Help with origins of surname "Butfoy" please

[geebrooks9]

Hi there, can anyone tell me where the sirname Butfoy originates. My g g grandfather Charles Nix married Rebecca Butfoy in 1836 in Tower Hamlets. Thank you, Sara.

[Peter Goodey]

It's certainly not a common name! A quick glance at FreeBMD, the IGI and the LMA records on Ancestry suggests a family of Spitalfields Weavers.

I wonder if it might be a Huguenot name.

This sounds like a nice little project for you.

[geebrooks9]

Thank you for the information. I have tried to find a link but with no success. Can you give me a pointer? where do I start? Thank you, best wishes, Sara.

[janbooth]

Hi Sara,

You could subscribe to the Rootsweb Huguenot Mailing List which is run by Tony Fuller. I have found him very helpful in the past and he appears to have a lot of knowledge about the Huguenots.

Janet

[Peter Goodey]

where do I start?

Just work backwards in usual way starting with Rebecca Butfoy. You'll find the London parish registers on Ancestry a help. Some Spitalfields Huguenot records are on the IGI. There's quite a lot of Huguenot material on the shelves at LMA.

[Jan1954]

The Huguenot Society of Great Britain and Ireland may also be of assistance.

[geebrooks9]

Thank you both for you help, I very much appreciate it. Best wishes, Sara.

[RichardE79]

The name comes from the French 'Boute Fois' roughly translated as 'Stout in Faith' or perhaps more properly 'Incased in Faith'. At the time it would have been more usally spelt 'Boutefoy'.

The first in England (and I believe your ancestor) was a Gabriel Boutefoy, (who was here at least as early as 1663 and later became a denised British citizen by patent roll of Charles II March 8 1681/2.)

With his wife Marie Charron, he had the following children baptised at Threadneedle Street French Huguenot:

Salomon Boutefoy baptised 1 May 1663 (Godparents: Salomon Pain and Louyse Boursie)
Pierre Boutefoy baptised 6 Dec 1663 (Godparents: Pierre Boursier and Lea Desuiane, daughter of Lambert Desuiane)
Jacques Boutefoy baptised 19 July 1665 (Godparents: Jacques Huet and Louyse Lesur, wife of Daniel Boursier)
Charles Boutefoy baptised 1 Nov 1668 (Godparents Charles Le Maistre and Maire Boursie)

The youngest son Charles married an Alice and they had a son also Charles (Baptised 1718 as 'Charles Butfoy' St Dunstans Stepney). This Charles in turn married an Anne, and they had a son Abiah Buttfoy (baptised 1743 St Dunstans Stepney). Abiah also married an Anne and he had a son James Buttfoy (Baptised 1777 at St Matthews Bethnal Green). James in turn married another Ann, and they had a daughter Rebecca Butfoy (baptised 1818 Shoreditch) who I believe would be the lady who married Charles Nix.



Now as to where in France the family come from, this is not stated for Gabriel, and unfortunately the Tesmoignages for Threadneedle Street only survive from 1669 onwards (these usually state where a refugee came from). However there are a couple of very strong clues.

The first is in several letters written in early 1680's by a Louis Thibou, who left London with various other Huguenots to become an early settler of South Carolina, written back to Gabriel which are printed in the book 'The Huguenot Connection". Thibou and most of these others were from Paris and it's outskirts, so his freindship with Gabriel points to this.

However probably more significantly, another Boutefoy/Buttfoy also came over, a little later.

Jean Boutefoy joined Threadneedle Street, on 7 July 1678, with a testimony from the Huguenot Chapel at Charenton.

This was France's biggest and main Huguenot Temple, built on the outskirts of Paris, to minister to the cities large Protestant population. It's size and proximity to the centre of power meant it was one of the earliest targets for persecution, and was one of the first torn down after the revocation of the edit of Nantes in 1685. There is a good site on this below:

https://www.crommelin.org/history/Anc.../Charenton.htm

Jean himself seems to have been born in a village a bit further North as he was married in London 3 years later:

"Jean Bouttefoy, a native of Bouttavan in the Bauvoisain, son of Charles Bouttefoy and Catherine Deshay, and Anne Maison, native of London, daughter of Richard Maison and Anne Deuine, Oct 2, Produced a certificate announcing their intention (to marry) 16 Ocotber 1681. "

They were then after married on 29 October 1681 at St ,Stepney, with Annes surname anglicised to 'Anne Home'.

By "Bouttavan in the Bauvoisan", he would likely be referring to the small village of Boutavent, in the outer region of the larger town of Bauvais, approx 120 km north of Paris.

They had the follwing children, most baptised at Threadneedle Street:

Jean Boutefoy circa 1683.
Ann Boutefois 1686 (Godparents Henry Respeaux and Filis Marie)
Elizabeth Boutefoy 1689 (Godparents Jacques Curry and Elizbathe Riousset)
Marie Boutefoy 1692 (Godparents Solomom Saual and Maire Joleuse)
Elizabeth Boutefoy 1696 ( Godparents Jean Houle and Elizabeth Nialienne)
Pierre Boutefoy 1699 (Godparents Pierre Riousset and Elizabeth Dieq)

The baptism of the youngest, son Pierre, gives the aditional info Jean was living in Greay Eagle Street, Stepney (Spitalfields) and was a Silk Weaver.

Now the interesting thing is the daughter Elizabeths godfather Jacques Curry.

Gabriel Boutefoy stood as godfather in 1678 to a Nicholas Currys daughter Judith, alongside the wife of a Jacques Curry. So there is one link between Gabriel and Jean.

However most significantly, Jean died young around 1704/5. His daughter Marie, b.1692, ws married of young soon after aged 14 to an Estienne Joyeaux and admitted to the Threadneedle Street Church as an adult at 15, on 25 sep 1706.

Now her husband Estienne Joyeux was baptised at Threadneedle Street in 1681, the son of Estienne Joyeux and his wife Marie Goujon. His godfather was Gabriel Boutefoy!

In addition his parents marriage shows his fathers mother was a Boutefoy..

"Estienne Joyeux, of Paris, the son of Estienne Joyeaux and Marthe Boutefoi married Marie Goujon 1679 Dec"

Again Paris coming up as place of origin. Therefore I think the Joyeauxs and both Gabirle and Jean Buotefoy were all related and orig from Paris.

Incidently there is also a link with one of my own families, the Bacheliers. Jean stood as a godfather alongside a Madelaine Bachelier, to a Susanne Clarke at Threadneedle Street in 1702. The Bacheliers were also from outskirts of Paris and used the Charenton temple..so another bot of circumstanstial evidence placing them there.

Why Gabriel came to London as early as 1662/3 I do not know. the vast majority came from 1678 onwards. However Louis XIV reached his majority not long before this and began his long personal rule of France in 1661 at age of 22. Though he initially promised to uphold the rites and liberties of the Protestants in his kingdom, small scale persecutions and backward legislation did start from this point, and gathered pace in the following years. Perhaps being in Paris, as stated earlier, they were hit earlier than most by this measures.

Hope all this helps a bit!

Incidently Peter I do not believe Tony (Fuller) is actively running any of the Huguenot mailing lists anymore, though still occasionaly posts to them.

[janbooth]

Tony has just recently taken over the running of the Huguenot List again after the previous incumbent had to give up.

Janet

[RichardE79]

Hello, sorry I see it was you Janet that said about Tony, not Peter. Good to hear Tony is back actively involved with the list.