The Reclus family includes the children and extended family of pastor Jacques Reclus (1796–1882) and teacher Zéline Reclus (1805–1887). The Reclus family's notoriety is primarily the result of Jacques and Zéline's five sons: Élie, Élisée, Paul, Armand, and Onésime.Gabrielle Cadier-Rey, « Les Reclus au féminin », Bulletin du Centre d’étude du protestantisme béarnais, no 40, 2006. pg.1 The family became known for their distinctive careers in geography, anarchism, journalism, medicine, and other fields during the 19th and 20th centuries.
The Reclus family originated in Le Fleix, a village 5 km from Sainte-Foy-la-Grande.Provain, D. (2009). Zéline Reclus, 1802-1887: mère courage du XIXe siècle aux idées fortes. Revue historique de Bordeaux et du département de la Gironde, 15(1). pp.111-112 The family included landowners, coopers, and educated persons.Provain, D. (2009). Zéline Reclus, 1802-1887: mère courage du XIXe siècle aux idées fortes. Revue historique de Bordeaux et du département de la Gironde, 15(1). p.112 The family was part of France's Protestant minority.Fleming, Marie (1988). The Geography of Freedom: The Odyssey of Élisée Reclus. Montréal: Black Rose Books. p.27
Jacques Reclus Jacques Reclus was the son of Jeanne Virolle (1767–1819) and Jean Reclus (1760–1848). Jacques was a pastor in Montcaret and taught at Sainte-Foy-La-Grande's Protestant college.Fleming, Marie (1988). The Geography of Freedom: The Odyssey of Élisée Reclus. Montréal: Black Rose Books. p.27 Resigning from the national church, Jacques led a group of "dissident peasants" in creating an independent church in Orthez.Cadier-Rey, G. (2013). Le pasteur Jacques Reclus (1796-1882) en quelques lettres. Bulletin de La Société de l’Histoire Du Protestantisme Français (1903-2015), 159, 199–200. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24310053Tucoo-Chala, S. (1996). The Evangelist Pierre Laclau (1808-1896): Life and Functioning of the Independent Church of Orthez (1831-1897). Bulletin of the Society of the History of French Protestantism (1903-), 685-698.
Zéline Reclus Zéline Reclus was born in La Roche-Chalais on January 25, 1805.Provain, D. (2009). Zéline Reclus, 1802-1887: mère courage du XIXe siècle aux idées fortes. Revue historique de Bordeaux et du département de la Gironde, 15(1). p.111 Zéline was the daughter of Pierre Pascal Trigant de la Faniouse (1775–1840) and Rosalie Gast (1784–1871).Provain, D. (2009). Zéline Reclus, 1802-1887: mère courage du XIXe siècle aux idées fortes. Revue historique de Bordeaux et du département de la Gironde, 15(1). p.111 She married Jacques Reclus at the age of 19.Provain, D. (2009). Zéline Reclus, 1802-1887: mère courage du XIXe siècle aux idées fortes. Revue historique de Bordeaux et du département de la Gironde, 15(1). p.111 In 1834, Zéline opened a school in Orthez.Provain, D. (2009). Zéline Reclus, 1802-1887: mère courage du XIXe siècle aux idées fortes. Revue historique de Bordeaux et du département de la Gironde, 15(1). p.113
Zéline earned a qualification as a boarding mistress (Maîtresse de Pension).Cadier-Rey, G. (1996). Les Protestants, Orthez et l'enseignement: de la loi Guizot aux lois Ferry. Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire du Protestantisme Français (1903-). p.744. She was praised as a "zealous" and "highly educated" teacher.Cadier-Rey, G. (1996). Les Protestants, Orthez et l'enseignement: de la loi Guizot aux lois Ferry. Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire du Protestantisme Français (1903-). p.744. A local, Francis Jammes, wrote that "every student left [the school] singularly distinguished in manners, whatever class they came from".Cadier-Rey, G. (1996). Les Protestants, Orthez et l'enseignement: de la loi Guizot aux lois Ferry. Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire du Protestantisme Français (1903-). p.745. She taught at the school until 1886.Cadier-Rey, G. (1996). Les Protestants, Orthez et l'enseignement: de la loi Guizot aux lois Ferry. Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire du Protestantisme Français (1903-). p.746.
