Hello, Yesterday someone on the Quebec and Canada-Immigrants Lists posted a query and mentioned the FANUEIL or FANEUIL surname. They commented on the many spellings of the surname, and on the many pronunciations of the name. This, of course, reminded me of "Fanueil Hall" in Boston. :o) (How do you pronounce it?) Out of curiousity, I did a search for "Fanueil Hall" and was disappointed to find only 2 or 3 web sites which mentioned whom the Hall is named after. So far, I have found out that it was first erected by Peter FANUEIL (FANEUIL) who was a merchant in Boston in the early 1700's. He was born in New Rochelle, NY, in 1700, and his parents were "French Huguenots." I found out he had inherited his wealth from his uncle, Andrew FANUEIL. But, I saw no mention of who Peter's parents were. Of course there are several web sites which discuss "Fanueil Hall" and some show pictures of it, and offer a short history of it. But, I found only one or two sites which mentioned Peter FANUEIL. So, I tried a different search for just "FANUEIL" or "FANEUIL" and there were only a few more sites. What was very surprising is there are no Message Boards or Mailing Lists for this surname (any spelling). And, only one person with this surname is mentioned on the LDS web site, Benjamin FANEUIL, b1706, of MA. Since Peter was born in 1700 and Benjamin was born in 1706 and both were Merchants in Boston, I am wondering if they were brothers. When I posted a query to the Quebec and Canada-Immigrants Lists, someone wrote to suggest that I search the Archives of the Huguenots List. I did that this morning, and I have just received a mini-education. The term, French Huguenots, merely refers to "French Protestants" who had to leave France in the 1600's, etc., to avoid .. religious persecution. They settled in several different areas of North America. But, one group settled in .. New Rochelle, NY, and founded that town. It appears that Peter and Benjamin FANUEIL (sp?) (brothers?) might have moved to Boston, MA, as young men, possibly in the 1720's. And, with money behind them, they became successful merchants. On quick search, I am not finding any information at all about wives and children for them. However, there was a Benjamin FANUEIL in Waltham, MA, after 1800. I have just joined the Huguenots List and posted a query about the FANUEIL or FANEUIL surname. If I receive any information about the FANEUIL Family Tree, I will let you know. By the way, in the brief-histories of "Fanueil Hall," it states, of course, that "During the Revolutionary period, it was a usual meeting place of the patriots, and, from the stirring debates and important resolutions.. often heard within its walls, it gained the name of 'the cradle of American liberty.'" (And, yet Peter died in 1743.) In the Archives of the Huguenots List, I found a description of "the Huguenot Settlers in North America." Part of one paragraph states "The Huguenots organized a congregation in Boston as early as 1685. In 1705 a site for a church was chosen, and the building erected in 1715......." ("In 1659 a New York congregation was organized ....") "The membership finally disintegrataed going to the English churches and the church ceased to exist in 1748." It might be a coincidence or it might be the reason .. why members of the FANUEIL family also were in Boston around the same time the first Huguenot Church was being built. And, another coincidence is that the Church ceased to exist only 5 years after Peter FANUEIL died. ..A reminder is to always check the Archives of all the Lists for your surname and placenames. There is a wealth of information there. One example is that I just read of the very early street name, Cornhill, in the Fanueil Hall section of Boston. (1999 posting to the Boston List) Thank you for your time. Enjoy your weekend. Betty (near Lowell, MA) "There are two lasting bequests we can give our children; one is roots, the other is wings." Hodding Carter, Jr. "What does Jesus want in his "stocking" on Christmas morning? Loving kindness, a warm heart, and the stretched out hand of tolerance!" The Bishop's Wife (1947)