Thanks to a fellow researcher, Philippe Grelat, I was alerted to the fact that there is an etching of Jane and Etienne out riding with Empress Eugenie and her son. If you read the caption below, it mentions their names. (Le Monde Illustré issue number 362 of March 19, 1864)
Unfortunately, I have misplaced the reference link for this one, but I'm pretty sure it came from Gallica. It's alway amusing to read observations about the Colonel's motivations and behaviours! : Colonel Hermann Thorn died in New York on Sunday, July 31 , at the age of 78 , after a long and painful illness. He leaves a considerable fortune to a large family. One... Continue Reading →
As promised, here is a list of the people mentioned in the letters between Jane, Alice, Therasine and Kate Eustace. I have not been able to identify all of them, so feel free to let me know if you have any ideas. I'm not sure of the spelling of some names, as Jane did not... Continue Reading →
Thanks to Pascale Giraudon-Choppy who reached out to me about some letters between her ancestor, Catherine Eustace, and Jane and Alice Thorn and Therasine Jauncey from 1838, it would seem that the chateau the Thorns leased in Normandy was Château de Courteilles, of which only a small part of the buildings have survived: Château de... Continue Reading →
Love this description from the GAZETTE MUSICALE DE PARIS in 1835! Alice Thorn sang a duet by Handel.A wonderful musical evening took place this week at Colonel Thorn, with the aim of rescuing our unfortunate comrades-triotes from Guadeloupe, and it is believed that the product will have exceeded the figure of 10,000 fr. The hero... Continue Reading →
I love encountering people who were in the Thorn's lives. It really helps to recreate the times, the way they lived, and the relationships that came and went. Recently, I discovered this mention of Vester Sandor, a dancer, musician, and leader of a dance troupe who played at Colonel Thorn's salon, who was later arrested... Continue Reading →
I was fascinated to come across a list of who was living on the Rue de Varenne during the time that the Thorns inhabited the Hotel Matignon. Interestingly, this record has them living at no. 23 not no. 57. This may have something to do with the street numbers changing over time (see below). I'm... Continue Reading →
I discovered a second report from the New York Herald on the matter of Alice (Thorn) de Ferussac's inheritance. This one was dated in June, while the other was from April, 1913. Though most of the details are the same, it does mention Thorn's run in with authorities for driving a coach and 8 horses.... Continue Reading →
I'm constantly surprised at how uncharitable people in the Parisian aristocratic social scene were. It's as though being rude is a sport of its own! Here, the Count Apponyi keeps a diary entry about a disastrous dinner at the Thorns. March 15. Mr. Thorn, the famous American, gave us a dinner for fifty people, boring... Continue Reading →
In looking back through some source material, I noticed that John Van Buren, an American politician, had written to his father, President Martin Van Buren about Mary Thorn (de Varaigne), Jane, and James on Thursday 21/2/1839 in Paris: Calling Mary "his old belle" is interesting, considering that she was fifteen or sixteen when she eloped... Continue Reading →
The Colonel and Mrs Thorn 
[…] Mr Maurer […]
I noticed that too..nicknames add even more color to the picture
Oh, yes I found the photo amd put it on the poat about the Thorn granchildren! From Jane's letters it…
I shared her portrait and her father James with you…James is the black framed portrait vs the giant gold framed…
Dear Jacqueline, I feel the same as you. It has brought so much to life. Jane is clearly very fond…