Maria Louisa Stephanie Beatrix Nathalie DeLage DE VOLUDE^{[1, 2, 3]}

1782 - 1841  (58 years)

• Name	Maria Louisa Stephanie Beatrix Nathalie DeLage DE VOLUDE  [4]
  Birth	28 Oct 1782	the DeLage Chateau in suburban Paris, France   [4, 5]
  Gender	Female
  HIST	Reflections by Sammy Way: Marie Antoinette's godchild was member of Sumter family Nathalie Delage was the goddaughter of Marie Antoinette and was displayed in the French court after she was born in 1782. SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Posted Saturday, March 1, 2025 6:00 am By SAMMY WAY Sumter Item archivist and historian Reflections remembers Nathalie Delage through the writings of Jean Brabham McKinney and her becoming a member of the Sumter family. "In the fall of 1782, in Boston Harbor, the birth of Nathalie de Delage de Volade in Paris was celebrated by a ship's gun. The salute, ordered by the baby's proud grandfather, Admiral Comte Renard d'Ambliment, was prophetic of Nathalie's future, for one day she would become a gracious and beloved South Carolina matron." Information and photos used to prepare this piece were obtained from The Sumter Item archives with the writings of Cassie Nicholes, Azile McCoy and Dr. Anne King Gregorie also being consulted. A degree of editing was required due to the length of paper being presented in two parts. "At this time, the baby Nathalie was proudly displayed in the court of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Nathalie's mother was Beatrix de Delage de Volude, the wife of the Marquis Paul Jean Joseph de Volude, a French naval officer. Nathalie's mother had, from her youth, been attached to the French court and at the time of Nathalie's birth was dame of d'honneur to the Princess de Lamballe. Nathalie was the godchild of Marie Antoinette. "Nathalie grew into a lovely child, petite, delicate and fair. She and her sisters, Calixte and Stephanie, played in the gardens of Versailles dressed in silks, satins and laces, like miniature adults. When she was six, Nathalie entered the Bernardine Sisters' School at Pandemond, Versailles. While the nuns were educating Nathalie, revolution was brewing. Sensing the approaching danger, the Marquis and Marquise Delage left Paris with their daughters and made plans to leave the country. While waiting for safe passage to be arranged, Nathalie and her younger sisters lived with their Granny d'Ambliment in Bordeaux. "Nathalie was entrusted to the care of a family friend and governess, Madame Senat, who was embarking from Bordeaux to New York City and safety. Her mother and Nathalie's two sisters planned to come to America later. Unfortunately, the second ship was chased by an English warship to the shores of Spain, where that portion of the family remained until the Revolution was over. Nathalie and Madame Senat arrived in New York in 1793. It was already a bustling, prosperous seaport city. The enterprising Madame Senat set up an exclusive seminary for young ladies, located on Partition Street. Daughters of the finest New York families, including the Edwardes, the Schuylers, the Livingstons and the Burrs, flocked to Madame Senat's school. Theodosia Burr, daughter of Aaron Burr, established a friendship with Nathalie that lasted a lifetime, for they both married South Carolina natives. "After the death of Theodosia's mother, Aaron Burr invited Nathalie to live in his home as sister and companion to the lonely Theodosia. With the permission of the Marquise Delage, Nathalie became the ward of Aaron Burr and thus his second daughter. He and Theodosia were a comfort to her when she learned of the death of her father and later of her sister Calixte in Spain. "The year 1801 brought many changes. Aaron Burr became vice president of the United States, missing the presidency by one vote to Thomas Jefferson. Theodosia married Joseph Alston of South Carolina, and Nathalie's mother sent word it was safe for her daughter to return to France. As it was considered improper for a young, unmarried woman to travel unchaperoned on a long voyage, Burr helped to arrange her passage under the care of his friend, Robert Livingston, minister to France. On board ship with Livingston was his secretary, Col. Thomas Sumter, son of South Carolina's 'Gamecock' of Revolutionary fame. "After their long voyage on the frigate Boston, young Thomas, 33, and Nathalie, 19, finally arrived in France. During the course of the journey, the young couple fell in love. She was happy to accept his proposal of marriage, but her mother and Granny d'Ambliment fiercely opposed the match. Col. Horatio Gates wrote to Aaron Burr, 'Young Secretary Sumter on the passage to Europe fell desperately in love with Miss Nathalie Delage. They landed in Nantes near her mother's chateau. The elderly lady was a furious royalist and would not hear of her daughter being married to a republican.' "But the difficulties were overcome, and the young couple were married in Paris on the 20th of March 1802. In 1803, Col. Sumter resigned as secretary of the United States Legation in Paris. He, his wife and their baby daughter arrived in Charleston at the height of the pre-Christmas season. They were lavishly entertained, and Mrs. Sumter and Mrs. Alston were joyfully reunited." Reflections by Sammy Way: Marie Antoinette's godchild was member of Sumter family, Part II The burial place of Nathalie Delage Sumter includes a small chapel built over her grave at her request. SUMTER ITEM FILE PHOTO Posted Saturday, March 8, 2025 6:00 am By SAMMY WAY Sumter Item archivist and historian Reflections remembers Nathalie Delage through the writings of Jean Brabham McKinney and her becoming a member of the Sumter family. "In the fall