Charles-Ferdinand Morel
Charles-Ferdinand Morel (called Dean Morel ; born September 4, 1772 in Corgémont , † May 7, 1848 in Corgémont) was a Swiss Reformed pastor and politician .
Life
When he was fifteen, Morel began studying theology in Basel . After completing his studies, he became a clergyman with the regiment of Reinach of the Bishop of Basel in Paris, where he witnessed the beginning of the French Revolution and the storm on the Tuileries . After the failed escape of the French king in Varennes-en-Argonne , he developed from an observer of the revolution into an active participant and became a member and secretary of a Jacobin club in his homeland, which now belongs to the French department of Mont-Terrible . In 1801 he married the writer Isabelle de Gélieu , now pastor of Corgémont , with whom he would have three children.
As pastor of the parish of Corgémont, he is committed to improving agriculture and, together with his wife, promotes the breeding of merino sheep in the Sankt-Immer-Valley . In 1816 he founded a poor charity and an orphanage , which still exist today. He also promoted the establishment of a savings bank , today's Caisse d'Epargne du District de Courtelary .
Following the defeat of Napoleon , he had already campaigned for a new canton of Jura to be built from the area of the former duchy of Basel . After this goal failed and the area fell to the Swiss canton of Bern in the course of the Congress of Vienna , Morel supported the liberal forces in the canton and became a member of the constituent assembly of the canton of Bern in 1831.
In his private life, his life suffered from severe personal crises. As a result of the agricultural crisis that spread across Europe around 1820, he lost almost all of his fortune. In addition, the development of his children did not correspond to his ideas and his marriage, which was once thought of as an equal partnership, suffered from his jealousy and the avarice he had developed, which led to him having to seek psychiatric treatment. He was reconciled with his wife only on her deathbed.
In Corgémont there is a memorial to Morel, the grave of his family in the local cemetery is protected as a memorial. Even if Corgémont and the other Protestant communities of the Bernese Jura do not belong to the newly created Swiss canton of Jura, but have remained with the canton of Bern, Charles-Ferdinand Morel is recognized as the pioneer of an independent Jura canton.
photos
Charles-Ferdinand Morel monument
Charles-Ferdinand Morel monument
Morel's tombstone in the cemetery
Tombstones of the Morel family
Residence of the doyen Morel
literature
- Simon, Charles-Alphonse, Charles-Ferdinand Morel comme aumônier du régiment de Reinach, 1790–1792, d'après sa correspondance , 1941
- Schwab, Samuel, Le doyen Charles- Ferdinand Morel , 1941
- Junod, Charles, Le pasteur Charles-Ferdinand Morel, témoin de l'histoire du Jura bernois à l'époque révolutionnaire , 1966
- Berthoud, Dorette, Le Journal d'Isabelle Morel-de Gélieu , in: "Actes" de la Société jurassienne d'Emulation, 1973
Web links
- André Bandelier: Morel, Charles-Ferdinand. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Morel, Charles-Ferdinand |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swiss pastors and politicians |
| DATE OF BIRTH | September 4, 1772 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Corgémont |
| DATE OF DEATH | May 7, 1848 |
| Place of death | Corgémont |