Samuel Bernard
Encyclopedia
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Coubert (1725), was a French financier.
Life
Of DutchNetherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
origin, Samuel Bernard was the son of the painter and engraver Samuel-Jacques Bernard (1615-1687). His family was Protestant, but his father, according to the apocryphal memoirs of the Marquise de Créquy
Marquise de Créquy
Charlotte-Victoire de Froullay de Tessé, Marquise de Créquy de Heymont de Canaples d'Ambrières was a member of the Créquy family, that counted several distinguished public servants and prelates, in particular in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries...
, "had embraced the sect of Arminius
Jacobus Arminius
Jacobus Arminius , the Latinized name of the Dutch theologian Jakob Hermanszoon from the Protestant Reformation period, served from 1603 as professor in theology at the University of Leiden...
[and] had been forced into exile."
He created the French Guinea Company. Declared by Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
Louis de Rouvroy commonly known as Saint-Simon was a French soldier, diplomatist and writer of memoirs, was born in Paris...
to be "the most famous and richest banker in Europe," he lent important funding to the Kingdom of France
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France was one of the most powerful states to exist in Europe during the second millennium.It originated from the Western portion of the Frankish empire, and consolidated significant power and influence over the next thousand years. Louis XIV, also known as the Sun King, developed a...
during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV.
Louis XIV, having exhausted his finances, notably turned to Bernard in 1708 to finance the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. In order that the King would not have to stoop to receive the financier in an audience, the Controller-General of Finances
Controller-General of Finances
The Controller-General of Finances was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. The position replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances , which was abolished with the downfall of Nicolas Fouquet.- History :The term "contrôleur général" in...
, Nicolas Desmarets
Nicolas Desmarets
Nicolas Desmarets, Marquis De Maillebois was a Controller-General of Finances during the reign of Louis XIV of France....
(1648-1721), carefully choreographed a meeting which took place at Marly
Château de Marly
The Château de Marly was a relatively small French royal residence located in what has become Marly-le-Roi, the commune that existed at the edge of the royal park. The town that originally grew up to service the château is now a dormitory community for Paris....
. According to Saint-Simon:
Bernard returned dazzled from this walk, and Desmarets secured from him all the funding that he needed.
Samuel Bernard was ennobled in 1699 by Louis XIV, and created "Count of Coubert" by Louis XV in 1725. On December 29, 1719, he had effectively acquired the land of Coubert
Coubert
Coubert is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-External links:* * *...
(Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...
) with its château, which he had rebuilt from 1724 to 1727, possibly by Germain Boffrand
Germain Boffrand
Germain Boffrand was one of the most gifted French architects of his generation. A pupil of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, Germain Boffrand was one of the main creators of the precursor to Rococo called the style Régence, and in his interiors, of the Rococo itself...
. He also had a magnificent home constructed in Paris at 46 rue du Bac. In 1731, he purchased the land of Glisolles
Glisolles
Glisolles is a commune in the Eure department in northern France.-Population:-References:*...
in Normandie
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
.
Family
Samuel Bernard was first married to Magdelaine Clergeau, then remarried in 1720 to Miss Saint-Chamans, sister of one of his daughters-in-law. He had several children:- Samuel-Jacques BernardSamuel-Jacques Bernard (1686-1753)Samuel-Jacques Bernard , comte de Coubert after the death of his father in 1739, was the son of the financier Samuel Bernard, the richest commoner in France and his first wife, née -Magdeleine Clergeau; he was superintendent of finance for Queen Maria Leszczyńska from 1725, a maître des requêtes,...
(1686-1753), Count of Coubert (1739), who was superintendent of finance, landholding, and business for the queen (1725) (from his first marriage). - Gabriel Bernard de Rieux (1687-1745), who married the daughter of comte de BoulainvilliersHenri de BoulainvilliersHenri de Boulainvilliers was a French writer and historian. Educated at the college of Juilly, he served in the army until 1697...
, president of the second Chamber of Inquests at the Parliament of Paris (from his first marriage). - Vincent Bernard de la Livinière.
- Bonne Félicité Bernard (from his second marriage), who married Mathieu-François Molé, président à mortierPrésident à mortierThe office of président à mortier was one of the most important legal posts of the French ancien régime. The présidents were principal magistrates of the highest juridical institutions, the parlements, which were the appeal courts....
of the Parliament of Paris.
He also had several daughters by Marie-Anne-Armande Carton, known as Manon, daughter of the actor Florent Carton Dancourt
Florent Carton Dancourt
Florent Carton aka Dancourt , French dramatist and actor, was born at Fontainebleau. He belonged to a family of rank, and his parents entrusted his education to Pere de la Rue, a Jesuit, who made earnest efforts to induce him to join the order...
, and wife of Jean-Louis-Guillaume Fontaine (1666-1714), commissioner and controller-general of the Navy:
- Louise-Marie-Madeleine Fontaine (1706-1799), who married the fermier généralFerme généraleThe Ferme générale was, in ancien régime France, essentially an outsourced customs and excise operation which collected duties on behalf of the king, under six-year contracts...
Claude Dupin (a tax and customs officer), landlord of the château de ChenonceauChâteau de ChenonceauThe Château de Chenonceau is a manor house near the small village of Chenonceaux, in the Indre-et-Loire département of the Loire Valley in France. It was built on the site of an old mill on the River Cher, sometime before its first mention in writing in the 11th century...
. - Marie Anne Louise Fontaine (1710-1765), who married Antoine Alexis Panneau d'Arty, a high-level tax official from 1737 to 1743.
- François Thérèse Fontaine (1712-1765), who married Mr. Vallet de La Touche.