of 1782, in Boston Harbor, the birth of Nathalie de Delage de Volade in Paris was celebrated by a ship's gun. The salute, ordered by the baby's proud grandfather, Admiral Comte Renard d'Ambliment, was prophetic of Nathalie's future, for one day she would become a gracious and beloved South Carolina matron." Information and photos used to prepare this piece were obtained from The Sumter Item archives with the writings of Cassie Nicholes, Azile McCoy and Dr. Anne King Gregorie also being consulted. A degree of editing was required due to the length of paper being presented in two parts. Read part one at www.theitem.com/reflections or in the March 1-4 weekend edition. On Dec. 10, 1803, Mrs. Theodosia Alston, Delage's sister and companion, wrote her father from The Oaks Plantation, in Georgetown, "Nathalie delighted to see me and still pretty. She has grown thinner, much thinner, but her complexion is still good, though more languid. The loss of her hair is an alteration for the worse. Her crop is pretty, but not half so much as her fine brown hair. Nathalie has a lovely little daughter." The reception the young Sumters, Nathalie and Col. Thomas, receivedin Charleston was nothing compared to the one at Gen. Thomas Sumter's home in Stateburg. As the carriage bearing the young Sumter family and their English maids approached, the road was lined with neighbors, friends and the Black people from Gen. Sumter's plantation. Greeting his son and daughter-in-law with great affection, Gen. Sumter held the baby Nathalie in his arms and told the assembled crowd, "My son who has been away much too long is home again, and my daughter, bearing a living treasure, has come to share our bounty." As Mrs. Sumter was the only Catholic in a Protestant community, her "dear father," as she affectionately called Gen. Sumter, had a small brick chapel, with a red tile roof imported from France, built for her on the grounds near Home House. On March 10, 1805, another "little stranger," as she always called her babies, arrived. The girl was named Stephanie Beatrice but nicknamed "Fanny." After Fanny's birth, Mrs. Sumter wrote her mother, "This little darling will be the last." But within a year, another "little stranger" arrived, a girl, Mary Thomasine. But this peaceful period was soon to end. In March 1809, President Madison appointed Thomas Sumter minister plenipotentiary to the court of the exiled King of Portugal, in Brazil. They sailed from New York in March 1810, after the birth of their fourth child, a boy, Thomas Delage Sumter. During their years in Brazil, there were as always good times and bad. As Mrs. Sumter was wont to say, "Life is like an onion; you peel it off a layer at a time, and sometimes you weep." "The tears came when the sad news reached her of the deaths of 'Miss Polly,' her mother-in-law, and of Mrs. Alston's only son, 'Gampy.' Later, Mrs. Sumter grieved over the mysterious disappearance of her friend Theodosia, at sea." In 1821, the Sumters and their children, now numbering seven (three having been born in Brazil), returned to Home Place. It was a sad homecoming with "Miss Polly" dead and the Sumter property heavily mortgaged. The Gamecock, however, was still hale and hearty and lived on to be 96. For a long time, Mrs. Sumter had been anxious to see her mother. It had been 21 years since she had visited France. At last, her husband allowed her to accept the passage money her mother offered her and the children. Nathalie took her oldest child, Nathalie, her young daughter, Brazilia, and a son, Sebastian, with her. The other four children remained with their father in Stateburg. Before the end of her visit, daughters Mary and Fanny joined her. Fanny and Nathalie married European royalty, Count Joseph Binda of Italy and Comte Gabriel de Fontenay of France, respectively. Mary, who remained in France with her grandmother, later died there of pneumonia. After her return to Stateburg, Nathalie spent the rest of her days at Home House caring for her husband, children and her "other family," the Black people who lived and worked on the plantation. The melancholy days of her widowhood are recorded in her diary (1840-41), now preserved in the South Caroliniana Library at the University of South Carolina. In it, she tells of giving away her husband's clothes. She records, "Put up 51 bottles of Madeira wine. Took my chocolate and went to church." Her diary also reflects her failing health. She writes of gargling with vinegar and salt, using lye poultices and taking salts and snake root. In a more cheerful vein, she describes her pink oleanders, her roses and pomegranate trees, the French newspapers sent by her mother and the novel she was reading titled "The King's Highway." On Aug. 10, 1841, one year after her husband's death, Nathalie Delage Sumter died. Azile McCoy notes in her writings "Tradition states that she was buried in the chapel her 'dear Father' had built for her in the grove just beyond her beloved Home House, far from Paris and the Palace of Versailles. However, 'according to her will it appears that her children fulfilled her request and built the chapel as a memorial to her, placing the small cathedral over her resting place.' There is a memorial plaque attached to the chapel wall which reads - Nathalie Marie Louise Stephanie Beatrix DeLage de Volude Beloved wife of Thomas Sumter, Jr. Born in France, Oct. 28, 1782 Died in Stateburg, Aug. 10, 1841."  [2, 3]
  _UID	B448F5B21AC747239E9F21131C887222972A
  Death	10 Aug 1841  [6]
  	59 years of earthly sojourn
  Burial	Thomas Sumter Memorial Park, Sumter County, South Carolina   [7]
  Person ID	I1375	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	19 Mar 2025

