STYLES
& TITLES:
The sovereign: by the grace of God and the Constitutional
Law of the State, Emperor of Haiti, with the style of His
Majesty.
The wife of the sovereign: Empress of Haiti, with the
style of Her Majesty.
The widow of former sovereigns: Princess Dowager.
The sons of the sovereign: Prince (personal name) (family
name).
The daughters of the sovereign: Princess (personal name)
(family name).
NOBILITY:
None.
RULES OF SUCCESSION:
The Constitution of 20th May 1805 declared
Jean-Jacques Dessalines as Emperor and made the Imperial
Dignity non-hereditary. The reigning Emperor enjoyed the
right of nominating his successor from the principal
general officers of the army commanding the provinces.
ORDERS & DECORATIONS:
None.
GENEALOGY
xxx Duclos, who
adopted the name of his proprietor and had issue, at
least three sons:
1)
Jean-Jacques Dessalines, né Duclos, who ascended
the throne as H.I.M. Jacques I, Emperor of Haiti
- see below.
2) Louis
Dessalines, né Duclos. Adopted the name of
Dessalines along with his brothers. He had issue,
a son:
a)
Maréchal de Camp Monsieur Raymond
(Dessalines), Baron de Louis Dessalines
(cre. 8th April 1811). ADC to
King Henry I, PC, Sec-Gen. Ministry of
War 1811-1820, Mbr. Royal Chamber of
Public Instruction 1818-1820. Rcvd:
Knt. of the Order of St Henry (1.5.1811).
He was k. by the revolutionaries,
at Cap-Henry, 10th October
1820.
3)
Joseph Dessalines, né Duclos. Adopted the name
of Dessalines along with his brothers. He had
issue, a son:
a)
Maréchal de Camp Monsieur
(Dessalines), Baron de Joseph Dessalines
(cre. 1816), Chamberlain to Prince
Jacques-Victor Henry, the Prince Royal of
Hayti, Maj. grenadiers de la garde.
Rcvd: Knt. of the Order of St
Henry (28.10.1815).
1804 - 1806 H.M.
Jacques I, by the grace of God and the Constitutional Law
of the State, Emperor of Haiti. b. at Cormier
Plantation, Grande Riviere du Nord, 20th
September 1758. Lt-Gen. cdg. Southern and Western
divisions 1801-1802, cdt. at Saint Marc 1802, General
French Army, Governor of the Southern Provinces,
Captain-General of the North 1802-1804. Proclaimed the
Independence of Haiti at the Place d'Armes, Gonaïves and
assumed the office of Captain-General and
Governor-General of Haiti, 1st January 1804.
Proclaimed as Emperor of Haiti, 2nd September
1804. Enthroned at the Church of Champ-de-Mars, Le Cap by
Pere Corneille Brelle, later His Grace Monseigneur the
Archbishop of Haiti, Duke de l'Anse, and Grand Almoner to
King Henry I, 8th October 1804. Promulgated
the Constitution of Haiti 20th May 1805. m.
at Léogâne, 2nd April 1800, H.M. Empress
Marie-Claire Heureuse Félicité (b. at Léogâne,
1758; d. at Ville de l'Indépendance, St Marc, 8th
August 1858, bur. there), Crowned with her husband
at the Church of Champ-de-Mars on 8th October
1804, styled Princess Dowager after 17th
October 1806, daughter of Bonheur Guillaume, by his wife,
Marie Élisabeth, née Sainte Lobelot, widow of Pierre
Lunic, sometime master-cartwright to the Brothers of
Saint-Jean de Dieu. He was k. at Pont-Rouge, 17th
October 1806 (bur. in an unmarked grave at the
City Cemetery, Port-au-Prince), having had issue,
including:
1)
Prince Jacques Bien-Aimé Dessalines. b.
at Saint-Marc, 2nd April 1793 (twin
with his sister Célestine) (s/o
Marie-Claire). Legitimated by the subsequent
marriage of his parents, 2nd April
1800. He had issue by Adélaïde Appolon, one
daughter:
a)
Marie-Françoise Dessalines b. 23rd
December 1832.
2) Louis
Dessalines (s/o Marie-Claire). He d.
young before 1804?
3)
Albert Dessalines (s/o Marie-Claire). He d.
young before 1804?
