Our Family Tree: Chapter 1 - The Pagé Family
This is the first chapter of a handwritten book by my great-grandaunt, Jo Baginski. It covers the Pagé family back to Ferdinand Pagé, who was a carriage builder for King Louis the XIV or XV.
By Johanna Helene Baginski (Linked names open FamilySearch in a new tab)
View the original handwritten document
When I was in Versailles, we were allowed to go into the coach house where there were a number of the king’s coaches. Most of them were gold with exquisite designs and trims. When I stood gazing at them I was thrilled to think perhaps my great, great grandpa had made one or more of these.
They were so beautiful and artistic that you could not imagine one of those gross kings sitting in them. For each coach was fit for a fair princess (or perhaps Cinderella). They were really works of art. (As the psychologists say - our genes come not just from our parents but from way, way back from distant forefathers. So I like to think that those of us in our family, who love art and enjoy making pretty things, are following at least somewhat in the footsteps of these great, great, greats of ours.)
Ferdinand Pagé and his wife were both protestants, or Huguenots, as the French called them, and therefore had to be very careful not to give the Catholic groups any excuse for troubling them. Their son, also Ferdinand, was trained in the family line of work and at his father‘s death, became the master craftsman, running the business very successfully.
Just at this period in French history, the very, very powerful and bigoted Catholic Church stage another program against the Huguenots. There were terrible massacres and imprisonments all over France especially in the cities, all in the name of “true religion.“ As the violence spread many or at least some of the Huguenots managed to escape to Holland, Germany and America, especially to Delaware and the Carolinas; among those threatened were the Pagés. They finally managed to flee leaving behind their prosperity and all possessions. They fled eastward to Germany. When they crossed the frontier they settled for a time in a German town close to the border. Of course they had not been able to take much with them but according to family memoirs they had carried along that sign from their establishment, both as a proof of their accomplishments and a hope that someday they might be able to return to Versailles and continue in the family business.
It was always a thrill to listen to the tales my mother told of their exile in Germany. These were the stories her father had told her when she was a little girl. Soon after they reached Germany their son, my grandfather, was born. This must have been around 1813 or so. He was also named Ferdinand and was the first Pagé born in Germany.
At this time, Napoleon was, of course, emperor of France, and was set on conquering all of Europe. His plan right then was the conquest of Russia and so his armies now began the march to Moscow. This meant, of course, that his soldiers had to march across all Germany eastward to Russia. Germany, at that time, was not yet one nation, but consisted of many duchies and principalities too weak and separated to offer any resistance to Napoleon and his powerful armies. When each regiment reached a German town they would stop there to rest and pick up supplies. There was much unpleasantness and fear among the Germans as they could not understand the language of the soldiers and were treated by them with great contempt like conquered peasants. Three or four of them were quartered in the home of our Pagé family, who had decided not to let the soldiers know that they were also French for fear that they might resent the fact that they had managed to escape. So they carefully avoided speaking French and pretended not to understand anything said. Now, like all small towns all over the world at that time, the homes of course had no running water and the woman would go every day to get pails full of fresh water at the town pumps in the square. It was a good place to meet neighbors and enjoy a little gossip, so they were usually quite a number of women there at the same time. The grenadiers would also gather around and eye the women and thought it smart to make insulting remarks and comments to them in French, of course. One day while waiting for her turn at the fountain, our great, great grandma could of course understand what the men were saying, as the other women could not. This time it was just too much for her, and without stopping to think of the consequences, she lost her temper, swung her water pail and beat guilty, insulting soldier over the head with it. She proceeded to tell the astonished Frenchman what she thought of them and their disgusting insults. Of course she poured it all out in French. Everyone stared at her in amazement and then she was petrified with fright. What would they do to her? The soldiers stood there speechless for a moment, then one of them suddenly picked her up and swung her up high, wile all the rest shouted, cheered and saluted her as a real grand lady of France. After this as long as this regiment stayed here those stationed in her house, we did on her, carried water for her, and treated her husband a little son like true French come patriots and friends. How I love to hear of my brave little grandma Pagé, our first “liberated lady“.
Of course the Pagés were never able to return to Versailles, but drifted gradually east word across Germany as the years went by. My grandfather [Ferdinand Pagé] said that they always spoke French at home and kept up French customs and recipes as much as possible.
