Unfortunately, I haven’t got anything even remotely as exotic as French ancestry in my personal lineage, but I have come across French ancestry as I am researching on behalf of my stepmother (as well her children, my half-siblings). Her paternal grandmother had the surname Jaques (pronounced “jakes”), a name of Huguenot origin.
Huguenots were French Protestant refugees who escaped France in the 16th and 17th centuries due to being exiled by the Catholic reign of Louis XIV. The majority of Huguenots who escaped to England settled in the Shoreditch area of London, where they established a major weaving industry in and around Spitalfields. There was a Huguenot church on Threadneedle Street where many children of the refugees were baptised.
I had hoped to find a connection to the Jaques of London family — famous for manufacturing sports and game equipments in the 18th and 19th centuries; such as chess, tiddlywinks and Ludo — with my stepmother’s ancestors, but other than both families being of Huguenot descent, I can’t find a link. Interestingly, further back in her lineage, another French surname appears, “Racine”, and this is one I have actually managed to trace back to their French homeland.
Here’s a summary of my stepmother’s London ancestors that lead to the French Huguenots starting with her great-great-grandparents:
- Arthur Edwin Jaques, born 1847 in Bethnal Green, London, son of
- Edward Jaques, born 1819 in Stepney, London, son of
- James Joseph Jaques, born 1789 in Stepney, London, son of
- James Archibald Jaques, born 1763 in Shoreditch, London, son of
- James Jaques, born 1728 in London, son of
- John Jaques, born abt 1700 in London
- Elizabeth State, born about 1700 in London
- Sarah Lamb
- James Jaques, born 1728 in London, son of
- Anne Titmus
- James Archibald Jaques, born 1763 in Shoreditch, London, son of
- Rachel Racine, born 1788 in London, daughter of
- Jaques Racine, born 1765 in Spitalfields, London, son of
- Jaques Racine, born abt 1733 in Spitalfields, London, son of
- Francois Racine, born abt 1702 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France, son of
- Dominique Jean Racine, born 1672 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, son of
- Jean Racine, born 1647 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France, son of
- Pierre and Barbe Racine
- Marie Page, born abt 1650 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France
- Jean Racine, born 1647 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France, son of
- Claude Dagatte, born abt 1672 in Normandie, France
- Dominique Jean Racine, born 1672 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, son of
- Marguerrite Anthoinette Carles, born 1704 in Spitalfields, London, daughter of
- Benoit and Jeanne Carles
- Francois Racine, born abt 1702 in Meurthe-et-Moselle, Lorraine, France, son of
- Mary Sorel, born abt 1740 in Spitalfields, London
- Jaques Racine, born abt 1733 in Spitalfields, London, son of
- Catherine Browning, born 1764 in Kingsbridge, Devon
- Jaques Racine, born 1765 in Spitalfields, London, son of
- James Joseph Jaques, born 1789 in Stepney, London, son of
- Caroline Kinlock, born 1821 in Shoreditch, London, daughter of
- George Kinlock, born 1793 in Shoreditch, London
- Ann Hull, born abt 1795 in London
- Edward Jaques, born 1819 in Stepney, London, son of
- Caroline Kinlock, born 1851 in Hoxton, London, daughter of
- William Hull Kinlock, born 1822 in Shoreditch, London, son of
- George Kinlock, born 1793 in Shoreditch, London
- Ann Hull, born abt 1795 in London
- Mary Racine, born 1817 in Shoreditch, London, daughter of
- Joseph Racine, born 1790 in London, son of
- Jaques Racine, born abt 1733 in Spitalfields, London, son of…
- Catherine Browning, born 1764 in Kingsbridge, Devon
- Ann Mary Walsh
- Joseph Racine, born 1790 in London, son of
- William Hull Kinlock, born 1822 in Shoreditch, London, son of
It would appear that Francois Racine was the Huguenot refugee, while his wife Marguerrite was born in London, so presumably her parents Benoit and Jeanne were Huguenots. An ancestor of John Jaques must have been the Huguenot as he is the furthest Jaques I have managed to trace back to and he was born in London.
As is shown in the list above, the Jaques, Racine and Kinlock families are interconnected. Arthur Edwin Jaques and his wife Caroline Kinlock (born 1851) were in fact first cousins through the Kinlocks. But also, they were second cousins through the Racines. A little confusing, but its obvious these families were all close.
Most of the working members of these families were silk weavers, and all lived very close to each other. I would like to find out more about these families and try and find out about the Jaques family further back than John Jaques, and perhaps find a link to the Jaques of London family.