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NAPOLEON I.
K nperor of France.
Napoleon, the First Emperor
of France.
From St. Helena to Santiago de Cuba,
BEING A SUMMARY OF FACTS CONCERNING
THE LATTER DAYS OF
DR. FRANCOIS ANTOMARCHI,
THE LAST PHYSICIAN TO HIS IMPERIAL
MAJESTY.
FBANKL.IN HUDSON PUBLISHING CO.,
KANSAS CITY, MO.
1910.
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Copyrighted 1910,
By Franklin Hudson Publishing Co.,
Kansas City, Mo.
From St. Helena to Santiago de Cuba.
Early in the days of a detail in Santiago de Cuba, dur-
ing the last American occupation, we received a letter
from our brother, in which he asked, as an especial favor,
to pluck for him a few sprigs of something growing from
the grave of Doctor Antomarchi, the last physician to the
Emperor Napoleon on the island of St. Helena. *
While we knew in a desultory way that a Doctor An-
tomarchi had been in attendance on the Emperor in his
last days, we hardly knew any more than that. We cer-
tainly did not know that he had lived and died in Santiago
de Cuba. So, accordingly, on one golden April afternoon,
we drove to the cemetery, lying in all its white array of
marbles across the still waters of the Bay of Santiago.
We halted at the ruined portal and entered full of cer-
tainty. Finding the custodian, we asked for the grave of
Doctor Antomarchi. He shook his head. We explained
further: "The last physician to Napoleon, to Napole-
6 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
on the Great sabe Napoleon?" "Americano?' was the
questioning answer.
We could discover nothing further, and, after roam-
ing around among the sadly neglected tombs, we drove
back to the city From that moment our search for Doc-
tor Antomarchi in Santiago de Cuba began.
We found upon reliable authority, through the remem-
brances of several persons, and by searching local libra-
ries and ponderous ecclesiastical and legal records, that
a French doctor by the name of Francois Antomarchi
was at one time a resident of Santiago de Cuba; but of
his tomb, which the guide-books and M. Piron refer to,
we could find nothing, though we had traced his place of
burial from the records of the old parish church of San
Tomas, the oldest church in the city (at least three hun-
dred years old), to the old Santa Ana Cemetery, situated
on the hill above Santa Ana Church, in the direction
of El Caney, and at one time known as 'The General
Cemetery."
Indeed, Senor Bartoldo Portuondo, son of the Mar-
quis de Tempu, a fine old gentleman, speaking perfect
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English, and with the manners of old Spanish times, went
with us to Santa Aila. lie told us what his father, the
Marquis cle Tempu, had told him: that at the time of
Doctor Antomarchi's death he had no tomb, and, as is the
custom in this country, his friends offered the remains a
place in their family tombs, which were roomy and well
built. Among many others, the offer of Senor Portuon-
do's father, the Marquis de Tempu, was accepted, and he
pointed out to us what remained of the old tomb of his
fathers in Santa Ana Cemetery.
About forty years &go this, 'The General Ceme-
tery," was removed to its present location, across the bay,
and Senor Portuondo told us that he himself had super-
intended the removal of the remains of his family, of
which nothing was found but a handful of dust and a few
corroded gilt buttons, presumably from his father's court
uniform.
The sky was radiant with the glow of a crimson sun
setting across the bay. and a murmuring wind swept
through the tangled grass, as the old man peered first
from one deep vault to the other. "Here it is ; here is
3 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
what remains of the tomb of my father, and in this tomb
the remains of Doctor Antomarchi were buried ; the only
other remains within at that time were those of my grand-
father, also a Marquis de Tempu. My father, some years
after, was interred here. Then followed other members
of my family in quick succession/'
This abandoned cemetery of Santa Ana is the saddest
of places. Everywhere are to be seen the remains of
these tombs of great depth, but most finished examples
of masonry, still in perfect preservation so far as their
interiors are concerned- There are still standing two
graceful specimens of mortuary art, but these are entire-
ly despoiled of inscription or of any slightest ornamenta-
tion. The place seems to have been visited by a band of
ghouls, who never rested until every vestige of beauty
and decency were gone.
