The Story of Adrienne (1800) and Pauline (1797)
I often go on and on about how fascinated I am by the time the La Fayette’s and the Noialles’ spend in exile at the estates Wittmoldt and Lehmkuhlen. Many modern books and publications cover this episode only sparsely – and to be honest, at first glance, events like the American and French Revolution for example appear to be the more interesting, more important and more dramatic chapters in La Fayette’s life. I would like to make the point, that the families time in exile should not be underestimated and that many things happen there, that profoundly influenced the La Fayette’s and their kin. This episode is also a fine example of the family interacting with people outside their usual sphere. People from a different country, a different culture, often with different perceptions.
The other day I was reading a book about Wittmoldt, both the Wittmoldt estate as well as the small village by the same name nearby. The book was written by the head teacher of the local school and a large part of his book deals with the school, its pupils and former teachers throughout time. The book mentions a former head teacher, Detlef Ludwig Petersen, who lived at the Wittmoldt estate during a time where Wittmoldt had many different owners and inhabitants – Madame de Tessé, Adrienne de La Fayette’s aunt, among them.
Now, what is so special about Petersen? He and his wife had four children. Three of them were born in Güsdorf, a neighbouring village, before the Petersen’s moved to Wittmoldt. While living at the Wittmoldt estate they had one last child, a daughter named Adrienne Pauline. My interest was immediately peaked since the name was not only very French – in contrast to the very German names of the first three children, but also the names of the French inhabitants of Wittmoldt at the time.
La Fayette’s wife and her aunt were both named Adrienne and there was also a younger sister, La Fayette’s sister-in-law, who stayed at Wittmoldt and that was named Pauline. This could hardly be a coincidence! I had a look at the archival records and found the entry of Adrienne Pauline’s baptism.
Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evang.-Luth. Kirche, Kirchenkreis Plön-Segeberg, Plön, Taufen 1764-1800, p. 247.
The child was born on April 23, 1800 and baptised four days later on April 27.
But wait! That is not all!
While going through the records, I found a second child with a name too extraordinary to be a coincidence.
Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evang.-Luth. Kirche, Kirchenkreis Plön-Segeberg, Plön, Taufen 1764-1800, p. 203.
Pauline Adrienne Alexandrine was born on September 23, 1797, and baptised on September 29. Not only is her name a direct reference to the two sisters and their aunt, but the record also reveals that both Madame de Tessé, as well as Pauline, Marquise de Montague were witnesses to the proceedings.
The name of Pauline Adrienne Alexandrine’s father does not ring a bell for me, but her mother’s maiden name was Petersen. Now, Petersen is and always has been a very, very common German surname and therefor this could be two different Petersen-families. But Wittmoldt is still a very small village with few inhabitants and things were not looking any different at the turn of the 19th century. It is therefore entirely possible (and in my opinion quite likely) that not one, but two couples in the Petersen-family decided to name their daughter after Adrienne and Pauline.
(I think that the Adrienne, Madame de Tessé, played a bigger role here then Adrienne, Marquise de La Fayette since de Tessé owned Wittmoldt, lived there longer than her niece and was directly referred by name in the records of the 1797 baptism.)
This might not be a big and flashy story compared with some of La Fayette’s exploits during the American Revolution for example, but I like to believe that this is a very human story. The little things, the silent connections that speak of respect and intimate relationships - stories that are history without making history.