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Louis de Geofroy

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Louis de Geofroy

François-Henri-Louis de Geofroy (17 October 1822 – 5 October 1899) was a French diplomat who was the French ambassador to China from 1872 to 1875 and the chargé d'affaires in Japan.

Early life

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Geofroy was born on 17 October 1822 in Vaucluse, a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. He was a son of Dominique de Geofroy and Marie Louise Henriette Blaze.[1]

Career

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In 1860, Geofroy became the first secretary of the French legation in Washington, D.C.,[2] briefly replacing Henri Mercier when he took leave to visit Niagara Falls at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State William Seward.[3] In May 1862, Geofroy went to Athens returning to Washington in late 1863 as first-class secretary and chargé d'affaires.[4] After the French minister left, "he handled routine business while waiting for Mercier's replacement to arrive in Washington."[3]

Just "a few days before the outbreak of war between France and Prussia, he was appointed envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to China.[3] He served as the French minister to China from 1872 to 1875.[5] After his service in China, he served in Tokyo as chargé d'affaires in Japan as successor to Ange-Guillaume de St Quentin.[6]

In 1880, Goefroy became chairman of the French and American Claims Commission for Civil War Compensation before retiring in 1883. He was made a Commandeur de la Légion d'honneur.[3]

Personal life

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Geofroy was married to Catherine Shedden Riggs (1842–1881),[7] a daughter of American banker George Washington Riggs of the Riggs National Bank. Among Catherine's siblings were sister, Cecilia (the wife of British diplomat Sir Henry Howard) and brother T. Lawrason Riggs, a prominent Catholic priest who was the first Catholic chaplain of Yale University.[8] Together, they were the parents of five sons:[9]

  • George Louis Dominique Antoine de Geofroy (1873–1946), a member of the French Diplomatic corps.[10]
  • George Jules François de Geofroy (1875–1954),[11] an industrial chemist who married Marie de Forceville (1885–1963), a daughter of Count Léopold de Forceville and Countess Jeanne d'Ortho.[12][13]

His wife died on February 7, 1881, in Washington D.C.[8] Geofroy died on 5 October 1899 in Cannes, France. He was buried alongside his wife at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Washington.

Descendants

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Through his second son, he was a grandfather of Louis François Léopold de Geofroy,[14] Charles de Geofroy, Henry George de Geofroy,[15] Michel Joseph de Geofroy, and Bertrand de Geofroy.[16]

References

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  1. ^ Annuaire de la noblesse de France et des maisons souveraines de l'Europe (in French). Bureau de la publication. 1873. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  2. ^ Official Congressional Directory. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1861. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  3. ^ a b c d Sainlaude, Stève (5 February 2019). France and the American Civil War: A Diplomatic History. UNC Press Books. pp. 23–24, 213. ISBN 978-1-4696-4995-5. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  4. ^ Holzer, Harold; Vogel, Dawn (25 August 2009). Lincoln Revisited: New Insights from the Lincoln Forum. Fordham University Press. p. 293. ISBN 978-0-8232-4086-9.
  5. ^ Taveirne, Patrick (2004). Han-Mongol Encounters and Missionary Endeavors: A History of Scheut in Ordos (Hetao) 1874-1911. Leuven University Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-90-5867-365-7. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  6. ^ Sims, Richard (1998). French Policy Towards the Bakufu and Meiji Japan 1854-95. Psychology Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-873410-61-5. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Katherine Sheddon de Geofroy". The Breckenridge News. 16 February 1881. p. 2. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  8. ^ a b Warfield, Joshua Dorsey (1905). The Founders of Anne Arundel and Howard Counties, Maryland: A Genealogical and Biographical Review from Wills, Deeds and Church Records. Kohn & Pollock. p. 361. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  9. ^ Riggs, John Beverley (1939). The Riggs Family of Maryland: A Genealogical and Historical Record, Including a Study of the Several Families in England. Lord Baltimore Press. ISBN 978-0-598-60881-9. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  10. ^ TIMES, Special to THE NEW YORK (22 September 1946). "M. ANTOINE DE GEOFROY; Ex-Member of French Diplomatic Corps Dies in Switzerland". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  11. ^ Times, Special to The New York (27 November 1954). "GEORGE DE GEOFROY". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  12. ^ West, Sue Crabtree (1971). The Maury Family Tree: Descendants of Mary Anne Fontaine (1690-1755) and Matthew Maury (1686-1752) and Others. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  13. ^ Branches & Twigs: Newsletter of Genealogical Society of Vermont. The Society. 1984. p. 23. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  14. ^ "ISABEL FLANNERY BECOMES ENGAGED; Former Student at Vassar and George Washington U. Will Be Wed to Louis de Geofroy". The New York Times. 9 October 1944. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  15. ^ "ART OF FRIEDMAN IN MEMORIAL SHOW; Jewish Museum Displays 40 Paintings by U.S. Realist-- de Geofroy Has Exhibition". The New York Times. 18 February 1950. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
  16. ^ Times, Special to The Hew York (8 January 1955). "MRS. MANACH REMARRIED; Former Gladys L--ory Wed to1 Aristodeme J. Cosmetto". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
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