About half a century before our visit to Santa Ana
Cemetery, when presumably it was at its height of pres-
ervation, a French writer describes it in these words :
"Santa Ana Cemetery is ugly, sad, horrible. No trees or
shrubs ornament its paths. Miserably bare, the dry and
\
Brigadier-General Don Juan de Moya y Morejon. Spanish
Governor of Santiago do Cuba in 1838.
FROM ST. HELEXA TO SAXTIAGO I,K CUBA. .
withered grasses wave above the tombs, which, indiscreet-
ly yawning, show the whitened bones of those who were
consigned to their hallowed secrecy. This city certainly
ignores the sentiment which makes the last resting-place
of a beloved being the object of pious memory and touch-
ing veneration. Death as seen here presents a hideous
aspect. At the moment we \vere about to leave the ceme-
tery [continues M. Piron], bearing away these pitiful
impressions, our eyes were arrested by a tomb which had
the proportions of a mausoleum.. Its- form was regularly
architectural. It contrasted most favorably with other
tombs, so poor and so abandoned ; it recalled with tender-
ness thoughts of another civilization, of elegance and of
art. It seemed to dominate with its gentle melancholy
this field of desolation and ruin. \Ye approached, and on
its face beheld, in the midst of a long epitaph, the name
of 'Doctor Antomarchi/ the physician to the Emperor
Napoleon at St. Helena, who, after traveling about the
world, came to Santiago de Cuba."
While the preceding descriptions of the burial-place
of Doctor Antomarchi may seem contradictory, a tomb
10 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
very much like the one described by M. Piron still stands
in what remains of Santa Ana Cemetery, and, as fifty
years ago, still continues to be the one object to attract
the eye in this scene of desolation.
\Ye have abundant proof that Doctor Antomarchi left
funds enough to have a suitable interment, and that he
had friends enough among the influential and potential
residents of Santiago to see that it was done becomingly
and fitting his position, and the esteem in which he was
held by a grateful people in. this part of the world more
than seventy years ago. Besides, a letter* remains in the
*MINISTERE DES AFFAIRES ETRANGERES.
Direction Politique.
PARIS, le 27 Nbre., 1854.
Monsieur: Le Majeste 1'Empereur, informe que les restes
du Docteur Antomarche gisaient abandones a St. Jacques de
Cuba, dans le tombeau d'une famille etrangere, a decide que une
sepulture decente et honorable serait donnee aux depouilles mor-
telles de fidele serviteur de Napoleon ler et que les frais de cette
sepulture incomberaient a la liste civile imperiale. Je vous prie
en consequence, de vouloir bien me transmitte tous les renseigne-
ments propres a m'eclairer sur les dispositions qu'il paraitrait
convenable d'adopter pour 1'erection d'un tombeau destine a rece-
voir les cendres du Docteur Antomarchi et sur le chiffre de la
depense que travaux necessiteraient.
Recevez, Monsieur, 1'assurance de ma consideration dis-
tinguee. (Signed) DROUYN LHUIS.
Padre Braulio Odio, for many years curate of San Tomas Church.
His father was a patient of Doctor Antoinarclii's.
THE NEW YORK
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French Consulate in Santiago de Cuba, from the French
Government, written in 1854, sixteen years after Anto-
marchi's death, inquiring as to his place of burial, and
suggesting the erection of a suitable tomb for him, who,
the letter goes on to say, "is reported as being buried in
the grave of a stranger."
This letter is duly recorded as having been referred
to in the palace of the Archbishop of Santiago de Cuba,
but we were unable to find any trace of further official
action.
It appears from the above varying accounts of Doctor
Antomarchi's burial-place that his remains were only tem-
porarily placed in the tomb of the Marquis de Tempu,
and that after a suitable place of interment had been pre-
pared, they were removed. If this did occur, Senor Port-
uondo was not aware of it ; but, as he was given to long
absences abroad, it is not unlikely the change was made
without his knowledge. This fact, however, remains, that
to-day there is no inscription on any tomb, tablet, or me-
morial in Santiago de Cuba, to mark the last resting-place
of an important character in the great tragedy that was
12 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
enacted at St. Helena. That there was at one time an
epitaph in Santa Ana Cemetery to the memory of Doctor
Antomarchi there can be no doubt; but how long van-
ished one can not say. or whether enmity, spite, or the
curio-hunter despoiled it, no one knows.
The first tomb shown in the accompanying illustra-
tion of Santa Ana Cemetery, Senor Ricardo J. Nav-
arro, who visited the spot with us, points out as the
place indicated to him when a young lad, by his fath-
er, as the spot where rested the remains of the last
physician of Napoleon at St. Helena. Senor Navarro
says he often visited it when a boy, dreaming of the glory
and splendor that was Napoleon's, and brooding over the
frailty of human greatness. While sitting on the curb of
the tomb he could look down into it and see a crumbling
coffin, which contained the remains of the man whom he
believes closed Napoleon's eyes, composed his limbs, and
folded those hands which once grasped so proudly the orb
of power; the man who preserved to an adoring world
the imprint of that beautiful face which death left so
serenely heroic, whose hidden mystery of grace and
Sonora Angella Moya y Portuondo, the oid lady who eight years
ago sold the death mask of Napoleon for thirty dollars.
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strength attracts and holds the world to-day with a charm
that does not lessen as the years move on. These are An-
tomarchi's deed and title to earthly esteem and honor.
Who the man was, and what, but little is known. Born
in 1780, a Corsican ; a student, with decided inclination to-
ward science, at Leghorn, at Pisa, and at Florence, where
he was a pupil of Mascagni, a world-noted anatomist, and
whose successor he became. In December, 1818, he was
chosen by the authorities at Rome and by Napoleon's
mother and family to serve the Emperor as medical at-
tendant at St. Helena.
It was in September, 1819, that Antomarchi, a slight
man of medium height, worn with hard study, landed on
that remote island. He was-, exhausted with the long,
uncomfortable, and rousjtr voyage, and very likely did not
present an attractive appearance. It is not strange, there-
fore, that Napoleon looked with haughty eyes upon this
unkempt, half-starved countryman of his, a novice indeed
in experience with courtiers. Perhaps he rebelled that
the home authorities should have sent so inexperienced
and unprepossessing a personage to his already illy as-
14 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
sorted contingent. He received him coldly, surrounded
as he was by a coterie of ill-natured and quarrelsome per-
sons. This could scarcely be otherwise, immured as they
were in tiresome monotony, with one weary day follow-
ing another, subjected to the tyranny of their custodians,
and cut off from the land that gave them birth, "that
sweet and pleasant land of France/' But if to these who
shared Napoleon's exile life was hard, what must it have
been to him, the high controller of the world's destinies,
he at whose bidding nations rose and fell ?
It is not unlikely Antomarchi was chosen for this po-
sition on account of his brilliant reputation as a student,
and on account of his previous non-contact with the
world ; each of which reputations would recommend him
as one free from political intrigue and without a knowl-
edge of affairs that might be construed as harmful. For,
of all callings, the pursuit of science permits the smallest
opportunities to observe life in its every-day generalities ;
the attention is so engrossed, the ends sought so absorb-
ing, that life with its ambitions, scheming?, intrigues, and
selfish aims passes by unheeded. The scientific student,
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on this account, is not often able to compete with life suc-
cessfully, and often, as did Antomarchi, becomes self-
sufficient, egotistical, and, let us say, unsophisticated. At
any rate, Antomarchi was considered by the authorities a
good man to send to St. Helena. It is not strange that
he was kept much in the background among the more
favored English surgeons, and one can well believe, after
some study of the time and place, that he was very much
kept in the background.
