 | ||
Tauxe is a surname of French Swiss origin, with perhaps 40 or so individuals extant (in the United States) still bearing it. Many more Tauxes exist in the environs of Lausanne, Switzerland. It originated as a yeoman line in the 15th century, probably deriving its move to the bourgeousie from involvement in revenue operations ('taux' is French for 'tax' or 'tell' as in 'bank teller').
Contents
The US Tauxes trace their American roots to the family of Tauxes that moved from Switzerland to East Tennessee around 1886. They have not been able to establish links to the Tauxes that still inhabit Switzerland.
Pronunciation
"Tauxe" is pronounced to rhyme with 'oaks'- the terminal 'e' is silent.
French Family Motto
Des flots me ris, jamais ne plie, à Dieu me fie. Translation: I laugh at floods, I never bow, I trust in God.
History
Originating in the Canton Vaud of Switzerland, near the town of Lausanne, during a famine in the late 1800s a group of Tauxes broke off from their Swiss relatives and started a new life in America. They settled in East Tennessee as part of a Swiss colony of Calvinists known as 'The Brotherhood,' but this association withered after a generation or two, as younger Tauxes embraced free will and clothing in colours other than black. From there they spread throughout the United States, maintaining good contact with each other. There are approximately two dozen Tauxes active in the United States today. Adult Tauxes of the blood seem predisposed to science, music, medicine, cross-cultural exploration, and academia in general.
Arms
The arms of the Tauxe family are, in French, coupé d'azur à l'aigle d'or, et d'or à trois étoiles d'azur, or in translation, per fess on a field azure above, an eagle or displayed; on a field or below, three mullets azure arranged in an inverted triangle formation.