Name:

MOST OF THE FOLLOWING IS EXTRACTED FROM THE MINUTES AND NEWSLETTERS OF THE BONDURANT FAMILY ASSOCIATION, PUBLISHED FROM 1988 FORWARD. THE CLAYTON LIBRARY IN HOUSTON HAS A COPY:

The French name Jean Peirre BONDURANT, would have an English equivalent of "John Peter".

POLITICAL BACKGROUND AND REASONS FOR EMIGRATION:

The Edict of Nantes was issued on April 13, 1598, by Henry IV of France to grant French Protestants (also known as Huguenots) substantial rights in a nation still considered Catholic. The Edict aimed primarily to end the long-running, disruptive French Wars of Religion. Huguenots became known for their fiery criticisms of worship as performed in the Roman Catholic Church, in particular the focus on ritual and what seemed an obsession with death and the dead. Eighty-seven years later, in October 1685, Louis XIV (grandson of Henry IV) renounced the Edict and declared Protestantism illegal. Many Protestants then chose to leave France.

Jean Pierre was born 18 Jul 1677, at Genolhac, Department of Gard, France. He was first baptized as a Huguenot, but in 1684 was probably re-baptized as a Catholic, because of increasing religious persecution.

His parents, Jean Pierre BONDURANT (1636-1694) and Gabrielle de BARJON (1642-1695), had been married 28 Oct 1676 in a Huguenot ceremony at Barre des Cevennes, Department of Gard, France. Gabrielle's father and brother were Huguenot ministers.

Jean Pierre's father died in 1694, and his mother in 1695 – both had been "recently converted" to Catholicism according to death records. Jean Pierre became the ward of his uncle Andre BONDURANT, an apothecary, who trained the boy in his trade. (Some reports say Andre was his father's cousin, rather than his uncle.)

In the spring of 1697, Jean Pierre fled France, going first to Geneva, then To Aarau, Switzerland, both French-speaking, where many Huguenots had settled. On 3 Oct 1697, at Aarau, Jean Pierre recanted his Catholicism, and rejoined the Huguenot congregation of his maternal uncle Guillaume BARJON. This conversion is recorded in the congregational records, and was signed by Jean Pierre.

In the Spring of 1699 his uncle, Pastor Barjon, and his congregation, relocated in Germany, but it is not certain if Jean Pierre was with them.

In early 1700 many of the Huguenots began to depart for America. Jean Pierre sailed with the second group on the ship "Ye Peter and Anthony", along with nearly 200 other Huguenot refugees. The port of embarkation was London. They arrived in Virginia in October 1700, and were transported upriver to an area known as Lower Manakin, near present-day Richmond.

In December 1700 King William Parish was created to encompass the 10,000 acres of land reserved for the Huguenots along the James River. They were excused from paying taxes for 7 years, but were obliged to support their own minister. (Ministers in the official Church of England religion would have been supported by the Colony tax revenues.)

In the winter of 1701 the French settlements faced "starving times", and were saved only by charity of individuals and the Virginia government. Jean Pierre and many others received provisions from the Falling Creek Mill, for which accounts survive. Deaths among the settlers, and lack of food, led many Huguenots to abandon the new land, and seek employment elsewhere in Virginia. Jean Pierre was probably among those relocating, because he is not found in King William Parish until 1730*.

(*NOTE: Starting in 1705, the Virginia government defined all male persons over age 16, and all slaves over 16, to be tithable, or eligible to be taxed for defraying the public, county and parish charges in her Majesty's colony. Jean Pierre dies not appear on this list for King William Parish until 1830, so the above statement concludes he must have been living elsewhere. However other reports say he was a member of the vestry of his church during 1721-1731, and perhaps that exempted him from the tithable list? It is not obvious that he did NOT live in King William Parish.)

In 1704 the Huguenots petitioned to be naturalized as citizens, and in March 1705 Jean Pierre and others were naturalized. The group included those who lived in other areas besides Manakin.

