Jean B Jaunay | François M Jaunay | Louis B Jaunay | Frank C Jaunay | Robert JC Jaunay | Frank JC Jaunay

Frank Cunningham Jaunay 1851–1912

Escape to Paradise The story of Frank Cunningham Jaunay

On Monday, 8 January 1883, Frank married Mary Ellen Cawley, the daughter of Joseph and Mary Jane [nee Puttick] in a civil ceremony at the Hôtel de Ville, Reims. A service in the Protestant Temple followed the next morning.

The Cawleys had moved to London from Bridport in Dorset where several generations of the family had been carpenters. Mary's father had moved to London and had set up a partnership, Cawley, Brew and Company, Cabinetmakers and Upholsterers at 20 Finsbury Place. On his death, Mary's mother remarried Charles William Auguste Feige, a man associated with the Maison Brimont in Reims. Feige, a naturalised Englishman born in Germany, had first become associated with the Jaunays as their agent in the UK.

Following his marriage, Frank effectively took control of L Jaunay & Co from his father. With the death of Louis Brunet Jaunay in 1887, Frank found himself with a small but prosperous champagne company and little experience on how to operate the business and survive the highly competitive market. The great champagne houses like those of their cousins, the Krugs, were able to use resources beyond the local district to promote their product. It soon became evident that the tide had turned and that times in the industry were not going to be as generous as they had been to the smaller marques and especially those who were owner-growers or récoltants-manipulants. No doubt, Jules was writing glowing reports of Australia back to his brother and in the end, Frank decided to migrate to Australia too. It has been suggested that the threat of the phylloxera blight may have also helped in the decision!

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