HUGUENOTS-WALLOONS-EUROPE-L Archives

From: Ray <>
Subject: [HWE] Huguenot assimilation
Date: Tue, 08 Oct 2002 16:17:41 -0400
References: <200210081716.g98HGmBX003747@lists2.rootsweb.com>

Brief note on the discussion about how the Huguenots were assimilated
in America. South Carolina had many French Huguenots and has the
oldest continuous Huguenot congregation in the US in Charleston SC.
http://www.huguenotsociety.org/church.htm

There were two things that happened in SC to hasten the assimilation.

1) The SC Church Act of 1706 established The Anglican Church as the state
church and required that every church use the Anglican prayer book in
services. (So much for religious freedom.) There was not the
persecution though and they were allowed to use a French version of
the Prayer Book.
2) As the French Huguenot seminaries were closed in France, there was
no place for Huguenots to be trained. This was not an immediate
problem as they simple found Anglican clergy with Calvinistic beliefs.

But these two factors, plus the eventual use of English instead of French
eventually lead to assimilation.

Ray Timmons,
A descendant of John TIMMINS b.1662 in France. He followed his minister,
Rev. Elias Priloeau from Bretagnem Church in Pons, to SC in 1680. Also,
a descendant of the BARRINEAU Huguenots on my mother's side. Interestedly
the TIMMONS became Baptist preachers and the BARRINEAU became Methodist
preachers.

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• [HWE] Huguenot assimilation by Ray <>