Huguenot Church in the United States

United States   Church Records   Huguenot Church Records



Online Sources

 * National Huguenot Society Bible Records
 * The French Blood in America
 * French Naturalizations in America and the West Indies, 1740-1782

Historical Background
The Huguenot Church (French Reformed Church) began in France and eventually faced fierce persecution there. The first large migration of French Protestants (Huguenots) began after the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre in 1572. A more peaceful time started in 1598 when the Edict of Nantes granted religious freedom. Unfortunately in 1685, the Edict of Nantes was revoked removing all religious freedom. About 200,000 Huguenots fled to foreign nations, including Germany, the Netherlands, England, and America. Often Huguenot families would settle in one country, then move to another.

In America, many Huguenots went to New Amesterdam (now New York City), northern New Jersey, and western Connecticut. Others went to Chesterfield and Powhatan County, Virginia (1620); Charleston SC (before 1685); Manakintown, Virginia (1700), and Bath, North Carolina (1704).

Huguenots were called Strangers in England. The Mayflower had Strangers and Quakers when it finally sailed.

For additional early history, see:
 * Huguenot History by The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland
 * Baird, Charles W. History of the Huguenot Emigration to America  Volume One Volume Two

Huguenot Church Records
Huguenots often merged with other Protestant religious groups. Records for Huguenots can be found in the records of these churches.

Florida

 * From South Carolina, French Huguenots led by René Goulaine de Laudonnière settled in Florida in 1564. An initial plantation of 300 established Fort Caroline now part of present day Jacksonville. By 1565, Spanish military efforts had wiped out the colony, martyring many Huguenot settlers.
 * In 1562, a French Huguenot colony was established in the present site of Astor on the St Johns River. The entire colony was wiped out by the Spanish, in 1566.
 * In 1564, the Huguenots attempted to colonize North America, building a colony nearby the modern day Jacksonville, Florida. The Spanish had already staked claim in that locality and soon rid the area of the French.

Kentucky
About half of the early pioneers of Kentucky were descended from French-speaking Protestants, including the Huguenots from southern France and the Walloons from southern Belgium. These unindexed papers contain the history of these two groups of people.
 * Papers Concerning the Huguenot and Walloon Lines (Online).

Massachusetts
French Huguenot Church, 1686-1748/1764: There are no extant records.
 * Memoir of the French Protestants, who Settled at Oxford, Massachusetts, A.D. 1686; with a Sketch of the Entire History of the Protestants of France
 * Report of a French Protestant Refugee, in Boston, 1687
 * "The French Protestants in Boston" in Memorial History of Boston (Boston, 1880-1881), 2: 249-268
 * "Ezechiel Carre and the French Church in Boston" in Proceedings of the Massachusetts Historical Society, 52 (1918-1919): 121-132.
 * "The French Protestant Church in Boston" in the Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts: Transactions, 26 (1927): 323-347

Michigan

 * Huguenot Society of Michigan, Applications for membership in the Huguenot Society of Michigan, abt. 1937-1942. Each application gives a genealogy of the applicant.

New Jersey
Between 1677 and the early 1700s, Dutch-speaking French Huguenots from Harlem and Staten Island, New York, settled at Schraalenburgh (now Bergenfield) in the Hackensack Valley of Bergen County. Other Huguenots settled in Monmouth County.


 * The Huguenots, or the early French in New Jersey Ancestry.com ($).

New York
One of the important legacies of the New Netherland colony was religious tolerance. The Dutch Reformed Church, a Calvinist denomination, was predominant at first. However, from the beginning the colony was also a haven for religious minorities such as Huguenots (French Protestants), and Jews.

Huguenots settled on Staten Island and in New Harlem, Bushwick, and Flushing in 1657 and 1658. New Paltz, Ulster County, was founded in 1677 by Huguenots. In 1688 the Huguenots established New Rochelle in Westchester County.

New York Societies

 * Huguenot Historical Society. Site details objective of the Society, as well as current projects, and research facilities. New Paltz, New York


 * Huguenot and Historical Association of New Rochelle (New York)


 * The New Rochelle Historical Society 983 North Avenue, New Rochelle, NY 10804 Phone: 914-632-5376


 * Huguenot Historical Society Library 88 Huguenot Street, New Paltz, NY (in Ulster County)

New York Sources

 * Records of the town of New Rochelle, 1699-1828 (Online).
 * History of New Pfalz, New York, and it's old families (from 1678 to 1820) (Online) at Ancestry.com ($)
 * sketches and index of the Huguenot settlers of New Rochelle, 1687-1776' (Online). at Ancestry.com ($)


 * Life in New Rochelle, America's city of the Huguenots. (New Rochelle, NY: New Rochelle Trust Co., 1953),
 * Carlo, Paula Wheeler. Huguenot Refugees in Colonial New York: Becoming American in the Hudson Valley. (Brighton: Sussex Academic Press, 2005).
 * Darlington, Henry, Jr. "The Significance of New Rochelle as a Huguenot Settlement", from Huguenot Refugees in the Settling of Colonial America, edited by Peter Steven Gannon. (Huguenot Society of America, 1985).

