Franz Ludwig Eugen of Montigny

Franz Ludwig Eugen Freiherr von Montigny (born on May 4, 1791 at Dasburg Castle ; died on September 28, 1868 in Bracht ; herbländisch-Dutch confirmation of the baron status on February 21, 1753) was Prussian district administrator of the Malmedy district from 1841 to 1853 .

Life

origin

Franz Ludwig Eugen Freiherr von Montigny was born two years after the French Revolution and thus three years before the occupation of Dasburg Castle by French revolutionary troops. At Dasburg Castle, the father, Karl Otto Benignus Norbert de Ferrand Baron von Montigny, represented the rights of the lord of the castle, William V of Orange , Count of Vianden , as castellan . His mother was Ernestine Elisabeth Florentine de Ferrand Baroness von Montigny, née d'Everlange.

The von Montigny family owned Bracht Castle , which the grandfather of Franz Ludwig Eugen Freiherr von Montigny, Georg Friedrich August de Ferrand von Montigny (born October 4, 1705 in Sankt Vith; died February 6, 1790 at Bracht Castle) in 1782 was built until 1785.

1791 to 1815

After the father lost his position as burgrave of Dasburg as a result of the French Revolution in 1796, which his grandfather had previously exercised since 1735, the von Montigny family moved to Bracht Castle. There Franz Ludwig Eugen Freiherr von Montigny initially received instruction from a chaplain. From the age of ten he was also instructed by clergy outside his parents' house and spent some time as a high school student in Münstereifel . At the age of 18 he took two more years of private lessons in Metz to perfect the French language. As the eldest child and supporter of his elderly parents, he was exempt from military service. He primarily devoted himself to the management of his parents' property in Bracht.

1815 to 1840

After the region passed to Prussia, Montigny offered various honorary posts, including as captain of the citizens' militia. In 1828 he took over the administration of the Reuland mayor in the Malmedy district and the neighboring Thommen mayor the following year . At the same time he was a member of the cadastral appraisal commission in the administrative districts of Aachen , Trier and Koblenz from 1828 to 1831 as part of the creation of the Prussian original cadastre .

1840 to 1853 Montigny as district administrator

Even before the departure of the district administrator of the Malmedy district, Theodor Freiherr von Negri , who had resigned on June 30, 1840 , his intentions had become known and a competition for his successor began. In this, among others, the future mayor of Aachen, Johann Contzen , who was also an assistant to the district administrator from July 1839 to January 1842 on behalf of his employer, the Royal Prussian Government of Aachen , and Ernst von Frühbuss, emerged.

Kaufmann explains the further process, which, in accordance with the district regulations of July 13, 1827, surprisingly elected Contzen as the first candidate and Montigny as the second. Even after this election, entries were made in favor of the highest authorities, both from Contzen and Frühbuss. Ultimately, the government in Aachen and the Upper Presidium of the Rhine Province in Koblenz submitted their proposals for a replacement to the Interior Minister Gustav Graf von Rockow . On November 13, 1840, the Prussian King, Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Ordered that the requests be examined as quickly as possible. Rochow followed the suggestions received from Aachen and Koblenz, which provided for an occupation by von Montigny, subject to the passing of the district administrator's examination, which he made up for in November 1841, whereupon the minister ordered the transfer of the office to von Montigny on December 26, 1841. Romeyk differs here (in addition) in individual data and states that Montigny was appointed the new district administrator of the Malmedy district with the highest cabinet order of March 6, 1841. After this, the formal inauguration took place on March 1st of the following year. In the period up to the takeover of the official business by von Montigny, Ernst von Frühbuss was in charge of the administration of the district office from July 1, 1840 to November 1841.

The Montignys family consisted of ten children in addition to his wife Marianne when he took office; their household was not significant. The Montignys became increasingly impoverished over the turmoil of the French Revolution. According to the specifications, the property would not have been sufficient for eligibility, as it consisted of only 271 acres until shortly before the election  , before he bought 199 acres from his brother. Ernst von Bodelschwingh, as President of the Rhine Province, therefore applied for a dispensation for him, according to which he "could be considered a long-time resident". When he was appointed, the Upper President promised him the highest land council salary, 1200 thalers, "because the price increases in Malmedy are due to its location in an extremely barren area and the fact that a number of rich people live in the small town means that an immediate district administrator is required brings a difficult situation, but Montigny must be called such because of the peculiarity of his very small fortune and a very strong family ”.

The practical work of Montigny evidently took place within modest limits. Just like his appearance in public, which was marked by restraint due to great modesty, which promoted the loss of direct contact with the population. The consequences of a disease on the leaves , which also left permanent marks on the face , may also have contributed . In addition , although he was able to speak French and Walloon, his stuttering pronunciation, as a further aftereffect of the fluttering, was a burden when he had to speak in front of larger groups of people. Furthermore, since the District Secretary Wolff, who was working under his predecessor, was transferred to Berlin and his successor was still inexperienced and inexperienced in the practical processes and contexts of the district, the complaints from the government in Aachen regarding the execution of official business increased. Because while the sometimes more practical activities in the mayor's offices, concerning u. a. of the school and road construction, proceeded to the satisfaction of the supervisory authority, it turned out increasingly that Montigny's previous education and further knowledge for the administration of a district office were insufficient.