As has been said, Napoleon looked with hauteur upon
this extremist, who could talk of nothing but anatomy,
anatomy, anatomy, and whose dearest treasure was a set
of Mascagni's anatomical plates. With ardor he babbled
continuously on his favorite and all-engrossing subject
He was only an ardent student, in whom Napoleon had no
confidence, and his retinue were of the same mind, while
the English authorities saw in him what they believed to
be an easy go-between, between Longwood and the Gov-
ernor's house.
All together, this inexperienced man had no easy place
to fill, and, with the usual tactlessness of all engrossed
16 FROM ST. HELEXA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
students, he knew not how to forefend himself against the
enmities, spites, and petty jealousies that attacked him on
all sides, as all biographers admit these attributes of hu-
man nature to have had a strong hold in as well as out
of the Emperor's household at St. Helena.
After the tragedy whose stage and setting at St.
Helena was finished,, the curtain drawn, the lights extin-
guished, Antomachi left the island, bearing with him other
treasures than the anatomical plates of Mascagni : his few
precious souvenirs of the Emperor, among! them the mask
which he himself had made from the dead Emperor's
face, a lock of the Emperor's hair, a seal he had used,
and the sheet on which he had died. First he went to the
court of Marie Louise, but doubtless long ere he arrived
there his enemies had preceded him. She had no word
for this messenger from a dying king. He went to Po-
land and evidently blundered there, for he was a blunder-
ing man. Paris knew him for a while, and perhaps con-
soled him ; for if ever a spot thrilled and throbbed with an
individuality, Paris thrills and throbs with that of the Em-
peror Napoleon. Here the Emperor trod in his success,
The home of Brigadier-General Don Juan de Moyu a-; it appears to-
day. It was in this house that Doctor Antomarchi died
of yellow fever, 4 a. in.. April 3. 1S3S.
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a success greater than ever before came to a mortal.
Here he wore a crown ; here he bore his son to his bap-
tism ; that loved and longed-for son, who was to be the
heir of his own matchless renown, but whose fate was in-
finitely sadder and more hopeless than the Emperor's
own..
While in Paris, Antomarchi wrote several books on
different subjects, among them and the best known "Les
Dernier Moments de Napoleon," which there is no good
reason, despite adverse criticism to the contrary, for be-
lieving other than a reliable account of that time as it ap-
peared to him. But his unrest was not satiated. In all
probability he was invited by the fact that in a new world,
on the banks of the Mississippi, lay a. pleasant city filled
with loyal Frenchmen, who in a time of exalted enthusi-
asm had built a palace for the exiled Emperor, and who
entertained the idea of rescuing him from his English pris-
on. Antomarchi sailed from Havre on the ship "Salem,"
and arrived at New Orleans on November 9, 1834, where
he was received with every honor. For had he not ad-
ministered to their Emperor in his last extremity? Had
18 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
he not by his skill and art preserved those majestic feat-
ures to time? Nothing was left undone by these gallant
and true Frenchmen to show to Antomarchi their full ap-
preciation of what he had been., of what he had done. But
the enmity that must have been engendered., that in re-
ality must have preceded him to St. Helena, soon followed
him here, and his seemingly bright career was overcast by
scandalous innuendos and local jealousies. Some of these
were probably justly bestowed, for, as before mentioned,
Antomarchi seems to have been a blunderer, and unques-
tionably was garrulous over the fact, to him so appalling-
ly great, that he had held the dying hand of "the greatest
man who ever lived," as he invariably spoke of Napoleon.
He again took up his pilgrimage, and sailed on, a ship
from New Orleans, first to Mexico, thence to Havana,
and reported to the Spanish Governor-General Tacon, ex-
pressing to him his wish to study yellow fever in epidem-
ic. It was in Havana that he met and knew Doctor Fin-
lay, father of the present Doctor Carlos J. Finlay, cele-
brated for his inception of the mosquito transmission of
yellow fever. Antomarchi was advsed to go to Santiago
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de Cuba, where an epidemic of yellow fever was at that
time in progress. Besides, there was another motive for
his going to Santiago de Cuba. His first cousin, Antonio
Antomarchi, owned a coffee plantation, which bore the
name "San Antonio," about thirty miles distant from the
city of Santiago de Cuba. Many encyclopaedists have
confounded this Antonio Antomarchi with Doctor Anto-
marchi, and erroneously record the latter's death as hav-
ing occurred at San Antonio.