I know that my mother still carried on some of their French habits. Four instance we always called pork-chops, gabonaden. A Frenchman told me it should be garbonaden but we always left out the r. Napkins she always called serviettes.
One of the old tales they told about that period is amusing to those who know German. When the French armies came marching through the towns and villages the authorities ordered the town folks to stand along the roadside and cheer as the grenadiers marched by and shout “Vive de la Emperor”. But it was not a success as the Germans could not master the French accent correctly. Then some bright chap came up with a brilliant idea - “Give them a real German colloquial phrase to shout instead”. So now as the troops marched by the folks would all shout very fast “Wief-bring die lampe her”. Yelled if fast and it really worked sounding right enough to please even old Nappy.
As I said, my mother’s father was the first Pagé born in Germany. I really know little of his youth. About 1840 he married Elizabeth Stahl. The Stahl family came from Alsace Lorraine, which for a time was claimed and ruled by France then by a German Prince and then vice versa several times till many of the people did not know whether to say they were German or they were French. One of these families was the Stahl family who finally left Alsace, Lorraine and settled into Germany proper.
Ferdinand and Elizabeth Pagé had a six daughters, of whom my mother Anna Marie Pagé was the youngest: Caroline, Julia, Augusta, Pauline, Bertha, Anna Marie. The two oldest were married before my mother had started school, so she had several nephews only a few years younger than she was. Grandpa had a small inn in Kulmsee Ost Preussen as that principality was called. My mother was born in Kulmses. Grandfather died when she was 9 years old. She adored him and always spoke of him with great tenderness. She said he was very gentle, kind, soft-spoken, and well liked by everyone. He was proud of his French background and always sign his name with the accent mark Pagé. When Pa and I were in Germany, Taute Pauline told us that their little sister, Anna, was his special pet and she was always asking him to tell her stories of when he was a little boy. I had hoped to learn more from Taute Pauline but she knew little for she said, “Anna was the one he told the stories to. The rest of us never paid much attention.”
Mother was always sure from what she heard her mother and older sisters say, that grandpa had died of a gallbladder trouble. (Just as she did) He was only in the mid-50s when he died. 56 years old (just as mama was when she died)
Grandma used to tell all about the beautiful old, old Bibles that had been in her family from way back. She said there were three or four of them down and heavy brown leather and beautifully decorated on the border of the pages. Whenever one of the older members of the family died, one of these antique Bibles was put in the coffin with him. She had put the last one in grandpa’s coffin. She said they were German but hard to read. I’m sure they must’ve been very old. Grandpa died in 1871.
After his death, as she could not run the inn herself, Grandma turned the management over to her son-in-law August Riedel, the oldest daughter Caroline’s husband. As I understand, this was a poor choice, as he hated to work, like to play fine gentlemen. In less than a year, the business was bankrupt and grandma was left without means for herself and 4 younger daughters. When the Riedel’s and the other married daughter’s (Julia) husband decided to try their luck in Berlin, she took what she could after selling everything and also moved to Berlin. There she and Tante Auguste supported themselves and the 3 younger girls by sewing, about the only type of work possible for women at that time except housework. My mother had gone to school in Stolp and now in Berlin. When she was barely 18, she married Julius Strahlendorf, a machinist. The next year my brother Paul was born. (Jan 3, 1881) When Paul was just over one year old, she got a divorce and moved in with her mother. A few weeks later she discovered she was pregnant. On November 12, 1882 Emma was born, which is 22 months after Paul. So my mother with her too small babies lived with grandma and her sister Augusta (her favorite sister). All three worked as seamstresses. My mother was an expert and fine dressmaker all her life, could make her own patterns and also had extra lovely finishing touches on all her garments.
Several years later she married Richard Karl Baginski, who for some time had been a boarder at her sister’s (Carolina Riedel) house.
