Named as the father of the minister Bernard Scalé in several records at Castres.
Several different Scalé families appear in the Leiden collection among the Huguenot refugees who fled to Holland between 1685 and 1700. There is at least one Bernard in addition to the minister who died in 1712. The Jean Scalé identified as the father of Peter Scalé of Colchester does not appear among these refugees, and it is possible that he never left France. In this case, Peter and Bernard (d. 1743) may have traveled to England together.
MARRIAGE: 9 DEC 1701, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands
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From the information presently available, it does not appear that this Bernard is the direct ancestor of the Bernard Scalé who died in England in 1743. It is more likely that Bernard the refugee minister had other relatives who fled France after 1685, apparently all from Castres. The Leiden Collection has an item dated 1701, referring to the Bullétin pour l'Histoire des Eglises Wallonnes, vol. 1, p. 125, as follows:
"Scalé, Bernard, ci-devant pasteur en Languedoc, est inscrit sur le registre de l'église à Amsterdam le 27 mars 1701, par reconnaisance. Relevé de sa Chûte par le synode, avril 1701, il reçoit des secours réguliers de la diaconie dès 2 octobre 1701 jusqu'en mars 1712 et prêche souvent du 26 oct 1704 au 14 mai 1711. Enterré le 3 mars 1712."
[Translation: Scalé, Bernard, formerly pastor in Languedoc, was inscribed on the register of the church at Amsterdam the 27th of March 1701, by letter of recommendation. Relieved of his dismissal by the synod, in April 1701, he received regular assistance from the diaconate from October 2, 1701 until March, 1712, and preached often between October 26, 1704 and May 14, 1711. Buried March 3, 1712.]
A further entry of 1709, fol. 930, notes" Bernard Scalé pasteur refugié à Amsterdam agé de 60 ans, enfermé durant 2 1/2 ans à la citadelle de Montpellier, a femme et 2 enfants, reçoit 50 fl." [Bernard Scalé, pastor, refugee at Amsterdam, age 60 years, imprisoned for 2 1/2 years in the citadel of Montpellier, has a wife and 2 children, received 50 florins.] An entry of 15 oct 1709 indicates he is from Castres, a minister, with wife Marie Goisin and children Abel and Jean, and that they were received as citizens of Amsterdam.
Meanwhile, some of his children must have remained in Castres. An inventory of the Archives départementales du Tarn shows that a group of papers relating to legal proceedings for 1703 (AD Tarn B 126) includes a "nomination d'un curateur aux enfants de M. Bernard Scalé, sorti du royaume" (not yet examined).
Another Bernard Scalé, perhaps the one known as a clockmaker circa 1750 in Amsterdam, seems to have been in Harlingen before his marriage in Amsterdam in 1730. If he is another son of Bernard the minister, he would have to be older than Abel and Jean, and thus already living on his own in 1709. However, there is a marriage for this Bernard in Amsterdam, date 04 may 1730, indicating that he was then age 27, and that his father was named Samuel. Since this Bernard lived near the Bourse in Amsterdam, as did the clockmaker, we think they are the same person.
Evidently there is a notice in 1698 in Castres that Bernard the minister was then a fugitive. It would appear that he was soon captured.
Bernard was educated for the ministry at the Académie de Montauban in 1660, and at Geneva in 1664. He was pastor at Saint-Rome-du-Tarn (1667), at Sableyrolles (1668), and at Lacrouzette (1672-1682). After the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, he tried to leave France, but was arrested at the border. He was imprisoned for two years in the citadel of Montpellier, and finally renounced the protestant faith. However, after his release from prison, he worked at first to console his persecuted brethren, then took refuge first in Geneva and then in Holland. Rehabilitated as a protestant minister by the synod of Bois-le-Duc (April, 1701), he was authorized to resume his ministry and preached at Amsterdam 1704-1711, where he died in 1712. His son Jean received a recommendation at Geneva 13 jul 1698, and then at Lausanne, to be received as a refugee in Holland. What is known about this family is summarized by Géraud Dumons, "Les réfugiés du pays castrais", serialized in several volumes of the Revue historique, scientifique et littéraire du département du Tarn; the information on the "Escalé" family is in vol. 29 of the Revue (1912), pp. 254-255. While the historical sources from Tarn use the name Escalé, members of this family actually signed their name as Scalé in the registers of the protestant church of Castres. Those registers give even more variants of the family name, in the hands of the various ministers or clerks: Escallé, Escale, Escale, Descallé, d'Escalé, etc.
