I just thought I'd share with the group how I answered a question from another family researcher about my more recent activities and discoveries. The initial question was whether I had been able to establish a link between Rene Piat/LeFleur and the individuals mentioned in the books on the French Huguenots. The following was part of my response: >With regards to my research, what I have done has been partly the result >of curiosity. Also, based upon my experience, I have found that sometimes >it helps to start at an earlier date and move forward in time when you've >got something concrete to work with. For example, based upon family Bible >records, when I was researching my maternal grandmother's maiden name, we >knew that I descended from a Theophilus Anderson who married Molly Lear, >some of their children, general information about his descendents & how we >descended from him, as well the fact that they had children born in >Kentucky. But we had no real documentation outside of family records and >pictures. Since his name was so unique, I took a chance and looked for >him in Kentucky-- and was fortunate enough to locate him in a census, >which gave me a more specific location. He had ten children-- and they >each tended to use the same given names as each of them had >children. They also seemed to stick together as they moved from Kentucky >into Indiana and from there into Texas and Nebraska. I chose to follow all >of his descendents as far as I could-- just so that I could keep everyone >straight. As it turned out, all of the oral tradition that had been passed >down to our family has turned out to be fairly accurate-- just >incomplete-- and in a matter of months I was able to find all of the >documentation I needed. > >What happened initially was that when I came home from the conference, I >decided to glance at some the books in our library on the Huguenots in >America. I wasn't able to find much other than references to Rene in a >listing of individuals who had been granted property in New Jersey from >offices in London. That, in turn, led me to do a quick scan of materials >on the Huguenots in the British Isles and in France. Since there has been >some belief that the family may have been from Dauphine Province, I >started there with the assumption that, if I was unable to find any 16th >or 17th century reference to the family name at that location, I would >look for the surname in records for other provinces. I based my time >estimate on the fact that Rene was already in New Jersey before 1700. The >books that I found, however, only had references to the 16th century, >specifically the mid-1500's, which would be about a century before Rene >was born. > >We don't really know anything about Rene prior to his land grant record, >including when and where he was born. I was pleased to find any reference >to the surname(s) at all. I don't read French, so I have been dependent >upon looking for the surname in indexes listed at the backs of the books >and then taking the book to a friend and co-worker to get a quick summary >of what the book said in the related paragraphs. It was interesting to me >to find the reference to the LeFleur family and to find that they were >Protestant ministers, which may make them easier to follow as they >migrated. It was particularly interesting to see that at least one >LeFleur minister went to Scotland/Ireland, in part because the >(Ravenscroft?) belief that the Pyatt/Piatt/Pyeatt name is somehow linked >to the Scottish "Pyott." Given that all of this religious migration is >taking place in the 16th and 17th centuries, it now appears that there is >at least the possibility of a familial connection between the American, >Scottish & French families. To me, the gap between France and New Jersey >is at the very least a curiosity and worthy of research. > >My personal link to Rene is fairly well established, it's >Rene-Jacob-Jacob-John (who marries Jane Blair and goes to North >Carolina)-James (who marries Catherine Finley and eventually moves to >Arkansas)-Peter P.-James P.-John Thomas-George Frazier (1st member of his >family born in Oregon, shortly after they arrived in 1904)-Donald J. and >finally to me. I've documented my links back to John & Jane Blair >Pyeatt. This John was born in Path Valley-- but I had not verified the >links previously established between John & his great-grandfather Rene. I >knew absolutely nothing about the Path Valley-- which was why I felt so >strongly about attending the conference this summer-- I wanted to learn >about the family as it related to Pennsylvania & New Jersey. > >Since everyone else seems to be actively working on the family in those >locations, I decided to work on the links in England and France so as to >avoid duplication of effort. My decision has also been based, in part, on >the fact that I work in a large academic, and specifically in a >"research," library and am located also close to the Family History >Library in Salt Lake City and to the University of Utah library (another >academic library)-- which means that I have some phenomenal resources >available to me that may not be as readily available to other family >researchers. > >So, to succinctly answer your question, no, I have not been able to forge >a link between Rene and the men whose names I have located in the French >sources-- but I'm hoping that as I do more research, I will be able to >find a link somewhere along the way. Hope this explains what I'm doing >and why. > > > >Sharolynn