Gervais  DU TREMBLAY, SIEUR DE GAILLON

Not proven

Born Chesnay, Orne, Normandie, France

Gervais, a blacksmith; built a forge on lands adjoining the Trappist monastery in Tourouvre, Perche, France. His descendants continued in this occupation in some lines for several generations. See Les Tremblay, by Patrick Chevassu, for the history of this area and family, with extracts of various documents. He died circa 1486-90. His wife's name is unknown.

Translated from French:

With the exit of the one hundred year old war, in 1475 (4), Gervais of Tremblay, the son of Gilles of Tremblay, undertakes to benefit from Avre which runs on its grounds and of the ponds that one can there arrange. One sees it building a lock and increasing the pond of the Arc, at a place close to Randonay called Gaillon. It does not hope undoubtedly to make the gathering of gold nuggets, in spite owing to the fact that by its name the small river On the other hand gives itself the claim to be gold bearing (5) the forging mills and furnaces of this time were established close to an artificial pond or a level finished by a dam; this roadway included a outfall with valve and water was brought on the pallets of the wheels of the mill by wood conduits. The forest, it, provided fuel necessary and constituted an important natural basin, source of many rivers. As, it is on their banks as the first industrial forging mills of the Pole were built. Therefore, concerned of more positive results, it took the party to build, there even, a forging mill, company dedicated in advance to a secular activity. It was necessary for him however to wait twelve years before obtaining from the monks of the Trap door the official permission for this forging mill on the stronghold of Chesnay. In 1486, Gervais of Tremblay took with lease a part of pre "now covered by water with the forging mill" (6). The Abbey brought a lawsuit to him, to have built the roadway of the pond without its leave. An agreement was reached, at the end which Gervais of Tremblay was committed pouring twenty pennies tournaments of revenue and twenty ecus of gold "for God and in alms and to help to build the church of the place of the Trap door" (7). The forging mills of the fifteenth century represented a degree of notable industrial merger. Only, of important landowners or commercial rich person could join together the capital necessary to their creation. The Trap door had a forging mill, just as the lords of Vetrouze and Tourouve. In 1488, Robert Boutherays and Simon Daugé, middle-class men of Verneuil, joined to build the mill of Hays.