Jean Pierre was practicing medicine in Henrico County – apparently his training as an apothecary at the side of his uncle in France was sufficient qualification. Patients included some living near Petersburg, Varina, and Colonial Heights, about 20-30 miles from the Manakin settlement.

In the years 1708-1713, Jean Pierre was involved in several Civil Court cases, and sold some land. In most of these documents he is using the name "John Peter". In November 1711 he recorded his cattle mark "Swallow Fork and Underkeel of each ear", so he owned cattle but had no apparent land? Perhaps he was living on land of wife Ann's family?

After being very active in court records, he then disappears between 1714-1719. He may have moved, but this is unclear. In any event, he reappeared in various court cases in Henrico County between 1719 and 1723.

On 24 March 1725, Jean Pierre received a patent for 400 acres of land in Goochland County (which was cut off from Henrico) on the south side of James River and Jones Creek, to be purchased from the King. This was recorded in Patent Book 1724-1725, pages 399-400. This land is given away in his will (see below).

In the years 1731 – 1735, Jean Pierre is on the tithe lists for King William Parish, so he must have owned or occupied land there.

JOHN PIERRE BONDURANT'S WILL:

(Transcribed from the original, now on file at the VA State Archives. Original spelling, punctuation, and capitalization retained with the exception of names of family members, which have been highlighted.

"In the name of God amen i JOHN PETER BONDRANT being sick and weak but of a good sound disposing mind and memory all prais be giving to god for it and now minding to settle my worly estate which it is please god to bestow upon me before i depart this life doth make and appoint this to be my last will and testament in manner and form following

first i give my soul to god that gave it me and my body to the earth from whence it takin to be decently entered according to the decrescion of my Excutors heairafter mentioned

Item i give and bequeth unto my son JOHN BONDRANT one Hundred and Twentifive acors of Land which he now dwelleth on and one hors and one bed and blankit and Rug and sheet and hide and bedcord and one Iron pot one dish one bason and Three plaits and one Cow and Calf that he is now porsest of to him and his ares forever

Item i give and bequeath unto my son PETER BONDURANT one Hundred and fifty Acors of Land on Age Crick and upalong as the crick goes and a Hors naimed Smoaker and one Cow and Calf and Two Sous and fore Shotes and one puter Dish and one Bason and Six plaits one porrenger and six putor spoons and one Iron Pot and one Rugg one Blankit and one Sheet and brown lining to make him a bed to him and his ares lawfully begotten for ever but if are a one of my too sons die without issue then to the sorviveor and to his ares lawfully begotten forever

Item i give and bequeth unto my son JOSEPH BONDRUANT one Hundred and Twenty five acors of Lant with the purinancis [appurtenances] belonging their unto whear i now dwelleth and one Cow and Calf and one Calf in the porsession of JAMES FORD and too Sous and fore Shots and one Ram sheep and one Meair Coalt with the hors Colts that she has & the meair fols to return to me for ever and too Dishis one larg and one small and one Bason and six plaits and one Porrenger and one Point pot and one Sow and fore Shoats to him and his ares for ever

I give and bequeth to my Daughter ANN FORD one Heffer eighteen munts ould and one Sow and pigs to her and her ares forever

Item i give and bequeth unto my Daughter FRANCIS SALLE one Heffer att the age of Eighteen munts and one Sow and Pigs to her and her ares forever and I do give unto my son PETER BONDRANT all my weairing cloaths and it is my desir that my Wife should Keep them and let him have them as she thinks fit and my Carpentors Tools and Shumakers Tools and Croscut Saw and Wedgis i leave for the use of my Wife and my too sons and that their be no hindrance or molistation of any person or person whotsoever

Item i give to my loving wife ANN BONDRANT after my just depts and funeral charges and leagucies are paid all the remainder of my Estate my land personnolly in this place or else wheair to hir and hir ares for ever and i do leve my loving Wife Ann Bundrant hole and sole Excutor of this my last will and testament revoking all other wills or wills made by me heairtofore as Witness my hand an fixt my seal this Twentyfift Day of September 1734."