In Havana letters of introduction were given him by
Governor-General Tacon and others, to Brigadier-General
Don Juan de Moya y Morejon, Governor of Santiago de
Cuba.
It is not unlikely that at this time he was short of
funds, a poor man and very weary with his wanderings.
On his way to Santiago de Cuba he tarried a little while
at the old city of Puerto Principe, now Camaguey, and to
the family with w r hom he sojourned, who would accept no
other remuneration., he gave from his treasure store a tiny
lock of Napoleon's hair, a seal used by him, and a frag-
ment of the sheet on which he had died. Even in this
20 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
remote part of the world these sacred relics were fully
appreciated and carefully guarded, and but fifteen years
ago, when so many Spaniards left Cuba for Spain, the
descendants of the person to whom they were given car-
ried them there.
Arriving in Santiago de Cuba in 1837, ne presented
his letters of introduction to Brigadier-General Don Juan
de Moya, and at once began his busy and useful career in
this city.
Soon baffled in his study of yellow fever, unable to dis-
cover its cause or cure, he took up the work of the eye,
which in this tropical country offered large opportunities.
The work pleased him. He found enjoyment in the
delicacy and minuteness of it, and he was soon a very
busy man. The first operation for cataract performed in
Cuba was made by Doctor Antomarchi on the mother of
his friend the Marquis dc Tempu, and was entirely suc-
cessful ; the lady recovering her sight, to the great delight
of her family and a large circle of friends. This gave a
tremendous impetus to the fame of Doctor Antomarchi
in Cuba, and he soon became besieged with patients from
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all walks of life. ( )thcr evidences of his skill as an ocu-
list of these early days quite disprove the statement^ of
some Napoleonic writers who state that Dr. Antomarchi
was a charlatan. From the rich he demanded fees ac-
cordingly, but the poor received his best efforts without
charge. So enthusiastic were the people with his work-
that by popular subscription a hospital with darkened
rooms was provided for his eye patients, which building
still stands on the corner of Gallo and Toro streets. He
made his home with the family of Brigadier-General Don
Juan cle Moya, the Governor, in a fine old house, still
standing. From its high balcony bright vistas of mount-
ain, sky, and bay stretch away in incomparable beauty. I
like to think of Doctor Antomarchi sitting on this breeze-
blown balcony, in quiet converse with the valiant Briga-
dier-General Don Juan de Moya, resting after the ardu-
ous toil of the long, hot Cuban day. One may safely say
that they talked often of the Emperor Xapoleon, who
we have reason to believe was never long out of Anto-
marchi's thoughts, exchanging views, opinions, and recol-
lections. The old brigadier-general had fought against
22 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
Napoleon's forces in Spain, and had lost an eye in the
battle of Beylen. He had the reputation of being a brave
and valiant man, and at this time was the foremost resi-
dent of Santiago, and yet, like those of his friend Doctor
Antomarchi, his remains to-day are lost and unmarked in
the abandoned cemetery of Santa Ana.
These busy peaceful days in Santiago de Cuba, and
these visits on this high balcony in the heavenly coolness
of Cuban evenings, his heart warm with pleasant friend-
hips, his mind appeased, the days of his pilgrimages ap-
parently over, surely, since his proud student days, these
days in Santiago de Cuba were the best days of Doctor
Antomarchi's life.
