Hi All, Isabel brought up recently some things to consider in presenting evidence/sources for the data we share. Following is an excerpt from an offlist email exchange between Bonnie and me. I think the considerations she presents are important to consider and so I include some excerpts here....These are reflections on how to do genealogy: letter of the law, spirit of the letter of the law. Both are legitimate. How do you feel about these? Renee ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) Regarding some of the "philosophical" issues involved in how we [Degruy L] will assemble and present the data we find these words from Bonnie: I guess the simplest way to put it would be that not everyone will agree what the truth is about the lineage. William Faulkner once said that the truth is so blinding that you cannot look at it from one angle. If indeed there was only one truth, there would only be one religion. Anyway, to avoid a train wreck down the line, it would be much better to decide now on a protocol and procedure for assembling the gedcom. In other words, if the lineage was block simple to assemble, someone would have already done it. Therefore, setting ground rules about how you are going to document and deal with discrepancies in the record would be wise. For example, my cousin ... and I fundamentally disagree about procedure for assembling family histories. She is what I would call a strict constructionist. She does not include anyone who is not clearly documented. Her family file is very small. I'm just the opposite. I include anyone I think belongs, hopefully with a justification of why I think so. If you look up her gedcom on rootsweb you will find it confined to one single family line, Baudier, with a few hundred people, whereas mine has thousands. Her research methodology is impeccable. However, you would not see the DeGruy line in her family file, because she has not verified it. Oddly enough, she's the source for a great deal of the information that I have on the DeGruy family. If I followed her protocol, none of you would have had access to the information that I have made available through my family file on the web, unverified and all. That being said, cousin ... has followed the letter of the law, while I have followed the spirit. Both have their value and, I believe, their place. [Her] gedcom is a finely documented and unblemished record on a few chosen individuals which is an end in itself. My gedcom is finely documented where possible but is mostly undocumented and suggest to error. My gedcom is it is intended to be a jumping off place for others to begin their research. I want to do the greatest good for the greatest number, even at the expense of some accuracy. In an electronic age errors are so easily corrected. However, I will tell you that I get some viciously ugly letters about obvious errors in my gedcom. I even had one @%%$#% notify me that he was so appalled by some error that he found on my gedcom about his direct family line that he attached a post it note to my gedcom warning other researchers who he thought might innocently be harmed by the info contained in my gedcom. I was so incensed that I thought about taking the whole gedcom down from the web, but after I cooled down, I instead decided to simply put a disclaimer on the gedcom notifying downloaders to beware ... as if you have to warn any researcher worth their salt of that anyway! An example of the kind of discrepancy in the record that can cause problems is the one in the recent letter that you just got about one of the DeGruy's having two wives, or did he? Would you put the two wives in the gedcom citing who suggested them, or wait until harder evidence came out to discredit or credit them? 2) More items for consideration from Bonnie: I do family research for fun, not to get credit for anything. I get my fair share from my day job. However, that being said, it is best to quote the primary source, not me or anyone else. Again, I recommend the citation standard in the book "Evidence" ... Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian by Elizabeth Shown Mills <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author=Mills%2C%20Elizabeth%20Shown/002-4987607-0042435> * Hardcover: 124 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 9.25 x 0.50 x 6.25 * Publisher: Regional Publishing Company; 1 edition (January 2000) * ISBN: 0806315431 * $16.95 that I recommended to you [I have a copy at home if you need help]. I try very hard to carefully cite every little piece of data I collect. Unfortunately, rootsweb does not correctly transfer my citations. It is much better for me to send you, or anyone else, a copy of a particular family file from my home genealogy software database for it contains the full correct citation. On the other hand, when I have made some interesting intuitive conjecture about some hapless ancestor that has not a shred of substantiating factual data, which I do quite often, then feel free to quote me or my web file. I'm shameless; I do family research for fun. Although getting it right is important to me, it's not why I do it. As an academic research librarian, I believe knowledge is about sharing. It's important to every researcher that they have a citation that will lead them back to the original document where they can check the facts for themselves. Whenever I can the primary source, or original document, I always do, sometimes many times. Let me give you an example: My cousin ... and I were researching our direct family line. We found our great grandfather on the census alive after we knew for a fact that he was dead [we had a copy of his death certificate]. I cannot tell you how many times we looked at that original census record before one of us realized that the person listed was his wife, going by his name, as in the widow Pascal Henri Baudier [the widow part being understood, or left off by the census taker]. With the above in mind, another instance when you might want to quote me, but only as a secondary source in addition to citing the primary document information, is if you have not checked out the primary source information yourself and wanted to make sure that other researchers know that if they detect any corruption of the primary source material in my data, it was I who made the errors. I hope this is a help. You can always check with me if you're unsure about how to progress. For example, with the information on the degruyere family in Switzerland, it would be better to quote the web site that I got the info from. At the moment, there is no genealogical link to that family in Switzerland, only hearsay. I'm just so excited that you have taken the initiative to enable us researchers to begin a dialogue that will allow us all to work together now to piece the very best information that each of us separately has into something substantive. I'm so exited about this whole project. I just hope I can keep up. I think it's going to be a worldwind! Thanks for including me. I sent along the info to my cousin

