Challenge One: The Fresh Start
"Week 1, Fresh start — Seems appropriate for the beginning of the year. What ancestor had a fresh start? What ancestor has been so confusing to research that you’d like to have a fresh start?" (No Story Too Small)
For this challenge, I've chosen Jacques Caudebec.
Jacques and his family were Huguenots, members of the Protestant Reformed Church in France. He lived in the town of Bolbec in Normandy and attended church at the Protestant "temple" in Lintot.
 |
| Modern-day Bolbec (photo taken by me, 2010) |
 |
| The Lintot Temple, where Jacques Caudebec was christened (photo taken by me, 2010) The church was confiscated by the state after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and is now a private residence. |
 |
| The original door and windows of the church were bricked over but can still be seen. (photo taken by me, 2010) |
In 1685, Jacques' world was shattered. King Louis XIV issued the Edict of Fontainebleau, which revoked the earlier Edict of Nantes. The Edict of Nantes had protected the Huguenots since 1598, although over time, especially during the reign of Louis XIV, it wasn't enforced and was often even ignored. But now, with the revocation, Protestants were forced to "convert" to Catholicism and punished for worshiping as they believed. Huguenot immigration was also now illegal.
Twenty-one-year-old Jacques was faced with a tough choice: stay and face forced conversion, stay and face severe punishment, or take his life into his hands and flee somewhere where he could live true to his faith. He chose the last.
The plan was to flee to England and await his sisters Noemi and Marie. They were to bring money that would allow them to set up a business. Jacques was prepared to make a fresh start there...but that was not to be. Another forced fresh start awaited him an ocean away.
Noemi and Marie didn't arrive (as it turns out, they did eventually arrive, though a little too late to meet their brother, and settled in London, where one married and both became involved in the weaving trade.). When Jacques gave up hope in meeting them, he and his fellow refugee Pierre Guimar left for Maryland, exhausting their funds.
Somehow, they carried on through their want and made it to New York. Here, Jacques and Pierre (called Jacob Cuddeback and Peter Gumaer in the New World) found wives and went on to become some of the settlers of the Peenpack Patent.
One story about him that I like was told by his great-grandson: "At a certain time two of his daughters told him that certain persons had made a scandalous report respecting them. He asked if it was true what they had said. They replied no, it was all lies. 'Well,' said he, 'maintain good characters and let them talk; they will get ashamed of their lies.'"
Jacques, to me, is a great example of character and integrity, determined to live according to his convictions, even when it meant leaving behind everything, risking his life, and somehow finding a way to start fresh.
For more of my notes on Jacques and his family, see my website: http://oliveandeliza.com/ennis/caudebec/jacquesandmargretta.html
 |
| The Huguenot Cross (courtesy: Nyo, Wikipedia) |
Challenge Two: The King
"Week 2, King — January 8 is Elvis’ birthday. January 15 is the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. Do either of these “Kings” remind you of an ancestor? Or, taken another way, do you have a connection to royalty? Did you ancestor flee from an oppressive king?" (No Story Too Small)
For this challenge, I've chosen King William IV of the United Kingdom.
Yep, an actual king, and not one born all the way back in the Middle Ages either. I think I'd better explain...
My third-great-grandpa John S Haslam was the illegitimate son of Betsey Haslam, "a lady worker and teacher at the Duke of Bridgewater’s estate at Worsley." Because illegitimacy was at the time seen as something that not only reflected poorly upon the parents but also upon the child, John's father's identity was "kept strictly confidential in the family over the years."
 |
| John S Haslam (photo courtesy of Marilyn Groneman) |
In 1958, his daughter Annie Isabel divulged the secret - John was the son of King William IV!
 |
| King William IV by Sir Martin Archer Shee |
Since then, his descendants have tried to confirm or disprove this statement. From what I know of John and Annie Isabel, I trust that, at the very least, John believed that King William was his father. Evidence that William is the father is circumstantial but in no way conclusive. Perhaps one day, we will have the opportunity to use DNA to learn more. Currently, because of William's lack of confirmed direct male descendants, such testing would be tricky.
For more information on the supposed connection to the king and about John's own life, see my mother's page: http://www.boydhouse.com/alice/Haslam/haslam05johnshaslam.htm
Now before I wrap up, I'd like to point out one thing that occurred to me awhile ago:
King William's father is King George III. For Americans, the name should be familiar- he was the king during the Revolution.
 |
| King George III by Allan Ramsay |
If John Haslam is indeed the son of King William, then my mother's ancestor and some of my father's family were not exactly on speaking terms. My paternal grandfather's family tree full of revolutionary soldiers.
And then there's Cousin Ben... My ancestors Joanna (Folger) Coleman and Experience (Folger) Swain were the maternal aunts of Benjamin Franklin. In other words, Cousin Ben was among those who sent a very special letter to Grandpa George, which was not at all to the taste of the latter. If I could have a family reunion that included my late ancestors, it could get, um, interesting.
 |
| An idealized depiction of Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson with the Declaration of Independence by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris |
Stay tuned for more! Next week's challenge is: "Week 3, Tough woman — Who is a tough, strong woman in your family tree? Or what woman has been tough to research?" (No Story Too Small) I have someone awesome already in mind!
