Huguenot Societies

United States   Church Records   Huguenot Church Records



Online Records
See state subtitles below for additional state sources.
 * National Huguenot Society Bible records: abstracted from the files of the Society, e-book, Ancestry.com, ($).
 * The French blood in America - at FamilySearch. Also at Internet Archive
 * of foreign Protestants in the American and West Indian colonies''', e-book index, Ancestry.com, ($).
 * Experiences of the French Huguenots in America - The King's Refugees
 * History of the Huguenot Emigration to America, Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. at Internet Archive
 * The Huguenots in America : a refugee people in new world society at Internet Archive
 * (For Kentucky) Original Papers Concerning the Huguenot and Walloon Lines. Frankfort, KY: Historical Society, [196–?].

History
Huguenots were French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term has its origin in early-16th-century France. It was frequently used in reference to those of the Reformed Church of France from the time of the Protestant Reformation. Due to persecution, n 1685, 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.

For additional early history, see:
 * Barred by the government from settling in New France (Quebec), Huguenots sailed to North America in 1624 and settled instead in the Dutch colony of New Netherland (later incorporated into New York and New Jersey)'. A number of New Amsterdam's families were of Huguenot origin, often having emigrated as refugees to the Netherlands in the previous century.
 * Huguenot refugees also settled in the Delaware River Valley of Eastern Pennsylvania and Hunterdon County, New Jersey in 1725. Frenchtown in New Jersey bears the mark of early settlers.
 * In 1700, several hundred French Huguenots migrated from England to the colony of Virginia.
 * Through the 18th and 19th centuries, descendants of the French migrated west into the Piedmont, and across the Appalachian Mountains into the West of what became Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and other states.
 * In the early years, many Huguenots also settled in the area of present-day Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston, South Carolina, is home to the only active Huguenot congregation in the United States. 
 * Huguenot History by The Huguenot Society of America

Mergers With Other Denominations
Huguenots often merged with other Protestant religious groups. Records for Huguenots can be found in the records of these churches.

Books

 * Gannon, Peter Steven, ed. Huguenot Refugees in the Settling of Colonial America. (Huguenot Society of America, 1985).
 * Giuseppi, Montague S . Naturalizations of Foreign Protestants in the American and West Indian Colonies (Pursuant to Statute 13 George II, c. 7). London: Huguenot Society Publishing, 1921 . Index, Ancestry.com, ($).

Florida

 * From South Carolina, French Huguenots 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 French Protestants attempted a colony nearby the modern day Jacksonville, Florida.

Kentucky

 * Original Papers Concerning the Huguenot and Walloon Lines. Frankfort, KY: Historical Society, [196–?].
 * 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.

Massachusetts
Boston’s first French Huguenot Church was organized in 1716 by Protestant refugees from France. The church was always small and it disbanded in 1748. No records remain.

Michigan

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

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.

Hudson County. Henry Hudson, for whom the county and river on which it sits is named, established a claim for the area in 1609 when anchoring his ship the Halve Maen (Half Moon) at Harsimus Cove and Weehawken Cove. The west bank of the North River (as it was called) and the cliffs, hills, and marshlands abutting and beyond it, were settled by Europeans (Dutch, Flemish, Walloon, Huguenot) from the Lowlands around the same time as New Amsterdam.

New York

 * In 1628, the Huguenots established a congregation as L'Église française à la Nouvelle-Amsterdam (the French church in New Amsterdam). This parish continues today as L'Eglise du Saint-Esprit, now a part of the Episcopal Church USA (Anglican) communion, and welcomes Francophone New Yorkers from all over the world.
 * 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

 * ___. 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).


 * Forbes, Jeanne A. Records of the town of New Rochelle, 1699-1828. (New Rochelle, New York : J.A. Forbes, c1916). Internet Archive.


 * Seacord, Morgan Horton. Biographical sketches and index of the Huguenot settlers of New Rochelle, 1687-1776. (New Rochelle, New York : Huguenot and Historical Association of New Rochelle, c1941)

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.


 * Huguenot Society of Pennsylvania. The society and the Family History Library have Application Papers and an ancestor index.


 * Stapleton, Ammon. Memorials of the Huguenots in America, With Special Reference to Their Emigration [sic] to Pennsylvania. 1901; Reprint: Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1969..

Rhode Island
The liberal religious culture, laws, and policies in colonial Rhode Island created a wonderful location for French Huguenots.

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 was 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.

St. Johns Berkeley Parish, South Carolina Huguenots were the bulk of the earliest St. John's Berkeley parishioners. (abt 1701)

The Huguenot Society of South Carolina was formed in 1885 "to preserve the memory of the Huguenots who left France prior to the promulgation of the Edict of Toleration, November 28, 1787. Today, the Society has nearly 2,000 members who are descendants of those Huguenots."


 * Many French Huguenots made South Carolina their home. The 114+ volume Transactions of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina is a great starting point for research: . Google books has several volumes.


 * 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).

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.


 * 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.

See St. Stephens Parish, South Carolina

See St. James Santee Parish, South Carolina

See St. Thomas and St. Denis Parish, South Carolina

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. Research Form

Huguenot Society of South Carolina 138 Logan Street Charleston, SC 29401 843-723-3235 Fax: 843-853-8476 director@huguenotsociety.org 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;.

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).