Jérôme or Jérémie ("Jeremiah"), the American ancestor

Either Jérôme or Jérémie could be the name which was "anglicised" into "Jeremiah". He was the son of Jérémie DUMAS and Suzanne FAURE, and was allegedly born near Saint-Fort (in the French Saintonge) around 1681¹.

The persecution of the Huguenots which followed the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 is very likely what led Jérôme/Jérémie to leave his home town at such an early age. The presence in Lausanne (Switzerland) of Jérôme/Jérémie and of his older brother Jean in August of 1687 was reported, as well as their presence in Frankfurt (Germany) in September of the same year. Both brothers then went to England, where Jean married exiled French Huguenot Marguerite Marie GENTILLOT. Whereas Jean settled in England, Jérôme/Jérémie chose to immigrate to America.

He travelled aboard the Mary and Ann together with other Huguenot refugees recruited in England by the Marquis DE LA MUCE and Charles SAILLY². They landed in Virginia on May 17th, 1700.

Jérôme/Jérémie DUMAS married Unity SMITH, the daughter of George SMITH and Mary WHITE³, around 1702, with whom he had at least six children.

He was dead by mid-January 1734⁴.

This DUMAS was the forefather of an abundant posterity in the United States.

¹ It is difficult to identify which “Saint-Fort” this was, as there are three possible locations within 30 miles of Saintes (the main city of the Saintonge region): Saint-Fort, Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde, and Saint-Fort-sur-la-Né. As Reformers were very active in Saint-Fort-sur-Gironde (Wikipedia), it could be assumed that this is where Jérôme/Jérémie DUMAS came from. According to other sources, Jérôme/Jérémie DUMAS was born in Antraigues, in the Ardèche region (http://www.dumas.com/second.htm), but this allegation has not yet been documented.

² See the passengers list

³ Mary WHITE was the daughter of Henry WHITE and Mary CROSHAW, and very likely the grand-daughter of Major Joseph CROSHAW, a wealthy planter of Virginia.

⁴ An inventory of Jeremiah’s estate was submitted at the Court of Goochland County by his son Benjamin on January 26th, 1734. Among other things, the inventory lists a horse, a mare and its colt, books, quire paper and ink glass, as well as carpenter tools.