Home > Society > Vignacourt people

 

Vignacourt people

 

This section contains the names of a few people who lived there for some time or even all their lives. Some of them have done remarkable acts during their military or civilian lives.

 

 

BELLENGUEZ Zoe Catherine:

Catherine was born in Linzeux, Pas-de-Calais, in 1839. She was appointed director of the Vignacourt Girls School on January 16, 1878, and held this position for over 20 years. She belonged to the Providence of Rouen, a congregation that arrived in Rouen City circa 1677. She died on November 13, 1898.

 

BOURY Pierre François:

Dr. Boury was from the village of Cardonette, close to Allonville. He worked as a doctor in Vignacourt in 1871. He was friends with an expert Parisian photographer, who took this photo of him below.

Doctor Boury - Credit photo, private collection.

 

BOUTARD Alcide:

In addition to becoming mayor during World War II, Alcide was a farmer. At the time, Jules Boutard served on the municipal council.

 

CALIPPE Gustave:

Gustave was born in Vignacourt in 1867. His occupation was a weaver a few years later.
Regarding his military background, he joined the 5th Dragon Regiment in 1888. During the First World War, he was assigned to aeronautics. He was awarded the Military Medal in 1907, then the Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1916.

 

CALMONT Elisabeth Delphine :

Elisabeth was born in 1823 in Canchy village. As a nun of the Providence of Rouen, she was a school assistant in 1844, and became director in 1855. She worked for 54 years at the village girls' school. The Minister of Public Education awarded her a silver medal in April 1857. She died in January 1878.

 

COPIN Charles (Auguste):

He was mayor of Vignacourt during the War of 1870. After that, he served as a substitute justice of the peace for the township of Picquigny.

 

DABOVAL Pierre:

Pierre was born in Vignacourt in 1752. He was a renowned fencing teacher at the Brienne-Le-château military high school in Aube in the Grand Est from 1776 to 1793. He crossed swords with Napoleon Bonaparte. In reality, he was his fencing instructor. The school was closed after the revolution owing to the deterioration. The premises have been converted several times. It has been a museum dedicated to Napoleon since 1969 and was renovated in 2017.

Mr. Daboval then continued his career as a constable, still based in Aube. On February 17, 1834, he passed away in Nogent-sur-Seine, southeast of the Paris region.

"Although the fencer knows the feints, his frankness cannot be touched by suspicion." Journal source of "Petit Echo in the Countryside."

 

Illustration - «Source gallica.bnf.fr / BnF».

 

DENEUX Louis-Charles:

Dr. Deneux, a surgeon-obstetrician, was born in 1767 in Heilly, a village 30 km from Vignacourt. From 1782 until 1789, he studied surgery in Paris while living with his uncle, Jean-Louis Baudelocque, a renowned obstetrician. His father worked as a tailor.

After graduating, he was installed in Vignacourt, but not for too long, because another surgeon was already there. Close to the French Revolution, he was enrolled in the army as a sub-major in the 3rd Bn of the Somme, and in 1794, he held the position of a major surgeon. After this military experience, he moved to Albert in 1795 (20 miles from Vignacourt). His marriage allowed him to embed himself in aristocratic families.

He quickly evolved into different positions, from the Hospital St-Charles to Hôtel-Dieu Hospital, until working for the royal family, for the Duchess Du Barry. He was appointed Chevalier of the Legion on September 30, 1820. He died in 1846.

Portrait of Louis-Charles Deneux of the Academy of Medicine
with the authorization of the Interuniversity Library of Health, www.biusante.parisdescartes.fr

 

DUPUIS Jean:

Jean was born in 1711 in Vignacourt. He became a rider of the Picardy Marshalsea. Based close to the Amiens Citadelle, this military force of horsemen was split up into many brigades and dispersed around the surrounding area.

 

François I door - Amiens citadel

 

GIFFO Alexandre (1886 - 1932):

Originally from Brittany, Doctor Giffo had made his home beside the pond at Vignacourt before World War I. He had married in August 1916.

He died trying to save a child from drowning. He threw himself into the pond but suffered a stroke. Georgette Houdron, his employee, had rescued the child. Alexandre died at the age of 46.

Medallion by Auguste Carvin with the effigy of Alexandre GIFFO.

 

GODARD-DUBUC Isidore (1791 - 1873):

Isidore was born in May 1791 into a modest family. His father, Theodore Pierre Valentin, was a yarn manufacturer. Born near Tréport, his maternal grandpa worked as a forest warden in Vinacourt.

Hardworking and intelligent, his efforts were successful. He was the recipient of the following distinctions: Knight of the Royal Order of the Legion of Honor in 1814; Knight of the Order of Saint Ferdinand of Spain in 1824; Knight of the Order Charles III of Spain in 1824; Officer of the French Legion of Honor in 1827; and Medal of the Commander of the Order of Nichan Iftikhar in 1850.

He was in charge of the Crown buildings, which allowed him to interact with architects and artisans. It is quite natural that he became interested in the monuments of his village and participated in the reconstruction of the church. Improving the local school was also one of his concerns; he financed part of the expansion of the girls' school.

He was childless and lived in Paris. The municipality received some donations but mainly benefited from his work. Laborious is the first word engraved on the column erected in the central alley of the cemetery. He died in May 1873. He had expressed his wish to be buried in the Vignacourt cemetery, close to his relatives.

Column built in memory of M. Godard-Dubuc.

 

LECLERCQ Denis (1855 - 1932):

Priest of Vignacourt during the First World War from 1906 to 1920. He had succeeded Abbé Rousselle, parish priest of the church, from 1899 to 1906.

