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"Huguenot". We Are Not Entirely Certain About the Etymology and Meaning of the Word "Huguenot"

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HUGUENOTS AND THREE FAMILY TREES: CHASTAIN - LOCHRIDGE - STOCKTON BY JAMES GARVIN CHASTAIN, D. D. ''Thirty Years in Meanco" And in Spanish "Breve Historia sobre el Pentateuco", and "Comentario Sohre el Evangelio de Lucas". -·------ 1933 Copyright 1933, by J. G. Chastain. Ja,,nes Garvin Chastain, D.D CONTENTS ~,oreword ---------------------------------- 11 CHAPTER I ·Origin of the Huguenots_____________________ 15 CHAPTER II Massacre of the Huguenots on St. Bartholomew's Day -------------------------------- 46 CHAPTER III · The Fleeing Huguenots______________________ 57 CHAPTER IV Asylums for the Huguenots___________________ 66 CHAPTER V Edict of Nantes Issued________________________ 79 C.HAPTER VI Edict of Nantes Revoked_____________________ 95 CHAPTER VII Side Lights of History during the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries _________________ 1.07 CHAPTER VIII Evil Results of the Massacre and the Revocation_ 124 Contents CHAPTER IX Good Results of the Massacre and the Revocation, 140 CHAPTER X The Huguenots in America ____________________ 179 CHAPTER XI Huguenot Contact, Political and Religious, in America ---------------------------- 199 CHAPTER XII Celebrated Huguenots and Huguenot Societies__ 227 CHAPTER XIII The Huguenot and Longevity _________________ 244 CHAPTER XIV The Chastain Family Tree _____________________ 258 CHAPTER· XV The Lochridge Family Tree ___________________ 313 CHAPTER XVI The Stockton Family Tree-----=---------------- 349 ILLUSTRATIONS ~rontispiece ------------------------------- 1 En Bonte to America________________________ 178 Making a Landing___________________________ 194 Group of Huguenot Emigrants a.t Oyster Point__ 195 Huguenot Matrons From the "Richmond"------· 196 Manakin Episcopal Church ___________________ 216 French Huguenot Church of Charleston ________ 217 Huguenot Baptist (Dover) Church in Manakin_ 220 Mrs. Mary Latham Norton ___________________ 234 Chastain Coat-of-Arms _______________________ 256 Col. Elijah ""r· Chastain ______________________ 272 General P. D. Lochridge _____________________ 310 Matthew H. Loughridge, Att'Y·---------------- 330 Unveiling of Stockton Marker ________________ 348 FOREWORD Who were the Huguenots and whence came ,th_ey~ There are few books that relate their his­ tory in full, and as a result the great majority of people, otherwise well informed, know little or nothing about the Huguenots. -The_National Huguenot Society of the Founders .of M~nakin in the Colony of Virginia was organ... ized in 1922. Itheld its second convention in Hunt-­ ington, West Virginia, April 17 to 19, 1933. When the daily papers· announced that the Huguenots , were arriving, one citizen of the town asked another, 0 Who are these Huguenots?". The rather hesitating reply came, "I do not know, but think they are a religious sect something like the Holy Rollers.'' The Huguen(?ts had their origin in Fran~e about the middle of the ) 6th century, nearly 400 years ago, and from the beginning their slogan -has ever been: '' An open· Bible, freedom of conscience, po­ litical and reli8'ious liberty.'' By persecution they have been scattered to the ends of the earth, and 0 the foot-prints of many of them, as -they fled from F ranee for their lives, left blood stains in their tracks. Truly theirs was a trail of blood.'• They have touched every great nation in Christendom and. in every instance their influence '-has proved :[ll] Foreword beneficial. No other people of equal number and in a like period of time have done more for the moral, religious and political uplift of humanity than have the Huguenots. The present volume is not argumentative, but narrative; it is history. The author lays little claim to originality in what he has written, but, like a stenographer, has taken down, as it were, dictation from the lips and pens of authentic historians, ar• ranging their statements in chronological order. As he advanced he ever kept in view three import­ ant principles: brevity, clearness and accuracy. The reader may be struck with the frequent re­ petition of names, dates and places. This was not accidental, but intentional, its purpose being to simplify the narrative and bring it more easily with-­ in the comprehension of the younger readers. Some harsh and severe statements I should have pre~erred to suppress, but allowed to go in even over my own protest, because, as an honest historian, I wish­ ed to be fair to all concerned and make the history complete. _ The work of writing the book has been long­ drawn-out and has suffere~ many interruptions_ yet from the beginning it has been a labor of love. Many books have been consulted and !he few from which most of the material has been dr~wn have been listed in ·the bibliography at the close of the narrative. I am taking the liberty of adding -the chapters on [12] Foreword three family trees to escape the expense of publish-­ ing a second volume. It is hoped their perusal may serve the purpose of awakening and stimulating in many a greater interest in genealogy and the importance of preserving family records. I beg to extend thanks to many dear friends who kindly answered my letters giving me much need­ ed and valuable information. I am brought un~er lasting obligations also to my daughter, Mrs. George D. (Effie Chastain) Naylor, who kindly · read and typed the manuscript, offering good sug­ gestions. I am humbly aware of the many imperfections of the work now terminated, but if the book serves to make better known in the world the story of the Huguenots and the great principles of political and religious liberty which they loved and with which they blessed the world, I shall consider myself abun­ dantly repaid for all my labors in producing it. Shaw, Miss. J. G. Chastain. [13] CHAPTER I Origin of the Huguenots Origin and Meaning of tke Word "Huguenot". We are not entirely certain about the etymology and meaning of the word "Huguenot". In Antioch the enemies of Christianity first called the disciples ·'Christians'' as a nickname and by way of re­ proach, but the Christians accepted the name and wore it gladly. The word Huguenot originated in the same way. It seems to have been coined in Geneva about the middle of the sixteenth century t and was applied by the Roman Catholics to those French believers residing in Geneva. at the time and entering into an alliance with the Swiss can­ tons to resist the attempts of Charles III., duke of Savoy, against their liberties. •. Some historians surmise that the German word eidgenossen, which means confederate, was ap­ plied to those foreign allies by their enemies in Ge­ neva, and that the French, by a faulty pronuncia­ tion, called it eignots or eiguenots; hence the deri­ ·vation of the name Huguenots. This name was borne by the Protestants of F ranee from about: 1560 till their extinction in that country as a poli­ tical party in the 17th century. (15] A Brief History of the Huguenots Spread of the Gospel in France. Notwithstanding the fact that F ranee has been a Catholic country from time immemorial, and was rigidly intolerant of all other forms of belief, va... rious evangelical sects, in the face of strong op-­ position and persecution even unto death, preached the Gospel regularly in that country from the 12th century on down. This accounts for the fact that New Testament Christians were found in France from that early date, their number at times . running into hundreds of thousands. A.ll Classes Affected. The Gospel not only took hold of the poor and humble, but had its representatives among the gen­ try and nobility as well, high State officials fre­ quently being outspoken evangelical Christians. 1'hc1 Great lleforrnation. What. influence did the Reformation in Germany have religiously on F ranee) Beginning about the year 1520, scores of Protestant evangelists from Germany and Switzerland flocked into Franee, north and south, and their joyful message was glad- - . ly received everywhere by a people hungry for the Gospel. This explains the wonderful increase of the Huguenots in France at that time. The great Reformation of the 16th century was one of the outstanding events of the ages. It pro.- [16] Origin of the Huguenots duced an intellectual and religious upheaval which was destined to affect all the civilized nations of. the world. It was an eloquent and emphatic protest against the tyranny and slavery imposed by royalty and episcopacy on helpless individuals and nations. Background of t~e IIugitenot Movement. What led up to and precipitated the Great Re- . formation~ An appropriate answer to this may serve as a background to the rise and history of the F i:ench. Huguenots. T etzel with his indulgen­ ces was not the cause but the occasion of the Re­ formation. Luther led it but did not produce it. Its roots were many and extended back for cen­ turies, even to the Middle Ages. What is meant by the "Middle Ages"} It is a term loosely applied to that period in European history which lies be­ tween the ancient and modern civilizations. The beginning of this · period was gradual, as was its close. For convenience historians say arbitrarily that the period began with the fall of Rom~, 4 76 A. D., and extended to the time of the invention of the printing press, 1450 A~ D., or to the Refor­ mation in the 16th century. The period of the Dark Ages is not synchronous with that of the Middle Ages, but lies within that, extending from• the 5th to the 13th century, or to the time of the Renais­ sance, which will be explained a little later. Why call it the "Dark Ages") Because there was a tendency toward decline, decay and darkness [17] A Brief History of the Huguenots all over the civilized world. This was true from a moral and religious as well as from a cultural stand­ point. The second half of the 9th century (850 to 900 A.
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