Seignelay married twice; firstly to Marie Marguerite d'Alegre, who died in 1678. Secondly he married Catherine de Goyon (1662–1699). Catherine was a daughter of Henri Goyon and Marie Françoise Le Tellier, herself a sister of
François Michel Le Tellier de Louvois. Their four children included: • Marie Jean Baptiste Colbert (known as Jean Baptiste) (1683–1712) • Théodore Alexandre Colbert (known as Théodore) (1690?–1695?) Catherine later married again to
Charles de Lorraine, Count of Marsan a member of the powerful (and more noble)
house of Lorraine. She died in childbirth in December 1699. On the death of his father in 1683, Seignelay was named Navy Secretary by
Louis XIV and held the post until his death. He accompanied
Abraham Duquesne at the
bombardment of Genoa in May 1684. He completed the
Code Noir begun by his father. He was named Minister in 1689. Seignelay continued his father's work of expanding the
French Navy; between 1660 and 1690 the Navy increased under their control from 18 sailing vessels to some 125. While the arsenals too were reconstructed, modern studies criticise the Colberts, father and son, for concentrating on ships rather than infrastructure. In 1675,
Nicolas Boileau dedicated his ninth epistle,
Nothing is beautiful but the truth, to Siegnelay and he was named Grand Treasurer of the
Order of the Holy Spirit. In 1683, he inherited the
Château de Sceaux, which he improved, employing the services of
Jules Hardouin Mansart. He was succeeded as Navy Minister by
Louis Phélypeaux, Marquis of Phélypeaux. == See also ==