Hi, Came across this email from Judy Perrin, who has been very helpful to me with a lot of my research. Renee >FYI >Revolutionary Ancestors of the Louisiana Society NSDAR >published in approx. 1991 / page 72 >De Gruy, Antoine Verloin LA Patriot >De Gruy, Jean Baptiste LA Patriot >Metairie Ridge Chapter >Spirit of '76 Chapter > >DAR Patriot index >Vol. 1 (published 2003) >page 721 >De Gruy, Jean Baptiste >born; 8/3/1751 New Orleans, LA >died 1/3/1838 New Orleans, LA >married (1.) wife. . . . . . . . .unknown >married (2.) Melanie Gaudin >Patriot Service LA >German Coast Militia >CRC page 223 H & P page 178 (in 1991 edition of LA Patriots DAR) >CRC page 264 H&P page 239 (in 1994 edition DAR LA Patriots) > >CRC >by Robert Churchill >Spanish records list of men under General Don Bernard de Galvez against the >British 1779-- 1925 > >H&F >by Jack D.L. Holmes >Honor and Fidelity >the Louisiana infantry and the Louisiana militia companies 1766-1821 >page 239 ># 883 Degrui, Juan Bautista >First Lieutenant, breveted captain, >German Coast Disciplined Provincial Militia, 1792 > >#884 >Degruirre, Andres; lieutenant, St. Genevieve Militia, 1794. >(probably why he is listed in "Kaskaskia under the French Regime" > >I'm trying to find out why Antoine De Gruy is not listed in the new indexes >when I know he was accepted. >Judy > > > > >

Hi All, For the next few entries that I make, I'll send some excerpts from interesting emails on the DeGruys that I've received over the past year. This first entry is from Jerry Freyder who will be joining Degruy-L soon: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "My wife, Karen Delahoussaye, is a direct descendant of the Verloin de Gruy family. Since my hobby is to research old Louisiana families, of course, I have saved every bit of information I came across on that line. The earliest de Gruy I currently have in my wife's direct line is Jean Baptist Antoine Valentin Verloin de Gruy, born about 1720 in Paris, France, died July 1759 in Kaskaskia, Illinois. His full name and title was Jean Baptiste Antoine Valentin, Ecuyer, Verloin De Gruy, Lord Dumenil Fouchard, Duke of France, Ecuyer, de la Folie. He was described as a "native of Paris" and a "native of Versailles." He was a French officer. As early as 1743, he appeared in various transactions connected with the exploitation of lead mines of the Illinois, according to the genealogist and historian Sidney Louis Villere. He was married to Marie Therese d'Aufrere, born December 29, 1728 in Dauphine, Alpes De Haute, France, and died after December 1792. After Jean Baptiste died, Marie Therese remarried Joseph des Mazilliers du Suau de la Croix Sr.and had at least five more children. I feel that the family name in France is probably Verloin. de Gruy and Dufrochard are probably "estate" names (names of properties either he or his family held). This was a common practice of naming children in early France." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PS.... for those who haven't yet read it, you might take a look at the book, KASKASKIA UNDER THE FRENCH REGIME. There is also an interesting article [about 13 pages long] on Antoine Valentin in the Missouri Historical Review entitled: Antoine Valentin de Gruy: Early Missouri Explorer by Carl J. Ekberg... Antoine was in my neck of the woods south of St. Louis by a little bit .. Kaskaskia... and he forged rivers I drive over all the time... like the Meramec. The article gives his full name as Antoine Valentin de Gruy Verloins Dumesnil Fouchard de la Folie....According to the article, he arrived at Fort de Chartres around 1741. It says "He certainly was a member of the large De Gruy family from the area around New Orleans...." Hope you find this helpful.... Renee

