When I was in Highschool, we had a class in Local history. At that time I didn't really know what a Hugenot or Protestant was, nor did I have a great interest in history. But as my French education continued, what I had learned mad more sense in later years.
My hometown of DuBois /DOO-boys/ (and people who say it any other way are weirdos) and its founder.
1626-1809, THE FIRST DUBOIS’The name DuBois has a long and honored history before it was bestowed on the community now celebrating its 125th anniversary.
The DuBois family can be traced back in Europe as far back as the 9th Century. At that time it was considered a relatively old family; in fact, the house of DuBois is the oldest nobility in the French Empire with a DuBois accompanying William the First in England in his quest to conquer England.
The name DuBois means ‘the woods’’ and it is an appropriate name for later generations settled in the New York area as well as the Pennsylvania frontiers and backwoods. The family of DuBois in the U. S., starts with Louie DuBois, a Huguenot born in northern France in 1626. Due to religious persecution, he brought his family, which included two sons, to the New World in 1660.
They settled around the Hudson River Valley in New York where DuBois and his wife had eight more children. Two generations later John DuBois also had 10 children, the second oldest, John Jr., born in Oswego, N.Y., in 1809 become one of the founders DuBois.
You can read more about my hometown here at the Historical Society link. You can also read about DuBois at Wikipedia. OR check out the godubois.com website. Careful, it's a mess.
Like so many places in this country, if it hadn't been for France and the French, we wouldn't be who we are today.
A picture of the founding family.♦
