Peter Abraham de Brissac claimed legitimate descent from the ancient family of the Comtes de Cossé, and
Ducs de
Brissac; indeed it is said that his was the older branch of the family and that the title was lost by his ancestor having left France as a refugee in 1685. The descendants are now unable to establish this by proof, as many important papers have been lost, and the registers of his
father’s birth and marriage are not to be found.
I have heard old Mrs. Dickinson of Bramblebury (née de Brissac) say that as a child she heard
it always affirmed that her
father ought to be Duc de Brissac. She also said that when she was such a little girl as to stand on a footstool at the table in order to see the family tree, she was shown it in her
grandfather’s house, where it was carefully preserved. This tree has however since been
burnt, and nothing but tradition remains to point out the claim of the refugee branch of the family to the ancient and honourable title of Duc de Brissac.
The present Duke [1840's] would be John Bernard, son of Jane Bernard, née de
Brissac. [See
www.debrissac.org.uk. This shows the Bernard tree,
and agrees with this statement.]
[These notes of Harriet Ann Dickinson date from the 1840's.]
Back to Harriet Ann Dickinson's Notes
Extracts from The Entire Memoirs Louis XIV., His Court and The Regency