An American wedding in Vierville-sur-Mer

Mr. de Bughas, mayor of Vierville-sur-Mer since the previous year, officiated at his first wedding ceremony on a Friday afternoon. The spouses were two young Americans: Angela Ladas, from New York, and Jonathan Paul de Wierwille, presented as a direct descendant of the former lords of Vierville. After their civil wedding in the village, they planned to travel to Switzerland for the religious ceremony.

The city council wanted to surround the mayor and the young people. In the town hall decorated in French and American colors, they were accompanied by their witnesses: Mr. Néel, steward of the American cemetery, and Mr. Legallois, deputy mayor. An interpreter translated the words of the ceremony; the bride and groom pronounced their "yes" in French.

In his speech, the mayor brought together two stories: that of the Americans who died for the liberation of the commune in 1944 and that of the Vierville family, long linked to the fate of the village. He mentioned Nicolas de Vierville, quoted in 1173 and presented in his speech as related to the Dukes of Normandy and, by alliances, to the royal house. He also recalled the presence of a Vierville alongside Philippe le Hardi in Foix in 1272.

The speech then stopped on Guillaume de Vierville, married in 1391 to Marie de Creully. According to the reported account, his refusal to collaborate with the English occupier and his rallying with the King of France had resulted in the confiscation of his property; Charles VII is said to have restored the property to his son Philippe. The mayor also recalled the exile of this Huguenot family after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685.

This return to the origins was presented as proof of attachment to France. The mayor cited the exchanges with Mr. Ibetson, a resident of Jersey and descendant of the Champion de Crespigny family, as well as with the Roth-Vierville family in Switzerland. He mentioned the descendants established in the United States, Switzerland, Jersey, Natal and Australia, going so far as to mention a relationship with Neil Armstrong by a grandmother born Vierville.

Genealogical research did not make it possible to find the family motto, Mr. de Bughas proposed the word "Fidelity": loyalty to the king of France in adversity, to religion, then to family origins through this marriage in the village. On behalf of the city council, he wished the spouses a long happiness and invited them to return, even mentioning possible reunions of the descendants scattered around the world. After the signing of the deed, the municipality offered a wine of honor.

Reconstructed or uncertain passages:
- The filiations and the relationship mentioned with Neil Armstrong are affirmations of the discourse reproduced by the newspaper; this rewriting does not constitute an independent genealogical verification.

Archive image: https://vierville.cordelle.eu/Photos2008/1972-MariageWierwille.jpg