Hello, I was rummaging through my unorganized stack of copied material, that I haven't documented anywhere yet, and ran across this paragraph from the book "Louisiana-French" by William A. Read (LSU Press). (The book explores the French Language in Louisiana and words within the Louisiana-French dialect.) It's one of those fun facts that adds color to the names and dates routines, that we don't want to fall into... "DEGRUY. Bayou Degruy enters Bayou des Allemands not far from the junction of the latter with Lake Salvador in St. Charles Parish. Bayou Degruy bears the name of Jean Baptiste Degruy, who purchased from Francisco Bouligny, on May 8, 1792, a tract of land situated on Bayou Ouachas, according to the American State Papers, VI, 675, ed. Gales and Seaton. The name Degruy is also spelled Degruis, in the American State Papers, II, 340, 840, ed Gales and Seaton. The curious patronymic Degruy looks like a nickname for a miller; compare Old French gruis, "bran, gruel" (Sainte-Palaye, VI, 433). This name, however, may be connected with Fr. grue, "crane," dialectal gruis signifying a noise resembling tha which is made by this bird (Larchey, Dict. des Noms, p. 209). Pachino, in Die Beinamen der Pariser Steurolle von 1292 p. 14, notes and nicknames Jacques la Grue, Martin la Grue, and Vincent Gruel. Here Gruel is the diminutive of Grue." Celine

Great information Celine! I, too, have come across information which says that Gruy, Grue ... is "crane" and that the family heraldry has a crane in it. Must have been an easy move for them to go from the crane to the pelican. Ha ha.... anyway I think I remember Bonnie Bess Wood saying she has a drawing of the heraldry somewhere. Maybe she can dig it up for us..... although I don't think we can send attachments to a list. I might have to send to each of you individually [that's why I want to eventually work on a website that we can each contribute stuff to]. In the meantime later today I'll try to find my info on the "crane" part. Can't now cause I have to get to a meeting. I'ver really been enjoying the recent exhanges [Karma and Shelley]...... this list is starting to come "alive"! Renee list administrator Neil & Celine wrote: >Hello, >I was rummaging through my unorganized stack of copied material, that I haven't documented anywhere yet, and ran across this paragraph from the book "Louisiana-French" by William A. Read (LSU Press). (The book explores the French Language in Louisiana and words within the Louisiana-French dialect.) It's one of those fun facts that adds color to the names and dates routines, that we don't want to fall into... > >"DEGRUY. Bayou Degruy enters Bayou des Allemands not far from the junction of the latter with Lake Salvador in St. Charles Parish. > Bayou Degruy bears the name of Jean Baptiste Degruy, who purchased from Francisco Bouligny, on May 8, 1792, a tract of land situated on Bayou Ouachas, according to the American State Papers, VI, 675, ed. Gales and Seaton. The name Degruy is also spelled Degruis, in the American State Papers, II, 340, 840, ed Gales and Seaton. > The curious patronymic Degruy looks like a nickname for a miller; compare Old French gruis, "bran, gruel" (Sainte-Palaye, VI, 433). This name, however, may be connected with Fr. grue, "crane," dialectal gruis signifying a noise resembling tha which is made by this bird (Larchey, Dict. des Noms, p. 209). Pachino, in Die Beinamen der Pariser Steurolle von 1292 p. 14, notes and nicknames Jacques la Grue, Martin la Grue, and Vincent Gruel. Here Gruel is the diminutive of Grue." > >Celine > > > >============================== >Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration >Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > > > >