HOZIER, Pierre d', SEIGNEUR DE LA GARDE, French genealogist : b. Marseilles, 10 July 1592; d. Paris, 1 Dec. 1660. He acquired a prodigious knowledge of the histories of principal families and of heraldry, and in 1616 began genealog ical researches. In 1628 the king honored him with the Order of Saint Michel and pensioned hint in the following year. He soon rose to the position of royal histographer and genealo gist of France (1634); and in 1641, juge d'armes of the kingdom. For several years thereafter he was occupied in tracing the de scent of the pages of the king's household. In 1654 he was made Councillor of State. His principal work was in the collection of docu ments, but he published a number of works also, including 'Receuil armorial des anciennes mai sons de Bretagne' (1638) ; 'Les noms, surnoms.
qualitez acmes et blasons des chevaliers et of ficers de l'ordre du Saint-Esprit' (1634) ; and the genealogies of the houses of La Roche foucauld (1654); Bournonville (1657) ; and Amanze (1659). His genealogies of the prin
cipal families of France which comprised the collection numbered about 150. After his death, they were deposited in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Two sons survived: Louis ROGER, b. 1634; d. 1708. He succeeded his father as juge d'armes, but became blind in 1675 and the office fell to the younger brother, CHARLES RENE D', b. 1640; d. 1732. He made a splendid collection of armorial bearings, which was the foundation of the Armorial General de France. His collection is in the Bibliotheque Nationale, and comprises 34 volumes of text and 35 of colored armorial bearings. The entries number some 60,000. His nephew, LOUIS PIERRE, be came his heir and also succeeded to the office of juge d'armes. He published an unofficial 'Armorial general, ou registre de la noblesse de France' (1738-68). Other descendants of the family continued in similar work. AM BROSE LOUIS MARIE (b. 1764; d. 1846) was the last juge d'armes of France.