J Bondurant

Test John Cook

James Ford E his mark

John Bondurant

[Codicil added at the bottom:]

"It is my desire that my son Peter Bondrant have his Shair of land on the S & E end of Age Branch and my son John Bondrant and my son Joseph Bondrant to have their shair on the S & W of my Branch to equal devided between them according as the lines goeth and to have the liberty of Cuting any Pine or pinetree upon my son Peter Bondrant land for their youse."

EDITOR'S NOTES RE THE WILL: The handwriting of the will is not that of John Peter, nor is the spelling of the surname consistent with his signature. Despite illness and weakness, which he mentioned in the will, John Peter's signature was firm and literate, very similar as his signature in the church register in Switzerland many years before. At the time the will was drawn he was 57, an advanced age for the time. A holdover from medieval handwriting is seen in his will; the pronoun I, now capitalized, was then written as a lower-case j. It was the earlier convention to use the j for for a single i or when the i concluded a Roman numeral.

AN INVENTARY OF THE ESTATE OF JNO. PETER BONDURANT DECEAS'D

Being apprais'd by us the Subscribers ye 24^th Day of January 1734/5 vizt.

29 head of hogs £2:18:0

14 head of cattle` £8:12:6

3 horses and 1 mare & fold (foal) £7:15:0

1 sheep £0:03:6

4 Beds & a pallatt with their furniture £10:00:0

Ye Books £1:00:0

4 pots & ye Iron tumber £5:00:0

the old Brass £2:00:0

the Earthen & Stone Ware £0:12:6

the Puter £2:5:0

the docters means & old lumber £3:5:0

The wareing cloaths & Sword £5:00:0

1 looking Glass & canister & vial £0:02:6

The Cotton Wool and Flax £1:16:9

The Loom wheels & chairs £1:05:0

The Gun & Virginia Cloath £1:10:0

6 yards of checks & 7-1/2 yards duroy £1:06:0

a Chest & Table & Lumber £1:00:0

Iron Lumb'ring and blanket & sheet £1:00:0

A parcel of Tobacco and Rope £4:14:0

[TOTAL] £61:5:9

[Appraised and signed by:]

Tho's Turpine

Wm. Lansdon

John Hamilton

At a court held for Goochland County May ye 20^th 1735. This inventory was ordered to be recorded. Test. Henry Wood Clerk

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

The Bondurant family has an active web site, you can visit at:

http://www.bondurant-family.org

Ann Faure L' Orange was born in France circa 1688. Grinnell's manuscript indicates that Ann was born in 1688 in Buckingham Co., Virginia. This, however, has to be incorrect as Buchingham Co. did not exist until the mid-1700's. The pedigree chart in The Huguenot, Publication No. 30, page 120, has Ann as the daughter of Daniel Isaac Faure and Mary Chastain. Mary was a Huguenot immigrant as a widow. The immigrant record indicates widow Faure with her four children, but names only her sons Pierre and Jean. It is believed that Ann was one of the daughters and therefore was born in France. Ann died after 1734/1735 in Virginia.

She married Jean Pierre (John Peter) Bondurant circa 1708 in Manakin Town, Virginia.

(The writer believes) Ann Faure to be a sister of Pierre Faure who arrived immigrated with their widowed mother. Papers included in a file folder for Patriot James Ford Jr., grandson of Pierre Faure, indicate that Pierre was the son of Daniel Isaac Faure and Mary Ann Chastain. A pedigree chart included in The Huguenot, Publication No. 30, indicates that the parents of Ann Faure who married Jean Pierre Bondurant was the daughter of Daniel Isaac Faure and Mary Chastain, the widow Mary Chastain a Huguenot immigrant. If this is the case, then Ann Bondurant, daughter of Ann Faure and Jean Pierre Bondurant married her first cousin, James Ford, Sr. who was the son of Pierre Faure and Elizabeth Agee, first wife of Pierre.