Chapter 1 - The Pagé Family
If we go back 200+ years we can speak of the first one of our forefathers of whom we really know. This was Ferdinand Pagé, born and raised in Versailles, France. As was the custom in those days, he had followed in the footsteps of his father and his grandfathers, carrying on the family business. For a long, long time the man of the Pagé family had been master craftsman, designing and building coaches. They had become well-known for their fine work and at this time were busy building splendid coaches for aristocrats around Paris. Their work had come to the attention of the royal courtiers and they were appointed officially to build and design gorgeous coaches for the French monarch. Over the door of their establishment they now had a beautifully painted sign proclaiming the Pagé’s family to be: Coach builders by Royal Command to his Majesty King Louis (XV?). XIVWhen I was in Versailles, we were allowed to go into the coach house where there were a number of the king’s coaches. Most of them were gold with exquisite designs and trims. When I stood gazing at them I was thrilled to think perhaps my great, great grandpa had made one or more of these.
They were so beautiful and artistic that you could not imagine one of those gross kings sitting in them. For each coach was fit for a fair princess (or perhaps Cinderella). They were really works of art. (As the psychologists say - our genes come not just from our parents but from way, way back from distant forefathers. So I like to think that those of us in our family, who love art and enjoy making pretty things, are following at least somewhat in the footsteps of these great, great, greats of ours.)
Ferdinand Pagé and his wife were both protestants, or Huguenots, as the French called them, and therefore had to be very careful not to give the Catholic groups any excuse for troubling them. Their son, also Ferdinand, was trained in the family line of work and at his father‘s death, became the master craftsman, running the business very successfully.
Just at this period in French history, the very, very powerful and bigoted Catholic Church stage another program against the Huguenots. There were terrible massacres and imprisonments all over France especially in the cities, all in the name of “true religion.“ As the violence spread many or at least some of the Huguenots managed to escape to Holland, Germany and America, especially to Delaware and the Carolinas; among those threatened were the Pagés. They finally managed to flee leaving behind their prosperity and all possessions. They fled eastward to Germany. When they crossed the frontier they settled for a time in a German town close to the border. Of course they had not been able to take much with them but according to family memoirs they had carried along that sign from their establishment, both as a proof of their accomplishments and a hope that someday they might be able to return to Versailles and continue in the family business.
It was always a thrill to listen to the tales my mother told of their exile in Germany. These were the stories her father had told her when she was a little girl. Soon after they reached Germany their son, my grandfather, was born. This must have been around 1813 or so. He was also named Ferdinand and was the first Pagé born in Germany.
At this time, Napoleon was, of course, emperor of France, and was set on conquering all of Europe. His plan right then was the conquest of Russia and so his armies now began the march to Moscow. This meant, of course, that his soldiers had to march across all Germany eastward to Russia. Germany, at that time, was not yet one nation, but consisted of many duchies and principalities too weak and separated to offer any resistance to Napoleon and his powerful armies. When each regiment reached a German town they would stop there to rest and pick up supplies. There was much unpleasantness and fear among the Germans as they could not understand the language of the soldiers and were treated by them with great contempt like conquered peasants. Three or four of them were quartered in the home of our Pagé family, who had decided not to let the soldiers know that they were also French for fear that they might resent the fact that they had managed to escape. So they carefully avoided speaking French and pretended not to understand anything said. Now, like all small towns all over the world at that time, the homes of course had no running water and the woman would go every day to get pails full of fresh water at the town pumps in the square. It was a good place to meet neighbors and enjoy a little gossip, so they were usually quite a number of women there at the same time. The grenadiers would also gather around and eye the women and thought it smart to make insulting remarks and comments to them in French, of course. One day while waiting for her turn at the fountain, our great, great grandma could of course understand what the men were saying, as the other women could not. This time it was just too much for her, and without stopping to think of the consequences, she lost her temper, swung her water pail and beat guilty, insulting soldier over the head with it. She proceeded to tell the astonished Frenchman what she thought of them and their disgusting insults. Of course she poured it all out in French. Everyone stared at her in amazement and then she was petrified with fright. What would they do to her? The soldiers stood there speechless for a moment, then one of them suddenly picked her up and swung her up high, wile all the rest shouted, cheered and saluted her as a real grand lady of France. After this as long as this regiment stayed here those stationed in her house, we did on her, carried water for her, and treated her husband a little son like true French come patriots and friends. How I love to hear of my brave little grandma Pagé, our first “liberated lady“.
