Villien Family Origins & Migration 
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Flag of Savoy
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Savoy - 1003
Rudolph III, King of Burgundy, officially installed rulers in 1003. The House of Savoy maintained
independence as Counts of Savoy, which Savoy a County.
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House of Savoy: 1032-18604
The House of Savoy ruled over the area for nearly 900 years whatever the
status of the region; county, duchy, or part of a kindgom.
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Flag of Ducal Savoy
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Duchy of Savoy - 1416
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor, made the County of Savoy an independent
Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1720.
Duchy of Savoy became the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia. Savoy was largely absorbed into France in 1860, as part of the political
agreement with Napoleon III that brought about the unification of Italy.
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Flag of the House of Savoy
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Kingdom of Sardinia - 1714
In 1714 Savoy was linked with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which included Piedmont in
north-western Italy.
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Flag of Modern Louisiana
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Maurice Villien - 1831
By all accounts found to date, Maurice Villien was born in Savoy. Usually his birth si shown as
in Haute-Savoie, France. At the time of his birth, Savoy was part of the Kingdom of Sardinia, not
France. Probably it is convenient to refer to Savoy as France as it was absorbed in 1860. By then,
Maurice Villien was living in Attakappas ... Vermillion Parish, Louisiana today.
Maurice Villien is listed in the US Census enumeration sheets from 1860 forward. A very brief bio
at LAGenWeb, about two sentences, says he came to New Orleans as a young man, purchased land and
established a plantation in the area of Vermillion Parish. Eventually, his store became a settlement
and finally a town incorporated in 1911 as Maurice, Louisiana, situated between the cities of
Lafayette and Abbeville. Louisiana land records show his purchase.
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Flags of Royalist & Modern France
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Savoy Annexed by France - 1860
Savoy was annexed by France on March 24, 1860 according to the provisions of the Treaty of Turin.
The treaty was followed on April 22/23 by a plebiscite in which voters were offered the option of
approving the treaty and joining France or rejecting the treaty; the disallowed options of either
joining Switzerland (with which the region had close ties), remaining with Italy, or regaining its
independence, were the source of some opposition. With a 99.8% vote in favor of joining France,
there were allegations of vote-rigging.
Haute-Savoie (English: "Upper Savoy") is a French department, named for its location in the
Alps mountain range. [Wikipedia]
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Heraldic Arms
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Left = Haute-Savoie
Center = House of Savoy
Victor Emmanuel II
Duke of Savoy & First King of Italy
Right = Kingdom of Sardinia
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Name Origin & Heraldic Arms
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Extensive searching yields the fact that there are no Villien arms. In fact, there is scant
record of anyone surnamed Villien anywhere. The earliest found use of villien as a surname
is Jacques VILLIEN, né vers 1610, Montgirod-Centron,73600,Savoie,Tarentaise,FRANCE,
décédé avant 1665, Montgirod-Centron,73600,Savoie,Tarentaise,FRANCE.
Villien is not a word in the French language but 'villein' is. villein
(redirected from Villien) villein (vil`?n) [O.Fr.,=village dweller], peasant under the manorial
system manorial system (m?nôr`e?l, man–) or seignorial system.
There are a great many people named Villein. The name Villein is like numerous other surnames
derived from life situations and occupations: Carpenter, Shoemaker, Farmer, Smith are a few that
come to mind. Perhaps Villien is simply a spelling variation of villein. There are some Villien
surname families in Canada but the name is primarily found in Vermillion Parish, Louisiana.
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