My name is Wendy Ross. I live in Australia. I have the name SUFFREN in my direct family history. It is believed they changed their name from de Suffren when two brothers fled France to Ireland to escape protestant persecution. The year is unknown. My great grandparents were John Suffren, b.c. 1824 Saint John, New Brunswick - d.18 July, 1917 in Ballarat, Victoria, Australia and Elizabeth Fenton, who travelled to Australia with her parents in 1852, They married in Ballarat, Victoria in 1863. Now searching for further information regarding the origins of his father, JOHN SUFFREN, born Ireland c. 1779 - Married Margaret Bruce Mawhinney in 1819 in County Londonderry. (My 2xgreat grandparents) Both travelled at some point in time to New Brunswick, Canada where they raised five children. Both are buried in the Fernhill Cemetery, Saint John, New Brunswick - 1864 and 1878 respectively. The family yarn is that the Suffren name was formerly de Suffren but was later Anglisized from the French spelling when the Huguenot family fled to Ireland to escape protestant persecution. There is some evidence the two previously mentioned brothers, were possibly descendants of Trophime de Suffren, Further to this, is the story that there was some connection to Admiral Pierre Andre de Suffren de Saint Tropez, whose small portrait adorned the wall of a Suffren home in Ballarat, Victoria. Many years of research has been undertake by three generations of the family, resulting in very little of no conclusive evidence to support the French connection. Hoping to locate a knowledgeable individual who can confirm that the name de Suffren does in fact, appear in the list of Huguenot names.