Abbe Leclercq lived with his sister, Marie Leclercq, in the village. Their parents lived near the Amiens cathedral, close to the belfry.

He was based in Longpré-les-Corps-Saints in 1881–1882; Lincheux–Hallivillers in 1882–1892; Port–Le-Grand in 1892–1906; and Vignacourt, then Amiens. He was buried in the Amiens Madeleine Cemetery.

 

 

LECOINTE Marie-Madeleine:

Marie-Madeleine was born in our community in 1803 and spent over 35 years as a midwife. The silver case below attests that she was the recipient of the honorary award in 1865, engraved on this occasion.

More than 150 years later, in 2017, this little item can be found in the United Kingdom, in an antique store owned by Mr. Cameron in London.

Photos courtesy of Peter CAMERON - www.petercameronantiquesilver.com

 

LEFEBVRE François:

He was born in 1706 in Vignacourt. He was a rider on the Picardy Marshalsea for over 40 years. He died in Amiens in 1783.

 

LEFEBVRE Pierre:

Mayor of Vignacourt in the 19th century.

 

MAQUET Alfred:

Land surveyor and organist in his leisure time, based on information from the Great War.

 

OSSET Ernest:

Ernest was the village pharmacist. His premises were known to Allied soldiers during the First World War, particularly the Australian militaries. This place looked like the first apothecaries, the ancient dispensaries decorated with woodwork, shelves filled with glazed pottery, and beautiful moldings.

At the age of 80, he was still operating his pharmacy in 1929. His golden wedding anniversary with Félicie was celebrated surrounded by children and grandchildren.

 

M. Ernest Osset - courtesy of M. and Mme Hanicotte.

 

PARMENTIER Henri:

After a few years of study and graduation from the National School of Veterinary Medicine, Henri became a veterinarian in our village.

He began as a veterinary assistant in the 10th Regiment of Hussars in 1881, appointed by decree of the President on the recommendation of the Minister of War. He won the Medal of Agricultural Merit in 1909. Moreover, he was the author of a few works.

 

PRUVOST Emile-Odile:

Emile-Odile was from the village of Halloy-les-Pernois, though he worked as a roadman at Vignacourt. One evening, he saved M. Florent Rhetore from drowning. The miller, aged over 70, wanted to collect water, but unfortunately, he slipped in the pond on Follemprise Street. This rescue, difficult due to the low temperatures, had been reported in a newspaper dated February 1887.

 

PRUVOST Théophile-Désiré:

Théophile had rescued two young boys who had disappeared under the ice in the middle of a pond. He was a municipal employee of Vignacourt as a road mender.  The local press revealed this fact in January 1886.

 

RINUY Henri (1873 - 1945):

Henri was a well-respected doctor in the community. He came from the northern region, where his father had been a telegraph operator. He settled in Vignacourt on October 31st, 1907. His house was close to the church on Godard Dubuc Street.

Before, he had lived in Flesselles, the birthplace of his wife. Dr. Rinuy’s street in this village is dedicated to his memory. (4 miles from here).

He had enlisted to volunteer in the French army in 1893. His wife passed away in July 1937, and he died in Buchenwald in March 1945.

 

ROUSSELLE Joseph Pierre Antoine (1837 - 1906):

He was born in Mametz, a former village in the Somme, included in the municipality of Carnoy-Mametz in 2019. He was parish priest of Vignacourt from 1899.

 

THUILLIER, Alfred (1839- 1912):

He had created a company in Paris, in the plumbing sector, with his brother in 1879. He had been elected municipal councilor in 1893, then president of the General Council and senator of the Seine.

M. Alfred THUILLIER

 

THUILLIER Louis (1886 - 1931):

Louis was born in 1886 and grew up in a family of farmers. He handled an agricultural machinery park and Peugeot cycles, attracted by mechanics. He sold motorcycles, for instance, the B.S.A. and Triumph brands through advertisements in the specialized press.

As indicated by the name he had written above his front door, he was so passionate about photography that he opened a workshop named Thuillier Photo. Louis and his wife, Antoinette, photographed soldiers and civilians from 1915 to 1920. It is a priceless testament to our village and these troops. Investing in a good camera or a beautiful backdrop to take quality photos was not sufficient; it was obvious that he had a good sense of observation. The quality was such that the date of a newspaper used during a shot has been deciphered by enlarging the photo.

 

M. Louis THUILLIER

 

THUILLIER-BURIDARD Paul (1871 - 1926):

Mr. Paul Buridard was mayor of our commune from 1909 to 1920. Although re-elected in 1919, he resigned from his duties following his election in January 1920 as Senator of the Somme. A mission he carried out until his death in March 1926.

He had managed various factories, including his father's fishing net industry, where many residents worked.

As a senator, he presided over the inauguration ceremonies of the war memorials in both cemeteries in 1921, with the mayor's attendance. In addition, he conducted ceremonies like the one in Picquigny, a nearby village. He also mailed a number of Australian families to inform them that their troops had been buried in Vignacourt, when possible.

 

M. Paul THUILLIER-BURIDARD

 

WALLET Florent-Clodomir (1843 - 1909):

Florent was born in Fourdrinoy in 1843 and was married to a lady of Vignacourt.
He worked as a pharmacist in Amiens from 1870 to 1892, at St. Martin's Place beside the cathedral, after his dissertation in Paris (1869).

He was a respected professor at the Amiens School of Medicine and Pharmacy. Afterward, he moved into Vignacourt, near the pond. Dr. Boury was present at his funeral at the end of 1909.