Ann Faure L' Orange and Jean Pierre (John Peter) Bondurant had the following family:

John Peter Bondurant [II] was born in King William Parish, Virginia circa 1710. John died circa 1744, but before 1776 in Buckingham Co., Virginia. Grinnell, in his manuscript, indicates that John died in Manakin in 1744. A pedigree chart in The Huguenot, Publication No. 30, submitted by Mary V. Bondurant Epling, indicates that John died about 1744 in Buckingham County, but before 1776, and that his death was recorded in Powhatten County. He married Sarah Rachael Moseley circa 1729. Sarah was the widow of Robert L. Moseley.

John Peter Bondurant was listed as a vestryman in King William Parish in 1748. He is first mentioned in his father's will in 1734. John and his wife Sarah lived in Goochland County, Virginia, and later in Cumberland County. He deeded 200 acres of land to his son, John Peter III of Albemarle County, on 9 March 1758.

Peter Jacob Bondurant was born in Manakin Town, Virginia circa 1711. Peter died circa 1735 in Manakin Town, Virginia.

Elizabeth Ann Bondurant was born circa 1714.

Frances Jane Bondurant was born in Manakin Town, Virginia circa 1717. Frances died circa 1777. She married Jean Perreau.

[Dr.] Joseph Augustine Bondurant was born circa 1720.

FOLLOWING RELATES TO HER PRESUMED BROTHER PIERRE, TAKEN FROM:

http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:2533449&id=I883

(Not clear of Ann traveled at the same time, but offers some family background:)

The family arrived in the Colonies on March 5, 1700 aboard the ship La Nassau. The family was part of a large group of Huguenot refugees from France. King Louis the XIV of France set into motion an intensive campaign against toleration of Huguenots. He resolved to "convert the heretics, to constrict further their religious rights, and to root up heresy once and for all." In 1685 he revoked the Edict of Nantes by promulgating the Edict of Fountainbleau, which prohibited Huguenot worship and education. All meeting houses were to be used as Catholic Churches. This and other restrictions let to the Faure and other families to flee France for the English Colonies.

The Faure families settled in Manakin Town, King William Parish, Henrico Co., VA where on May 12, 1705 Pierre Faure was naturalized in the American Colony. He was one of the founders of the Hugenot settlement at Manakin Town, In Henrico County. The Faure name eventually was anglicised to Ford though the variations of Fore and Foree are used by some descendents. Source: Brock, R.A. Unpublished Documents Relating to Settlement of Manakin Town. US Historical Society, 1886.

The Faure's were aided by King William III when he ordered Governor Francis Nicholson of Virginia to make grants of land to these French refugees to help settle them. the board of trade intended to settle the first company in Norfolk Co., VA. Since no vacant or undisputed land existed here, the Virginia Council decided on August 8, 1700 that the French refugees should be seated in Henrico County at Manakin Town. The area was referred to as the "World's End," a common designation for the Falls of the James River. The Virginia Council reserved ten thousand acres of fertile land in the Piedmont region of the James River and each family was entitled to receive 133 acres. During the first ten years of settlement only about half of the tract was apportioned among the refugees. Pierre eventually acquired several hundred acres of land and a house and lot in Manakintown on the James River. Source: The Narrative of Daniel Trabue. Lexington: The University of Kentucky Press, p.160.

"Documents, Chiefly Unpublished, Relating to the Huguenot Emigration to Virginia and to the Settlement at Manakin-Town, with an Appendix of Genealogies, ...." by R.A. Brock (Richmond, Virginia Historical Society 1886) p.247. Reissued copy by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, 1962.

Ship and Passenger Information:

List of French, Swiss, Genevese, German, and Flemish embarked on the ship named the Nassau to go to Virginia.

The following passenger list for the ship Nassau is from "Huguenot Emmigrations to Virginia" by R.A. Brock. The transcript, in French as in original, was kindly provided by Judy Hamby (email) and has been posted at her DuVal Home Pages.

Arrived 1700/1701 on the ship Nassau with wife and child:

Feree', Pierre (fferee') This is Pierre Faure

Feree', ---- (his wife) and wife Elizabeth Agee

Feree' (1 child) a son, probably John

Name: Jean Pierre BONDURANT