Le marquis de la Tour Maubourg

Just Charles César de Fay, count of La Tour Maubourg, was born in 1763 at La Motte (Drôme) and died in 1846.
Colonel of cavalry, knight of Saint-Louis, knight of Malta, officer of the Honour Legion, he marries Anastasie, General La Fayette’s elder daughter, in 1798.
He becomes mayor of La Chapelle-Rablais in 1830 and owns the hunting castle until 1846.

Eléonore Vergeot

Eléonore Vergeot is born in Estouilly, small town close to Ham on September 3rd of 1820. In January 1841 Eléonore works in the common services of the prison-castle of Ham where some famous prisoners were incarcerated. One of them was prince Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte (Napoléon III to be) convicted to prison for life. Eléonore was assigned to the meal service and then to the laundry of the prince of whom she became the mistress.
On the 25th of February 1843 Eléonore gave birth to Alexandre Louis Eugène. On March 18th 1846 she gave birth to a second son Césarion Alexandre. The liaison lasted until May 1846, date of when the prince escaped of the prison of Ham to take refuge in England.
The prince payed a compensation and entrusted Eléonore to his brother Pierre Bure.
Pierre Bure and Eléonore Vergeot got married in 1857. The prince who has in the meantime become the Emperor Napoléon III granted Eléonore with an important dowry. Pierre Bure became general treasurer of the Crown.  Thanks to their resources the couple bought the castle des Moyeux.
In 1870 after the defeat of Sedan Eléonore and Pierre are forced to leave the castle and settled down in Paris. After the death of Pierre Bure in 1882 Eléonore retired to Vesinet where she dies on the 4th of August, 1886.

François Hubert and Jean Hubert Debrousse

Hubert Debrousse purchased the Château des Moyeux on July 13th, 1872.

Hubert Debrousse was a wealthy public works contractor.  His son Jean Hubert was born during his second marriage.

The Debrousse family left a colossal fortune at their death, with bequests and endowments estimated at over 100 million euros.  Among these were donations which allowed for the construction of the Debrousse Hospital in 1892 and the creation of the Debrousse Foundation, which partially financed Pierre and Marie Curie’s research.

When Jean Hubert Debrousse died in 1899, he left his fortune to the Paris Public Assistance hospitals.  His bequest included the Moyeux 896-hectare estate.  The Château des Moyeux was sold on July 31st, 1900, to M. and Mrs Rigaud, the famous perfume family.

Esther Rigaud

The history of this perfumer family starts in 1852 when J.B.F. Rigaud  jostles the fragrance world through creating perfume which were unknown until then. Thus the house RIGAUD develops luxurious perfumes and is at the beginning of the 20th century part of the most respected perfumers. In 1950, the company invents the scented candle. Today the candles Rigaud still exist but no more the perfumes.
The introduction of Madam Esther Rigaud at the Moyeux begins in 1900. She steadily improved and modernised her property while furnishing the castle with refinement: antique furniture, porcelain of Sèvres, porcelain of China, of Japan or Delft, bronze and crystal lusters, carpets and upholstery of Aubusson etc.
Even if considered as a cottage, the castle can be inhabited the whole year: central heating, hot water, electricity, telephone network, farm and outbuildings, filtered water under pressure, garden, ice crasher machine, 13 master rooms, 3 bathrooms, wintergarden, greenhouses etc.
With Esther Rigaud the domain is at its apogee :
- 25 hectares of French park, vegetable gardens, greenhouses, orangery
- stud farm
- sample farm of 450 hectares
- varied woods of 400 hectares
- pond
As a whole of approximate 1000 hectares, the domain will be sold at the death of Esther Rigaud in 1920.