Whoops, Sorry, Rosemary.... we had two new subscribers today and I called you by the wrong name. Apologies.... I should have said, welcome Rosemary!!! Renee

Hi Louise, Welcome to Degruy-L. Regarding your request I am interested in the descendents of Louise Verloin de Gruy who married August Valentin Rigob. Were there any? I didn't find anything in a quick look through my records. Perhaps someone else has your Louise in their records. It would help if you could tell us something about her.... a date... her parents.... Do you have any other information at all? Thanks, Renee

I am interested in the descendents of Louise Verloin de Gruy who married August Valentin Rigob. Were there any? Rosemary in Texas

Isabelle asked: Did Francois Joseph Dufouchard Verloin Degruy marry twice? It appears that his first wife was Marie Louise Isabelle Heloise Saulet. Was his second wife Carlotta Falgou? I'm not sure the following answers the question but it might have some helpful information. I found an old email I received from Jerry Freyder which I will quote here: "They are two different de Gruys. Joseph Duminic Verloin de Gruy Jr., born September 1, 1785 at the First German Coast, St. Charles Parish, La. [SJ BED, B1, 80] married Charlotte Falgout, born 1797 in St. Charles Parish. She was the daughter of Jacques Falgout and Marguerite Marie Chauvin. Francois Joseph Verloin de Gruy Sr., born March 14, 1781 in Jefferson Parish, La [per Helen Schenidau], married Marie Elizabeth Heloise Saulet, born Nov 1782 on the Saulet Plantation, died May 1, 1849 on the deGruy Plantation. Both are buried in St. Louis Cemetery #2. Her parents were Thomas Saulet and Marie Therese Genevieve Pery. Francois Joseph and Joseph Duminic Verloin de Gruy were brothers and sons of Joseph Duminic Verloin de Gruy Sr. and Marie Anne Couturier." I don't know if this is helpful or not, but if you want further information you might contact Jerry. I had hoped he would join the list, but haven't heard from him as yet. On another note, regarding the De Gruy plantation, Jerry directed me to the book: Jefferson Parish From Shore to Shore He said that there is "a sketch of the unusual sugar house on the plantation" in the book. I haven't yet had the chance to locate this book yet. Renee ps.... I guess you've seen the whole book written on the Falgou family. Falgoust: A history and genealogy of the Falgoust and Falgout families of France and Louisiana, 1555-1988 <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0961755911/qid=1092102701/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-2044292-0104942?v=glance&s=books> by Barbara L Allen The other book mentioned in this email is: Historic Jefferson Parish: From Shore to Shore <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0882890484/qid=1092102843/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-2044292-0104942?v=glance&s=books> by Betsy Swanson I think both may be available through Amazon Also... if it would help anyone, I could simply list the websites I've found which have to do with DeGruy.... Others could add to these...

Here are some miscellaneous items we might discuss: 1. The various names: Dumini, Duminil, Dufouchar, Verloin - and how these relate to Degruy. Are these other names "middle" names? Why are individuals sometime listed as Degruy Verloin instead of vice versa? 2. Proper spelling of Degruy.... De Gruy? DeGruy? And what is the proper pronunciation of Verloin? I understand that certain parishes still have folks under the name Degruise.... Would this list be pertinent to them? 3. Where did our DeGruys come from.... France? Switzerland? 4. Was Valentin the very first DeGruy to come to US? What was the year? Could there have been anyone before Valentin? Have Degruys been found on any immigration lists? 5. Did the Degruys with land live on both West and East banks? Did the Degruy plantation... in the area of Marrero... have a name ...[like Oak Alley, etc] or was it just known as the Degruy plantation? 6. The "Batture" law suit which reached to the Supreme Court ... Isn't that land in question near where the convention center & casino is now located? Renee

