Dabney History

 Since my brother Jim and Deb will be going to Versailles and my sister Jane may go again someday, I thought I'd write up the information on our relative who lived at Versailles.  Madame de Maintenon  or Francois d'Aubigne pictured above in Versailles is not an ancestor but the half-sister of an ancestor.  Our grandmother was Vivian Maupin Long; her father was Henry Wesley Maupin; his father was John Dabney Maupin----so the name was still a family name into the 1800's.

But the story begins with Agrippe d'Aubigne who is believed to be our ancestor: "d'Aubigne" is how the name "Dabney" originally looked. For more about him click here.  If you need to more about the Huguenots, click here.  If you google his name, you will find a lot about him, the italicized section below is from the book The Story of Gabriel and Marie Maupin.


On this August 23, 1572, Henry of Navarre (Henry IV) having left his wife's quarters was walking with his Huguenot friend Agrippe d'Aubigne near Notre Dame when the rioting started and they heard the shouts "Death to all Huguenots".  Knowing he would be recognized and killed, he reacted instantly.  They hurried into the cathedral and Henry stripped off his cape of gold cloth, his rings, and other signs of wealth.  Clad only in the doublet, breeches, and boots he looked like a student.  He grabbed a prayer book from a young prieds and with his disquise he escaped. . .

I have included this story . . . .for the name of Henry's friend Agrippe d'Aubigne. It is well known that two of Gabriel Maupin's grandsons married women with the name Dabney (d'Aubigne) .  . . . .Agrippa d'Aubigne had a son Constant who had a son Theodore.  It is from this Theodore that the Cornelius Dabney whose daughters married Maupins is descended.  Constant had a second wife.  From that marriage were three children, one of them being Francoise d'Aubigne, who was to renounce her Huguenot upbringing and become Madame de Maintenon and later the last wife of King Louis XIV after the death of Queen Theresa.  It is said that Madame de Maintenon was influential in urging King Louis to revoke the Edict of Nantes in 1685.  We heard much about her on the Hugenot Tour, especially at Versailles, where two large prortraits of her hang.

To continue with our Dabney genealogy:  John Dabney Maupin (1814-1899) was the son of Carr Maupin (1776-1845) who was the son of John Maupin (1725-1806) and Frances Dabney (1712-1763).  Frances was the daughter Cornelius Dabney (1670-1764) who was the son of Cornelius Dabney (1640-1701).  Other famous Dabney descendants include Zachary Taylor (US president), Nancy Astor (first female in the House of Commons), Lyndon B. Johnson (US president), Marlon Brando (movie star) and Pretty Boy Floyd (notorious criminal).

Edited:  Cornelius Dabney was likely from England and settled in America before the Huguenots so the relationship to Madame de Maintenon is in doubt.