Hi Janet just wanted to say hello and that I too am a descendant of the Rev. Claudius Richbourgh and his wife Ann. This is what I have on them so far. Hope there may be something new for you. Claude was a Huguenot minister who fled France after King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. This revocation subjected the Protestants to persecution under the Roman Catholic church. He probably went to England first and then to Manakin Town, Virginia(about 20 miles from Richmond on the James River) about 1699 or 1700. Manakin Town had been etablished about 1690 by william of Orange on the James River about 20 miles above Richmond. About 700 Huguenots came to Manakin Town in 1699 under the leadership of Marquis de la Muce. They sailed from Gravesend, England and were accompanied by their pastor, Claude Phillipe de Richebourg, who served as pastor at Manakin Town, until his departure to NC in 1708. Unhappy differences of opinions had arisen at Manakin Town, so a great number left and settled on the Trent River in NC. The Huguenots were driven from their settlement on the Trent River by the Tuscarora and Coree Indians, who unexpectedly took to the war path on September 11, 1711 and brutally massacred 111 of the white population in eastern NC. As a result of this tragedy, Richebourg and some of his compatriots moved to the Province of South Carolina in 1712, where Huguenots had preceded them. Richebourg settled in the center of the French village of Jamestown on a high bluff abutting and overlooking the Santee River in Berkeley county, SC. His home was near the Huguenot church. When Richebourge arrived, there was a pastor of the Huguenot church already there by the name Pierre Robert. Dr. George Howe, History of the Presbyterian Church in South Carolina Columbia SC, 1870): writes about Claude Phillip de Richbourg:" the character which has been transmitted to us of this persecuted minister of the gospel, exhibits as its peculiar trait a devotedness to the cause of Christ. He appears to have been a man of unobtrusive manners, of deep and fervent piety, and of a serious temper of mind. Adversities and poverty seem to have been his portion in the lot of life. He seems to have lived, after his removal to SC, for two or three years without a spiritual charge, and without any pecuniary resources for the maintenance of his family; and, we are informed by Humphrey, contemplated a removal out of the colony on an account of his great want. The infirmities of age creeping upon him, Pierre Robert resigned his charge, and Richebourg was called by the congregation to succed him in 1715. He continued in the pastorship until his death in 1718-19. His will ( the original manuscript in the French lanuage) is still preserved in the Public office in Charleston (however when I tried to obtain a copy it was not to be found - 7-1999) and breathes the true spirit of the Christian, resigned under the dispensation of Province, steadfast in the faith, and triumphant at his approaching death. His wife, Anne Chastain, and six children survived him. some of his descendants, who are not numerous, have attained wealth: and in instance is known of any of them having been destitute of the comforts of life." Dr. Howe believes that the church at Jamestown stayed a Huguenot chuch until Claude died, but Dr. Hirsch, who wrote, The Huguenots of Colonial SC, page 133- 134, believes that the Huguenot church converted to an Anglican church in 1706 at the request of its French founders and members. Subsequently, its pastor, Pierre Robert took Anglican orders and so did his sucessor, Richebourg. Richebourg, accepted ordination in the Anglican communion and forsook the Calvinistic theology, but he continued administering the sacraments in the French language in accordance with Calvinistic theology and liturgy, which greatly angered the Anglican clery. The Commissary Johnston, the chief representative in the Province in SC of the Society of the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and adjunt of the Anglican church, threatened to "deprive Richebourg of his cure and salary and remove him from the province unless he desisted"; that Richebourg "confessed his error and promised never to commit it again"; and that Richebourg "temporarily submitted" to Johnston's demand but soon returned to his Calvinistic ways. The French village of Jamestown on the Santee was located about a mile north of the existing municipality of Jamestown in Berkeley County. This village did not prosper because the Santee River was subject ot frequent freshets at this point and the climate was not healthful. As the years passed, the orginal French settlers died, and their progeny moved to more favorable agricultural areas in the Parish of St. John's Berkely, the Parish of St. Stephen's and Craven County, where they achieved substantial property by cultivating indigo and reice, the money crops of the age and region. As more years passed, the village and the church disintegrated and disappeared, and their site was recaptured by wilderness. Mr Ervin visited the area in July of 1971, and found nothing there indicating its historic past except a simple monument erected by the Huguenot Society of SC to mark the spot where the church stood. His will is dated January 15, 1718-1719, and died soon after he wrote it. The exact time of his death is not known. He was still living on June 02, 1718, because on that day Pierre St. Julian of Berkeley Co. made his will, which gave a legacy of twenty pounds to "Monsieur Claude Philippe de Richebourg, Minister." He was widely mourned however for his piety and usefulness to the parish. This is a testament to the forceful personality of Richebourg, for , unwilling after the Act of 1706 to accommodate himself to the Anglican forms, this French-Anglican clergyman continued to baptize without the sign of the cross and without godfathers or godmothers. He administered the communion kneeling, sitting or standing. A book titled "ST. James Santee Plantation Parish 1685-1925" (975.791 Bridges-Published 1997) referring to the church records does mention Rev. Claude P. Richbourgh. A Roman Catholic by birth and an Anglican by adoption. Richebourg did not always win approbation, for Francis LeJau (1665-1717) wrote in 1712 of swords being drawn after a divisive quarrel at the church door after services. Claude Phillipe de Richebourg, was in the area of St. James on the Santee River during the Yamassee unrisings of 1715. I am descended through their son Claudius and his wife Unity. I have a copy of his will from the archives in SC if you would be interested in that. If you have anything else that you are willing to share I would most certainly appreciate the information. I tried to get a copy of the REv will but the archives can not find it so next will try the Huguenot church to see if they have it in their archives in Charleston. Best regards Pam boan@mciworld.com