Seventy years is not so long a time in other countries
as it is in Cuba. In Cuba the path of revolution and re-
volt have left their blazed trail, in which the resting-places-
of the dead even were not held sacred, and in which the
minds of the people were too excited and harassed to pre-
serve in song and story only those men who added and
helped on the great common disaster. Even ecclesiastical
records were not safe. Poverty, ruin, famine, war, and
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the fearful ravages of yellow fever swept with deadly
repetition over this most beautiful of islands. Estates
were pillaged ; the most beautiful old dwellings, filled with
rare objects of art from all parts of the world, libraries,
pictures, statuary, musical instruments, silver and rare
china, all those things which give intellectual vigor
through admiration, were vigorously subjected to the
hands of a brutal and ignorant mob. "Destroy!" "De-
stroy !" "Destroy !" was the watchword of the Cuban in-
surgents. This I know from the Cubans themselves. So
o
it is not strange that to try to trace life and its attributes,
even through this relatively short space of seventy years,
in Cuba is like stumbling on a dark night in a strange
place. But through the darkness that seems to have set-
tled down, now and then gleams a small light, which by
carefully following leads out of the extreme gloom.
The old curate of San Tomas Church, Padre Braulio
Odio, a gentle old man seventy-six years of age, and still
performing faithfully his duties as the good shepherd to
his flock of souls; still climbing day by day the long
sweeping street to the cathedral for his daily devotion,
24 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
told us in affectionate words that his father had been a
patient of Doctor Antomarchi's. His father was threat-
ened with loss of sight, and among other things that the
doctor recommended for him were fifty consecutive daily
baths in the sea. The Padre's father recovered his sight
and strength, and, as the old man remarked, warmed
by the recollections of youth, "My father was always
talking of Doctor Antomarchi ; he was never weary of
praising him."*
We have also talked with a very little old lady, Senora
Angella Moya y Portuondo, the daughter-in-law of Brig-
adier-General Don Juan de Moya. She said she remem-
bered Doctor Antomarchi very well. "He was very much
thought of more than that, he was very much beloved,"
and as she recalled him, "he was a small man with gray
hair." She further said: "He was a great doctor, and
his hospital was thronged with patients, rich and poor,
white and black, clamoring for his attention." As she
*Since the above was written, the writer has attended the ob-
sequies of Padre Oclio in old San Tomas Church, and the same
bells rang his departure that announced that of Doctor Anto-
marchi, more than seventy years before.
Exma. Sra. Dna Carmen de Moya y Bayu. ("'ondesa do Sta. Iiu->.
friend of Doctor Antoinnrehi.
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sat propped vp in her chair, almost blind, <le:ifne>- coming
on, her tiny swollen feet resting on a footstool before her,
it was almost like holding communication with a denizen
of another world. But while her physical infirmities were
heavy upon her, her mentalities were remarkably clear,
and she spoke with an almost child-like eagerness. Espe-
cially was this evident when she told us of the true death-
mask of Napoleon, which Doctor Antomarchi had carried
safely through all his long journeyings, and from which
the numerous masks which he so generously distributed
had been made. Seiiora Moya said she remembered the
children playing with it, and when it became too dirty,
they occupied themselves by scratching off the layers of
dirt with their finger-nails. This, of course, must have
been after Antomarchi was dead. She also said that em-
bedded in the interior surface of the mask about the fore-
head were many fine straight hairs of a brown color, which
is almost conclusive evidence that this was the real orig-
inal mask. She also gave us the clue which, after dili-
gent and faithful following, put us in possession of Doc-
tor Antomarchi's last will and testament.
26 FROM ST. HELEXA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
The fortunes of the Moya family, once the proudest
and most influential of the old families of Santiago de
Cuba, fell with the decline of the Spanish power. Lands
and properties were lost or disposed of to ill advantage.
So it came about that, after repeated wars, only eight
years ago, a man came to Senora Moya, into whose keep-
ing the mask had been given through her husband's fam-
ily. She was persuaded to sell it, and the object that An-
tomarchi so loved and cherished, and which he had given
to his dearest friend as the last highest token of love and
respect, passed into the hand of a stranger for the mu-
nificent sum of thirty dollars.
