Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-11-16
TIE soN6PARTE FAMILY.
1t Was Probably of italian Origin and
Was Patrician.


Was Patrician.
In the new life Of Napoleon by Pro-
fessor w. M. Sloan of Princeton in The
Century the professor, after describing
tho efforts Of the Corsicans under the
lead of one of the national heroes, Pas
cal Paoli, to resist Genoese encroach-
ments and tyranny, says: Curiously
longing in his exile for a second Sam
piero to have welded the physical pow
or while he himself should have be-
come the Lycurgus, Paoli's wish was
TO be half way fulfilled in that a war
rior greater than Sampiero was about
to be born in Corsica, one who should,
by the very union so long resisted, come,
as the master Of France, to WELD pow
er strong enough to shatter both tyran-
MES and dynasties, thus clearing the
ground for a law giving closely related
to Paoli's own just and wise concep-
tions of legislation.
This scion was to como from the stock
which bore the namo of Bonaparte, or,
as the heraldio etymology later spelled
it, Buonaparte. There were branches Of
the same stock, or at least Of the same
name, in many other parts of Italy
Whatever the origin Of the Corsican
Buonapartes, it was neither royal from
the twin brother Of Louis XIV, thought
to be the Iron Mask, nor imperial from
the Julian gems, nor Greek, nor Saracen,
nor, in short anything which some lat
er invented and lying genealogies de-
clared it to be. But it was really Ital-
ian and probably patrician, for in 1880
a Tuscan gentleman Of side line de-
vised a scanty estate to his Corsican
kinsman. The earliest homo Of the fam
lily was probably at Sarzana, in Tus-
cany, where for generations men of that
name had exercised the profession OF
advocates.
Moreover. they were persons of local
consequence in their latest seats, partly
because of their Italian connections,
partly in their substantial possessions of
land and partly through the official po-
sitions which they held in the city of
Ajaccio. Their sympathies as lowland-
ers and townspeople were with the coun-
try of their origin and with Genoa.
During the last years Of the sixteenth
century that republic authorized Jer-
ONE, then head of the family, to prefix
the distinguishing particle "di" to his
name, but the Italian custom was averse
to its use, which was not revived until
later, and then only for short time.
Nearly two centuries fed before the
grand duke of Tuscany issued formal
patents attesting the Buonaparte nobil-
ity. 1t was Joseph, the grandsire Of Ma
poleon, who received them. Soon after
ward he announced that the coat Of
arms of the family was counts coro-
net, or two chevrons and two mullets,
with the two letters B P, signifying
Buona Parte, the tincture gules, the
charges azure, etc.
Such heraldic cant shows that either
the sovereign or the receiver was a poor
herald. This as in 1851 In 1859 the
same sovereign granted further the title
Of patrician. Charles, the son Of Joseph,
received a similar grant from the arch
bishop of Pisa in 1863 These facts have
a substantial historical value, since by
reason of them the family was recogniz-
Cd as noble in 1771 by the French au-
thorities, and as a consequence the most
illustriOus scion Of the stem became
eight years later the ward of France,
which was still monarchical. Reading
between the lines of such a narrative, it
appears as if the short lived family of
Corsican lawyers had some difficulty in
preserving an influence proportionate to
their descent, and therefore sought to
draw all the strength they could from a
bygone grandeur, easily forgotten by
their neighbors in the moderate circum-
stances Of the later day.
No task had lain nearer to Paoli's
heart than to unite in one nation the
two factions into which he found his
people divided Accordingly, when at
his request Carlo de Buonaparte, the
single slender stem on which the con-
sequential lowland family depended for
continuance appeared at Corte, the
stranger was received with flattering
kindness and probably, as one account
has it, was appointed to post Of emol.
ument and honor as Paoli's private Sec
Rotary. The new patrician, according
to.a custom common among Corsicians
of his class, had already studied at both
Rome and Pisa, and in 1869 he was
made doctor Of laws by the latter uni
versity. There are many pleasant anec-
dotes told to illustrate the good fellow
ship of the young advocate among his
comrades while a student on the main