Tesmoignages de l'Eglise de Threadneedle Street 1669-1789

(Register of Members of the French Protestant Church at Threadneedle Street)

England welcomed Huguenots escaping from France during the years of their persecution there and again in 1685 after Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes. Many Huguenots settled in London where they established a church on Threadneedle Street in 1550. The church was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 but rebuilt within three years. During the influx of French Protestants in and after 1685, many churches were founded in London, but none survives today. In 1841, the church moved from Threadneedle Street to St. Martine-Le-Grand where it remained until 1887. Thereafter it was moved to Soho square because many French residents and industries were to be found in Soho at the close of the 19th century.

In the church archives are two books that list the names of its members. Entries date from 1669 to 1789. Parts of the book show water and fire damage and are missing or not legible. There are close to 13,00 entries total. The Huguenot Society of London (established 1885) transcribed the entries from these two books and published the work in a volume given the above title in 1909. Only 450 copies were printed by the Spottiswoode & Co. Ltd., New-Street Square, E.C. (The Winterthur Library has a copy, catalog number DA25 H89.) The entries were arranged alphabetically by surname.

Because of the persecution of French Protestants and the danger of spies and informers, a candidate for admission to the congregation was required to present a témoignage, or certificate from the church from which he came, guaranteeing that he was of the faith. In this case the entry reads, "T. xxx" where xxx is the name of the location from where the témoignage comes or the name of the person providing it.

If the candidate had no such certificate he could be vouched for by someone who knew him - "connu".

LeBlonds listed in registers:

My line of LeBlonds is the Robert and Madelaine, his wife, listed as members on September 25, 1743. These are my greatx8 grandparents. The other Robert in the list, Robert LeBlons, I believe to be the son of Robert and Madelaine. Born in 1732 in London, he would have been 18 years old in 1749, the date shown for him in the register. Names were spelled phonetically so the different surname does not preclude Robert from being a LeBlond. I believe the Guillaume Le Blon to be the third son of Robert and Madelaine. Born in 1736, he would have been about 18 years old on 29 June 1755, the date for his entry in the register. Missing from the register are the names of Robert and Madelaine's second and fourth sons, Pierre, born 1734, and Abraham, born 1738.

All of the LeBlonds I have discovered who have geographical data pertaining to them come from the area of Normandy, France. So far, I have not found any LeBlonds from other areas of France. My current assumption is that my line of LeBlonds came from Normandy.

Of the fourteen LeBlonds listed above, three come from Rouen, in Normandy (department is Seine-Maritime). In the Threadneedle register (where a location is noted) there are listed 269 people from Rouen and 834 from the department of what is today Seine-Maritime (region Haute Normandie).

Only 126 entries have an occupation listed. 51 of these list a textile trade as the occupation. The remainder are mostly artisans.

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