De Saussure family

The De Saussure family is a family from the Geneva patriciate of Huguenot origins hailing from Lorraine, France but being settled in Switzerland since 1556. An American branch was established in South Carolina in the 18th century by Henri de Saussure; among his descendants were Henry William de Saussure and William F. De Saussure.[1][2]

De Saussure family
Patrician family
Place of originSaulxures, Lorraine, France
Founded
  • Arrival in Switzerland
    1556, Lausanne
  • 467 years ago
Titles

History

The family originally hails from Saulxures in the Lorraine region of France. During their service as falconers to the duke he ennobled them in 1506. Due to religious persecution for being Huguenot they emigrated to Lausanne and Geneva, where they became citizens in 1556 respectively 1636.

Swiss branch
Hôtel particulier of the Saussure family in Geneva

In Switzerland they soon became politically and socio-economically active holding a variety of public offices. Théodore de Saussure became the mayor of Geneva, his son Nicolas de Saussure, a politician. Horace-Bénédict de Saussure was probably the most notable, his portrait was on the 20 Swiss Francs bill series which were in circulation from 1979 to 1995.[3] More recently, a descendant of this branch, is Jacques de Saussure, who was a part-owner in private bank Pictet Group and current owner of the hôtel particulier of the family.[4]

American branch

Henri de Saussure (anglicized to Henry de Saussure, d. 1761), a scion of the Lausanne branch of the family, emigrated from Vaud in the Old Swiss Confederacy settling in Charleston, South Carolina.[5] The four sons of Henri fought in the American Revolutionary War with only his son Daniel surviving. Daniel was the father of William Henry de Saussure. There are still several descendants living with the current spelling being Desaussure in the United States.[6][7] Louis D. DeSaussure was a slave trader.[8]

References
  1. "DeSaussure, Henry William". South Carolina Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on 2023-03-31. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  2. "DeSaussure Family Papers, 1716-1938" (PDF). schistory.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  3. "Familie de Saussure". issuu. Archived from the original on 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  4. Times, Ralph Atkins in Geneva, The Financial (2016-06-29). "Pictet private bank seeks to retain the family touch". SWI swissinfo.ch. Archived from the original on 2023-10-19. Retrieved 2023-09-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Jacques Augustin Galiffe, J. Barbezat, 1895 (in French)
  6. "Old Plantation Days, by N. B. De Saussure". The Online Books Page (onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu). Archived from the original on 2022-11-28. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  7. "Louis M. DeSaussure Journal, 1835–1865". finding-aids.lib.unc.edu. Archived from the original on 2023-10-20. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  8. "Louis D. DeSaussure slave sale broadside". Lowcountry Digital Library Catalog Search. Archived from the original on 2023-08-15. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
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