This is undoubtedly a handsome structure, but sometimes when you get close to one, it’s hard to identify. Can you figure out this puzzle and locate what this photo is about and where it was taken? Send your thoughts to elliott@brack.net, including your home town.
First in with the identification of the recent Mystery Photo was Susan McBrayer, Sugar Hill: “This is the Chateau Vaux le Vicomte, considered to be the largest private castle in France. It’s about 30 miles southeast of Paris and is sometimes used in movies to represent Versailles. It was built for Nicolas Fouquet, the minister of finance during the reign of Louis 14th, and was completed in 1661.” The photo came from Jim Cofer of Snellville.
Michael Green of Milton added to the history: “The building shown is Vaux le Vicomte. It was an influential architectural structure in 17th century Europe. The chateau was built between 1658 and 1661 in Maincy, France. Nicholas Fouquet, finance minister for Louis XIV, overreached with the extravagance of the building and aroused suspicions that he had misappropriated public funds.”
We can depend on our regulars for pinpointing the photos. Also identifying it were Lou Camerio of Lilburn; George Graf, Palmyra, Va.; and Allan Peel of San Antonio, Tex.
Peel added a footnote of the chateau: “Always looking for some unexpectant historical facts, I uncovered this history about what happened to Fouquet: “When it was completed in 1661, Fouquet held a lavish banquet at the château for Louis XIV with the intent to impress him with his good taste. This gesture sadly backfired when a power-hungry adviser, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, made it seem as though Fouquet was upstaging the king with public funds. Fouquet was subsequently arrested and thrown in prison for life. And more recently, in September 2019, six unidentified thieves broke into the château, tied up its owners and escaped with at least two million euros’ worth of jewels and cash. The thieves were not armed and the owners, a couple in their 80s, were not injured.”
Family gathers to honor Revolutionary War patriot
With 40 years of genealogy research and two years of event planning, Button Gwinnett Chapter Sons of the American Revolution President Don McCarty of Snellville brought his vision of honoring his Revolutionary War patriot to fruition with the dedication of a marker on September 24 in Quinton, Ala.
According to Don, “It has been through the McCarty Edgefield South Carolina Y-DNA study that a number of the male McCarty family members learned of each other starting in 2006. There are over 100 cousins, through six different ancestry lines, who wanted to join me in celebrating the service and life of our common ancestor, Michael McCarty.
The dedication of the grave marker event was sponsored by the Button Gwinnett Chapter, Georgia Society Sons of the American Revolution; Birmingham Chapter, Alabama Society Sons of the American Revolution; Dr. Elisha Dick Chapter, Virginia Society, Daughters of the American Revolution; and Cahawba Chapter, Alabama Society, Daughters of the American Revolution. Over 150 people attended this event, with 19 ceremonial wreaths being placed from patriotic organizations in six states, including the Philadelphia Winn Chapter DAR in Lawrenceville.
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