1)
Princess Marie Françoise Célimène Dessalines. b.
at Saint-Marc, 2nd October 1789 (d/o
Marie-Claire). Legitimated by the subsequent
marriage of her parents, 2nd April
1800. She d. unm. 1859, having had
issue, an only and unnamed child by Captain
Bernard Chancy (bapt. at Torbeck, Cayes du
Fond, 3rd May 1778; d. by
suicide, while in prison at Port-au-Prince, 1st
April 1806), ADC to Toussaint-Louverture, natural
son of Geneviève Affiba, wife of Bernard Chancy,
elder half-sister of Lieutenant-General H.E.
François-Dominique Toussaint-Louverture,
Captain-General and Governor-General of Santo
Domingo 1801-1803, and daughter of Hyppolite Gaou
Guinou, by Marie-Catherine Affiba:
a)
Dessalines Chancy. b. at
Saint-Marc, 1806. She had issue, a
daughter:
i) Mme.
Chancy. A companion of her
grandmother, the Empress
Marie-Claire Heureuse at her
death in 1858.
2)
Princess Célestine Dessalines. b. at
Saint-Marc, 2nd April 1793 (twin with
her brother Jacques) (d/o Marie-Claire).
Legitimated by the subsequent marriage of her
parents, 2nd April 1800. m. at
Cap-Henry, 10th April 1817, Pierre
Daux (b. at Petite-Rivière de
l'Artibonite, 1796), son of Philippe Daut, by
Marie, née Barbé. She d.s.p.
10th August 1867.
3)
Princess Jeanne Sophie Dessalines. b. 20th
January 1799 (d/o Marie-Claire).
Legitimated by the subsequent marriage of her
parents, 2nd April 1800. m.
Cazenave. She d. at St Marc, 10th
August 1867.
Emperor Jacques
I also left several natural issue, by different mothers,
including:
4)
César Jacques Dessalines. m.
Marie-Thérèse Poncette, née Lange. He had
issue:
a)
Lieutenant-General H.E. Jean Jacques
César Dessalines. b. ca. 1800
(grandson of Jean-Jacques Dessalines).
Arrested for conspiracy by Faustin I
1856. Marechal de Camp 1853. He was k.
by summary execution on the orders of
Emperor Faustin I, at Ouanaminthe, 2nd
June 1856, having had issue, by Cécile
Pierre-Antoine, a daughter:
i)
Marie-Noële Dessalines. b.
15th September 1829.
a)
Marie-Claire Dessalines. b. 1806.
She d. 17th November
1809.
5)
Jacques Metellus. b. at Le Cap, 26th
June 1805.
6)
Suprême Dessalines. b. at Dessalines,
1806. He had issue, a daughter:
a)
Eugénia Suprême Dessalines. m.
Petipas Dorléans. She had issue, a son:
i) Noé
Dorléans. m. Inésia
Valery. He had issue, a daughter:
(1)
Catherine Dorléans. b.
at Marchand-Dessalines,
1889. m. Luma
Pierre. She had issue, a
daughter.
7)
Innocent Dessalines. He d. at
Cap-Haïtien, 10th October 1820,
having had issue:
a)
Jasmin Dessalines, who had issue:
i)
Surpris Dessalines
5)
Francillette Dessalines. b. ca. 1796 (full
sister of César). m. Carlotin Marcadiux (b.
1778), customs official at Cap-Haïtien 1817. She
had issue, one son and two daughters:
a)
Louis Charles Carlotin Marcadiux. b.
ca. 1811. He d. 4th
June 1833.
a)
Marie-Claire Marcadiux. b. 9th
August 1817.
Francillette
Dessalines, had further issue:
b)
Joseph Augustin Dessalines. b. 1st
July 1827.
6)
Calinette Dessalines.
7) Rose
Dessalines. b. ca. 1802. She had issue:
a)
Louis Augustin Octavien Dessalines. b.
11th June 1826.
b)
Louis Mondestin Dessalines. b. 12th
March 1828.
c)
Joseph Belony Dessalines. b. 9th
September 1829. He d. April 1830.
8)
Marie-Thérèse Angèle Adeline Dessalines. b.
ca. 1804. m. Henri André. She had issue,
three daughters: