TENTH GENERATION
Records for (312) Jaques/ Jacques Racine vanish in London at around the same time that they appear in what is today france, but used to be the Duchy of Lorraine (see map, below). That place was a haven for Huguenots during the early 1700s, who were escaping persecution by the French King after the revocation of the Edict of Tolerance.
627. unknown (F)
John Gripcony was probably a clerk. He witnessed several marriages on the same page. The signature of (626) Jaques Sorel was identical to his signature on (313) Marie's marriage record that same year.
2 Fr. Huguenot silk weavers of Holland, REF: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=settlej01&id=I2978 (627vii_e) Thomas was "Godson of (627ii[1]) Susanna Sorel nee Van Sommer"1
The signature of Jaque Sorel, witness to the marriage of (627viii) James and (627viii[1]) Magdalen, exactly matches that of (626) James Sorel, witness to the marriage of (313) Marie Sorel & (312) Jaques Racine
1 http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=settlej01&id=I10078
(626) James/ Jaques Sorel apparently named two sons after himself, and named two daughters "Marie/ Mary". The French distinguished their children at this time by their middle names, thought the English didn't adopt this custom until around 1800. English records, therefore, commonly did not show the middle name, leading to some confusion.
The situation of the (626) Jaques Sorel family, around this time, is best understood by looking at the above map. The ancient boundaries of the Duchy of Lorraine, and of the bishoprics of Metz, Verdun and Toul, are shown in blue, while modern boundaries are shown in red. Throughout most of the time that Huguenots were persecuted in France, they were tolerated in the independent Duchy. The Racines settled first in Rosieres-Aux-Salines ("F" on the map), then moved to Croismare ("G") before relocating in London. The Sorel clan was centered in Cratenoy ("D").
The name "Jaques/ Jacques" does not appear in Cratenoy in the IGI from the period 1670-1760. Instead, (626) Jacques and his brethren are to be found in Verdun ("B"), some distance to the northwest, while on Jeanne Sorel, daughter of a certain Jaques Sorel and his wife Mary P___, was baptized in 1682 in Mont-L'Etroit ("A") in the Bishopric of Toul. An Anne Camus, of unknown connection to the family, was baptized in Saint-Pierre-L'Angele of Verdun on 3 Nov. 1658, whereas the (1253) Anne Camus married to our Jacques' father (also called (1252) Jacques) was probably the one baptized just across the border in France on 7 July 1667. The baptisms of Jacque and his brethren are all recorded in Verdun, up until 1707, when Sorel baptismal records are no longer found for twenty years. They reappear in 1727 with sons of George & Nicolle Sorel, but the names of the children indicate that these two Sorel families were not closely connected. I have found birth or baptismal records for the children of Jacque in London, the first of numerous family records there appearing first with the baptism of (627i_a) Anne Sorel in 1757. Neither can I find out anything further about his siblings.
The "missing generation" of records for (626) Jacque Sorel's family from 1707 until 1757, at the same time that records for other Sorels in Cratenoy during this time, can be explained thus: Cratenoy was a fairly small, rural commune, where Huguenots apparently could live without drawing much attention to themselves. Jacque Sorel, however, was an important player in the Silk trade, as shown by the numerous listings of him and his sons in the London business directories from 1767 onwards. It is quite possible that his father moved to the cathedral city of Verdun shortly before the Edict of Nantes was revoked, for business reasons. Sometime between around 1707 and 1715, however, when France was embroiled in war with most of Europe and the future disposition of Lorraine and the bishoprics was uncertain, that whole part of the family seems to have gone underground -- probably in a French-speaking area where Huguenots hid or destoryed their records. The Cratenoy Sorels survived the war well enough, the Duchy finally being given in 1737 to the one-time Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński before passing finally to the French king years later, upon Stanisław's death in 1766. For Jacque, though, the die seems to have been cast; and we next find him raising a family in Spitalfields.
Mention should be made here of (1253) Anne Camus who, having been baptized across the border in France, some distance from Verdun, appears at first as an unlikely candidate to be Jacques' wife. The answer to the puzzle was the revocation of the Edict of Toleration and the banning of Protestantism in France, which occurred in October 1685 (Anne was just 18 at the time). I have already made mention of another Anne Camus, who lived near Jacques Sorel and his family in Verdun. The younger Anne may have fled to her family in Verdun at this time, and soon married Jacques.
628. prob. Benjamin Browning
629. prob. Agnis Lavis
630. prob. George Morrish /Morris
631. prob. Mary Philipps /Philips
REF: http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=jaquesorrcodd&id=I836
= prob. siblings
RACINE & BROWNING LINES continued
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