  
  

  Father	Marquis Joseph-Paul-Jean DeLage DEVOLUDE   d. 1799, Puerto Rico
  Mother	Marquise Beatrix-Stephanie-Renart deFuchsamberg D’AMBLIMONT
  _UID	3C9F789B16C44B1B89FB6B5B8C6C377E25A3
  _UID	3C9F789B16C44B1B89FB6B5B8C6C377E25A3
  Family ID	F2556	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Thomas SUMTER, Jr.,   b. 30 Aug 1768, Stateburg, South Carolina d. 15 Jun 1840, Stateburg, South Carolina (Age 71 years)
  Marriage	20 Mar 1802	France   [5]
  _UID	5CF03E6037E34611B51837E7A9E4C0AF425A
  _UID	5CF03E6037E34611B51837E7A9E4C0AF425A
  Children	1. Annette Marie Nathalie SUMTER,   b. 2 Jan 1803, Paris, France d. Oct 1853, Autun, France (Age 50 years)   2. Stephanie Beatrice “Beatrix” (called Fanny) SUMTER,   b. 20 Mar 1805, Stateburg, South Carolina d. Jul 1864 (Age 59 years)   3. Mary or Marie Thomasa SUMTER,   b. 24 Mar 1806, Stateburg, South Carolina d. 17 Jul 1828, Paris, France (Age 22 years)   4. Paul Thomas DeLage (T. D.) SUMTER,   b. 14 Nov 1809, Germantown, Pennsylvania d. 8 Jul 1874, Stateburg, South Carolina (Age 64 years)   5. Pauline Brazilimo “Brasilia” or “Beatrix” SUMTER,   b. 11 Mar 1813, Rio De Janiero, Brazil, South America d. 29 Nov 1889, Summerville, South Carolina (Age 76 years)   6. Francois/Francis Louis Brazilimo SUMTER,   b. 13 May 1815, Rio De Janiero, Brazil, South America d. 31 Jul 1866/4, Stateburg, South Carolina (Age 59 years)   7. Sebastian D’Amblimont SUMTER,   b. 8 Sep 1820, Rio De Janiero, Brazil, South America d. 22 Apr 1909, Stateburg, South Carolina (Age 88 years)
  Family ID	F2555	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	23 Mar 2026

  
  

