Ernest Cognacq Museum
Encyclopedia
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: Musée Ernest Cognacq) is a French regional history museum, located in the city of Saint Martin de Ré, Ile de Ré
Île de Ré
Île de Ré is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
The museum is housed in the “Hotel de Clerjotte”, built in 1470-1480 by Louis Clergeat, taxman for Charles de France
Charles de Valois, Duc de Berry
Charles de Valois, Duke of Berry was a son of Charles VII, King of France. He spent most of his life in conflict with his elder brother, King Louis XI of France.-Life:...
, Duke of Guyenne, and master of Ile de Ré. Clergeat seems to have given his name to the building (the “House of Clergeatte”) to become “Hotel de Clerjotte” today. The building was expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, with two lateral constructions equipped with hallways and arcades. In 1684, Jean Gabaret, Lieutenant General of the Royal Navy and a Protestant, became the owner of the house. With the rise of nearby Rochefort
Rochefort, Charente-Maritime
Rochefort is a commune in southwestern France, a port on the Charente estuary. It is a sub-prefecture of the Charente-Maritime department.-History:...
as a key shipbuilding harbour for the Royal French Navy, Saint Martin de Ré was fortified following the designs of Vauban
Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
, and the Hotel de Clerjotte was acquired by Intendant Begon
Begon
The metallurgical site of Begon is located in southern Chad, approximately 150 km from the regional center of Moundou.-Site description:...
to become an arsenal
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, issued to authorized users, or any combination of those...
. The building remained an arsenal until the 20th century. In 1929, it was designated as a historical monument, and, after some service for the Navy, was given to the City, which transformed it into a Museum.
The Hotel de Clerjotte, currently under renewal, houses the Ernest Cognac Museum, named after Ernest Cognacq, founder of the La Samaritaine
La Samaritaine
La Samaritaine was a large department store in Paris, France, located in the First Arrondissement. The nearest metro station is Pont-Neuf. It is currently owned by LVMH, a luxury-goods maker. The store, which had been operating at a loss since the 1970s, was finally closed in 2005 because the...
Department store and benefactor of the museum. A new contemporary wings houses various displays related to the history of the island.
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
, first President of the United States. The base of the monument features a medallion representing Nicolas Martiau
Nicolas Martiau
Nicolas Martiau was a Frenchman who immigrated to the English colony of Virginia in the 17th century...
, a direct ancestor of George Washington. The monument was inaugurated on October 11, 2007, by the ambassador of the United States to France. The filiation between the two men is described on the monument:
- Nicolas Martiau (1591 Ile de Ré - 1657 Yorktown) - Jane Berkely
- Elizabeth Martiau – Colonel George Reade (1608-1674)
- Mildred Reade – Colonel Augustine WarnerAugustine WarnerAugustine Warner , was born in Norwich, Norfolk, to Thomas Warner and Elizabeth Sotherton. He was the progenitor of the Augustine Warner Family, who arrived in Virginia in 1628 at the age of seventeen, one of a group of thirty-four brought in by Adam Thoroughgood...
(1642-1684) - Mildred Warner – Laurence Washington (1661-1698)
- Colonel Augustine WashingtonAugustine WashingtonAugustine Washington was the father of general and president George Washington. He belonged to the Colony of Virginia's landed gentry and was a planter and slaveholder.-Family:...
– Mary Ball (1708-1789) - George Washington (1732 Yorktown-1799 Yorktown)