This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Query Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Z.2ACBAEB/235 Message Board Post: I'm not sure that I'm the best person to respond to Amanda Kemen's query regarding the origins of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt surname, but I will attempt to respond. I'll ask in advance for your indulgence because I'm writing some of this from memory and don't have all of the documentation in front of me. In the past there has been some controversy among researchers regarding the origins of the surname. Ravenscroft, in her book, claimed that the surname was not French, but was originally of Scots origin and was spelled PYOT. Orra Eugene Monnette, in his book, First settlers of ye plantations of Piscataway and Woodbridge, olde East New Jersey, 1664-1714 (actually an 8-vol. set of books), states rather emphatically that the family is not of Scots or English descent, but was French. Dick Piatt has written in the past that he always believed that the family originated from Dauphine Province in France (Grenoble was the provincial capital)-- which is in the Alps near the Italian border between France and Italy. Larry Piatt published an article in the Piatt newsletter indicating that "Rene" as a given name appeared very little in Dauphine Province and postulated that Rene may have originated from one of the northern provinces nearer to Belgium where the given name was more commo! n. At this point, in my research, I believe that we are of French origin, but that branches of the family do appear in the British Isles. As a researcher, however, I try to be open-minded-- because I would hate to have to eat crow when the truth finally surfaces. Here are some of the clues I've come across: 1. Most of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt families in the U.S. tend to descend from Rene Piatt/Pyatt. What his name truly was is somewhat a matter of speculation, because it appears with so many variations in the records. In some records, his name appears something like as "Fleurry (Renipiat)" with the "Renepiat" or "Renipiat" always appears in parentheses. Among the various aliases which Monnette lists are Rene Piatt, Rene Pyat, Rene Le Fleur, Rene La Flower, Thomas Le Fleur, Thomas Piatt. There are also some references in the early records to "Rene Fleurison," i.e., Fleury's son-- which may refer to either the original Rene or to his son Rene [Jr.]. 2. According to the denization, i.e., naturalization, records, we know that Rene was "alien borne" and granted British citizenship in London in 1685. His name appears in the document as Rene Fleury, and shortly thereafter, there appear a Peter Fleurison (i.e., Fleury's son) and a Daniel Fleurian (relatives perhaps?). It also appears that he acquired the land he settled on in New Jersey while still in London. Based on what I know (others may have more information), we don't know where or when he was born. 2. Among the surnames listed in the master index for the proceedings of the Huguenot Society of Great Britain & Ireland are: Pyot, Pygett, Fleury, Fleurie, Flory, Floreay, Florison, La Fleur. Huguenot was the name associated with the French Protestant movement-- which would lead me to believe that the family was definitely of French origin. Even so, there may be descendents of these French families living in the British Isles today who may have forgotten their French origins. 3. Rene's son, John, is sometimes referred to in the early New Jersey records as "John of France," which has lead some to believe that John was born in France, but Laverne Piatt this summer postulated that it may have been because the Piatt sons and their families were living in a Dutch community in New Jersey-- and the early settlers wanted to clarify that John was of French and not Dutch descent. In the 6-Mile Run (now Franklin Park, NJ) church records that I researched, the surname appeared with any number of creative spellings, e.g. PIJATT, PEYATT, PJAT, etc. because the minister was Dutch-- hence the Dutch/Germanic variant spellings which were phonetically based. 4. This fall I looked around a bit for the Piatt/Fleury surnames in books about the Huguenots. I was able to document both surnames in books about the Huguenots in Dauphine Province. Antoine Piat was listed among the individuals who protested a decision made by the king in 1561. David & Daniel Du Piotay (which may or may not have relation with the Piat surname) were listed as natives of Lyon & were protestant ministers. Sebastien Fleury also appears in the mid-16th century records, also as a minister in Dauphine Province. This information came from a 3-vol. work by E. Arnaud, entitled "Histoire des protestants du Dauphine aux XVIe, XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles." There was a lot of religious and political strife in the mid-1500's and the protestants were sometimes promised royal tolerance and at other times, they were severely persecuted. One of the books I consulted indicated that the Fleury's left Dauphine Province for the Netherlands somewhere around the 1560's where there was greater religious tolerance. 