Of course the Pagés were never able to return to Versailles, but drifted gradually east word across Germany as the years went by. My grandfather [Ferdinand Pagé] said that they always spoke French at home and kept up French customs and recipes as much as possible.
I know that my mother still carried on some of their French habits. Four instance we always called pork-chops, gabonaden. A Frenchman told me it should be garbonaden but we always left out the r. Napkins she always called serviettes.
One of the old tales they told about that period is amusing to those who know German. When the French armies came marching through the towns and villages the authorities ordered the town folks to stand along the roadside and cheer as the grenadiers marched by and shout “Vive de la Emperor”. But it was not a success as the Germans could not master the French accent correctly. Then some bright chap came up with a brilliant idea - “Give them a real German colloquial phrase to shout instead”. So now as the troops marched by the folks would all shout very fast “Wief-bring die lampe her”. Yelled if fast and it really worked sounding right enough to please even old Nappy.
As I said, my mother’s father was the first Pagé born in Germany. I really know little of his youth. About 1840 he married Elizabeth Stahl. The Stahl family came from Alsace Lorraine, which for a time was claimed and ruled by France then by a German Prince and then vice versa several times till many of the people did not know whether to say they were German or they were French. One of these families was the Stahl family who finally left Alsace, Lorraine and settled into Germany proper.
Ferdinand and Elizabeth Pagé had a six daughters, of whom my mother Anna Marie Pagé was the youngest: Caroline, Julia, Augusta, Pauline, Bertha, Anna Marie. The two oldest were married before my mother had started school, so she had several nephews only a few years younger than she was. Grandpa had a small inn in Kulmsee Ost Preussen as that principality was called. My mother was born in Kulmses. Grandfather died when she was 9 years old. She adored him and always spoke of him with great tenderness. She said he was very gentle, kind, soft-spoken, and well liked by everyone. He was proud of his French background and always sign his name with the accent mark Pagé. When Pa and I were in Germany, Taute Pauline told us that their little sister, Anna, was his special pet and she was always asking him to tell her stories of when he was a little boy. I had hoped to learn more from Taute Pauline but she knew little for she said, “Anna was the one he told the stories to. The rest of us never paid much attention.”
Mother was always sure from what she heard her mother and older sisters say, that grandpa had died of a gallbladder trouble. (Just as she did) He was only in the mid-50s when he died. 56 years old (just as mama was when she died)
Grandma used to tell all about the beautiful old, old Bibles that had been in her family from way back. She said there were three or four of them down and heavy brown leather and beautifully decorated on the border of the pages. Whenever one of the older members of the family died, one of these antique Bibles was put in the coffin with him. She had put the last one in grandpa’s coffin. She said they were German but hard to read. I’m sure they must’ve been very old. Grandpa died in 1871.
After his death, as she could not run the inn herself, Grandma turned the management over to her son-in-law August Riedel, the oldest daughter Caroline’s husband. As I understand, this was a poor choice, as he hated to work, like to play fine gentlemen. In less than a year, the business was bankrupt and grandma was left without means for herself and 4 younger daughters. When the Riedel’s and the other married daughter’s (Julia) husband decided to try their luck in Berlin, she took what she could after selling everything and also moved to Berlin. There she and Tante Auguste supported themselves and the 3 younger girls by sewing, about the only type of work possible for women at that time except housework. My mother had gone to school in Stolp and now in Berlin. When she was barely 18, she married Julius Strahlendorf, a machinist. The next year my brother Paul was born. (Jan 3, 1881) When Paul was just over one year old, she got a divorce and moved in with her mother. A few weeks later she discovered she was pregnant. On November 12, 1882 Emma was born, which is 22 months after Paul. So my mother with her too small babies lived with grandma and her sister Augusta (her favorite sister). All three worked as seamstresses. My mother was an expert and fine dressmaker all her life, could make her own patterns and also had extra lovely finishing touches on all her garments.
Several years later she married Richard Karl Baginski, who for some time had been a boarder at her sister’s (Carolina Riedel) house.
Our Family Tree
By my Great Grandaunt, Jo Baginski.
- Chapter 1 - The Pagé Family
- Chapter 2 - The Stahl Family
- Chapter 3 - Our Paternal Branch - Sommer
- Chapter 4 - The Ullivelli Family
Comments
Post a Comment