North Carolina
In the early 1700s, small groups of French Huguenot, German Palatine, and Swiss immigrants founded towns on the coast.

Pennsylvania
French Huguenot and Swiss families mingled with the Germans. Some Huguenots from New York migrated to Pennsylvania and settled in Berks and Lancaster counties.
 * Application papers and ancestor index of the Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania (Online)
 * Memorials of the Huguenots in America with special reference to their emigration to Pennsylvania (Online)

Rhode Island
The liberal religious culture, laws, and policies in colonial Rhode Island created a wonderful location for French Huguenots.
 * Memoir concerning the French settlements and French settlers in the colony of Rhode Island (Online)

South Carolina

 * Jean Ribault established a French Huguenot colony in South Carolina in 1562. American Presbyterianism can trace its origins to this foundation.
 * A group of French origin, mostly descendants of Huguenots, came to the area beginning in 1680.
 * Huguenots made settlements in Colonial South Carolina at Goose Creek, Orange Quarter, St. John's Berkeley, French Santee, New Bordeaux, and Purrysburgh.
 * The Huguenots had their beginnings in Charleston in 1681. In 1687, a second church was built along the Cooper River. Both of these structures fell victim to fire, but they were rebuilt. By 1686 Huguenot settlements existed in Charleston, Santee River, St. John's Berkeley and Cooper River. Rev. Elias Prioleau was the first recoginzed and regular pastor of the French church.
 * 1750-1797 - Douglas, William and William Mcfarlane Jones. The Douglas Register: Being a Detailed Record of Births, Marriages and Deaths Together with Other Interesting Notes, As Kept by the Rev. William Douglas, from 1750 to 1797: An Index of Goochland Wills, Notes on the French-Huguenot Refugees Who Lived in Manakin-town. 1928; reprint, Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Pub. Co., 1977, c1966. Digital versions at Ancestry ($); World Vital Records ($)..
 * McCormick County: Bobby F. Edmonds, The Huguenots of New Bordeaux (McCormick, SC: Cedar Hill, 2005) ( WorldCat entry.
 * Rowland, Lawrence S.  The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina (Columbia, South Carolina : University of S.C., c1996), 521 pages. Three historians of the Palmetto State recount more that three centuries of Spanish and French exploration, English and Huguenot agriculture and African slave labor. Book (Vol.1) at and Other Libraries.
 * Dubose, Samuel, and Frederick A. Porcher. A Contribution to the History of the Huguenots of South Carolina, Consisting of Pamphlets ([S.l.]: T. Gaillard Thomas, c1972), 48 pages. Historical sketches of the Huguenot families which settled in the alluvial regions within fifty miles of Charleston. FHL book at ▲ . Digital copies at Google Books and Internet Archives.
 * Van Ruymbeke, Bertrand. From New Babylon to Eden: The Huguenots and their Migration to Colonial South Carolina. (Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, 2006).
 * Clut, Robert F. The Annals and parish register of St. Thomas and St. Denis parish in South Carolina, from 1680-1884.Internet Archive
 * Hirsch, Arthur Henry. The Huguenots in colonial South Carolina, by Hirsch.
 * Liste des Francois et Suisses from an old manuscript list of French and Swiss protestants settled in Charleston on the Santee and at the Orange quarter in Carolina who desired naturalization prepared probably about 1695-6.(List starts on page 20.) Internet Archive
 * The Liturgy, or Forms of Divine Service, of The French Protestant Church, of Charleston, S.C. Charleston, S.C.: James S. Burges, 1836. Digital version of 1836 edition at Google Books; digital version of 1853 edition at Google Books; digital version of 1869 edition at Google Books.

Huguenot Society of South Carolina The purpose of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina is to preserve the memory of the Huguenots who left France prior to 1787. They have a research library containing over 4,500 books, journals, and files covering the history of French Protestants and on South Carolina history and families. The library is open to non-members for a research fee of $10. It is suggested to contact the library so materials will be available. The society also provides research for a fee.
 * Huguenot Society of South Carolina 138 Logan Street Charleston, SC 29401 843-723-3235 Fax: 843-853-8476 director@huguenotsociety.org
 * Research Form
 * The Huguenot Society's publication is Transactions of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina and they began publishing in 1888. For publication information, see South Carolina Periodicals.  The Huguenot Society also has a newsletter with some of them available online.

