I am trying to find out more about some DUREs, at one time known as DUREEs, with acute accent on the first "e" (according to family story) who lived in Devonshire, England in the late 18th and and 19th centuries (some are still there, and they may have been there much earlier, but I have not been able to verify the links yet.) Family story says they were originally from France, near the Belgian border, but I don't know how far back that was; it could have been a long time..
Common family forenames are Nicholas, Robert, Edward, Elizabeth.
Does anyone have any information about links to England, especially Devonshire or to this part of France? The name apparently had origins in Picardy and Alsace-Lorraine, which corresponds to family story of them being near the Belgian border.
One John N/Michelmore DURE migrated to Ontario Canada in early 19thC., and his firstborn Nicholas, b.Toronto, may have moved to Manitoba and/or Minnesota late 19thC. or early 20thC. Somebody named Nicholas did in fact move to MN, and he is connected somehow - he was born 1837 in Ontario and died after 1924 probably in MN. Siblings probably remained in Ontario.
Also, do any of you know if any of your people were Huguenots? This is another avenue I am exploring, as there seem to be some (still shaky) grounds for thinking they might have been.
I would appreciate it if the person who has the 500page book on the DUREEs (whose name I have forgotten) would let me know whether any of this fits with her book - even a "no" would be helpful. Also I am terribly curious what the book is, where and when it was published etc. Thanks very much..