Now that I have resumed my interest in genealogy, I've decided to resume Friday Family Fun Facts as well.
Tell your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. (Joel 1:3)
We have now traced my family to a man named Francois de la Chaumette. Francois was born about 1500 and died after 1608. He lived in Rochechouart, France. While our family tree is currently only traced back to the year 1500, in "The communal Life of Rochechouart" by Dr. O. Marquet, 1900, there are mentioned many de la Chaumette's who were important figures in Rochechouart, including consuls, pastors, apothecaries, barristers, and a Jean de la Chaumette who is listed as the keeper of the seal for the King of France in 1312.
Rochechouart is a beautiful little walled town located about 42 kilometers east of Saint Junien on the route leading through Chalus to Limoges at the junction of the Craine and Vayres Rivers. Ages ago it was the site of impact of one of the largest meteorites ever to hit earth. Many of the historic buildings in the town were built from blocks of breccia generated during the meteorite impact.
The Chateau at Rochechouart is built from blocks of breccia generated during the meteorite impact.
A beautiful church made from blocks carved from impact breccia.
The de la Chaumette's were French Huguenots. The Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1684 and resulted in persecution of the Huguenots. Some renounced their faith for the right to remain in their homes. Others chose exile. Three de la Chaumette brothers left for England with a little group. It is from one of these brothers, Jean, that our family is descended.
I could write, and write, and write about how much I love family histories.....lol. So much fun. It sounds like you are having fun learning about your ancestors!
ReplyDeleteI am amazed that you've been able to trace your ancestors back that far. My daughter has had a lot of fun tracing her roots. In fact, she was on a fact-finding trip all last week while granddaughter was at camp.
ReplyDeleteI got a huge break from roots web. I was simply typng in names of ancestors that I knew and found one. The link just went on and on, all the way back to 1500's. There is even a yahoo group for descendants of this man to share their genealogy information.
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