Is there someone reading this who is lucky enough to own a copy of John Peter's 1985 book "A Family from Flanders"? If so, would you mind looking up the reference to a NICHOLAS (surname) family on page 108, and letting me know what it says about them? I read this book a few years ago when there were lots of copies in our NZ suburban libraries ( and copied then the list of names at the back with page references ) . Now I can't find a copy in my area, presumably because libraries throw out or sell books where the binding is coming loose. I am planning to go to Flanders soon and would like to know about any places where my NICHOLAS family (in Northern Ireland) may have come from. Barbara Holt in New Zealand

Hi, everyone -- This is in reply to Barbara who asked about the reference to NICOLAS on pg. 108 of John Peter's book, A Family from Flanders. Barbara, I'm happy to help you out with this. To provide some context, I've included most of the preceeding paragraph on pg. 107 as well the paragraph following the one with the NICOLAS reference on pg. 108. For those who are unfamiliar with Peters' book, the location he speaks of is Kent, England. Many Walloons and/or Huguenots settled in that area beginning in the mid 1500s. The Walloon or Strangers' Church was given space in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral where services continue to the present day. (from pg 107) "It is a noticeable feature of Belgian life to this day that within a certain circle, everyone knows a great deal about everyone else. When I came to construct a web of related Walloon families living in Canterbury in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, I got the impression that it was a small world in more ways than one....I found...from the registers of the Walloon congregation that there was a nexus of some thirty or forty families which seemed to take the lead. They provided most of the elders and deacons; they married off their sons and daughters within the circle, and witnessed each other's contracts and baptisms. The names of certain individuals from these families cropped up with great frequency over periods of time. ......some of these were families which could be traced moving from particular towns in Flanders to end up in Canterbury or in London, some of them stopping on the way for half or the whole of a generation in other Walloon communities which also sprang up in France and in the northern provinces of the Netherlands. (from pg 108) The network of related families is illustrated in the appendix. Among those families of special interest to me are the CARON, CAULLET, DE LA FORTERIE, DE LILLERS, DE VILLERS, DE NEW, DE SANTHUNS, DE WINDE, DES BOUVERIES, DES MARETS, DORNION, DU BOIS, DE QUESNE, FREMAUT, GALMAR, GUESQUIER, LOMBART, MAUROIS, NICOLAS, OGIER, RICARD, ROUSSEL, SIX. Anyone who is used to surnames from the north of France will notice at once that most of the names in this list are very common: how then is it possible to identify individuals? Often it is possible with the aid of an overall web or matrix of the sort I have described; and if people connected in the 1590s or early 1600s in Canterbury can be related to a previous generation in Flanders, then the odds in favour of establishing a genuine link, and against mere coincidence, are high." For anyone researching in Kent or even elsewhere in England, I recommend this book highly. It's readable and provides very good historical context. Unfortunately, though, it was originally published in 1985 and is now out of print. However, you may be able to find used copies on websites such as http://www.abebooks.com/ or http://www.bookfinder.com/. The Peters' book has been discussed on this list before. For example, with the permission of Mr. Peters' widow, I posted the entire surname index in several posts in January 2000. These and other references to the book can be found by using our searchable archives. If you don't know how to access our list archives, info is here on our website: http://www.island.net/~andreav/archives.htm. Barbara, I hope the above quote gives you some useful info. It's too bad that Peters provided no further reference to NICOLAS even though, as he said, the name was of special interest to him. Regards, Andrea

Dear Barbara, I work in a library and we wouldn't throw out or sell a book such as this because it needs mending!! Someone has nicked our copy of "A Family from Flanders" unfortunately, or I could check it for you. Maybe that's what has happened at your public library too. Jeanette > Is there someone reading this who is lucky enough to own a copy of John > Peter's 1985 book "A Family from Flanders"? If so, would you mind looking > up the reference to a NICHOLAS (surname) family on page 108, and letting > me know what it says about them? > > I read this book a few years ago when there were lots of copies in our NZ > suburban libraries ( and copied then the list of names at the back with > page references ) . Now I can't find a copy in my area, presumably > because libraries throw out or sell books where the binding is coming > loose. > >WALLOONS-EUROPE Mailing List ==== > Have you submitted your surnames for our list web site? > To do so will make your names accessible to others on the Web. > For more info, contact Andrea (list admin)at andreav@island.net. > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > >