Tag Archives: Hauts de France

Hauts-de-France – The Protestants of Artois, Calaisis, Flandre, Picardie of the 16th and 17th centuries

The authors selected for this research guide have researched and compiled books, theses, essays, papers and studies about the Protestant families of the 16th and 17th centuries within the Hauts-de-France region, in the country’s north.

In truth, very few French Canadians or Acadians originated from the Hauts-de-France.  The highly precise Fichier Origine (https://www.fichierorigine.com/) database of pioneers who immigrated to the French colony of Nouvelle-France lists 63 pioneers from modern-day département of the Somme,  53 from the Aisne, 35 from the Oise, 32 from the Pas-de-Calais and 21 from the département du Nord.

On the other hand, Alain Jobin, in an article published in Revue du Nord, indicates that in 1685, 2,700 Protestants left the region of Calaisis and the region of the Pays reconquis (reconquered regions from the British and the Spanish) destined for London, England and the Netherlands – see:

Alain Jobin, “Le protestantisme en Calaisis aux XVIe-XVIIe siècles,” Revue du Nord, volume LXXX, July-Dec. 1998, p. 599-618, on Persée, https://www.persee.fr/doc/rnord_0035-2624_1998_num_80_326_2875

People with Protestant ancestors from the region of Hauts-de-France who settled in London, England around 1685 should look into the records of the local Threadneedle Street Church, where most of the communities of the French and Walloon in England worshipped.  The region of Wallonie in present-day Belgium is located a few miles from the Hauts-de-France.

In 1685, present-day Belgium was part of the Netherlands. From about 1648 onwards, the southern region of the Netherlands was part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège district.

Link to the 37-page research guide PDF:

The Protestants of Artois, Flandre, Picardie

Most of these resources are in French, but you can get help from an on-line translation tool such as Google Translate or DeepL.

To learn more about Protestant records in France, see the introductions to these recent research guides on Genealogy Ensemble:

Jacques Gagné,  March 2, 2020, “Protestants of  Anjou, Beauce, Bretagne, Perche, Poitou, Touraine of the 16th and 17th Centuries»  https://genealogyensemble.com/2020/03/02/the-protestants-of-anjou-beauce-bretagne-maine-normandie-perche-poitou-touraine-of-the-16th-and-17th-centuries/

Jacques Gagné, Feb. 16, 2020, “Protestants of  Alsace-Lorraine of the 16th and 17th Centuries»  https://genealogyensemble.com/2020/02/16/the-protestants-of-alsace-lorraine-of-the-16th-and-17th-centuries/

Jacques Gagné,  Jan. 19, 2020, “Protestants of Paris in the 16th and 17th Centuries»  https://genealogyensemble.com/2020/01/19/the-protestants-of-paris-in-the-16th-and-17th-centuries/

See also

Jacques Gagné, May 20, 2018, «How to Search for Huguenot Ancestors in France,» https://genealogyensemble.com/2018/05/20/how-to-search-for-huguenot-ancestors-in-france/

Jacques Gagné, June 3, 2018, «Huguenot Family Lineage Searches,»  https://genealogyensemble.com/2018/06/03/huguenot-family-lineage-searches/

Jacques Gagné, May 13, 2018, «Researching Your French Ancestors Online,» (the attached updated PDF describes how to research in the Archives départementales de France, the country’s 95 regional archives)  https://genealogyensemble.com/2018/05/13/researching-your-french-ancestors-online/

Jacques Gagné, Jan. 27, 2019, «The National Archives of France, » https://genealogyensemble.com/2019/01/27/the-national-archives-of-france/

Jacques Gagné, Dec. 16, 2018, «BNF Gallica» (Bibliothèque nationale de France) https://genealogyensemble.com/2018/12/16/bnf-gallica/

Jacques Gagné,  Sept. 23, 2018, «Finding Ancestors in French Municipal Archives» https://genealogyensemble.com/2018/09/23/finding-ancestors-in-french-municipal-archives/