5. G. Elmore Reaman's book, The trail of the Huguenots in Europe, the United States, South Africa, and Canada (originally published Toronto, 1963; reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, in 1986), has this to about the Fleury surname: "The Fleury's were descended from the French nobility shortly before the Revocation. Louis Fleury, the Protestant pastor of Tours, fled with his wife Esther, his son born 1671, and his two daughters to England where they were naturalized in 1679. He came to Ireland as one of the private chaplains of William of Orange and was present at the battle of the Boyne." (p. 99). This same book indicates that the Fleury family also settled in New Jersey (p. 134), but it's just a listing of surnames. There appear to have been several Fleury descendents who were pastors or ministers, and I remember coming across a reference to one minister who migrated in Scotland and had children there-- but again, was of French descent by way of the Netherlands. I think you can see why I still believe that the family was French. The proximity of Dauphine Province to the Italian border is about as close to an Italian link as I can come at this point in time. Seeds from the original French family tree appear to have been planted, however temporarily in both the Netherlands and the British Isles; some may have stuck around long enough to take root. Other's may have stayed for a generation or so and then moved on. There are lots of interesting avenues yet to be thoroughly researched and documented. I hope this helps! Sharolynn Pyeatt

Sharolynn, Thanks so much for your reply. We are very lucky to have people like yourself and Laverne to do this kind of research for us. I too believe the origins to be of French descent, this is why I wanted to disqualify anything about the Italian lineage. Of coarse we never know for sure but it is good to see that there is lots and lots of documentation. I do have one question though, where again did the Fleurry name come from? I have not done extensive research yet, I've only been at it on an on and off again basis for about 2 years, but I have not come across this name yet. Is it interchangeable with the Piatt name or is it another branch of the family? Thanks for your help, Amanda ----- Original Message ----- From: <sharolynn_pyeatt@byu.edu> To: <PIATT-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Friday, December 21, 2001 3:42 PM Subject: [PIATT] re: Origins of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt surname > This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. > > Classification: Query > > Message Board URL: > > http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/Z.2ACBAEB/235 > > Message Board Post: > > I'm not sure that I'm the best person to respond to Amanda Kemen's query regarding the origins of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt surname, but I will attempt to respond. I'll ask in advance for your indulgence because I'm writing some of this from memory and don't have all of the documentation in front of me. > > In the past there has been some controversy among researchers regarding the origins of the surname. Ravenscroft, in her book, claimed that the surname was not French, but was originally of Scots origin and was spelled PYOT. Orra Eugene Monnette, in his book, First settlers of ye plantations of Piscataway and Woodbridge, olde East New Jersey, 1664-1714 (actually an 8-vol. set of books), states rather emphatically that the family is not of Scots or English descent, but was French. Dick Piatt has written in the past that he always believed that the family originated from Dauphine Province in France (Grenoble was the provincial capital)-- which is in the Alps near the Italian border between France and Italy. Larry Piatt published an article in the Piatt newsletter indicating that "Rene" as a given name appeared very little in Dauphine Province and postulated that Rene may have originated from one of the northern provinces nearer to Belgium where the given name was more commo! > n. > > At this point, in my research, I believe that we are of French origin, but that branches of the family do appear in the British Isles. As a researcher, however, I try to be open-minded-- because I would hate to have to eat crow when the truth finally surfaces. Here are some of the clues I've come across: > > 1. Most of the Piatt/Pyatt/Pyeatt families in the U.S. tend to descend from Rene Piatt/Pyatt. What his name truly was is somewhat a matter of speculation, because it appears with so many variations in the records. In some records, his name appears something like as "Fleurry (Renipiat)" with the "Renepiat" or "Renipiat" always appears in parentheses. Among the various aliases which Monnette lists are Rene Piatt, Rene Pyat, Rene Le Fleur, Rene La Flower, Thomas Le Fleur, Thomas Piatt. There are also some references in the early records to "Rene Fleurison," i.e., Fleury's son-- which may refer to either the original Rene or to his son Rene [Jr.]