Antoine Du Chesne (abt. 1640 - 1712)

Born about 1640 in Province de Saintonge, France

Husband of Annette (Boucquet) Du Chesne — married about 1675 in Brooklyn, Kings, Province of New York

Descendants

Died Apr 1712 at about age 72 in Staten Island, Richmond County, Province of New York

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Biography

Antoine Du Chesne was a Huguenot emigrant (1540-1790).

Antoine du Chesne was born about 1640 in Saintonge Province, France. The du Chesne (or du Chêne) family were landowning provincial nobility near Matha in St. Jean d'Angely parish of this small province, historically part of Aquitaine in the south west of France. In 1520, two du Chesne cousins: Jean du Chesne, Lord of Clusan; and Antoine du Chesne, Lord of Roume-fort, pres Matha, were named among the representatives of the Nobility, called together with Clergy and Bourgeois representatives to codify the Laws & Customs of Saintonge. At some point in the next century, part of this family converted to Calvinist Protestantism. The Antoine du Chesne born about 1640 in Saintonge was a French Huguenot.^[1]

As such, by the 1660s, when he was a young man, he became subject to increasingly-violent religious persecution by the Roman Catholic French monarchy under King Louis XIV. Although the exact circumstances leading to his exile from his homeland are not known, it's clear that Antoine followed the already-well-known sea escape route via La Rochelle to the United Provinces of the Netherlands, a Protestant-ruled nation that welcomed French Huguenot and Walloon Refugees in the 17 and 18th Centuries. From there, in 1663, he booked passage to Nieuw Amsterdam in the Dutch-ruled Nieuw Nederland (New York), settling in Nieuw Uijtrecht, now part of Brooklyn (Kings County), New York. In 1687, he took an loyalty oath to the English crown, affirming his having lived in Kings County, New York, for the past 24 years. ^[2]

Antoine du Chesne participated in the thriving French-&-Dutch-speaking Huguenot community in Nieuw Nederland. Like most of his fellow Huguenots, he transferred his allegiance to Protestant-led England after that country took possession of the former Dutch colony between 1664-1673. In 1667 he bought land in Nieuw Uijtrecht (Brooklyn) from a fellow-Huguenot immigrant from Holland: Jerome Bouquet (aka "Bockee" or "Brouwer") and 2 years later he bought the "bouwerie of Abraham DuToict". In the early 1670s, he married Annette (Annetje) Bouquet, Jerome Bouquet's 5th & youngest daughter. The couple settled first in Brooklyn (New Utrecht), Kings County, New York, and around 1690 they all moved to Staten Island (Richmond County), New York. They are known to have had the following 8 children:^[3]

1. Jerome Du Chene (Dushane) b: ca. 1676 in New York, New York
2. Francyntje Du Chesne b: ca. 1677 in New York, New York
3. Janette Du Chesne b: ca. 1678 in Brooklyn, New York
4. Marie Madeleine Du Chesne b: 1679 in Brooklyn, New York
5. Valentine Du Chene (Dushane) b: 03 July 1681 in Brooklyn, NY
6. Gerrit (Garret) Du Chene (Dushane)b: 28 Jan 1683 in Kings NY
7. Michel Du Chene (Dushane) b: ca. 1685 in Kings, New York
8. Anna Du Chesne b: April 1686 in Flatbush, Kings, New York

Antoine (Anthony; Antony) Du Chesne wrote and signed his Will on April 3, 1711, at his home on Staten Island, Richmond, New York. In it, although he provided for his widow, he basically disinherited all of his children except 2 sons: Jerome, the eldest; and Michael, the youngest. His widow & Jerome refused to be Executors.^[4]

Will of Anthony Duchene:

ANTHONY DUCHENE. In the name of God, Amen, the 3d of April,1711.

