It all started for me back in June 2001 when I married my present wife Eve, née Stride, her husband Stephen Stride had died of Leukaemia some years before. Months later I’m sitting at a family gathering between 2 sisters, one, my wife’s late 1st mother-in-law, Yolande Stride née Cadoux and her younger sister Rosemary Cadoux, both in their 70’s early 80’s. In conversation with Yola I happened to mention feeling a bit of an outsider as I didn’t think I was part of the family!, Yola turned to look with a surprised expression and exclaimed “but you are part of the family!” which shut me up, and so ever since then I’ve become more and more interested in their remarkable family’s ancestry.

I knew before marrying Eve that her husband Stephen had done quite a lot of his genealogy and that somewhere in the past was a Count, and that there had been something of a disaster in 1922 when they had to flee their burning house at Turkey. Eve did show me a picture years ago of silhouetted figures with a burning house in the background but it seems to have been mislaid since, so still looking!

However all this didn’t mean very much to me at the time. Likewise back in 1972 whilst serving with the Royal Navy we passed up the Turkish coast visiting such places as Antalya, Bodrum, Izmir and Istanbul, with a Nato fleet of 4 ships, (HMS Jaguar, USS Barry, TS Berk and the Italian ship Carabinieri). Stopping off at Bodrum [archive views] in 1972, I remember it was a small village with some quaint shops for the local tourists and after a walk around the sandy bay encountered the building of quite a large Turkish Gület (about 15m long by about 4-5m high), all being built by hand on the beach, adzes used to carve the ribs I was pretty fascinated, it all seemed like something from way back in the past! Then Izmir; Well I can honestly say I knew nothing about its history then except that the Turkish Navy took us on a trip to Ephesus, which I’d vaguely heard about, there was nobody there then or nor barriers/ropes/guides etc. which was very different when we once again visited in June 2012, we also visited Izmir and that seems to have changed even more!

HMS Jaguar, the Nato Fleet at Izmir 1972

Through Izmir by Turkish Naval coach to Ephesus

Anyway back to the family. I’m not sure what it was, a few years ago I think I was just getting bored with my own family history, (Scottish and Welsh ancestry) and looking around for something else to do, so decided to look into the Strides, Cadouxs and de Hochepieds, and initially found it quite difficult until I realised what had happened in 1922 in Smyrna, so not much documentation still existed.

I won’t explain about the family trees for they can be seen here (Cadoux tree - De Hochepied tree) and are probably well documented elsewhere, but I shall explain about the link between the two families, Bernard Cadoux and Marguerite de Hochepied and their immediate families.

So let me first explain about the Cadoux family. Yola and Rosemary (born in Croydon, London, UK) as I mentioned earlier are the only children of Bernard Temple Cadoux and Marguerite Marie Elise Natalie de Hochepied. Once I started to explore their family genealogies I became fascinated.

Bernard Temple Cadoux was the 11th child of William Henry Cadoux and Emma Temple, he was well educated, good with figures, spoke English and certainly French, and possibly other languages such as Arabic or Turkish, he was not in the least religious unlike his elder brother Cecil and he liked a drink and unfortunately he was a heavy smoker, which was probably his downfall. On leaving high school Bernard followed in his father and elder brothers (Herbert William Cadoux) footsteps by joining MacAndrews and Forbes importers of Liquorice in 1904, obviously influenced by his father who was for a time manager of the branch at Smyrna in 1863. He started as a junior clerk but this was quickly interrupted by the 1st world war when he was drafted into the army as a Sergeant with the 17th Battalion of the Fusiliers before gaining a commission as Captain with the 17th Battalion of the South Wales Borderers and serving with distinction in Salonika. He was mentioned in despatches 3 times before finally being awarded the military OBE in 1919 and Greek Order of the Redeemer (Chevalier) as he was leaving the army as a Lieutenant to return to his career with MacAndrews and Forbes in New York but based in London. From then on his passport documents him travelling all over the Levant, see some of his pictures of his travels around the Tigris and Euphrates here. He also has residences in Aleppo in Syria, Cavalla in Greece, Smyrna and Istanbul, though Bernard concentrated on the Smyrna area. His elder brother Herbert however, also documented to have been in the Levant, visited South Africa as shown by the pictures here taken near Salisbury (now Harare in Zimbabwe) before then travelling to Georgia in Russia where he suffered a stroke and died at the early age of 35.

Further information on the MacAndrews and Forbes Company:

The probable former residence of Bernard Cadoux in Karsiyaka.

De Hochepied Residence Seydiköy

Bernard, whilst in Smyrna working for the company about 1919 is beginning to become something of personality, he has a house in Boudja and presumably whilst accepting the well-known hospitality of Count Edmond de Hochepied, Dutch Consul at Smyrna at their magnificent old residence in Sevdikuey (now part of Gaziemir) meets the young Countess Marguerite Marie Elise Natalie de Hochepied and they decide to get married with the Counts blessing on 5th Feb 1921 in the Church of St John the Evangelist a protestant church even though the de Hochepieds were a Catholic Family. Bernard, a busy man, whisks his wife away to London where Yolande Bernadette Marie Cadoux is born in March 1922 then across to New York with the family in July of the same year and back again to London only to hear that all has disappeared in Smyrna in the great fire of September 1922.

After the loss of the company offices in Smyrna the head office for the Levant is moved to London where Bernard now bases himself and is eventually promoted to Principal Director of the Company. He buys land in Croydon near London and builds himself another house where his next daughter Rosemary Marie is born in 1928, Marguerite now, obviously has had enough of travelling all over the world now with two small children and a nurse to look after, and so there they stay, through the 2nd World War, Eldest daughter Yola meets and marries Clifford Stride and they go off to Devon and eventually have 6 children (one of which is Stephen, my wife’s 1st husband) Bernard meantime, retires through ill health from the company around 1954 and finds it difficult to put on the pipe and slippers. He spends his time doing a spot of woodwork and watching cricket in the field behind the house but sadly dies in Aug 1956 - obituary.

