Jules Edouard Fontaine: A Diplomatic Legacy in Texas and Beyond (1798–1871)
By: Nancy N. Barker
Published: 1976
Updated: December 1, 1994
Jules Edouard Fontaine, Viscount de Cramayel, was the fourth of seven children born to Jean François Fontaine, Marquis de Cramayel, and Marie Josephine de Folard. He was born in 1798 in France and entered on a diplomatic career in 1818. He held successively the post of secretary of the legations at Stockholm, Madrid, Vienna, Hanover, Lisbon, and Naples. As chargé d'affaires ad interim to Texas from January 1843 to January 1844 he reported frequently on what he believed to be the fraudulent practices of Henri Castro in bringing French emigrants to Texas, and he urged the French foreign minister to take steps to prevent further recruitment of colonists in France. Plagued by ill health, appalled at frontier conditions, and concerned over the revival of the question of annexation, he nonetheless fulfilled his duties and compiled massive and detailed memoranda on the civil administration and military and naval organization of the Republic of Texas. Although commended by the foreign minister when he left Texas, he remained without further assignment until 1848, when he traveled as minister plenipotentiary to Copenhagen. In 1849 he became an officer in the Legion of Honor. He died a bachelor in Paris in 1871.
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The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Nancy N. Barker, “Cramayel, Jules Edouard de,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/cramayel-jules-edouard-de.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FCR02
- 1976
- December 1, 1994
