LaRaine Rose took the clue of Hockenheim, which previously has supposed to be Holland and found it to really be in Germany. And in ordering the film she found great information that will correct some of LeVan history.
I on the other hand decided to do in depth research in the Walloon Records in Holland which are now on film. Great information was also found in this area. LaRaine has furthered pursued this avenue.
LaRaine has been relentless in following through with clues and piecing together all the loose ends. She basically deserves the credit for these discoveries. I have been here as a sounding board and help with hand writing, but she is the winner of this challenge!
I have decided to break up the research in segments hoping it will be more understandable. So will start first with our last know LeVan ancestor.
Daniel LeVan
Daniel LeVan (the father of all of our Berks County, Pennsylvania ancestors)
Previously what was known about Daniel was from the book by Rev Warren Patten Coon, The LeVan Family. It said Daniel that was of Picardy France, which by the way is a large area of France, and was a Huguenot. He was supposedly a weaver, and since most of Picardy were silk weavers that would make sense. The story was that he was married to Maria LeBeau and they escaped France into Holland. She supposedly sewed gold coins into her dress to get their money out of France.. They were parents of Abraham LeVan, baptized September 21 1698 in Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, whose baptismal certificate has been circulating for years. Evidently it was issued in 1751. A look at this certificate can be found in the book Memorials of Huguenots in the Americans by Stapleton on the internet at: http://www.archive.org/details/memorialshugen00stapgoog
You will see from the following research that a lot of the circulating information was not correct
- They were not married in France but in the Walloon Church in Amsterdam, Holland. This might seem like a remarriage in a church, except previously they were living in separate dwellings.
- Death record in Walloon Church in Amsterdam gives death dates but not sure they died in Amsterdam because there is an entry in records that says They left for Germany 24 July 1699.
- Son Jacob was married and had a son Sebastian in Hockenheim, Germany 1727.
- Son Daniel was married in Hockenheim Germany 1727.
- There was a Sebastian Graff godfather to Jacob’s son Bastian. A Sebastain Graff also immigrated same time as Jacob and Ann Maria 1727 and settle where they did do pretty sure he is her brother.
LeVan Name
Before I tell the rest of the story I would like to bring you up to date on the spelling of the LeVan name. It seems that no where in any of the records that we found is the name spelt LeVan. In the Holland and Germany records it is spelt both LeVant or LeVent. Even in the early French records the name is only found spelt as LeVent. The spelling of LeVan doesn’t show up in France until the 19th century. Most of the time it is only with a small ‘v’. In the following records I have spelt the names exactly as found in the records. Also remember that these are old records usually written by people who were not French and so spelling of names can change from writer to writer.
Huguenots
Just a note about who were the Huguenots. The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Used originally as a term of derision, the derivation of the name Huguenot remains uncertain, however is believed to have originated in the city of Tours. Le roi Huguet, “King Huguet”, was a generic name for ghosts who instead of being in purgatory came back to harm the living at night. Because of the practice of Protestants to venture out at night to their conventicles, priests began applying the nickname.
Followers of this new Protestantism were soon accused of heresy against the Catholic government and the established religion of France, and a General Edict urging extermination of these heretics (Huguenots) was issued in 1536. Nevertheless, Protestantism continued to spread and grow, and about 1555 the first Huguenot church was founded in a home in Paris based upon the teachings of John Calvin. The number and influence of the French Reformers (Huguenots) continued to increase after this event, leading to an escalation in hostility and conflict between the Catholic Church/State and the Huguenots. Finally, in 1562, some 1200 Huguenots were slain at Vassey, France, thus igniting the French Wars of Religion which would devastate France for the next thirty-five years. Many were killed or exiled during this time.
The Edict of Nantes, signed by Henry IV in April, 1598, ended the Wars of Religion, and allowed the Huguenots some religious freedoms, including free exercise of their religion in 20 specified towns of France. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV in October, 1685, began anew persecution of the Huguenots, and hundreds of thousands of Huguenots fled France to other countries.
Since the Huguenots of France were in large part artisans, craftsmen, and professional people, they were usually well-received in the countries to which they fled for refuge. Most of them went initially to Germany, the Netherlands, and England.
What few records can be found about this group of people is found on the internet at: http://www.roelly.org/~pro_picards/prop/index.html
Now The Rest of the Story
The referenced record films below were found at LDS Family History Card Catalog on familysearch.org
- Walloon Church records film #113406*
- Daniel Levant Arrived Amsterdam 29 July 1691 Arrived with Francois LeVant and his wife Susanne LeFaux and Francois mother Elizabeth Cochefir.
