François Clary
François Clary was a French merchant who made a fortune in import and export business. He is an ancestor of many members of European royalty via his daughters Julie Clary, Queen of Spain and Naples, and Désirée Clary, Queen of Sweden and Norway.
Biography
François Clary was born on 24 February 1725 in Saint-Ferréol, Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, Kingdom of France, to Joseph Clary and his wife, Françoise Agnès Ammoric, who were married on 27 February 1724 in Marseille. His father was of Irish descent. On his father's side his grandparents were Jacques Clary and Catherine Barosse, who were married on 24 November 1690 in Marseille, and his paternal great-grandparents were Antoine Clary and Marguerite Canolle.François Clary lived in Marseille and ran an import and export business. In trade with coffee and other colonial products, he acquired great wealth. François Clary died on 20 January 1794 in Marseille, French Republic, aged 68.
Marriages and issue
On 13 April 1751, François Clary married his first wife Gabrielle Fléchon in Église Notre-Dame-des-Accoules, Marseille. They had four children:- François-Joseph Clary, died young
- Marie-Jeanne Clary, she married first Louis Honoré Lejeans and second Emmanuel Mathieu Pézenas, baron de Pluvinal
- Marie Thérèse Catherine Clary, she married Lazare Lejeans
- Étienne François Clary, he married Marcelle Guey
- Joseph Nicolas Clary, 1er comte Clary et de l'Empire, he married Anne Jeanne Rouyer
- Joseph Honoré Clary, died young
- Marie Anne Rose Clary, she married Antoine-Ignace Anthoine, baron de Saint-Joseph et de l'Empire, Mayor of Marseille
- Marseille Clary, not married
- Justinien François Clary, not married
- Catherine Honorine Clary, she married Henri Joseph Gabriel Blait de Villeneufve
- Marie Julie Clary, she married Joseph Bonaparte, King of Naples and Sicily, King of Spain and the Indies, and elder brother of Napoleon Bonaparte
- Basile Clary, died young
- Bernardine Eugénie Désirée Clary, she became engaged to Napoleon Bonaparte in 1795, but he broke off the engagement that same year. She married Charles XIV John of Sweden, King of Sweden and Norway
Descendants
François Clary and Françoise Rose Somis had 19 grandchildren, including:- Oscar I of Sweden, King of Sweden and Norway, he married Joséphine de Beauharnais, daughter of Eugène de Beauharnais and Augusta of Bavaria
- Zénaïde Bonaparte, she married Charles Lucien Bonaparte, son of Lucien Bonaparte and Alexandrine de Bleschamp
- Charlotte Bonaparte, she married Napoléon Louis Bonaparte, son of Louis Bonaparte and Hortense de Beauharnais