Virginia
Huguenots came in 1700. Their settlement, in King William Parish, near Richmond on the James River, was known as Manakin Town. They and many of their descendants lived in Henrico, Goochland, Cumberland, and Powhatan counties.

Virginia Societies

 * The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia 981 Huguenot Trail Midlothian, VA 23113 Phone: 804-794-5702 Email: [mailto:manakintown@yahoo.com manakintown@yahoo.com]


 * The society's website has a list of the Huguenot founders of Manakin and links to related websites.

Virginia Sources

 * The Huguenot. 1924-. Published by the Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia, Inc., 981 Huguenot Trail, Midlothian, Virginia 23113, Telephone: 804-794-5702. . Indexed in Master Index to The Huguenot (Bryan, Texas: Family History Foundation, 1986;.

General

 * Fosdick, Lucian J. The French blood in America.Internet Archive


 * Lart, Charles E. Huguenot pedigrees. (vols. 1-2).


 * Lawton, Mrs. James M., comp. Family names of Huguenot refugees to America.


 * Lee, Hannah F. The Huguenots in France and America.Internet Archive, vol. 1-2


 * Reaman, G. Elmore. The Trail of the Huguenots in Europe, the U.S., South Africa and Canada.


 * Reeve, Vera. compiler. Register of Qualified Huguenot Ancestors: The National Huguenot Society. Third Edition, Washington, DC: the Society, 1983. (Family History Library book .) Genealogies and sources. See also the 1995 supplement (Family History Library book .)

Societies

 * Huguenot Historical Society Blanco Road, Suite 104 San Antonio, TX 78216-4970 Telephone: (210)366-9995 Education section of web site includes Who were the Huguenots, Important dates in history, and bibliography Resources section includes Huguenot ancestral name listings, Selected publication for Huguenot reseach, Other Huguenot specific web sites


 * Huguenot Society of America 20 W. 44th Street, Suite 510 New York, NY 10036 Phone: 212-755-0592 Library List of qualified ancestors


 * Historic Huguenot Street Schoonmaker Library 88 Huguenot Street New Paltz, NY 12561 Phone: 845-255-6738 Email: [mailto:library@huguenotstreet library@huguenotstreet]. New Palz Society


 * Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia Manakin Huguenot Society 981 Huguenot Trail, Midlothian, VA 23113 Phone: 804-794-5702 Email: [mailto:manakintown@yahoo.com manakintown@yahoo.com]


 * This society published the periodical, The Huguenot. A full index to The Huguenot is available online.


 * The Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania has as it's purpose to perpetuate the memory of the Huguenots. Members of the society include descendants of Huguenot families immigrating to America before November 1787 and anyone who has made the Huguenots a subject of research papers, etc. The society was organized in Reading, Pennsylvania, in 1918. They published: Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania, (series) vols. 1- 15 (Norristown, PA.: The Society, 1918-1939) and the continuation Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania, v. 16-39 (Norristown, PA.: The Society, 1942-1967; Family History Library ; film for v. 1-3 and 7-9 is ).


 * National Huguenot Society has lists of registered Huguenot refugees and useful websites.

Name Changes
French names were often changed when people moved to other countries.

The following give ideas of what the names may become in different countries:


 * Janowowa, Wanda, et al. Sownik Imion (Dictionary of Names). (Wroclaw, Germany: Ossoliski, 1975). Shows given names in 23 different languages.


 * Morlet, Marie-Thérèse. Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de famille (Etymological dictionary of surnames). (Paris, France: Perrin, 1991).

Other Information
France Church Records - Protestants (Huguenots and others) has ideas about finding migration paths of the Huguenots who came to America.

There is a centre of genealogy in Holland with “millions of feet of microfilms on various family names. If your family, at any time, went through Holland or Belgium in the course of their travels, be sure to look up their records of that Bureau.” (p. 8, Canada’s Huguenot Heritage, FHL book 971 F2ch and digitized) 970 W2hm or 971 W2hes, Alberta Genealogical Society Seminar ’86, Migrations Europe + North America The Huguenots who came to North America usually had lived in other countries instead of coming directly from France. They could be the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th generations from the French immigrant. (p. 8, Canada’s Huguenot Heritage) Early Huguenots in Nova Scotia, Ontario, New Brunswick, Quebec. Check Huguenot Trails French names were usually changed over the years, example Duvall – of the valley of and Le Blanc to White. In France, Huguenots were called R.P.R. (Religion pretender Reformed).