- Walloon Church records film #199794*
- Elizabeth Cochefer Death Amsterdam 24 Nov 1694 Her residence is the same street that Daniel lived on at the time of his marriage, Roosestraat.
- Note: Very few by that name are found in France during our family’s time period. No birth found for her or marriage.
- Walloon Church records film #113401*
- Daniel Levant Marriage Proclaimed 2 Nov 1697 Marie, name spelt LeBaux, resided on Laurierstraat street and Daniel lived on Roosestraat.
- Walloon Church records #113402*
- Daniel Levant Marriage 17 Nov 1697 Marie name spelt LeBaux again
- Walloon Church records film #113406*
- Daniel Levant Received Amsterdam 16 Feb 1698 It says married to Marie Le Boux so I am assuming that they were received into the church as married couple.
- Walloon Church records film #113398*
- Abraham Levent Baptismal 21 Sept 1698 Parents were Daniel Levent and MarieBaux. Witnesses or Godparents wereAbraham Fabre and Susanne Levent. He was born on the 20th Sept 1698.
- Walloon Church records film #113405*
- Daniel Levant Departure 24 July 1699 Record says he is leaving for Germany. Marie is listed separately as Marie Le Beau. Females were known by their maiden name.
- Note: The fact that Daniel and Marie left for Germany in 1699 and that two of their sons are found in records for Hockenheim, Germany in 1727 is an indication that, except for Abraham, the other children were born and raised in Germany. Their language would tend to be German except for exposure to French from Daniel and Marie; they would not have any roots in Holland. Also, their connection to France would be minimal and only through Daniel and Marie.
CORRECTION
New information has come to light from France concerning Daniel’s parentage. A new record of the posting of Banns for Daniel’s marriage to Marie LeBeau gives his mother’s name as Sara de Semery. Which has led us to his parents and grandparents on the website: geneanet.org I have added all the information to my tree in familysearch.org and will get it into Ancestry as soon as I can and also will have it inserted as a genealogy on this web page His grandmother was Elizabeth Cochefer who died 1694 and she was the wife of Isaac Levent. He preceded her in death that is why she came to Amsterdam with her son Francois and his wife Susanna Lefaux. So Francois was not Daniel’s brother but was his Uncle. Although Daniel did have a brother Francois.
Hockenheim Germany
After Daniel and Marie left Holland for Germany, we have lost them, and at this point do not know their residence after 1699 or their place of death. We don’t pick up the family until 1727 in Hockenheim Germany. Somewhere along the way Daniel and Marie had four other children, namely Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, and Anna Elizabeth. Other family sources have a Joseph who died crossing the ocean but at this point we have no proof of this. The following two references are the only mention of Levent in those records.
- Hockenheim Germany film #1192254*
- Daniel Levent (Jr) Marriage 21 Jan 1727 Married Elizabetha Wagner. No other information available. Her birth does not appear in the Hockenheim records.
- Bastian Levent Christening 20 Apr 1727 Parents are Jacob Levent and Anna Maria (no last name) There is a lot of writing after his name which basically says they immediately left for the Island of Pennsylvania. The witness or godfather was Bastian Grefs.
- Note: The Bastian above is really Sebastian, my direct ancestor. His birth has always been listed as Pennsylvania, so is was exciting to find an exact date and to know he was born in Germany. The witness to the baptism is Sebastian’s namesake, Sebastian Grefs. .His last name is challenged with many different spellings, such as Greef and Graff. Considering the culture of naming infants after family members during this era, it’s safe to assume that Sebastian is Anna Maria’s brother…which makes Jacob’s wife “Anna Maria Graff.” (the spelling most common in America.)The reasoning behind referring to Sebastian Graff as her brother and not her father is that Sebastian Graff has multiple listings on this film reel including his marriage and the death of his infant son, Bastian. Sebastian Graff boarded the William and Sarah with the Levent family to sail to America.On the passenger list in the notation column is the word “Creef”…which they logged in as “Graff”. I also found his name spelled “Gref” in America.We were not able to find any birth for Anna Maria or any other reference to other family members. Records in the surrounding towns need to be researched.
- http://www.progenealogists.com/palproject/pa/1727w-s.htm
- Daniel Levent (Jr) Passenger Lists 18 Sept 1727 Date is arrival in Philadelphia. No date given when they left Rotterdam.