. > > 2. According to the denization, i.e., naturalization, records, we know that Rene was "alien borne" and granted British citizenship in London in 1685. His name appears in the document as Rene Fleury, and shortly thereafter, there appear a Peter Fleurison (i.e., Fleury's son) and a Daniel Fleurian (relatives perhaps?). It also appears that he acquired the land he settled on in New Jersey while still in London. Based on what I know (others may have more information), we don't know where or when he was born. > > 2. Among the surnames listed in the master index for the proceedings of the Huguenot Society of Great Britain & Ireland are: Pyot, Pygett, Fleury, Fleurie, Flory, Floreay, Florison, La Fleur. Huguenot was the name associated with the French Protestant movement-- which would lead me to believe that the family was definitely of French origin. Even so, there may be descendents of these French families living in the British Isles today who may have forgotten their French origins. > > 3. Rene's son, John, is sometimes referred to in the early New Jersey records as "John of France," which has lead some to believe that John was born in France, but Laverne Piatt this summer postulated that it may have been because the Piatt sons and their families were living in a Dutch community in New Jersey-- and the early settlers wanted to clarify that John was of French and not Dutch descent. In the 6-Mile Run (now Franklin Park, NJ) church records that I researched, the surname appeared with any number of creative spellings, e.g. PIJATT, PEYATT, PJAT, etc. because the minister was Dutch-- hence the Dutch/Germanic variant spellings which were phonetically based. > > 4. This fall I looked around a bit for the Piatt/Fleury surnames in books about the Huguenots. I was able to document both surnames in books about the Huguenots in Dauphine Province. Antoine Piat was listed among the individuals who protested a decision made by the king in 1561. David & Daniel Du Piotay (which may or may not have relation with the Piat surname) were listed as natives of Lyon & were protestant ministers. Sebastien Fleury also appears in the mid-16th century records, also as a minister in Dauphine Province. This information came from a 3-vol. work by E. Arnaud, entitled "Histoire des protestants du Dauphine aux XVIe, XVIIe et XVIIIe siecles." > > There was a lot of religious and political strife in the mid-1500's and the protestants were sometimes promised royal tolerance and at other times, they were severely persecuted. One of the books I consulted indicated that the Fleury's left Dauphine Province for the Netherlands somewhere around the 1560's where there was greater religious tolerance. > > 5. G. Elmore Reaman's book, The trail of the Huguenots in Europe, the United States, South Africa, and Canada (originally published Toronto, 1963; reprinted by the Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, in 1986), has this to about the Fleury surname: > > "The Fleury's were descended from the French nobility shortly before the Revocation. Louis Fleury, the Protestant pastor of Tours, fled with his wife Esther, his son born 1671, and his two daughters to England where they were naturalized in 1679. He came to Ireland as one of the private chaplains of William of Orange and was present at the battle of the Boyne." (p. 99). This same book indicates that the Fleury family also settled in New Jersey (p. 134), but it's just a listing of surnames. > > There appear to have been several Fleury descendents who were pastors or ministers, and I remember coming across a reference to one minister who migrated in Scotland and had children there-- but again, was of French descent by way of the Netherlands. > > I think you can see why I still believe that the family was French. The proximity of Dauphine Province to the Italian border is about as close to an Italian link as I can come at this point in time. Seeds from the original French family tree appear to have been planted, however temporarily in both the Netherlands and the British Isles; some may have stuck around long enough to take root. Other's may have stayed for a generation or so and then moved on. There are lots of interesting avenues yet to be thoroughly researched and documented. > > I hope this helps! > > Sharolynn Pyeatt > > > > ==== PIATT Mailing List ==== > Thought for the day: Any ancestor you identify today is > just two more you have to identify tomorrow... > Keep up the good work! > > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >