A huguenot family - let's start at the very beginning ...

Born on 20 February 1748 in the small village of Beaurevoir, northern France, Jean Petit is the beginning of the Petit family story (so far).  He was the fourth son of Etienne Isaac Petit, a farmer and his wife Angelique Miniot and was a Huguenot.  Sometime in the late 1770s he left France for London.

French Protestants, Huguenots, were persecuted by French Catholics in the 16th and 17th centuries and many thousands left the country for safer places. It was not until the late 1790s that French Protestants in France were given the freedom to worship. By the end of the 17th century it is believed that as many as 200,000 Huguenots had left France for England, Dutch Republic, various parts of northern Europe, Switzerland, South Africa and North America.  It is believed that as many as 50,000 Huguenots fled to England during that time.   Jean Petit left France in the last 25 years of religious persecution to join his family that was already established in London.

The first mention of Jean Petit in London is as Godfather to his niece in 1779 at the Church in Threadneedle Street  London, a French Protestant Church.  In 1781, Jean, now John, formally renounced his Catholic faith at the same Church and was accepted into the Protestant Faith.  Unfortunately, the French Protestant Church at Threadneedle Street no longer exists but more information can be read and a picture of it found at the following link:    http://www.tevelein.net/Pages/FamilyRecThreadneedle.htm

For some reason, not yet known, Jean Petit decided that better opportunities lay elsewhere and in the early 1780s moved from London to ....

Incorporation

An agreement, dated 29 October 1901, was made between Charles Johannes Immanuel Brandauer of Vienna and Frederick Charles Immanuel Brandauer of 401-414 New John Street West Birmingham and Joseph Letiere Petit and Joseph Henry Petit of the same address and Joseph Smith of Handsworth as trustee for and on behalf of the company agreed that C Brandauer & Co would be turned into a Limited Company.

To make this possible it was agreed for the sale of the business of C Brandauer & Co and the assets and goodwill thereof to a Limited Company and to be named C Brandauer & Co Ltd with a capital of £240,000.

The two Brandauer names are the sons of the Founder Carl Henry Immanuel Brandauer, who had died by 1901. However, Joseph Letiere Petit who had been in partnership with Carl Brandauer was still working. His son, mentioned above, Joseph Henry Petit was the first of his sons to join the business, prior to this agreement, and my great Grandfather.

On 3 December 1901 the above mentioned parties and including C Brandauer & Co Ltd state that since the execution of the earlier agreement (29 October 1901) the Company has been incorporated as agreed and adopted by the first four names and that Joseph Smith from this time is discharged from all liability under the agreement.

It is interesting to read that it took nearly 40 years for C Brandauer to be incorporated and that by 1901 my great, great Grandfather had become a partner. In the near future I hope to write about when Joseph Letiere Petit became a partner as he certainly wasn't at the beginning in 1862 as many believed.

How it really started!

Recently, an old German contract has been translated and gives very useful information about the formation of C Brandauer and Co Ltd in Birmingham. This marvellous document, dated 23 April 1862, states that Mr Friedrich Kohler, born in Schonberg, near Freudenstadt and Mr Carl Heinrich Imanuel Brandauer, of Stuttgart, have, by agreement, and on joint account, purchased the steel nib factory of Messrs. Ash Petit and Co in Birmingham for the abovementioned purpose. It goes on to say that they shall be joint partners for the period of 10 years which has already been in existence since 13 February 1862 and will continue until 12 February 1872.

Mr Petit is, of course, my great, great grandfather Joseph Letiere Petit. However, nowhere in the contract does it mention that Mr Petit would be involved in the new business. This means that the story about Mr Petit and Mr Brandauer setting-up business together is not completely correct. Further on in the document it mentions that Mr Brandauer is not required to personally participate in the management of the business, and that he may appoint a deputy for himself, with a salary of up to £200. As yet I have not found out who the 'deputy' was but perhaps it was my great, great grandfather? I shall let you know as soon as I do!