The Five Reclus Brothers During their childhoods, the Reclus family was then based in Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, in the Gironde region of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine department in Southwestern France.Fleming, Marie (1988). The Geography of Freedom: The Odyssey of Élisée Reclus. Montréal: Black Rose Books. p.12 Of the siblings, Élie and Élisée were particularly close and influenced their brothers and sisters.Gabrielle Cadier-Rey, « Les Reclus au féminin », Bulletin du Centre d’étude du protestantisme béarnais, no 40, 2006. pg.13 Élisée and Élie contributed to early feminist activity in France as part of a milieu of anarchist geographers and militant feminists that developed in the 19th Century.Ferretti, F. (2016). Anarchist geographers and feminism in late 19th century France: The contributions of Elisée and Elie reclus. Historical geography, 44, 68-88.
Élie Reclus (1827–1904) Élie was an anarchist and ethnographer, and the eldest of the five brothers. He wrote on a wide variety of cultural and political topics, including in opposition to circumcision.Revue internationale des sciences (Tome III, 1879, Paris) He supported work to improve women's educational opportunities.McMillan, James F. (8 January 2002). France and Women, 1789-1914: Gender, Society and Politics. Routledge. p. 130 His son Paul produced anarchist propaganda and married the anarchist militant Marguerite Wapler.
Élisée Reclus (1830–1905) Élisée was a geographer, writer, and anarchist. He was responsible for producing the 19-volume La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes. He initiated of the Anti-Marriage Movement.McPhee, Peter (2004). A Social History of France 1780-1914 (Second ed.). Palgrave Macmillan. p. 195. He collaborated with anarchist contemporaries Errico Malatesta, Luigi Galleani, Mikhail Bakunin, and Peter Kropotkin.Senta, Antonio (2019). Luigi Galleani: The Most Dangerous Anarchist in America. Translated by Asali, Andrea; Sayers, Sean. AK Press. p.36-37Peter Kropotkin (1913). "The Coming War". The Nineteenth Century: A monthly Review. He was a supporter of the Paris Commune.Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Reclus, Jean Jacques Elisée". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 22 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 957–958 Later in life he was the chair of comparative geography at the Free University of Brussels. He was a noted advocate for vegetarianism.
Onésime Reclus (1837–1916) Onésime was a geographer, with a particular interest in the relationship between France and its colonies. He wrote widely on geography and culture, and contributed to the journal Tour du monde.Les parlementaires de la Seine sous la Troisième République, by Jean Marie Mayeur, Arlette Schweitz He coined the term "Francophone".Lawrence D. Kritzman, Brian J. Reilly, M. B. DeBevoise, The Columbia History Of Twentieth-Century French Thought by
Armand Reclus (1843–1927) Armand was a geographer and French naval engineer. Armand took part in French colonial campaigns in the China Seas, Japan, and Indochina.Brun, Christophe; Ferretti, Federico (April 2015). Elisée Reclus, une chronologie familiale : sa vie, ses voyages, ses écrits, ses ascendants, ses collatéraux, les descendants, leurs écrits, sa postérité, 1796–2015 (in French) (2nd ed.). p.41 He explored the Darién Province, and contributed to the development of the Panama Canal by proposing its route. At the end of his life, the President of the Republic made him an Officer of the Legion of Honor. His politics contrasted with his brothers' anarchism.Hélène Sarrazin. 1985. Élisée Reclus ou la passion du monde. Paris. He was a friend of Lucien Napoléon Bonaparte-Wyse.
