Devon Huguenot

[Sybella]

Hi, does anyone else think they have French Huguenot Ancestry, particularly from Devon.  I have the name Delatour/De La Tour in my tree and I am wondering if anyone else shares this ancestry.  I would be grateful for anything that anyone could add.

Many Thanks
Sybella

[Lendevon]

Hello Sybella,
Have a look on familysearch and see when the name first appears in England. The huguenots arrived during the 17th century. If there are De la Tours listed much before then they may have been part of a different wave of immigrants. In the 15th century thousands of Flemings came across from present day Belgium. And of course there was a later influx at the time of the French Revolution.

 

[Cadoret]

Hi Sybella,

had a look in my list of Huguenot surnames that I'm building ( I have Huguenot ancestors), and De la Tour seems to have arrived in the second wave of immigration, during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1714) - most refugees in this period arrived after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in October 1685.

The name also is listed among later Refugees who were 'Naturalized by Letters Patent' -  haven't researched this period, but thought the phrase would be a good place to start researching. :-)

Graeme

[Handaros]

Hi,

I suspect I have Huguenot ancestors though as yet haven't found out much ~ need to get to Ireland.  My Great Grandmothers maiden name was Maligue, she was born in Ireland circa 1834.  At some point she came to England and married my G. Grandfather Richard Monnington.  The only entry I can find in the UK census returns for a Maligue was in the seventeenth century, it is that of a marriage at the French Church in London.  I have googled the name and come up with zero      But Malige does seem to be a Huguenot surname.
 
So far I am completely stumped :-(

Best wishes,

Cindy xx

[loo]

I would be very interested to hear if you are able to identify any Huguenot communities in Devon.  My DURE family is from Devon; they were originally DUREE (acute accent on first e).  They were definitely from France.  The question is which immigration wave they came with.  Some records suggest it might have been as early as the 1200s, which probably means Norman.  But others suggest 16-1700's and possibly Huguenot.  So, perhaps knowing where yours settled would clarify, as immigrants usually settle together, particularly co-religionists. 
Mine were in Stokenham area, Kingsbridge registration, near Plymouth - some are still there, although I haven't pursued this, as mine left in 1830s.

[Lendevon]

The DROWER family ( from Dreux ) arrived in England in about 1700, presumably at Lyme Regis, and promptly settled down in and around Axminster, where they remained for the next two hundred years. It seems reasonable to suppose that, unless they already had relatives in England, they simply set up home close to where they landed. The terrible state of the roads would in any case have discouraged further travel. The Dure family appear to follow the same pattern

[Sybella]

I would be very interested to hear if you are able to identify any Huguenot communities in Devon.  My DURE family is from Devon; they were originally DUREE (acute accent on first e).  They were definitely from France.  The question is which immigration wave they came with.  Some records suggest it might have been as early as the 1200s, which probably means Norman.  But others suggest 16-1700's and possibly Huguenot.  So, perhaps knowing where yours settled would clarify, as immigrants usually settle together, particularly co-religionists. 
Mine were in Stokenham area, Kingsbridge registration, near Plymouth - some are still there, although I haven't pursued this, as mine left in 1830s.

Hi, thanks for your reply.  From what I can gather there were Huguenots in Barnstaple where my Delatour line came from and also a community in Plymouth.  I descend from a female Delatour so the name is lost but the Delatours seem to have disappeared from Devon.  By the 1881 census there is only one individual name Delatour in Devon and he was born in France.  I don't know what happened to mine.  If you put "Devon Huguenots" into your search engine you will get a few websites about them.  Good luck.
Sybella

[Sybella]

Hi Sybella,

had a look in my list of Huguenot surnames that I'm building ( I have Huguenot ancestors), and De la Tour seems to have arrived in the second wave of immigration, during the reign of Louis XIV (1643-1714) - most refugees in this period arrived after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in October 1685.

The name also is listed among later Refugees who were 'Naturalized by Letters Patent' -  haven't researched this period, but thought the phrase would be a good place to start researching. :-)

Graeme

Thanks very much for that.  It is all very interesting.
Sybella 

[loo]

Thanks, everyone.  Will make notes.