Here's a quick question: In 2003 I came across an Degruy entry which seemed to have some very promising information.... through Ancestry.com. The email address was something like [according to my dim recollection]: geezer@perigee.net Unfortunately it turned out to be a dud address. Ancestry had no further information. I've tried doing a people search, etc... using the old email and nothing works. My question is.... have any of you every gotten any DeGruy information from anyone with this email address? Need only respond if you have. Thanks, Renee

Thanks, Isabel. You are right the names are so confusing. The same DeGruy ancestor can have 3- 4 first names and can be listed in various sources under any one of them.... and then the names can be reversed...I've found people listed as DeGruy Verloin! I'm not sure how we will ever avoid confusion. Bonnie had some very interesting comments about various ways of doing genealogy -- she called it, metaphorically, "according to the law" and "according to the spirit of the law." I'm going to ask her to share some of what she said in a recent email to me with the list. But I agree that we should be as specific with our source citations as we can be. As many of you know, at the end of this month I shall have been doing genealogy for only 1 year. I messed up a lot in the beginning by not properly recording sources. As a result I have researched the same thing over and over many a time. Of course when I began I had absolutely no idea of what I was getting myself into ;-) and no perspective whatsoever. Documentation will be essential for us to go public with our research. BTW, I did email Rootsweb and, although we could put a web site up through them, it would always be public. I have reservations about that. Until we get our act together, so to speak, I would be very hesitant about making it public at the beginning. Rootsweb says we could have a web page which our members could access through a password if we went through "MyFamily." Unfortunately that would cost money.... I might just investigate creating a page through Earthlink. We'll have to take this step by step.... it's a lot to happen all at once. By the way, through LAORLEAN, I found an email contact who lives in Lafourche parish. Maybe she could help with your Degruy-Falgout connection. Back later, Renee

Hi Renee, Brand-new mailing lists can be found under OTHER/MISCELLANEOUS until moved to their proper categories. For information and an index to the more than 28,300 Roots-hosted genealogy Mailing Lists and for easy subscribing (joining) options go to: http://lists.rootsweb.com/ Right now we are so new that we are under Other/Misc. until Roots gets DeGruy loaded in the proper area. So for the time being, word of mouth is the only way to learn of this list unless you frequently look under Other/Misc at Roots. Things will be slow at the start, but it will grow. That is a good thing because you can find out what might work and what just won't work for the list. A Web Page would be great, but I do not have the background to even know how to start one. Since there are so many similar names in DeGruy and related families, is it "ok" to put the name and the dates that you know or at least the time period and area if known, just to try to separate out the different individuals? For example: The Dominic Joseph Verloin DeGruy, (born abt 1784) in Lafourche Parish, LA married Charlotte (Carlotta) Falgout, (born abt 1788) in Lafourche parish, LA I just like to have things as clear as possible to avoid any further confusion. I am confused enough already! I get so confused with so many "Joseph Verloin DeGruy", some with different first names, others just not clearly identified, and some linked to "wrong" lines because of the confusion. It may take some time to sort out all the information, but it will work. Once DeGruy is listed in the RootsWeb Review as a new list, there will be a flurry of interest. How quickly we respond to new contacts, can have a positive effect on the growth of the our site. We just have to be flexible and consider this as a learning experience. The main goal is to share information and document what is out there. Some information may be proven incorrect. Be realistic, some "facts" may never be proven with documents. If an "educated guess" is used, show the proponderance of evidence that lead to this "educated guess". I have things that were passed on to me, but with no documentation. Now I have to weed out the fact from the fiction. Thanks again for starting this list. Happy Researching, Isabel gathrightaw@worldnet.att.net

