The Franchere Family Tree (from Frederick Franchere - Iowa)

[GabeOsten]

The following is a letter that I have transcribed from a typewritten copy that was in my uncle's possession. It is from Frederick Erasimus Franchere, of Souix City Iowa, to Frederick William Franchere, of Lake Crystal, Minnesota.
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THE FRANCHERE FAMILY TREE

Copy of Dr. Frederick Franchere's (of Sioux City Iowa, Pa's Uncle.) letter to Pa.

November 18th 1927

Dear Fred,
I must brave your indulgence for the seeming neglect that I have shown in relation to your kind favor of October; but in condoning my offence, I wish to say that the papers that contained the information about the Franchere coat-of-arms had become misplaced, and the added fact of my having been extremely busy was what caused the delay.
The description that I have is in "Old French", and my daughter Margaret, who is a French scholar, had some little difficulty in translating it, on account of the fact that the same words have different meanings in the old and modern French. However, here is what she made out of it.
The old family name was TOLLENARE, the name of a family who migrated to Brittany from Flanders some time in the 14th century. One of the Tollenares wa given a grant of land, by Queen Anne of Britteny, as I am informed, and in order to distinguish him from the others of the clan he was called Tollenare de Franchere, meaning "TOLLENARE OF THE CLEARING", from the fact of his having cleared his tract of timber growing on it. In later years, the name became contracted to that which we now bear - Franchere.
The first of our people who came to this country was a surgeon in the French navy under Montcalm. After the defeat of the Planis of Abraham, this Franchere returned to Canada, where he located in Quebec. My information about our house is rather limited, but for your satisfaction I will say that the Tollenares were of the nobility - and in the case of the Francheres, it was also the case, as none but the nobility could secure a commission in the French navy during the times of New France, except they were of noble blood.
Of course, you and I can smile at all this, in the knowledge of the mendallian Laws and in feflecting the great number of grandfathers and grandmothers which we had at that time. It would seem that our blood must inevitably be somewhat diluted by this time, Eh? But we must not forget that the laws of Mendel work both ways, and that "throwbacks" are bound to occur. So perhaps, some of those of us, whom we have known, have had all or nearly all of the characteristics that distinguish the old family. At any rate, such knowledge is now going to make us "kooky" by a long ways, and it may serve as a standard to live up to the "Noblesse Oblige", and all that.
Now for the coat-of-arms:
CREST - a white falcon soaring with red beak and legs.
ARMS - are of gold, with a fess spotted with black and silver.
SHIELD - surmounted with a knight's helmet with its labriquins.
FESSE - is the horizontal bar extending across the shield and dividing it in three nearly equal parts.
I haven't been able to learn what the motto accompanying the arms and crest, but there must have been one as that was customary.
Your trip into the North Country must have been delightful, and I can easily understand the added interest that it had for you in the recolection that your great grandfather had passed over the same locality so many years ago.
I had similar emotions when I first passed over the Western plains, where my mother drove a covered wagon in 1850, and again when I went down the Sacremento Valley, where my father was mining in the days of "49". If ever I have the opportunity to do so, I shall be most glad to see Lake Crystal again, and to call on you and see some of your work. Congratulations on the beautiful hospital, which is an index of the success that I am sure you richly deserve.
Trusting to hear from you again and with best wishes for your health and continued welfare, I am.

Sincerely,
F.E. Franchere