François Giacobbi and family
 

I've found a quite a bit of information about François Giacobbi's family in the French archives which I think Libby might be interested in, although he isn't a blood relation of hers.

All these people are related to the François Giacobbi son of Charles-Joseph and Marie who married Agatha.

The Ancestry trees showing a François/Francesco Giacobbi in California with a wife Marie and several children give his date of birth as 13th August 1813 in Cervione, Corsica. There was a François Giacobbi born there on exactly that date, but as only the indexes are online for that date so far, not the complete registers, I can't be 100% sure that the birth date is Agatha's François, especially as there was another François Giacobbi born in Cervione the same year.

So the François in California may or may not be Agatha's husband. My guess is that it is, but I'm a bit doubtful about the occupation: in 1849 he was a conseiller (some kind of adviser or maybe a lawyer) at the Law Courts in Algiers, which I would think would be a pretty impressive job, and at the time of his marriage to Agatha in Paris 1848 he's described as a rentier (living on his own means).

However, the François in California has various different occupations on the censuses, ranging from ag lab and wine merchant to retired farmer, which doesn't seem to fit terribly well with his status in Paris and Algeria.

The first thing I wanted to find was François parents' names, but the 1848 marriage cert only shows them as Charles-Joseph Giacobbi and Marie (illegible). I had a look at some of Libby's old threads to see if there was anything I'd overlooked, and sure enough there was. François' marriage to Agatha was witnessed by his brother Alexandre, and Rick pointed out in one of the old threads that there was a marriage for Alexandre in Paris. I didn't pick up on it then, but I've checked the image now, and it gives both parents' full names: their mother was Marie Trani.

I then did a search for Charles-Joseph Giacobbi and Marie Trani, and found a site with details the wedding of their daughter Marie in 1849, which was witnessed by her brother Dominique, uncle Ange-Pierre and various other relatives. So we now have 3 siblings for François, and as one of Marie's witnesses was her brother-in-law, there must be at least one other sister.

I've done a small tree for the people I've found so far:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/86792817@N00/11932056914/

Yes, brilliant stuff! Well done Mary.

Do we yet know why François and Marie have entries in the Eng/Wales Probate calendar? (that is the same couple isn't it?) Should we have been asking Phoenix to check those entries out too, or has that been done already?

Mary.....I understand your thoughts about Francois changing jobs, but.....we could possibly explain them.

He was at some stage in England, wasn't he? I will need to read back over the old Agatha threads....

If he was some sort of legal/diplomatic person, then living on own means could well have meant he was between assignments.

After going to America, he could have been staying with someone or even helping a friend/family member who had a farm.....hence the "ag lab".

He then allows his 'what would have been quite substantial' education to get him into some sort of business. Then buys property and is called a farm owner.

I'd like to think his brother's daughter was named after Agatha.........lol

Do we know who Louis Camille Agazio Giacobbi is?

Yes, he's the son of the Francesco in California and wife Marie Salicetti.

We think he was, but we don't know what he was doing there. It was around the time of the 1848 revolution, so some kind of spy or diplomat would be my guess.

Yes, all possible. His brothers also had impressive occupations; I'll post them later. Not sure what his father did.

Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking :)

We don't know why, but my guess is that François' estate managed to get some money paid out of Agatha's trust fund, which came to an end at around the same time.

So far as we know he lived in California from the mid-1850s to his death in 1881; I don't think he ever lived in England, so having some kind of property or financial interest there is the only reason I can think of for the probate.

It is odd that the probate and admon weren't taken out until 1899, when François died in 1881 and Marie in 1884, and the references to Agatha's trust fund in the London Gazette only go up to 1899.

If you remember, the executor was Alfred de Bernardy, a kind of heir hunter of the day, so I would guess he found the trust fund and arranged to get François' children some cash in return for a percentage.

Anyway, Libby got both wills, and said there was nothing useful in them.

Oh yes! That would be great!!