Louise de Saix

Not the mother of Colonel James Crockett or Capt. Joseph Louis Crockett

The alleged French origins of the Crockett family in America

French Crockett ancestry

A well-known theory of the origin of the Crockett family (or families) in America makes them descendants of Antoine Desasure de Croquetagne, a French Huguenot. According to this theory, "Antoine Desasure Perronett de Crocketagne" was born in 1643 in Montauban. Described as "one of the most handsome young men in the south of France", he drew the personal attention of king Louis XIV who placed him second in command of the household guards. He met his future wife "the beautiful Louise de Saix" among the nobility. Antoine started working as a commercial agent in the wine and salt trade of Southern France for the Maury family, and under their influence converted to the Protestant faith.[1] In 1672, (several years before the Edict of Nantes was revoked) Antoine, with his wife and infant son, Gabriel, fled across the English Channel and remained in England for a short time, but shortly fled to Ireland.[1] There, they changed their name from "de Crocketagne" to Crockett, either to escape their French identity or because their name was too difficult to pronounce.

This version of the Crockett ancestry appears widely accepted: it is found in numerous online genealogies, including Roglo and Rootsweb and in Wikipedia. It is reported in many books, from recent biographies of the famous Davy Crockett to compilations printed by Daughters of Texas Revolution and the Huguenot Society.[2] Antoine Desasure de Crocketagne and his family have their own Find A Grave memorials (strictly virtual memorials with no known place of burial).

Why is this French theory dubious?

DNA analysis: DNA research does not seem to support the theory of the French origin of Crocketts. The results also show that not all Crocketts are related, contradicting the Crocketagne theory which makes all Crocketts descentants of the Croquetagnes. See a discussion at Rootsweb (possibly now offline) or FamilyTreeDNA. < link >:

As of April 18, 2023, there are six emerging family lines and fifteen matchless participants. At this point in time, there is inadequate documentation to prove that Antoine de Crocketagne ever existed. Many, if not all, Crockett's would like to claim him as an ancestor but for anyone to do so with inadequate documentation is pure and imaginative speculation. Our DNA project has proven that many of the Crockett lines French and Armstrong connected in their book "Notable Southern Families - The Crockett Family" are unrelated by blood. I was contacted by a French genealogist years ago who said that no records for Antoine de Crocketagne had ever been found. She also said that de Crocketagne is not and has never been a French surname.”