1853 to 1868

At the request of January 3, 1853, von Montigny retired with the Dimissoriale from March 12 to April 30, 1853. His retirement salary amounted to 525 thalers, whereby the 14 years spent in the mayoral service were fully taken into account. He was followed again by Ernst von Frühbuss, who had taken possession of Wallerode Castle in 1841 , the birthplace of Montigny's grandmother, Anna Johanna Ferrant von Montigny, née von Baring zu Wallerode (died February 8, 1743, 35 years old). Frühbuss, his opponent in the election in 1840 and finally his successor in 1853 recognized Montigny's "goodness of the heart, courtesy and unpretentiousness". He returned from Montigny to Bracht Castle, where from then on he tried to make up for the losses from his Malmedy time - which he himself measured at more than 5000 thalers. Regardless of his previous position as district administrator, he himself lent a hand in every place, be it shoeing the horses, mending the dishes or turning , according to tradition, this work was more important to him than office work. When he died, he left six sons and three daughters in addition to his widow.

family

The Catholic Franz Ludwig Eugen Freiherr von Montigny married Maria Anna Josepha Antonetta, called Marianne van der Maesen (born around 1793 in Jupille ; died on June 30, 1875 in Bracht), a daughter of the landowner Dieudonné Joseph, in Reuland on November 20, 1816 Ignatz van der Maesen and his wife Anna Franziska Antonetta van der Maesen, née d'Everlange. The marriage had ten children, including seven sons. The family became impoverished and Schloss Bracht had to be sold, which led to the division of the property between the Reuland and Private parishes.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d e f g} Horst Romeyk : The leading state and municipal administrative officials of the Rhine Province 1816–1945 (=  publications of the Society for Rhenish History . Volume 69 ). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-7585-4 , p. 638 .
2. ^ ^{A b c} Herbert M. Schleicher: Ernst von Oidtman and his genealogical-heraldic collection in the University Library in Cologne. Volume 11. Folder 832-915. MOCKEL – PALMER. (Publications of the West German Society for Family Studies , Cologne, New Series No. 80). Cologne 1996, p. 92 f. (Folder 846 Montigny).
3. ↑ Heribert Reiners (arrangement and ed.) With the collaboration of Heinrich Neu: Die Kunstdenkmäler von Eupen-Malmedy. L. Schwann Verlag, Düsseldorf 1935 (reprint of Pädagogischer Verlag Schwann, Düsseldorf 1982, ISBN 3-590-32117-2 ), p. 488.
4. ↑ ^{a b} Bracht Castle. In: Heribert Reiners (arrangement and ed.) With the collaboration of Heinrich Neu : Die Kunstdenkmäler von Eupen-Malmedy. L. Schwann Verlag, Düsseldorf 1935 (reprint of Pädagogischer Verlag Schwann, Düsseldorf 1982, ISBN 3-590-32117-2 ), p. 214 f.
5. ^ Karl Leopold Kaufmann : The Malmedy border district in the first five decades of the Prussian administration. Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, Bonn 1940, p. 131.
6. ^ ^{A b c} Karl Leopold Kaufmann: The Malmedy border district in the first five decades of the Prussian administration. Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, Bonn 1940, p. 131.
7. ^ ^{A b} Karl Leopold Kaufmann: The Malmedy border district in the first five decades of the Prussian administration. Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, Bonn 1940, p. 125.
8. ^ Horst Romeyk : The leading state and municipal administrative officials of the Rhine Province 1816–1945 (=  publications of the Society for Rhenish History . Volume 69 ). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-7585-4 , p. 398 .
9. ^ Karl Leopold Kaufmann: The Malmedy border district in the first five decades of the Prussian administration. Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, Bonn 1940, pp. 127–130.
10. ^ Horst Romeyk : The leading state and municipal administrative officials of the Rhine Province 1816–1945 (=  publications of the Society for Rhenish History . Volume 69 ). Droste, Düsseldorf 1994, ISBN 3-7700-7585-4 , p. 453 .
11. ^ ^{A b} Karl Leopold Kaufmann: The Malmedy border district in the first five decades of the Prussian administration. Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, Bonn 1940, p. 132.
12. ^ ^{A b} Karl Leopold Kaufmann: The Malmedy border district in the first five decades of the Prussian administration. Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, Bonn 1940, p. 133.
13. ↑ Heribert Reiners (arrangement and ed.) With the collaboration of Heinrich Neu: Die Kunstdenkmäler von Eupen-Malmedy. L. Schwann Verlag, Düsseldorf 1935 (reprint of Pädagogischer Verlag Schwann, Düsseldorf 1982, ISBN 3-590-32117-2 ), p. 473.
14. ^ ^{A b} Karl Leopold Kaufmann: The Malmedy border district in the first five decades of the Prussian administration. Ludwig Röhrscheid Verlag, Bonn 1940, p. 134.