He is named as the father of Anne Scalé, wife of Elizée Fauries, in a baptism 05 jan 1666 at Castres (Eglise Réformée). All of the men called Bernard Scalé are almost certainly his descendants. The baptismal name Bernard does not seem to be very common at Castres, but it was certainly popular at Roquecourbe, where most of the early records of the Scalé family have been found.
The pattern of baptismal sponsors strongly suggests that this Bernard is the father not only of Anne, but also of the supposed three brothers Jean, Antoine, and Jaques. However, the evidence for these relationships is so far circumstantial. The early protestant records of Roquecourbe have been examined, but there is still much to be done in the more voluminous records of Castres.
Surname given as "Scale" in records at Eynesford. One mention at the Threadneedle St. Church in London has "Scalé", the other has "Scalet", and the records of the French Protestant Hospital of London give both Scale and Scalé, noting that he was born in Castres and was age 70 when he applied for assistance in 1743, at which time he had a broken arm and apparently had no resources to care for himself. References to a younger Bernard Scalé, engraver, surveyor, and cartographer, pertain to a son of our Bernard. At this time, we have not managed to determine where our Bernard was between 1732 and 1743. We are not even sure whether Esther Johannot survived him.
Information in the collection of Huguenot pedigrees of the Society of Genealogists (material relating mainly to work published in Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, and developed partly to support requests for scholarships from the French Hospital of London) relates mainly to a line of vicars descended from this family. It appears there is some possibility that several lines of descent from the original Bernard Scalé who died in 1712 (Amsterdam?) have become confused, and that the name Bernard appears in each line.
Bernard and his first wife Catherine show up several times in records of English Huguenot churches. The latest found so far is 1710 at the Glasshouse/Leicester Fields church, as sponsors at the baptism of one Bernard Pere. There is as yet no evidence of children by Catherine.
Bernard's will dated 30 nov 1743 identifies him as a resident of St. Mary Magdalen Bermondsey and names his daughter Mary Ann wife of Edward Bew, druggist, daughters Margaret and Ann Scalé, and son Peter Bernard Scalé, with executors his brother Peter Scalé gentleman of Colchester, Robert Crucifix of Middle Moorfield, and Richard Brooke of London Bridge, stationer, witnessed by William Houston and Elizabeth Warner. It was proved 16 jan 1743/44.
If Bernard was the same person as the Bernard who married Catherine Martin, the question arises, what was he doing between about 1710 and 1722? At this time, there is no direct evidence, which would cause us to wonder if a generation had not been skipped. Nevertheless, the trail of wills and other records seems sound. There is no evidence of his naturalization (his brother Peter was naturalized in 1714), but it is possible that, like his brother, he served in the English army during part of that time.
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Records of French Protestant Hospital of London.
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Date of entry in Vicar General's index of marriage allegations.
The marriage recorded at Amsterdam, in the Waalskerk, names his father as well as the mother of the bride. He is probably the Bernard Scalé who was well known as a clockmaker in Amsterdam circa 1750. The Bernard who married in 1730 lived near the Beurs (the Bourse, stock exchange), and the clockmaker lived in the same area in 1741 (purchased a house with the sign "De oude hertog van Kleef" on the Rokin, which was formerly known as Beurs) (thanks to Hermine Dekkers for this information).
1770: Parents resided Drogheda Street, Dublin. 1841 and 1851: resided at vicarage of Braintree, Essex. Death notice in Gentleman's Magazine notes BA from St. John's College, Cambridge 1793, MA 1798. He was Vicar of Braintree from 1796 until his death, and Rector of Willingale-Spain from 1804. He also served as Curate of Danbury beginning in 1794.
Listed in index to 1901 census, age 70, at Colchester, furniture salesman. The 1871 census shows the same occupation, and the was then living in Camberwell - St. Giles, London.
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Civil registration index marriage record is June quarter 1854, Camberwell, 7 d 751 (possibly in error, microfiche almost illegible).
1871 census: Twickenham, Middlesex, no occupation, but his wife is listed as "Gentleman's Wife"! 1881 census: Battersea, Sussex, with family. 1901 census: Croydon. His birth hasn't been found in consolidated indexes to the civil registration records. That probably means the entry was transcribed as "Seale" or some other misreading.
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Civil Registration index, March quarter, 1866.