Paul Reclus (1847–1914) Paul was a surgeon. He researched local anesthetics, and "Reclus' disease" (fibrocystic breast changes) is named for him.Neural Blockade in Clinical Anesthesia and Management of Pain, Issue 494 by Michael J. Cousins, Phillip O. Bridenbaugh
The Six Reclus Sisters The six daughters of Jacques and Zéline Reclus who reached adulthood were well educated and became tutors in English or German families, or worked in the school that their mother ran. Reflecting the times that they lived in, they did not receive the same fame as their brothers, although several of the sisters assisted their brothers in their personal or professional lives. The sisters especially admired Élisée; on one occasion, Noémi wrote to her friend "You know that great joy that is coming to us, a visit from Élisée! The wretch stayed twenty-four hours at most, visits and sleeping stole many of these precious moments from us".Lucien Carrive, « Lettres écrites par les filles du pasteur Jacques Reclus à Zoé Tuyès (Steeg), 1856-1863 », Bulletin de la Société d’histoire du protestantisme français, octobre-décembre 1997, p. 715-716
The six sisters were: Loïs Reclus (1832–1917) Marie Reclus (1834–1918) Zéline Reclus (1836–1911) Louise Reclus (1839–1917) Noémi Reclus (1841–1915) Ioana (or Johanna) Reclus (1845–1937)
Family Tree Jean-Louis Reclus (1760–1848) and his wife Jeanne Virolle (1767–1819) Jacques Reclus (1796–1882), pastor Élie Reclus (1827–1904), ethnographer and anarchist. Husband of Noémi Reclus. André Reclus (1861 – 1936), a farmer in Morocco and Algeria Paul Reclus (1858–1941), engineer, teacher, and anarchist Jacques Reclus (1894–1984), Chinese-French translator and anarchist Élisée Reclus (1830–1905), geographer and anarchist Marguerite Reclus (1860–1953) Jeanne Reclus (1863–1897) Loïs Reclus (1832–1917) Marie Reclus (1834–1918) Zéline Reclus (1836–1911) Jean-Louis Faure (1863–1944) Élie Faure (1873–1937) Onésime Reclus (1837–1916), geographer Maurice Reclus (1883–1972), historian Louise Reclus (1839–1917) Noémi Reclus (1841–1915) Armand Reclus (1843–1927), geographer Ioana (Johanna) Reclus (1845–1937) Élisée Bouny (1872–1900) François Bouny (1885–1965) Paul Reclus (1847–1914), surgeon Jean Reclus (1794–1859) and his wife Jeanne Ducos. Pauline Kergomard (1838–1925), educator Noémi Reclus (1828–1905), educator and wife of Élie Reclus. André Reclus (1861–1936), a farmer in Morocco and Algeria Paul Reclus (1858–1941), engineer, teacher, and anarchist Jacques Reclus (1894–1984), Chinese-French translator and anarchist
Bibliography Les Amis de Sainte-Foy et sa région Hélène Sarrazin (prés.), Scènes d'une pauvre vie par le pasteur Jacques Reclus, 1992, cahier 1, p. 13-27, link. Pr Félix Lejars, Éloge de Paul Reclus lu à la Société de chirurgie de Paris le 22 janvier 1919, reproduit en 1992, cahier 2, p. 25-35, link. Jean-Pierre Faure (fils d’Élie Faure), Recherches sur l'esthétique d'Élie Faure, 1992, cahier 2, p. 40-45, link. Alain Leduc, Henry Miller, lecteur d'Élie Faure, n° 63, 1993, p. 38-44, link. Marie-Madeleine Guesnon, Famille Reclus, n° 69, 1996, p. 19-31, link. Danièle Provain, Note sur Élisée Reclus, n° 69, 1996, p. 32-35, link. Roger Gonot, Faisons connaissance avec Onésime Reclus, n° 70, 1997, p. 33-53, link. Roger Gonot, Physionomies : Élie Reclus (1827-1904), Élisée Reclus (1830-1905), Onésime Reclus (1843-1916), n° 73, 1998, p. 4-19, link. Jean Suret-Canale, Élisée Reclus et le darwinisme, n° 73, 1998, p. 20-21, link. Pierre Lamothe, Le maroquin rouge [Notes sur la fratrie Reclus par leur oncle Pierre Léonce Chaucherie], n° 73, 1998, p. 22-32, link. Henri Besson-Imbert, Notes de lectures [sur Pauline Kergomard par Geneviève et Alain Kergomard], n° 79, 2002, p. 63-65, link. Danièle Provain, Pourquoi sommes-nous reclusiens ?, n° 84, 2004, p. 5-7, link. Henri Besson-Imbert, Arbre de descendance d’Élie Reclus, n° 84, 2004, p. 2-4, link. Andrée Despy-Meyer, Élie Reclus, un ethnologue et un mythologue méconnu, n° 84, 2004, p. 8-20, link. Élie et Élisée Reclus, Unions libres , n° 84, 2004, p. 21-37, link. Danièle Provain, Notre ami Roger Gonot [et les Reclus], n° 84, 2004, p. 38-40, link. Henri Besson-Imbert, Arbre d’ascendance et de descendance d’Élie Reclus, n° 85, 2005, p. 3-8, link.