• Notes

  Nathalie’s family was attached to the Court of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette and fled to the States at the tender age of eleven and was adopted by the family of Aaron Burr. Nathalie moved with the elite society of old New York; and after a whirlwind courtship became, at the age of nineteen, the bride of Thomas Sumter, who was the only son of the Gamecok of Revolution fame. Nathalie was the Queen at “Home House” in the High Hills of Santee, Stateburg, South Carolina “Home House” was the home of General Thomas Sumter and later the home of Nathalie and Colonel Thomas Sumter Junior. and their family. During an interim of about eleven years, the Sumters resided in Rio, South America, where Colonel Sumter was United States Ambassador to the Portuguese Court in exile. The lineage of Nathalie DeLage DeVolude Sumter stems directly from the French Kings (12th Century).Nathalie was the first child. Nathalie’s genealogy on both sides has been traced through the Renart de Fuchsamberg D’Amblimonts (maternal) and the de La Rouchefoucauld Bayers (paternal) to the kings of France (12 th Century). Nathalie was baptized in the home of Comte Quitry, godfather, with Princess Lamballe stnading proxy as godmother for Marie Antoinette, the Queen. The year 1790 marked the beginning of actual panic and fear throughout France. By September 1792, the terror broke into hysteria and turned the minds of men into raving wolves. The DeLages, together with thousands of other Frenchmen of all walks of life and society, became emigres. In the late fall of 1793, little Nathalie, at the earlyage of eleven, set sail for New Yorkfrom Bordeaus, accompanied byher governess, Mme. de Senat. They arrived in New York around the Christmas Season of 1793. Mme. de Senat was soon on the staff of L’Ecole Economeque on Anthony Street, now North Street off Broadway. After a tour of duty at L’Ecole as a French instructor, Mme. de Senat opened the DeSenat Seminary to which flocked the daughters of the Livingstons, Hamiltons, Schuylers, Bossards, Nichols, and Burrs, to name a few. Theodosia Burr, the lovely daughter of Aaron Burr, and Nathalie became fast friends. Theodosia’s persuasion upon her father soon brought about the adoption of Nathalie. In Dec 1799, with the French confirmation of the amended Constitution, Napoleon Bonaparte took command of France and endeared himself to the bourgeoise by swiftly restoring their fortunes, if not in property, in francs. Nathalie’s family fell heir to this kind gesture. Stephanie entreated her mother to make plans for Nathalie’s return to France. Mme. DeLage accordingly wrote to Senator Burr, paying the way for her departure. Meanwhile, she wrote a confidential letter to Nathalie, reminding her of her age and how she would be planning to reture home and settle for a young chevalier or count. Richmond Hill, on 2 Feb 1801, was the scene of the betrothal of Theodosia Burr to an aristocratic Southern planter by the name of Joseph Alston of Waccamaw Neck, Charleston, South Carolina. Colonel Burr thought, “I shall seek a Southern gentleman for Nathalie before Mme. DeLage opens the matrimonial gates.” Chancellor Robert R. Livingston, who had recently been appointed as Ambassador to France, was in quest of a secretary for the legation. He approached Burr for a nominee. WIthout hesitation, Senator Burr proposed committed to a South Carolina appointment. So that the appointment would be referred correctly, Livingston got in touch with President Jefferson, who wrote a friendly but official letter to General Sumter. History record that General Sumter put pressure on Thomas, Junior., for he was very ambitious for his ony son. The next step for Senator Burr was to engage transportation for Nathalie for her return to France. The Livingston party was scheduled to sail on 15 Oct 1801. Meanwhile, a large farewell reception was held for the departing Livingstons. Senator Burr and Nathalie were prominent guests. The matchmaker, Senator Burr, greeted Thomas Sumter, Junior., with great delight, and turned to Nathalie to extend an introduction. The spark was lighted in Thomas, thirty-three; and Nathalie, nineteen, had found in Thomas, Junior., her “father’s image”. For three months, Nathalie and Thomas battled with the DeLage familyand the Church to clear their intended marriage. Mm. DeLage and the D’Amblimonts raised every possible barrier, while Stephanie, her sister was more understanding. Mme. DeLage resurrected a formidable force against Sumter, calling him an old Republican, foreigner, etc. Republican to a Royalist of that day was like a red flag before a bull. The Church, family, red flag, foreigner, Southerner, and whatever was in the way, gave way to a Roman Catholic wedding. In the presence of a priest, Tallyrand, Robert Livingston, American Ambassador, Skipwith, American Notary, and a host of Royalty; Thomas and Nathalie became man and wife on 20 Mar 1802. Nathalie and Thomas’ homecoming was Christmas 1803. About two weeks before Christmas, the Sumter party arrived in Charleston to be met by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Alston, the beloved daughter of Aaron Burr, who was vice president of the United States. President Madison, out of his great regard for General Sumter, appointed Thomas Sumter, Junior., Minister Plenipotentiary to Portugal, whose government, because of the Napoleonic War, was exiled in Brazil. This appointment was dated 10 Mar 1809, shortly after the President’s inauguration. Thomas, Nathalie and their family boarded a Charleston packet in New York Harbor on 11 Mar, 1810, and after a voyage of eight-five days down the Atlantic, arrived in Rio de Janeiro on 4 Jun 1810. The Sumter family arrived back in the United States by anchoring at Church in the Carolinas until 1820 and not really established until 1829 with the coming of Dr. John England.The first Catholic Church in Sumter County was erected in 1836 and dedicated 1 June 1839. Nathalie received the news of Colonel Aaron Burr’s passing in Sep 1836 at “Home House.” Tisdale notes that, “Some spell her name Nathalie, but from her early years she spelled it Natalie.” This name was gotten from a letter from Jeannette Broadway Watts who did research on Thomas Sumter and family. Also, in a letter from Robin Langley, who is a Cantey researcher, we get the name as Natalie de Delage de Volude. [4, 8]

  
  

• Sources

  [S24783] Local DAR marks important milestone. [S32461] Marie antoinette’s godchild was member of Sumter family. [S32462] Marie Antoinette’s godchild was member of Sumter family, Part II. [S19] . [S90] . [S90] Page 51. [S8] Page 165. [S90] Page 45.