Pierre Roquemore, Jeanne Seguin, and their Journey to America

 

All of our immigrant ancestors have an origin story to explain why they came to America. It's usually  the same reason people come today - the hope for a better life. Most wanted land or better economic opportunities to support their families. Some came for political reasons. The Huguenots of France came to escape religious persecution. 

My seventh great grandfather, Pierre Roquemore, was a French Huguenot. He was able to escape France in 1763 with his wife, Jeanne Seguin, his daughter Marie (age 4), and his mother, Susanne LaFonde. Pierre and Jeanne also had an older daughter named Anne who was not on the "Liste des Protestants Refugie's actuellement a' Plymouth pour se rendre en Amerique dans les possessions de sa Majest' George troisieme Roy de la Grande Bretagne sous la conduite & direction de Jean Louis Gibert Pasteur" or "List of Protestant Refugees currently in Plymouth to go to America in the possession of his Majesty George third King of Great Britain under the leadership and direction of Jean Louis Gibert Pastor, dated November 22, 1763. I have not done any research yet to discover if something happened to Anne, or if there are mistakes in the list. I can only imagine the suffering and hardship they endured in their journey, which took over a year in total.

Marie Roquemore is my sixth great grandmother. She married William Wallace/Wallis and they moved to Wayne County, Missouri. They had at least two children, Lucinda, my ancestor who married Samuel McFadden, and a son they named Rockmore Wallis.