French passport 1789 for a Belgian Diplomat
This is one of many items coming from a huge archive previously belonging to Sir Somerville Arthur Gurney [1835-1917] including a large amount of ancestry regarding the Norfolk GURNEY family history, 12 journals [1790-1820], 100 letters, 250 loose photographs, 25 photographs [travelers diary] albums [1860-1910] plus a large number of ephemera. French Passport Belgian Diplomat
An original 18th-century passport dated c1789 issued by Louis Marie Gabriel Cesar, Baron, Choiseul, Marquis d’Esguilly [1734-1831] to the holder Francois de Coninck [1763-1846] a Belgian Diplomat, lawyer, Judge, member of the Belgian Congress [1830-1831] & member of the Senate [1831-1837]. Held both the Order of Leopold [11th July 1832] & Order de la Croix-de-Fer. French Passport Belgian Diplomat
Jean François de Coninck (20th February 1763 Wijtschate – 18th February 1846 Ypres) was a member of the National Congress. French Passport Belgian Diplomat
He obtained a law degree from the University of Leuven in 1786. In 1790 he became Grand Pensionary in Ypres for the eight parishes of the ‘Generality’ in Western Flanders, in 1792 he became pensionary and registrar of the city of Ostend. During the French period, he became a judge at the court of the Leie. department (1797). From 1800 to 1811 he was a lawyer and deputy judge and from [1811 to 1823] he was a judge in Ypres. Attorney General Beyts assessed him as follows: Excellent lawyer possesses a large fortune and enjoys the general esteem. In 1820 he also became an alderman of Wijtschate. The voters of the district of Ypres sent him to the National Congress. He never spoke but voiced his opinion on important matters. He voted for the Declaration of Independence and for the perpetual exclusion of Nassau. In the first rounds of voting for a candidate for king, he first voted for Duke Charles of Austria-Teschen and then for the Duke of Leuchtenberg. He preferred Félix de Mérode. In June he voted for Leopold of Saxe Coburg and for the acceptance of the Treaty of the XVIII Articles. He was elected senator in 1831 and remained so until 1837. De Coninck was a son of Jean-François de Coninck, general recipient of the castellany Ypres, and of Marie Leuridan. He married Marie-Françoise Peellaert. Their son, Charles de Coninck (1805-1866), who remained unmarried, became a lawyer in Brussels and then a judge in Ypres. In June he voted for Leopold of Saxe Coburg and for the acceptance of the Treaty of the XVIII Articles. He was elected senator in 1831 and remained so until 1837. De Coninck was a son of Jean-François de Coninck, General recipient of the castellany Ypres, and of Marie Leuridan. He married Marie-Françoise Peellaert. Their son, Charles de Coninck (1805-1866), who remained unmarried, became a lawyer in Brussels and then a judge in Ypres. French Passport Belgian Diplomat
Order of Leopold 11th July 1832 & Order de la Croix-de-Fer.
Member Congress National de Belgique [1830-1831]
Member of the Senate [1831-1837]
French Passport Belgian Diplomat
Passport issued by Louis Marie Gabriel César de Choiseul, Baron d’Esguilly, born in 1734 at Autun, France. His father was César Gabriel de Choiseul, duc de Praslin (1712-1785), French diplomat and statesman. Louis Choiseul joined the armed service as a musketeer in the second company, 1747, and served successively in the King’s Regiment (sous-lieutenant, 1750; lieutenant, 1755) and the Gendarmes-Dauphin (Capitaine-lieutenant, 1761). From 1757 to 1762 he served in the Seven Years’ War, but thereafter his political ambitions took him away from his military career. French Passport Belgian Diplomat
SIZE: 16.5″ X 8.5″
CONDITION: The passport has been conserved in an unfolded condition within a large semi-hard plastic sleeve thus the areas of the vertical & horizontal folds show the most wear. Where the folds show to the front to the rear they have very old areas of sellotape. It also appears that the sides have been trimmed. French Passport Belgian Diplomat
Tom Topol | Passport History Expert & Author.
Featured in media incl. CNN, BBC, Newsweek. Awarded by the U.S. Department of State.
"Want to go deeper? My book Let Pass or Die covers the full 400-year history"
👉 Ask Me Anything | 🏛️ View the Recognition List | 📚 Rare offers from my personal collection