Good Morning.... I can't find where the following message [sent last Thursday!] ever appeared online on this list. [why, I don't know, guess we're still working the "bugs" out.] So if you are receiving this twice, please just delete. Renee -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Julie Boutté wife of Pedro DeGruy Date: Thu, 05 Aug 2004 22:51:51 -0500 From: Renee H. Bennett <bennettrh@earthlink.net> To: Degruy-L@rootweb.com Hi All, I think [still haven't proved] that I link up to the DeGruys as follows: my Great Grandfather, Albert Joseph DeGruy [married to Marie Ruth]; my Great Great Grandfather Pedro DeGruy [married to Marie Cecelia Cunigham (Cunningham)]; my GGG Grandfather, Pedro [possibly Pierre Dufouchard Verloin] Degruy [married to Marie Azelie St. Amand]; my GGGG Grandfather Joseph Francois Dufouchard Verloin DeGruy [married to Marianne Courturier] and, finally, to Jean Bapiste Antoine Valentin Dufounchard Dumenil DeGruy [Verloin] [married to Marie Therese Aufrere]. Now, before my GG Grandfather [Pedro] married Marie Cecelia Cuningham, he is supposed to have been married to Julie Eveline Boutte. [I do not know if they had children]. Both Bonnie Bess Wood and my latest find, a family history chart sent to me by Mary Agnes DeGruy, have Pedro married to Julie. Mary Agnes has: "Pierre Verloin deGruy m. Julie E. Boutté." [date?] However tonight on the LDS website I found a Julia Delphine Verloin deGruy [1 Aug 1792 - 26 Aug 1845] married to a Jean Philippe Boutte on 21 May 1812. I do not know if they had children. So who are the parents of Julie.... could they be Julia and Jean Philippe? Bonnie Bess Wood has Francois Thisapherne Boutté and Marie Eulalie St. Pé. Bonnie says that Larry McAdams lists her parents as Philippe Boutté II and Julie Delphine Verloin De Gruy. How would we figure out what is correct? If anyone has any ideas how to reconcile these differences, please let us know. Thank you, Renee degruylist@earthlink.net ps... if anyone has the names: Brandon or Cunningham anywhere in their DeGruy gedcoms, would you let me know? I think Bonnie does and I need to find out sources for these. They are definitely my brick walls.

Hi All, I've been e-chatting with Bonnie Bess Wood about our new mailing list and I'd like to share some thoughts with you and hope that you will share your reaction. I haven't been putting much online yet because of the 20 or so I sent the announcement about the list to, only about 5 or 6 have actually subscribed at this point. It takes some a while to read their emails and respond. But, I thought I present a few ideas for thought... to get discussion going about what you want from this list. The following are some preliminary musings on what our list might do. I see these following topics as possible areas in which the list can be of service. You may think of others that we could add: LONG-TERM GENEALOGICAL CONTRIBUTIONS; PERSONAL ISSUES; MISCELLANEOUS DATA; FUN STUFF; INTERACTIVE LONG-TERM: How can we make long-term contributions through this list? Why not begin at the beginning.... wherever that is..... Antoine Valentin from Fort de Chartres????? We could start out with some of the primary research that has been done by some of our members [Bonnie, Celine.... etc]. We would begin by putting all of their information on Antoine online. Then we'd invite everyone else to comment on it, noting any differences/discrepancies they might have with the presented data... We'd try to fill in any blanks being sure to have all sources cited. We'd then combine all of the data....thereby completing our work on Valentin. We then move on to his wife..... and then go child by child till we were ready to advance to the next generation..... This would be the major part of our ongoing long-term work. Before this can begin we have to figure out the technicalities. Do we have to create a web site to post this info? Should we keep this web site private until the information is so firmed up that we could go public with it. And how do we do this [logistically]? These are examples of items that need further research and discussion. Enough for this for now, lets move on. PERSONAL: All the while we are working on our long-term project, will be receiving individual requests for help with their problems/blocks, etc. We will continue to respond to these individual requests as they arise. MISCELLANEOUS: We can also make "miscellaneous" individual contributions.... For example, if I go to the library and come up with something on some Degruy ancestor..... some cemetery location..whatever.... I can come home, get online, and share my findings with the list... a "miscellaneous" entry which someone else might find helpful. FUN: I'd like to do some things just for fun.... like sharing the info on Switzerland or heraldry [noting the meaning of Gruy is Crane, etc] that Bonnie and Celine have.... INTERACTIVE: We can share information with others or engage in discussion with other. For example, I will soon send an email to the folks at LAORLEAN to let them know about our new list. Eventually, I'll send to any other relevant lists or bulletin boards. We're so new, Rootsweb hasn't had time to put us on their own Mailing List page. Again, I've been hanging back about doing any of this because I wanted to give the list a little time to get stabilized. Part of being "interactive" is to bring to our list any helpful info from other lists which we may be members of. Ideally we should all realize that this is "our" list and each of us should take "ownership" of it and how it develops. So...I look forward to hearing your reactions to these thoughts and your ideas about other possibilities. Renee

