History questions re: BRICOU (FRA > London, ENG > Manakin/Staten Island/Rahway)
Replies: 15
Why pick one church over another?
 ron_mesnard
(View posts)
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Posted: 13 Dec 2007 2:26PM GMT |
Classification: Query
It is not safe to assume that Solomon immigrated in 1699 from France. It is safer to assume Solomon was not destitute. Huguenots were usually not poor. They had to leave their land and housing behind but often smuggled out what they could.
Many Huguenots became naturalized citizens of England before going to the New World. Maybe they thought if the were deported they would go back to England and not France. Maybe it was because they hated France and felt the need to change their nationality.
It was common to have trusted contacts living in the place you were moving to before you moved overseas. It was a bigger deal then it is today to move to a different country. Huguenots were mostly upper middle class which usually meant, merchants. They were literate and many had international contacts. Merchants likely had nautical contacts as well. Some of these people were more mobile than you would expect. The Mesnards were very mobile at that time and some kept houses in different countries probably as a business expense.
The church was a person’s primary social group at that time. You would join the church where your contacts belonged.
It was nearly impossible for Huguenots to leave France after the borders were closed 1685. Daniel Mesnard left after the borders were closed with his uncle. His uncle had worked in a government branch that dealt with visas and had access to the necessary forms. He forged his own visa and knew how the exit process worked or more importantly, how it did not work. He crossed France by land and escaped to Holland by land even though he lived in a sea port. Even with forged papers they did not tarry, they left in late 1685 or early 1886. They were living in the West Indies in 1866. It became increasingly difficult to escape. By 1890 your ancestor would have had to have had a great amount of pull with someone to have escaped. More likely, your ancestor moved to Holland or some place like that to get out of France while the getting was good. There was a short time window of opportunity when Huguenots were told they could not leave France but the borders were not securely closed. 1685 was the height of the Huguenot exodus. Once in out of France, they may have taken their time to make their next move or moved to several locations before comming to London.
Many Huguenots became naturalized citizens of England before going to the New World. Maybe they thought if the were deported they would go back to England and not France. Maybe it was because they hated France and felt the need to change their nationality.
It was common to have trusted contacts living in the place you were moving to before you moved overseas. It was a bigger deal then it is today to move to a different country. Huguenots were mostly upper middle class which usually meant, merchants. They were literate and many had international contacts. Merchants likely had nautical contacts as well. Some of these people were more mobile than you would expect. The Mesnards were very mobile at that time and some kept houses in different countries probably as a business expense.
The church was a person’s primary social group at that time. You would join the church where your contacts belonged.
It was nearly impossible for Huguenots to leave France after the borders were closed 1685. Daniel Mesnard left after the borders were closed with his uncle. His uncle had worked in a government branch that dealt with visas and had access to the necessary forms. He forged his own visa and knew how the exit process worked or more importantly, how it did not work. He crossed France by land and escaped to Holland by land even though he lived in a sea port. Even with forged papers they did not tarry, they left in late 1685 or early 1886. They were living in the West Indies in 1866. It became increasingly difficult to escape. By 1890 your ancestor would have had to have had a great amount of pull with someone to have escaped. More likely, your ancestor moved to Holland or some place like that to get out of France while the getting was good. There was a short time window of opportunity when Huguenots were told they could not leave France but the borders were not securely closed. 1685 was the height of the Huguenot exodus. Once in out of France, they may have taken their time to make their next move or moved to several locations before comming to London.