The Study of Family Archives

The former Abbey of Preuilly is now a private property, which the Husson family has successfully preserved for nearly 200 years, despite wars and difficult times.

The first purchaser of Preuilly, in 1829, was Dr. Henri-Marie Husson, a physician at the Hôtel-Dieu and a pioneer in the introduction of vaccination in France.

Together with his wife, Zoé Odiot (daughter of the Parisian goldsmith), he had a son, Georges, who, in turn, dedicated himself to reassembling the Cistercian estate, acquiring the last scattered parcels of land after the Revolution. This was finally accomplished in 1866, a date that is inscribed on the pediment of the entrance to the Tourelles of Preuilly.

Georges passed the estate on to his son Léon, an organist and composer, to whom Preuilly owes the privilege of having hosted many of his musician friends, including : Ernest Chausson, Claude Debussy, Pierre de Bréville, Gabriel Fauré, César Franck, Vincent d’Indy, Camille Saint-Saëns, Charles Widor, Édouard Lalo, Jules Massenet, Jules Pasdeloup…

Chantal Fouché-Husson, Honorary Lecturer at the Sorbonne and a 6th-generation member of the family, born in Preuilly, has worked to reconstruct the lives of these “Three Men in Their Century.”

Upcoming Publication : Léon Husson, the Composer (1851-1905)