Hello everyone, I'd like to address two of Isabel's questions: My findings reveal Charlotte Falgoust married Joseph Dumini DeGruy, 13 Jul 1812 in Plattenville,Assumption,Assumption Ch.,Louisiana Also, Emile Verloin and Paul Emile Verloin are the same. The enty in the Archdiocese Sacremental records indicate Paul was baptized Pablo Emilio (evidence of the French/Spanish/French/etc. control of Louisiana). Paul Emile was maiired to Eloise Elizabeth Foucher (as Isabel indicates.) Does anyone have any info on Paul Emile and Eloise Elizabeth's children. I have only found record of one son (Octave) It seems as though "only children" were rare in those times. Thanks, Celine deGruy Johnson (another transplanted New Orleanian - to Alaska) ----- Original Message ----- From: "Degruy List Admin" <degruylist@earthlink.net> To: <DEGRUY-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, August 05, 2004 8:48 PM Subject: Francois Joseph Dufouchard Verloin DeGruy and others [resp. to Isabel] > Hi Isabel, et al..... > > According to the family tree sent by Mary Agnes DeGruy, which I received > just today, and which she said was given to her by Gilbert DeGruy: > Francois Joseph Verloin deGruy married Louise Saulet in 1800. She does > not list a second wife.... but this tree is very simple... one entry per > "box". > > She has an Emile Verloin deGruy marrying an Elise Foucher; do not see a > Paul.... > > She has a Theophille Verloin deGruy marrying Anais Foucher > > Although this tree is not "complete" and does not list detailed > information, it does confirm some of the items you've given below. > > Renee > > ------------------------------------- > > Did Francois Joseph Dufouchard Verloin Degruy marry twice? > It appears that his first wife was Marie Louise Isabelle Heloise Saulet. Was > his second wife Carlotta Falgou? > > > 1. Marriage of Paul Emile Verloin deGruy and Elizabeth Foucher Dec. 15, 1838 > > 2. Marriage of Joseph Theophile Verloin deGruy, son of Joseph Verloin DeGruy > and Marie Heloise Saulet, to Josephine Anais Foucher, >

Hi Isabel, et al..... According to the family tree sent by Mary Agnes DeGruy, which I received just today, and which she said was given to her by Gilbert DeGruy: Francois Joseph Verloin deGruy married Louise Saulet in 1800. She does not list a second wife.... but this tree is very simple... one entry per "box". She has an Emile Verloin deGruy marrying an Elise Foucher; do not see a Paul.... She has a Theophille Verloin deGruy marrying Anais Foucher Although this tree is not "complete" and does not list detailed information, it does confirm some of the items you've given below. Renee ------------------------------------- Did Francois Joseph Dufouchard Verloin Degruy marry twice? It appears that his first wife was Marie Louise Isabelle Heloise Saulet. Was his second wife Carlotta Falgou? 1. Marriage of Paul Emile Verloin deGruy and Elizabeth Foucher Dec. 15, 1838 2. Marriage of Joseph Theophile Verloin deGruy, son of Joseph Verloin DeGruy and Marie Heloise Saulet, to Josephine Anais Foucher,

