Armand Joseph (Béthune) de Béthune (1738 - 1800)

Born 1 Jul 1738 in Versailles, Île-de-France, France

Ancestors

Died 27 Oct 1800 at age 62 in Paris, Île-de-France, France

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Biography

Armand Joseph de Béthune was a French nobleman and soldier, known for his charitable work as well as his efforts to improve French agriculture and industry.

Born in 1738, he was the son of François Joseph de Béthune and his wife Marthe de la Rochefoucauld de Roye. On the death of his father in 1738 he became Duc d'Ancenis and on the death of his great-grandfather in 1747 was ceded the title of Duc de Chârost. He followed a military career, rising in 1792 to the rank of Lieutenant-Général. In 1760 he married Louise Suzanne Edmée Martel and they had two sons, one dying in infancy. After his wife's death, in 1783 he married Henriette Adelaïde Josèphe du Bouchet de Sourches de Tourzel, who survived him.

In the Revolution of 1789 he supported the abolition of noble privileges and was elected mayor of a Paris arrondissement. In the Terror of 1794 his son and heir was guillotined, but he had the support of the people. He passed away in 1800, victim of smallpox he caught from deaf-mute patients he was tending.

Sources

• Wikipédia https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armand_Joseph_de_B%C3%A9thune
• DICTIONNAIRE DE LA NOBLESSE contenant Les Généalogies, l'Hiftoire & la Chronologie des Familles nobles de la France, l'explication de leurs Armes et l'état des grandes Terres du Royaume, poffédées à titre de Principautés, Duchés, Marquisats, Comtés, Vicomtés, Baronies, &c, par création, héritages, alliances, donations, substitutions, mutations, achats ou autrement. On a joint à ce Dictionnaire le Tableau Genealogique et Historique des Maisons Souveraines de l'Europe et une Notice des Familles Etrangeres, les plus Anciennes, les plus Nobles et les plus Illustres par DE LA CHENAYE-DESBOIS ET BADIER. Troisième édition. Tome troisième À PARIS Chez Schlesinger MDCCCLXIII page 125 https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k318669c/f79.image