I am guessing here but the Cadoux family headed by father William Henry and Emma also lived in Smyrna at least from 1867 until 1883 where 8 of their children were born, at least 3 of the girls died early and are remembered in the churchyard there. It may be that Bernard took over this house later when he had business in Smyrna but unlike the rest of his siblings, he was not born there, but in Croydon, London.

A brief mention of Bernards brother Cecil here as promised earlier might I think be in order. Dr Cecil John Cadoux was born in May 1883 in Boudja and was a renowned theologist who wrote many books and some of his work can be found elsewhere on this site (Ancient Smyrna). He mentions in one of his books visiting Izmir in the 1930’s I think, with a friend to search out old religious sites and visit his birthplace once again. He remarks on vising his sister-in-law the Countess Elisabeth Marie Corinne de Hochepied who was still living there at the time and who had suffered badly from polio as a child, more on her later. Dr Cadoux finally dies in August 1947 leaving a wife Elisabeth and 4 children.

Now to the de Hochepied family; as I said earlier the tree can be seen here but maybe a brief outline is relevant.

Way back in 1550 before the borders of countries were truly distinct and it would be difficult to truly define a person’s nationality, one Nicolas de Hochepied, a merchant, travelled to Amsterdam from Antwerp by way of Prussia and set up business as a merchant. After some time and generations and the accumulation of some wealth, the family presumably becoming fairly influential, Daniel Jean de Hochepied, born 1657 in Amsterdam, travels to Turkey as merchant farmer and Consul of the Nederlands in Smyrna. He marries Clara Catharina Colyear in 1679 in Constantinople, who is described elsewhere as the original ‘Madama’ speaking 8 languages and is consulted for her opinions by many. Then, it is not clear why, some say something to do with slaves, but Daniel is created Baron by Leopold 1st Emperor of Germany and Hungary in 1704. He purchases a house in Seydiköy from the previous Consul and the Smyrna dynasty starts.

Baron Daniel’s son Daniel Alexandre de Hochepied then takes over the reins and is created Count for his trouble in 1741 by Marie Thérèse Empress of Germany and Queen of Hungary. Now a succession of descendants, each running the family businesses of local farms and consuls in Smyrna and Constantinople follow until Count Edmond Jaques Paul de Hochepied, born 1867 in Seydiköy. Count Edmond marries Marie Francoise Octavie Wissing in 1890 and has 5 children. Daniel Jacques Edmond born 1891, Marguerite Marie Elise Natalie born 1892, Elisabeth Marie Corinne born 1893, Wilhemina Marie born 1897 and Jaques Edmund born 1903.

Count Edmond Jaques Paul de Hochepied

Count Danielle Jacques Edmond de Hochepied

Countess’s Margeurite, Mother Marie and Wilhemina de Hochepied

Henrietta Giraud and Count Jacques Edmund de Hochepied

Count Edmond and his family will now be the last of his line to live at the old Seydiköy residence, as the place and contents are destroyed in 1922 along with the rest of Smyrna. Count Edmond ends his days in 1929 in a house in Buca. The rest of the family marry and move away Countess Elisabeth (aka Lison) is the only one to stay for some time in Buca, but then succumbs and moves to stay with her sister and family in the Maison Lafitte, Paris. Her sister the Countess Wilhemina (aka Vimmy), now Madame Jaques Cord’homme with her 2 sons Monet and Pierre, are soon tired. Lison by all accounts is very difficult to live with, so Lison moves to her other sister Marguerite in London. Still crotchety and refusing to speak anything but French, she once again outstays her welcome and moves to Marguerites daughter and son-in-law, Clifford and Yola Stride in Devon. Finally Lison ends her days after a succession of homes at an old people’s residence in Hemyock, Devon where she dies in 1982.

Danielle de Hochepied now Count, assumes the consularship in Istanbul, has a son Wilhelm who is by all accounts a bit slow, then retires to Germany with his 3rd partner Ruth Gretzler. Count Danielle passes away in 1972 and his ashes are sent to Istanbul where they are interred in a large monument at the quadrant of the Guardian Angels, at the Fériköy Catholic cemetery.

Marguerite de Hochepied as I’ve already mentioned marries Bernard Cadoux and sees out her days in Croydon, London where she dies in May 1979.

Jaques Edmond de Hochepied marries Henrietta Giraud, travels to Sumatra, presumably looking to make his fortune elsewhere, and where their daughter Jaqueline is born in about 1929. In old age Jaques and Hetty move to the Cote D’Azur then to live out their days with daughter Jill in Caspar Fagellaan, Heemstede, Holland. Jaques complains of a bad heart and his wife has lost her memory, probably suffering from dementia.

Wilhelm, Count Danielles son becomes Count on the death of his father in 1972, however he never marries and dies at an early age and thus the end of the line of Counts de Hochepied. The Counts family only exists now along the female lines with many name changes, i.e. my step family has the name Stride.

One of the sources of information in tying up the whole family story is a personal letter by one of the parents (Count Edmond de Hochepied & Marie Wissing) of Marguerite Cadoux, nee de Hochepied, visible here: - Further images of the de Hochepied family of their former home in Seidikeuy and images of the fire of Smyrna:

 Note: Mr Kidd continues his research on his family past and will welcome contact from other descendants who could help through wallisleakidd[at]gmail.com