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Hey (rare) genealogy lovers on here!
Have y'all found any interesting events or people in your family?
Any cool stories to share?
Here's one of my favorites (that I had already shared in a thread that has now disappeared).
Les Cornes d'Urfé
In 1418 Jean d'Urfé, my ancestor, was his uncle's only heir and had gathered a large amount of money in order to purchase a neighboring village.
His servants had heard about the project and schemed against their masters.
They waited for the night until everybody fell asleep and massacred the family before stealing the treasure.
As they were about to leave they found Jean's baby, Antoine, in his crib. As the leader of the thieves came closer to the crib, the baby smiled at him which made the murderer have regrets about what they had done.
He apparantly said:
"What is the point of killing this child? He will not tell on us"
His associates disagreed, arguing that the kid would denounce them when he would be older.
The leader then saw a cup filled with fruits on the table and grabbed an apple. He took out a golden coin from the stolen treasure and declared:
"If the kid chooses the golden coin he is all yours, but if he chooses the apple we will let him live".
The man offered the apple and the coin to Antoine who reached for the fruit. The thieves spared his life.
Of course the murder had not gone unnoticed and one of Jean's relatives, the Lord of Albon, undertook to find the murderers and bring justice.
He quickly realized that the amount of money stolen was massive and that the killers had to be well-informed. Not only did they know about the fortune, but they were also able to get out of the family's castle.
He launched an investigation within the servants of the family and the culprits quickly confessed their crimes.
Their sentence had to be exemplary and they were condemend to death with a breaking wheel.
Antoine later devoted his life to God.
The second part of the story with the apple and the coin are more legendary than rooted in actual truth.
What we do know for sure about the events is that Jean, his wife Eléonore and his uncle Guichard, were murdered by their servants in 1418.
The couple had at least 5 children so they were all spared (the two eldest boys were away at the court of France)
Antoine did enter the orders.
What about you guys? Any interesting stories? Drama?
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