Comments by Pete Hamilton at the event honoring Martel LeSeuer on Saturday, November 10, 2007, at the Prillaman-Turner Cemetery in Franklin County, VA. Our Huguenot Ancestry America is a nation of immigrants. Even the ancestors of so-called Native Americans immigrated across the “land bridge” from Asia to Alaska. One of the great strengths of our country is the blending of the genetic traits that all of these immigrants carried with them as they “brought forth a new nation” on this continent. One of the more interesting groups of immigrants to Colonial America were the Huguenots. They were French Protestants, followers of John Calvin. The Protestant movement was, of course, opposed by the Roman Catholic Church and the Catholic kings of France. For a time during the 16th century the Huguenots were tolerated in France, and were allowed to live relatively normal lives. But beginning on St. Bartholomew's Day, August 24, 1572, there was a massacre of Huguenots throughout France. It lasted for over three weeks, and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 50,000 people. The survivors fled to nearby countries that were under Protestant rule, such as England, Holland and Switzerland. The Edict of Nantes in 1598 provided a certain degree of toleration of French Protestants for over three quarters of a century, but in 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict, unleashing another wave of massacres. While some Huguenots converted to Catholicism in order to save their lives, an ! estimated 400,000 French Protestants fled the country. Entire provinces were left almost deserted. The Huguenots initially sought refuge in other Protestant countries such as Switzerland, Prussia and Holland, as well as in America, but with the ascension of Protestants William and Mary to the British throne in 1689, many resettled in London. This not only deprived France of much-needed scientific and commercial skills, it also enabled the British to gain valuable skills in the weaving industry, notably of silks, as well as in milling and paper-making. These were all technologies in which the Huguenots were particular advanced. While English King William III (his wife, cousin and co-ruler, Mary II, had died in 1694) welcomed the French Protestants, they did present him with some political problems. England and France had “enjoyed” a long history of antagonistic relations between their two nations, and while William was pleased to flout French King Louis XIV by accepting the Huguenot refugees from his realm, they nevertheless represented a sizeable and growing body of Frenchmen in the midst of his capitol. Fortunately for William, an ingenious solution was at hand. As a means to generate more tax revenues, he wanted to expand his colonies in Virginia, pushing westward from the Tidewater. The problem was that Indian tribes inhabited the Piedmont regions, and presented a significant barrier to westward expansion. By granting the Huguenots a significant tract of land on the south bank of the James River, just west of present-day city of Richmond, William accomplished three objectives with one! move – he reduced the French population of London, he installed the new settlers as a buffer between the English settlements and the Indians, and he promoted further expansion to the west. As a group, the Huguenots have been described as an energetic, idealistic, thrifty people. They were noted for their “politeness and elegance of manner, severe morality, unalterable charity, exquisite urbanity, and inflexibility of principle and conduct". It has been said that the "descendants of the French Calvinists have certainly good reason to hold the memories of their fathers in great honor". It has also been said that “the Huguenots admitted no ground in the presence of the Puritans when it came to religious ideals, to devoutness, piety and purity of living". On the other hand, “their gentleness of manner, which contrasted so strongly with the religious attitude of the Puritans, found a responsive cord in the courteous and well-mannered life of the best of the Colonial Cavaliers. With all their intense piety, the Huguenots were a light-hearted, cheerful, optimistic, and lovable people". In 1700, three shiploads of Huguenot immigrants sailed from England to Virginia. The refugees were given tracts of land in Manakin, a deserted Indian village, in what is today Powhatan County, Virginia, just west of Richmond on the south bank of the James River. Their settlement became known as Manakin Towne, and exists today as an historical site. Among the first shipload of Huguenots were Dr. Pierre Chastain, a 41-year old surgeon from Switzerland, his wife and five children. Until they could build houses of their own, they were forced to live in deserted Indian huts. As an indication of the severity of conditions that they experienced during the winter of 1700-1701, within a year Dr. Chastain’s wife and three of his children had died. Fortunately for us, he then married Ann Soblet, the daughter of another of the original Huguenot immigrant families, and raised another family. Pierre and Ann Soblet Chastain's daughter, Elizabeth Chastain, married David LeSueur an! d thus became the mother of our LeSueur line in America. David and Elizabeth LeSueur had eleven children; eight of whom survived to maturity and raised families of their own. We have descendents of at least three of those children attending this ceremony. Martel LeSueur, whom we honor today, was the youngest child of this family. So, as we honor him, let us also recognize and honor the brave and resourceful Huguenot ancestry which helped form the man he became.