At the only moment in his life, perhaps, when Doctor
Antomarchi was receiving a meet return for his labors,
laudations for his good deeds, the respect and admiration
of the community in which he lived, and the happiness
that comes with the ability to heal and restore, he fell sud-
denly ill, and April i, 1838, knowing that his end was
near, made his last will and testament. At 4 a. m., April
3d, he lay dead of yellow fever in the house of his friend,
Brigadier-General Don Juan de Moya y Morejon.
.Exmo. Sr. Don Jose Antonio Portuondo y Hen-era. Coude de
Sta. Ines, friend of Doctor Antomarchi, and a \\itnc--
to hi-; la>t will and testament.
;
Third and last page of Dr. Antomarchi's last Will and Testament.
Showing his signature thereto. (See translation.)
THE YORK
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FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA. 27
His last will and testament gives some idea of his life
and character, and the record of his imposing funeral
from San' Tomas Church., which structure remains almost
unchanged to this day. the hand of the restorer not yet
having been raised against it, testifies to the esteem in
which Doctor Antomarchi was held in Santiago de Cuba.
The only romance in his life seems to have been his
love for the Emperor. It glitters across the tangled and
often obscure net-work of his years, at once fascinating
and past description beautiful, the love and devotion of a
small man for, as Doctor Antomarchi always called him,
"the greatest man that ever lived."
HNRY D. THOMASOX,
Captain Medical Corps, U. S. Army.
For kindly consideration and many courtesies extended in
the preparation of this subject matter. I am indebted to the fol-
lowing distinguished residents of Santiago de Cuba, besides those
mentioned: His grace the Archbishop of Santiago; Doctor lil-
las, chief sanitary officer of the city; Sefior Carlos Hernandez;
Dr. Richard Wilson, U. S. P. H. and M. H. Service; Dr. Louis
Hechavarria: SeSor Deleau; Sefior Antonio Antomarchi (son of
Antonio the cousin of the Doctor) ; and Mr. Geo. E. Bryson ;
also to Professor Fortier, Tulane University, New Orleans.
TRANSLATION OF THE LAST WILL AND TES-
TAMENT OF DOCTOR FRANCOIS
ANTOMARCHI.
In the name of GOD All-powerful. Amen.
Be it known that I, doctor in medicine and' surgery, D.
Francisco Antomarchi, native of Morsiola in Corsica,
legitimate son of Juan Antomarchi and Bridgetta Matey,
both dead ; finding myself gravely ill, but in full and free
use of my judgment., memory, and natural understanding,
and firmly believing in the most high mystery of the Holy
Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit three distinct per-
sons and only one true God and all else taught by our
holy mother the Catholic Apostolic Church of Rome ; un-
der whose faith and belief I was born,, have lived, and will
continue to live as a faithful Christian until death, and if
by the influence of the enemy of mankind I should be-
come delirious is my sickness, or from other cause (may
God not permit the same) should I utter or think other-
28
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FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA. 29
wise, from this moment I revoke the same as detestable
and not thought in fact: and fearful of death. I order and
will in the following manner:
Firstly, I commend my soul to God, who created and
redeemed it with the infinite price of His adorable blood,
passion, and death ; beseeching Him to pardon my sins
and to take my soul to the enjoyment of His holy glory,
for which it was created ; beseeching the Most Holy Vir-
gin Mary, Our Lady,, Mother of God, counselor of sinners,
to guide me in the way of salvation. I consign my body
to the earth of which it was formed, to be buried in the
General Cemetery, leaving the details of my burial to my
executor, provided that three masses be said for my soul
and the customary alms given, including the fund for the
"Pio Religioso," all of which is to be taken out of my
estate.
I declare that I am unmarried, and that I recognize no
issue. I declare that when I left France I made a will
which I sealed and deposited in the commercial house of
Sefior Lazard, Plaza de las Victors, No. 3, between the
years thirty-three and thirty-four, in which I made dispo-
30 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
sitions, and I request and command that these be strictly
carried out in the terms therein expressed.
