River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1894-11-29
THE euoNAPARTE FAMILY.
1t Was Probably italian and of Patrician
fufu

1t Was Probably Itaii~n and of Patrician
= Origin.
Curiously longing in his exile for a
second Sampiero TO have welded the
physical power while he himself should
have become the Lycurgus. Paoli's
wish was to be halfway fulfilled in
that warrior 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 power strong enough 10
shatter both tyrannies and dynasties,
thus clearing the ground for law
giving closely related to Paolis own
just and wise conceptions of legisla-
ton.
This scion was to come from the
stock which bore the name of Bona
parte, or, as the heraldic 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 or
igin of the Corsican Buonapartes. il
was neither royal from the twin
brother of Louis XIV, thought T.
be the Iron mask, nor imperial
from the Julian gems, nor
Greek, nor Saraeen, nor, in
short, anything which some later
invented and lying genealogies de-
clared IL to be. But it was really Ital-
ian. and probably patrieian. for in I7sO
Tuscan gentleman, of q side line, de-
vised scanty estate to his Corsican
kinsman. The earliest home of the
family was probably at Sarzana, in
Tuscany. where for generations men
of that name had exercised the profess
sion 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 posi-
tions which they held in the city of
Ajaccio. Their sympathies as low
landers and townspeople wer 18th the
coun try of their origin and with &C.
noa. During the last year of the six
teenth century that republic author
lied Jerome. then head of the family,
TO prefix the distinguishing particle
''di" to his name; but the Italian Gus
tom was averse to its use, which was
not revived until later, and then only
for a short time.
Nearly two centuries fed before the
grand duke of Tuscany issued formal
patents attesting the Bonaparte no.
bility. 1t was Joseph, the grandsire of
Napoleon, who received them: soon
afterward he announced that the coat
of armor of the family was counts
coronet or two chevrons and two null
l. ~ Ia 81 g.
ing Buona Parte, the tincture gules,
the charges azure, etc.
Such hera ldic cant shows that either
the sovereign or the receiver was
poor herald. This was in 1857; in 1859
the same sovereign granted further the
title of patrieian. Charles. the son of
Joseph, received similar grant from
the archbishop of Pisa in 1863. These
facts have a substantial historical
value, since by reason of them the fam
lily was recognized as noble in 177l by
the French authorities, and as a conse-
quence the most illustrious scion of the
stem became, eight years later, the
ward of France, which was still
monarchial. Reading between the
lines of such narrative, it appears as
ifthe short-lived family of Corsican law
yers had some difficulty in preserving
an influence proportionate to their de-
scent, and therefore sought to draw all
the strength they could from 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 di Buonaparte, the
single slender stem on which the con-
sequential lowland family depended
for continuance, appeared at Corte,
the stranger was received with fiatter-
ing kindness, and probably, as one ac-
count has it, was appointed to a post
of emolument and honor as Paolis
private secretary. The new patri-
clan, according to p custom COM
mon among Corsicans of his class,
had already studied at both Rome
and Pisa, and in 1869 he was made
doctor of laws by the latter university.
There are many pleasant anecdotes
told to illustrate the good fellowship
of the young advocate among his COM
rades while student on the mainland.
There are likewise mythical narratives
of his persuasive oloquence at home
and of his influence as a patriot. In
short, an organized effort of sycophantic
admirers, who would, if possible, IL
illuminate the whole family in order to
heighten Napoleon's renown, has in
vented fables and distorted facts to
such a degree that the truth as to
Charles's character is almost unrecog-
nizable.-Prof w. IL. Sloane, in Cen
fury.