Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Domenech, Emmanuel Henry Dieudonné

DOMENECH, Emmanuel Henry Diendonné, French author, b. in Lyons, France, 4 Nov., 1825; d. in France in June, 1886. He became a priest in the Roman Catholic church, and was sent as a missionary to Texas and Mexico. During Maximilian's residence in America, Domenech acted as private chaplain to the emperor, and he was also almoner to the French army during its occupation of Mexico. On his return to France he was made honorary canon of Montpellier. His “Manuscrit pictographique Américain, précédé d'une notice sur l'idéographie des Peaux Rouges” (1860), was published by the French government, with a facsimile of a manuscript in the library of the Paris arsenal, relating, as he claimed, to the American Indians, but the German orientalist, Julius Petzholdt, declared that it consisted only of scribbling and incoherent illustrations of a local German dialect. Domenech maintained the authenticity of the manuscript in a pamphlet entitled “La vérité sur le livre des sauvages” (1861), which drew forth a reply from Petzholdt, translated into French under the title of “Le livre des sauvages au point de vue de la civilization Française” (Brussels, 1861). He has also published “Journal d'un missionaire au Texas et au Mexique” (1857); “Voyage dans les solitudes Américaines, le Minnesota”(1858); “Voyage pittoresque dans les grands desert du Nouveau monde” (1861); “Les Gorges du Diable, voyage en Islande” (1864); “Legendes islandaises” (1865); “Le Mexique tel qu'il est” (1867); and “Histoire du Mexique, Juarez et Maximilien, correspondances inédites” (1868). The historical accuracy of the last-named work has been questioned by several writers, including Gen. Prim. Domenech also published “Quand j'etais journaliste” (1869); “Histoire de la campagne de 1870-'1 et de la deuxième ambulance de la presse Française” (1871); and “L'écriture syllabique (Maya) dans le Yucatan d'après les decouvertes de l'Abbé Brasseur de Bourboug” (1883); and during the latter part of his life he produced also several works pertaining to religion and ancient history.