1.1b.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.2.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1.1a.1b.1b.1.1.1.1b.1.1.1c.1b.1b.1.1.1.2.2.2.1.3b.1.1 Catherine (de La Tour) Medici , Queen of France/QUEEN OF FRANCE 
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| Birth |
13 MAR 1517/18, FLORENCE, ITALY |
| Death |
5 JAN 1588/89, BLOIS, FRANCE |
CATHERINE DE MEDICIS (1519-89), Queen of France (1547-59) and mother of the last three (3) Valois Kings of France. She was a major force in FRENCH POLITICS during the 30 years of Roman Catholic--Huguenot Wars and an instigator of the ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY MASSACRE.
Catherine was born on April 13, 1519, in FLORENCE, ITALY, the daughter of the Florentine Ruler Lorenzo de' Medici, called Lorenzo the Magnificent. In 1533 she married the Duc d'Orlens, who became King of France in 1547 as Herni II. She had little power during the reign of her husband and that of her first son, Francis II, but on Francis's death in 1560 the government fell entirely into her hands. She ruled as regent for her second son, Charles IX, until he reached his majority in 1563, and she continued to dominated him for the duration of his reign.
POLITICAL ROLE
In her determination to preserve Royal Power at any cost, Catherine devoted her energies to maintaining a balance between the PROTESTANT group known as the HUGUENOTS, led by the FRENCH MILITARY LEADER Gaspard de Coligny, and the ROMAN CATHOLICS, led by the powerful HOUSE OF GUISE. During the RELIGIOUS CIVIL WARS that began in 1562, Catherine, a ROMAN CATHOLIC, usually supported the CATHOLICS; sometimes, however, political expendiency led her to switch her support to the HUGUENOTS. Her political manipulations also affected the personal affairs of her family. In 1560 she arranged for her daughter, Elizabeth de Valois (1545-68), to become the third (3) wife of the powerful ROMAN CATHOLIC King of Spain, Philip II. In 1572 Catherine found it propitious to marry another daughter, Margaret de Valois, to the PROTESTANT King Henri of Navarre, who later became Henri IV (The Great), King of France. Later in 1572 she found the growing HUGUENOT influence over her son Charles, the French King, frightening; accordingly, she instigated the plot to assassinate the PROTESTANT LEADER Gaspard de Coligny that led to his death and the deaths of an estimated 50,000 other HUGUENOTS in the ST. BARTHOLOMEW'S DAY MASSACRE (1572). After the death of Charles in 1574 and the accession to the throne of her third (3) son as Henri III, Catherine's power declined. She died in BLOIS, FRANCE, on January 5, 1589.
ART PATRON
Apart from her political role, Catherine was a patron of the arts. Her interest in architecture was demonstrated in the building of a new wing of the LOUVRE MUSEUM, in initiating construction of the TUILERIES GARDENS, and in building the CHATEAU DE MONCEAU. Her personal library, containing numerous rare manuscripts, was renowned in RENAISSANCE FRANCE.
http://www.funkandwagnalls.com/encyclopedia/low/articles/c/c004001035f.htm l
HARRISON THOMAS LA TOUR
RESEARCH SERVICES INC.
___________________________________________
June 20, 2000
Dear Mr. Thomas,
To follow-up- our phone conversation on Monday, I write with the following information, as you requested.
Osborne B. Thomas and Catherine La Toure were married at St. Augustine Church in Muskogee on April 25, 1953. Mr. Thomas had been baptized in the Methodist faith at Port Arthur, Texas (no date given); and Ms. La Toure had been baptized Catholic at UGANDA MARTYRS in Okmulgee on July 3, 1932
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CERTIFICATE OF BAPTISM
CHURCH OF SACRED HEART--MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA
This is to Certify that Harrison Leon Thomas, child of O.V. Thomas and Catherine La Tour born on the 9th day of February 1968 was baptized on the 24th day of March 1968.
ACCORDING TO THE RITE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH
By the Rev. Stephen Wells
Sponsors being Mrs. C.H. Barnes
Dated August 1st, 1994
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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH-OLDHAM BAPTIST
111 SOUTH 7TH STEET
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA 74401
DR. B. W. WOODS, PASTOR
This is to certify that Harrison Thomas was baptized into the membership of this church on October 10, 1976
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