Marie-Félicité de Saint-Maxent
Countess of Gálvez Marie-Félicité de Saint-Maxent | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 27, 1755 |
| Died | c. 1800[1] |
| Spouse | Jean Baptiste d'Estrehan (m.176? d.1765) Bernardo de Gálvez (m.1777 d.1786) |
| Parents |
|
Marie-Félicité de Saint-Maxent (December 27, 1755 - c. 1800) was a French-Creole noblewoman and the wife of Bernardo de Gálvez, the 5th Spanish Governor of New Orleans from 1777 to 1783.
Biography
Early life
Marie was born to Gilbert Antoine de Saint-Maxent (1724–1794) and Elizabeth La Roche.[2] When Elizabeth was six years old she was placed in an arranged marriage with Jean Baptiste d'Estrehan, the son of Jean-Baptiste d'Estrehan de Beaupré. However, Jean Baptiste died in 1765, leaving Marie a widow.[3][4] Marie was known for her youthful beauty and even attracted the admiration of the famed German scientist Alexander von Humboldt.[5]
Marriage with Bernardo de Gálvez
On November 2, 1777, Marie married Bernardo de Gálvez, the 5th Spanish governor of Spanish Louisiana. Marie had 3 children with Bernardo: Matilda (b. 1778 in New Orleans), Miguel (b. 1782 in Haiti) and Guadalupe (b. 1786 in Mexico City).[6][7] During the American Revolutionary War, Bernardo traveled north to help fight the British with the Americans 1779 to 1783. When Bernardo returned later that year, he was appointed as the 49th Viceroy of New Spain and moved the family down to Mexico due to his occupation.[8][9] During Bernardo's reign, he oversaw a famine in 1786 and with his wife, helped aid the starving Mexican population.[10] On November 30, 1786, Bernardo died in Mexico City, aged 40.[11]
Later life and death
Following the death of her husband, Marie traveled to Madrid and lived there for several years. In 1790, she asked a friend and French banker named Francisco de Cabarrús to deliver some jewels to her from the French embassy which he did. On September 11, 1790, Marie was visited by Spanish authorities and was banished from Madrid and settled in Valladolid where she was heavily monitored by Spanish police. Eventually she was allowed to settle in Zaragoza until June 1793, when Marie was allowed back into Madrid where she died around the year 1800.[3][12]
References
- ^ Quintero Saravia 2023; Beerman 1994; Los Gálvez y su tiempo; cf. genealogical compilations that place her death c. 1800 in Madrid.
- ^ "St. Maxent, Marie Félicité (Felicítas)". Dictionary of Louisiana Biography. Louisiana Historical Association. Retrieved 19 November 2025.
- ^ a b Arthur, Stanley Clisby; Kernion, George Campbell Huchet de (2009). Old Families of Louisiana. Genealogical Publishing Company. p. 414. ISBN 978-0-8063-4688-5.
- ^ Calderón de la Barca, Frances Erskine Inglis (1959). La vida en México durante una residencia de dos años en ese país (in Spanish). Porrúa. p. 44.
- ^ Todd, Charles Burr (1907). The Story of the City of Mexico. G.P. Putnam’s Sons. p. 228.
- ^ Firefly Digital, Inc., www.fireflydigital.com, 800-397-1624. "Dictionary S - Louisiana Historical Association". www.lahistory.org. Archived from the original on 2016-07-16. Retrieved 2025-11-12.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Saravia, Gonzalo M. Quintero (2018-03-23). Bernardo de Gálvez: Spanish Hero of the American Revolution. UNC Press Books. ISBN 978-1-4696-4080-8.
- ^ Julián de Paredes, Recopilación de Leyes de los reynos de las Indias, mandadas imprimir, y publicar por la magestad católica del rey Don Carlos II, nuestro señor, Madrid, 1681, edic. facs. de Ediciones de Cultura Hispánica, Madrid, 1973, t. II, p. 151r. Numbers 130 to 133 of the Royal ordinance of December 18, 1701, and Book I, Title 17 of the Ordenanzas of 12 June 1728 on the marriage of officers and soldiers.
- ^ Chamberlain, Charles D. (2025-08-15). New Orleans: A Concise History of an Exceptional City. LSU Press. ISBN 978-0-8071-8533-9.
- ^ Otfinoski, Steven (2009). The New Republic. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0-7614-2938-8.
- ^ Revista complutense de historia de América. Facultad de Geografía e Historia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid. 2006. p. 192.
- ^ "Felicitas St. Maxent, Wife of Bernardo de Gálvez: From French New Orleans Belle to Exiled Spanish Dowager Countess | Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History". www.gilderlehrman.org. Retrieved 2025-11-12.