Persecution of the Protestant French Huguenots

The Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

“The St. Bartholomew’s Day massacre (French: Massacre de la Saint-Barthélemy) in 1572 was a targeted group of assassinations and a wave of Catholic mob violence, directed against the Huguenots (French Calvinist Protestants) during the French Wars of Religion. Traditionally believed to have been instigated by Queen Catherine de’ Medici, the mother of King Charles IX, the massacre took place a few days after the wedding day (18 August) of the king’s sister Margaret to the Protestant Henry of Navarre (the future Henry IV of France). Many of the wealthiest and most prominent Huguenots had gathered in largely Catholic Paris to attend the wedding.

“The massacre began in the night of 23–24 August 1572 (the eve of the feast of Bartholomew the Apostle), two days after the attempted assassination of Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, the military and political leader of the Huguenots. King Charles IX ordered the killing of a group of Huguenot leaders, including Coligny, and the slaughter spread throughout Paris. Lasting several weeks, the massacre expanded outward to the countryside and other urban centres. Modern estimates for the number of dead across France vary widely, from 5,000 to 30,000.”

The St. Bartholomew massacre took place in 1572. and my ancestor Daniel Duval, I, the Chevalier of France, was among many of the Huguenots who fled to America,

DANIEL DUVAL, I

ALSO KNOWN AS: “CHEVALIER OF FRANCE DANIEL DUVAL”
BIRTHDATE: JUNE 09, 1665
BIRTHPLACE: NORMANDY, PLOUIGNEAU, BRITTANY, FRANCE
DEATH: DECEMBER 08, 1717 (52)
WARE PARISH, GLOUCESTER COUNTY, VIRGINIA

“Early in the eighteenth century four ship loads of Huguenot emigrants sought refuge on the hospitable shores of Virginia. Many of them were given land and cared for by the Virginia authorities and settled at Manikintown, north of Richmond. The founder of\\the Virginia family of DuVal was not of these emigrants, but it seems he was financially able to care for himself and the devotedFrench bride, whom he married in France, Philadelphia DuBois, daughter of Jean DuBois and his wife, Marie Deyaget. Jean DuBois was the only brother of the famous Abbe DuBois, Cardinal and prime minister of France, one of the wealthiest and most powerful men of that time. Under his protection, his neice was advised to disguise herself as a courier of the King and escaped to England where she joined her husband who had been compelled by his convictions of conscience to give up his native home and sought refuge
friendly England.” The Duvals of Kentucky from Virginia.

Persecution of the Quakers in England

The Whitaker side of my family were Quakers, who were being slaughtered in England.

“Quakers were severely persecuted in England for daring to deviate so far from orthodox Christianity. By 1680, 10,000 Quakers had been imprisoned in England, and 243 had died of torture and mistreatment in the King’s jails.”

“The colony of Pennsylvania was founded by William Penn in 1682, as a safe place for Quakers to live and practice their faith.” Wikipedia

My ancestor Mark Whitaker initially migrated from England to live among the Quakers in Pennsylvania. Within a few years, the Whitakers had moved South to North Carolina, but they initially lived in Pennsylvania. Long before Mark Whitaker was born, one of his great great grandfathers, Reverend Robert Whitaker, had been a non-conformist preacher in England.

“Robert Whitaker, Jr. (1638-1718) was the son of Robert Whitaker of Read, co. Lanc. He was baptised at Padiham, Lancashire on 19th May, 1639 ^[1] He attended school in Burnley. At the age of 18, in 1658, he matriculated, at Magdalene College, Cambridge, graduating with a BA in 1661 ^[2] Folllowing the 1662 Act of Uniformity of 1662 he was ejected from the college before taking an MA . He settled as a non-conformist minister in Burgate, Hants, ^[3] [4] where he met and married Margaret Lisle, daughter of John Lisle and Alicia Beaconshaw, in 1672 at England.”

Puritans Seek Religious Freedom in America

 

“The Puritans left England primarily due to religious persecution but also for economic reasons as well. England was in religious turmoil in the early 17th century, the religious climate was hostile and threatening, especially towards religious nonconformists like the puritans.”

 

My ancestor William Claiborne was a Puritan sympathizer. He left England in 1621 to survey Jamestowne and Virginia for King James.