In Search of Harvey's Huguenot Origins

Following on from my previous post about Harvey's 5 x great-grandfather, Josias Harley, I travelled back in time and discovered his parents were John Harley and Magdalen Lenoir. Actually, when Josias was baptized in the Huguenot Church they were named as Jean Harley and Madelaine Le Noir but I then found a Marriage Allegation and Bond with the alternative names/spellings.

Extract of the baptism of Josias Harley showing his parents as Jean Harley and Madelaine Le Noir
Extract of the baptism of Josias Harley
showing his parents as Jean Harley and Madelaine Le Noir

Those wishing to marry without the calling of banns in church could apply for a Marriage Licence. The applicant was usually the bridegroom but not always, and he would provide a bond and an allegation. The allegation (or affidavit) was a formal statement by the applicant about the ages, marital status and places of residence of the parties, usually including some statement of the groom's occupation, to which was added an oath that there was no legal impediment to the marriage. The bond was sworn by two witnesses, usually the groom, his father or a friend, in which they pledged to forfeit a large sum of money if there was any consanguinity (ie. if the couple were too closely related by blood to marry).

John Harley's allegation states he was of the parish of St Dunstan, Stepney in Middlesex. He was a weaver by trade, consistent with many people of Huguenot descent, and it turns out that he was also a widower. His signature on the allegation and bond would imply that he was literate too.

John Harley's signature on his marriage allegation
John Harley's signature on his marriage allegation


John Harley's signature on his marriage bond
John Harley's signature on his marriage bond

When part of the great wave of Huguenot religious refugees settled in Spitalfields in the late 17th century, the area still belonged to the large parish of Stepney. While the master weavers inhabited fine houses in Spital Square and its adjoining streets, the jobbing weavers, who carried out piece work for their employers, lived and worked in weavers' garrets, or in two-roomed cottages in Whitechapel or Bethnal Green.

Magdalen Lenoir was of the parish of St Thomas The Apostle and she was a spinster. St Thomas the Apostle was a church located in St Thomas Apostle Street but it was destroyed in the Great Fire of London in 1666 and was never rebuilt. Instead, the parish was united with that of St Mary Aldermary and this was the church where John and Magdalen were married on 19th May 1743.

I don't know the name of John's previous wife and, besides Josias, I've found no other children belonging to John and Magdalen.

There was a possible burial for Magdalen Harley in 1751 in St Anne's Church, Soho, but equally, a widow of the same name married a Daniel Sirman in St Mary, Acton, Ealing in 1762. Perhaps neither of these were Harvey's ancestor but if I had to choose, I'd pick the 1751 burial.

There are a few possible baptisms for John/Jean Harley, including in the French Church in Threadneedle Street, but I don't know exactly when he was born so, at this stage, it's difficult to progress his lineage. Likewise, Magdalen/ Madelaine Lenoir/Le Noir also proves to be elusive. As such, I cannot say when Harvey's ancestors first arrived in this country but we know their descendants made their home here.

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Category: Ancestors Corner

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