I, Anthony Duchene, of Staten Island. I leave to my son Michael Duchene, my whole estate, of a lot and a half of land, and "Mink" the negro boy. And all my movables, and he is to give my dear wife, Annaher [Annejte], whole and separate maintenance as long as she lives. I leave to my son Jerome the lot of land he now liveth on. I leave to my son Valentine, 10 Shillings. To my daughters, Anna Golders, Janette Mangles, Magdalena Claason, and Franettie Egberts, each 5 Shillings.

Witnesses, John Bayham, Barent Simons, Benjamin Cooper. Proved, May12, 1712, and Michael Dusen appointed administrator, the widow and Jerome, the eldest son, having refused.

Anthony (Antoine) died in early 1712 as his will was probated in the Surrogate Court of New York on May 12th, 1712 (Liber 8, Page 235). Anthony Du Chesne's wife died before 1720 and all of his sons left New York, moving to New Castle, Delaware, in the 1720s.

Church records

1. 1679 Jul 27 Maria; parents: Antonie derie (crossed out) Du Chesne, Anna Bocque.
2. 1681 Jul 03 Valentin; parents: Antoine du Chesne, Annetje Bocquet; op Amersfoort; witnesses: Tijs Jansz van Pelt, Adriaantje sijn Huijsvr.
3. 1684 Feb 10 Gerrit; parents: Anthoine Du Chesne, Anne Bocque; op Midwoud; witnesses: Thijs Lubbertsz, & huijsvr Trijntje. ^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ 1520 - The writing of the customs of Saintonge, La Rochelle and the country of Aunis, by Daniel Massiou; Saintes, France, 1846.
2. ↑ The Eugene (Gene) and Judith (Judi) Whorton Henderson Family Tree on RootsWeb: Antoine Du Chesne Cites: "Ships Passenger Lists, New York and New Jersey: 1600-1825," edited by Carl Boyer, 3rd. Newhall, Ca., 1978. p140 &142. The roll off those who have taken the oath of allegiance in the kings County in the Province of New Yorke, the 26,27, 28, 29 and 30th day of September in the third year of his Majytsh raigne, Annoque Domine 1687: "Off New Uijtrecht" - "Anthonij De Chaine 24 jeare (in this county)".
3. ↑ See preceding Note - it cites numerous local primary sources & notes by direct descendants. Especially noteworthy is documentation on where the children went.
4. ↑ New York City Wills, 1708-28; pg. 273. Cited on RootsWeb genealogy of preceding Notes.
5. ↑ David William Voorhees, editor, Records of The Reformed Protestant Dutch Church of Flatbush, Kings County, New York, Vol.1, 1677-1720 (New York: Holland Society of New York, 1998) via Chris Chester, "The Brouwer Genealogy Database"

• O'Callaghan, E. B. 1850. The Documentary history of the state of New-York. vol. 1. Albany [N.Y.]: Weed, Parsons. p. 430.

• NJGS. "D: Du Chene, Anthony." njgsbc.org. Accessed 06 Jul 2016. http://njgsbc.org/files/BCFamilies/BCFam-D.pdf PDF

• Chester, Chris. "The Brouwer Genealogy Database." freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~brouwergenealogydata. Accessed May 23, 2016. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~brouwergenealogydata/index.htm Anthony du Chesne

• Flint, Martha Bocke. The Bockee Family (Boucquet), 1641-1897. Poughkeepsie, N.Y.: [publisher Not Identified], 1897.

• Source: #S-1525611297 1 or more individual Ancestry Family Tree files were combined to create this source citation. Note: Information extracted from various family tree data submitted to Ancestry.com and The Generations Network. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/112019/person/-1727749345/facts

• Source: #S00001 Ancestry Family Trees. https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/tree/62444179/family

Acknowledgements

• This person was created through the import of 104-B.ged on 12 September 2010.

• This person was created on 13 September 2010 through the import of 124-DeCoursey.ged.

• WikiTree profile DuChesne-78 was created by Tom Wilde through the import of Urschel - Powell Family TreeJul302014.ged on Jul 30, 2014. Merged by Chet Snow, Leader, Huguenot Migration Project, on 19 February 2019.