the French Dauphine (son of the King), but rather to a particular
parcel of land.
However, it is fair to say that before the Revolution, the Florian Jolly de Pontcadeuc and
Le Det de Segray families were well off and highly influential. For example, the uncle of
Marguerite, Nicolas Joseph Beaugeard (1755-1818), was Secretary to Queen Marie
Antoinette for 25 years, his marriage register was personally signed by the King and
Queen, who were present at his wedding, he was apparently made a Chevalier (Knight)
like his father before him, and he is mentioned in the Benjamin Franklin papers as an
official of the state of Brittany, and someone who was aiding the American cause.
Finally, Nicolas is reported in the letters below to have saved the life of Louis XVI, King
of France, on the fateful day of 10 August 1792, likely at the Tuileries Palace. On that
day, the monarchy ended when the King was forced to leave the palace and walk between
files of guards through a mob of revolutionaries. He never exercised power again.
Nicolas took a dagger thrust in his arm that was meant for the King, and it is likely that
this happened as the King was walking through the mob. This fascinating and important
incident, an attempted assassination, has apparently been lost to history until now.
Returning to the question of nobility, it is thus fair to say that the Florian and de Segray
families were members of the landed minor nobility, were wealthy, cultured, artistic and
influential, but were not members of the upper nobility and did not qualify for the title
Count or Countess.
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