Greetings To All Degruy Family Researchers: [This is a revision of a email sent out previously to some of you.] Welcome to the new Rootsweb Degruy Mailing List! It is my hope that this will be a true collaborative project. I know it's dreaming "big," but I think it would be wonderful if we could work together to produce a Degruy database as complete and as error free as possible. Another "big dream" would be to be able, as a result of this list, to submit something on the DeGruy family to New Orleans Genesis; something along the lines of what Irna Centanni and others have done for such families as the Hotards and St. Amands. At the very least, it will be wonderful to have a group of folks that we can consult with whenever we find ourselves against a genealogical brick wall or when the research road has led us into yet another blind alley. Let me make some practical suggestions for navigating this list.: Make your subject headings as specific as possible When responding to a particular entry, try not to copy all the entries that appear in the "issue" [if you're using the digest form]. Delete the rest and just include the item specific to your response. Very important: do not put personal information on the web. Respond off-line if you want to give your mailing address or your phone number or a web site you do not want available to the general public. We should protect each other's privacy as well as our own. It might be nice to baptize this list by having each of us send a message to the list in which we introduce ourselves; describe the areas in which we are currently working or folks we are currently searching. If you'd like to say what city you are located in or how long you've been doing family history, that might help us to get to know you. I also hope to make an announcement in LAORLEAN so that others will know that we exist and can join us if they are interested. Feel free to share this information with friends or fellow researchers who might find it helpful. That's all for this entry. Another will follow soon. I look forward to meeting you in cyberspace! Renee Hotard List administrator degruylist@earthlink.net

Hi DeGruy researchers: Thanks Renee for getting this started. Maybe now we can "see" what everyone has on the line and really compare notes. I am Isabel Singer Gathright, a descendant of Joseph Verloin Degruy and Marie Heloise Saulet. I am a transplanted New Orleanian, currenting living outside Little Rock, Arkansas. I am interested in clarifying some "facts" on that line. Did Francois Joseph Dufouchard Verloin Degruy marry twice? It appears that his first wife was Marie Louise Isabelle Heloise Saulet. Was his second wife Carlotta Falgou? With so many Degruy men having the same or similar names, then marrying women who appear to be related on the mother's surname, it gets really confusing. It appears that many married cousins. If they did, according to Catholic laws, they would need a dispensation to marry so we should be able to locate some records for these dispensations. I have an abstract of a donation record that lists Marie Azelie Saulet, widow of Louis Foucher. It states the names of her children and notes that Marie Heloise Saulet, is divorced from Joseph Verloin DeGruy. In that time period there were very strict divorce laws. Divorce was authorized for adultery, if one of the parties was convicted of a felony, or abandonment of 5 or more years. :I do not know the reason for the divorce, but it seems that they were divorced. These original records are in the New Orleans Notarial Archives, under the records of Charles Victor Foulon, notary. Dated Nov. 19, 1838. They are also listed in Donation Book 4, pp 457 and 458. I have never made the trip to the N O Notarial Archives to locate the original divorce papers. Does someone on the list have these papers? In the Mortgage/Donation Books, there are marriages listed for two of the children of Joseph Verloin DeGruy and Marie Heloise Saulet: With these two brothers marrying what looks like some relation to their mother's Saulet line, it is possible that they needed a dispensation from the church to marry. I have not looked into these dispensation records. 1. Marriage of Paul Emile Verloin deGruy and Elizabeth Foucher Dec. 15, 1838 Donation Book 4 pp 460, 461. Elizabeth is the daughter of Antoine Foucher (dec) and Marie Melicente Saulet (dec). The marriage was authorized by Francois Saulet. 2. Marriage of Joseph Theophile Verloin deGruy, son of Joseph Verloin DeGruy and Marie Heloise Saulet, to Josephine Anais Foucher, daughter of Antoine Foucher and Marie Melicente Saulet, April 15, 1837 Donation Book 4 pp 284, 285. It appears that the parents were alive for this marriage, but dead by the time the second daughter married. I do not know for sure if they were alive, but since the entry does not list deceased next to their name it appears that they were alive. Anyone out there able to clarify any of the above information? I have not done active on site research on this line in years, so I am looking at old copies of items that I gathered back in the 1980s when I lived in the area. . Looking forward to tying up so loose ends. Thanks to all, Isabel Singer Gathright Maumelle, AR