I declare of my possessions, that the sum of thirty-two
hundred and eight dollars are in the hands of Brigadier
Don Juan de Moya y Mojeron, and likewise one thou-
sand six or seven hundred dollars will be found in my
commode.
I declare that I owe no one, but that others owe me
for various cures, as follows : Doiia Maria Manuela Val-
iente, five hundred dollars ; Don Jose Chamiso, an equal
sum, as proven by a note ; D. Proensa, three hundred dol-
lars ; the Reverend Father Don Salvador Lozada, an equal
sum ; Dona Rosa Pera, two hundred dollars ; Dona Do-
lores Espejo, sixteen dollars; Seiior Molm. three hun-
dred and eighty-four dollars : Dona Ursula Ripilado,
three hundred and twenty dollars ; and other individuals
as indicated in my memorandum-book of cures-
I declare that, in addition to the above effects, I have
others in the island, as proven by documents which will be
found with my private papers, as well as other personal
valuables.
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THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC- LIBRARY
ASTOK, LENOX AND
TJLDEN KOr, \a\TIONS
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FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO Die CUBA. 31
And to faithfully carry out this my will, I name as my
executor Don Antonio Juan Benjamin Antomarchi y
Choigneau, my first cousin, with all the power and facility
accorded him by law, to carry out this will with free and
liberal interpretation, and to extend the time provided by
law if necessary.
And as cashier, Don Agustin de la Tejera, in order to
pay or collect such accounts which may present in accord-
ance with these provisions, according to law covering the
case, proceeding with all extra- judicially. And with the
remainder of all my properties, debts, rights, stocks, that
now belong to me, or may in future belong to me, I ap-
point and name as my only sole and general heir to all my
possessions in the Island of Cuba as well as others I pos-
sess, except what I possess in France, the before men-
tioned cousin, Don Antonio Juan Benjamin Antomarchi y
Choigneau, so that he can have it all, enjoy and inherit it
with my blessing, except that which is in France, as this
must remain as I have set it apart in the foregoing sealed
will referred to.
And by the present I revoke, annul, and consider as of
32 FROM ST. HELENA TO SANTIAGO DE CUBA.
no value or effect any other wills, powers, codicils, or
other dispositions in wills, except as in that one referred
to as sealed and made in France, or any other before made
by writing, word, or other form: so that this instrument
only shall be valid and have effect in the manner and
through the channels herein prescribed.
Dated in Santiago de Cuba the first day of April, the
year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight, and the
author of this will is known to me, the Notary, by royal
decree in the employ of the public, and held in full confi-
dence by the Government ; and I testify that to all appear-
ances this man is of sound mind and judgment, and that
he made and signed this document (without the aid of an
interpreter, as he understands the Spanish language) in
the presence of the witnesses, who are Don Jose Maria
Portuondo, Don Jabier Borjilla, and Don Melchor de la
Tejera, neighbors.
DR. Fco. ANTOMARCHI.
Before me, Franco. Anto. Bucareh.
TRANSLATION OF THE FUNERAL RECORD OF
DOCTOR FRANCISCO ANTOMARCHI.
(In the Parish Register, Church of San Tomas the
Apostle, Santiago de Cuba.)
APRIL.
In the year of our Lord, eighteen hundred and thirty-
eight, April third, the Very Venerable Dean and Chapter
in this Metropolitan Church of this city of Santiago de
Cuba performed the funeral services with the large cross,
cope, with two Summons at ten o'clock in the morning,
with Vigil, three processions, and the clergy accompanied
the body of Doctor Don Francisco Antomarchi, which on
the following day they gave service to in this auxiliary
Church of San Tomas the Apostle, with Vigil, Mass,
Calls at the Prayers, and two Summons with eight assist-
ing clergymen, he having received the Holy Sacrament of
Penance and extreme Unction. I have remitted his body
*
to the General Cemetery, where it was given interment.
That this may be known, I sign
FRANCISCO XAVIER DE; IBARRA.
