Carolina Hugenots

EH -- once she has a profile, be sure to add her to the project for Early American Heroines.

that entire website is a treasure -- if you check out Rebecca Motte from link EH gives us, be sure to take note of the additional links on the left --

The Cabildo of New Orleans, a building with a fascinating history

The Hermitage, Nashville, TN, home of Andrew Jackson

Ashland, Lexington, KY, the home of Henry Clay

As a Canadian, I had very little idea of the role my Carolina ancestors played in your history--imagine my surprise upon learning about Rebecca! This is what keeps me coming back to genealogical research...

WoW what a cool lady. That was a total pleasure to research.

Rebecca Motte

I did add her to the project http://www.geni.com/projects/Early-American-Heroines

and started a new one:

http://www.geni.com/projects/American-Revolution-Siege-of-Fort-Mott...

She used her brother's poisoned arrows to set fire to her own plantation, ensuring American victory for "The Swamp Fox" Francis Marion, another Huguenot of the Carolinas.

Brig. Gen. Francis Marion (Continental army) "The Swamp Fox" )

I had no idea these French were so feisty!

Karen,

How did they get from the Carolinas up to Canada, do you know?

Private User

I love historic homes! In fact I started two projects and we need more for more states:

http://www.geni.com/projects/Oldest-Homes-in-Massachusetts
http://www.geni.com/projects/Oldest-Homes-in-Connecticut

Wikipedia has good lists (hint).

<pretends not to notice EH's hint>

Don't get envious Erica, this is the home in Trinidad where I grew up
http://picasaweb.google.com/angus.woodsalomon/OriginalHomes?authkey...

If you stood on those steps and looked to the immediate left you will see this house, the street in front of our house curved up and this house is on the opposite side
http://picasaweb.google.com/angus.woodsalomon/OriginalHomes?authkey...

(shhhh don't tell anyone but that was the house where my wife lived.

Now to the immediate right of our home was this one.
http://picasaweb.google.com/angus.woodsalomon/OriginalHomes?authkey...

Erica...loved that you posted the picture on Jacob Mott and the story of Rebecca Motte is the stuff I absolutely adore finding..

As to Francis Marion (James)...I don't know if anyone is od enough to remember that Disney made a (I guess you could call it a mini-series) on TV about the Swamp Fox starring the late Leslie Neilsen....

Unfortunately, have found no record of any Huguenots in my trees...but love a good story and, when you think of it...send me the link to the project....

Fay

I meant OLD not ODD.

My apologies for spamming your thread,,

Fay, I loved the Swamp Fox series. I keep trying to find a relationship to Francis Marion, but with no luck. I think that show, along with Seth Parker in his roles as Davey Crockett and Daniel Boone made me love American History at an early age. One of my fond memories- watching those shows with my dad.

Erica, I just added a profile for Silas Deane to the Oldest Homes in Connecticut project, with a link to his home/museum at the end of his About Me section. Is that what you want for the project? I wasn't completely sure how to do it.

Erica, James Irving the Elder (as he's called in our family history) married Elizabeth Motte, daughter of Jacob; they seemed to have land in both S. Carolina and Jamaica, where they owned a large sugar plantation called Ironshore (now a golf club/resort, I understand).

Like all the Jamaican planters, they relied on slave labour during the 1700s and early 1800s. However, their grandson, hon Hon. Jacob Æmilius Emillius Irving, had to face mounting debts and an increasingly unruly family business as the slave trade, and then slavery in general, were outlawed in the 1800s.

The family seems to have shuttled between England and France, Jamaica, and Charleston, for a number of years--Jacob's son, also named Jacob Æmilius, was born in Charleston, married an English woman whose father had fled to France to avoid his creditors, and served in the XIII Light Dragoons, with which he served during the Waterloo campaign.

In 1832, he and his family moved to Lundy's Lane, a small community just outside Niagara Falls, Ontario. They lived there a few years, but I suspect the climate and general provincialism of the place must have seemed hard to take, and in 1839 they returned to London. Sadly, three of their five small children died from scarlet fever within nine days of one another, and they decided to return to Ontario, harsh climate and all.

They settled in Newmarket, a town north of Toronto, where the house they built still stands (though it has been moved about a kilometre, gutted, and turned into office space). It's a fascinating place, as its design resembles the plantation-style mansions they'd known in their earlier lives.

Angus

Those houses are beautiful. A great place to grow up.

Ethel

Erica

The story of Rebecca Motte is heroic and amazing. Thsnks.
Ethel

Angus! What a cool house!

Not too many houses have grand porches any more.... Reminds me of the old days, my grandmothers house.

Karen, that's an interesting story, thanks for sharing.

Great thread and great images!

I love this discussion.

Looks like there haven't been any new postings to this discussion for quite some time. I've just joined the project as a collaborator and added my French Hugenot ancestor Isaac Lesesne to the project Isaac Lesesne, Sr.

Isaac was an early settler in the Charleston, SC, area and had a rice plantation on Daniel Island. I had the pleasure of visiting there last year. The plantation itself is long gone, but remnants of the family cemetery remain (to which a monument to Isaac was added a few years ago). Excavated artifacts from his plantation are in the Charleston Museum.

One of Isaac's descendants (and one of my ancestors) was named Sarah Rebecca Pickette Lesesne (her maiden name). This name has always intrigued me, since General George Pickett (of Pickett's Charge fame) is also said to be a Hugenot (from the South). But I have not yet found any actual family connection. Sarah was born a few years after George, before he became famous as a general during the Civil War, so I don't think she was named after him directly. But there's no Pickett(e) in her family tree that I've been able to identify (so far).

Stephen - great story! Are there any plantation records from Daniel Island? My understanding is that Charleston area historical societies, museums & libraries are doing a great job archiving records, perhaps there's a clue to be found on Pickett(e) that way?

Weren't they were the ones that were murdered by the Spanish, who didn't want the French in the area. I remember seeing something about that on TV.

I just looked it up . The French that were killed by the Spanish tried to settle in and around St Augustine Fla. They then moved on to South Carolinia.

Sounds interesting

french stay at fort caroline

This fort is older than St. Augustine, considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited city in America. It’s older than the Lost Colony of Virginia by 21 years; older than the 1607 fort of Jamestown by 45 years; and predates the landing of the Pilgrims in Massachusetts in 1620 by 56 years

fort caroline is jacksonville today

http://www.ibtimes.com/fort-caroline-found-oldest-fortified-settlem...

Paul Revere was a Huguenot.

Mine didn't arrive until the late 1870's. They came into Mass. from Belgium.