- Note: The trip down the Rhine River from the Palatinate to Rotterdam sometimes lasted for several weeks, much of the time being spent in complying with the regulations of the various German principalities which existed along that great river valley through which they were obliged to pass. They were normally delayed in Rotterdam for several weeks more, and again at one of the English ports. The sailing time for crossing the Atlantic from England to Philadelphia was from eight to sixteen weeks. There were listed 8 freights traveling with Daniel. Each adult passenger 16 years old or above was counted as one freight. Children 4-15 were counted as half-freights and were charged half the price of an adult for passage. Children under 4 were transported for free. The number listed next to each man’s name was apparently the number of freights he was responsible for. If someone in the family died at sea, they were not counted in the number of freights for that family.
LeVan/LeVent/LeVant names that we have been able to piece together as part of Daniel’s family
ELIZABETH COCHEFER
She came into Walloon Church in Amsterdam with son Francois in 1691. She dies in 1694, living on the same street as Daniel. She is buried at WesterKirk (West Church) Amsterdam. There are no cemeteries there but Rembrandt is buried in a crypt in the church. We assume that Elizabeth is a widow when she comes to Amsterdam with her sons.
At the Roelly site of Huguenots in France, we find several Cochefer names but the only Elizabeth that we was born about 1635 and was married to a Daniel Cauchoy who denounced their Protestant religion in 1685. There were a few that listed where they lived, one place was the Hamlet of Montcourt, in Parish of Essomes sur Marne, department of Aisne, in Picardy. The other place was Assis sur Serre, a commune in department of Aisne, in Picardy. More research to be done on this name.
FRANCOIS LEVENT
Francois Levant we now know he is Daniel’s uncle. Son of Elizabeteh Cochefer.
http://www.roelly.org/~pro_picards/prop/index.html
LEVENT, François Religion: Protestant
Notes Figure in the list of Calvinists of Picardy, fugitive La Rue Bohains La Ferte-sur-Peron
Lefaux, Suzanne Religion: Protestant
Notes Figure in the list of Calvinists of Picardy, fugitive La Rue Bohains La Ferte-sur-Peron
The 2 children of LEVENT – Lefaux
LEVENT, Nicolas Religion: Protestant
Notes Figure in the list of Calvinists of Picardy, co-purchaser of the property of their parents
LEVENT, Etienne Religion: Protestant
Notes Figure in the list of Calvinists of Picardy, co-purchaser of the property of their parents
Source: General condition of the Calvinists and religionists of the Aisne, Champagne and Brie in 1685-Paris 1878 Review and Champagne Brie Paris 1878 – 8 ° Br Laon AD 183.
Notes: We are sure that this is the same Francois Levent that arrived in Amsterdam in 1691 because of they have same wife’s name. Where did the two children go because they are not listed with their parents in Amsterdam. Also they had to be pretty young at the time of this entry but yet are co-purchasers of their parents property. More research needs to be done on this.
It does give us a place to look for them in France. La Rue Bohains, La Rue means the street so think they are saying he lived on the street Bohains in the village of La Ferte-sur-Peron. Which is a commune located in the department of Aisne in district of Saint Quentin in region of Picardy. It was merged with Chevresis-les-Dames by royal decree of June 2, 1819, under the name of La Ferte-Chevresis. Attached to the parish of Saint Brice. Several of the Levant/Levent in Roelly’s site are from the Saint Quentin area.
Leiden Collection #199876*
Henry Levent Baptism Manheim 13 Mar 1686 Parents were Francois Levent and Susanne Le Faux.
Leiden Cards film#199876*
Isaac Levent Baptism Manheim 19 Sept 1688 Parents were Francois Levent and Susanne LeFaux.
Note: Manheim spelt Mannheim was in the Palatinate are between France and Germany, now located in Germany.
Walloon Church records film #113406*
Francois Levant Arrival in Amsterdam 29 July 1691 Arrived with his wife Susanne Le Faux and Francois’s mother Elizabeth Cochefer.
Walloon Church records film #113398*
Noe LeVent Baptism Amsterdam 2 Aug 1693 Parents Francois Levent and Susanne LeFaux. Noe is a french word for Noah. Witnesses were Noe Hagomber and Susanne Procureur
Walloon Church Records film #113398*
Madeleine LeVant Baptism Amsterdam 11 Mar 1696 Parents Francois LeVant and Susanne Le Faux.
Walloon Church Records film#113402*
Francois LeVent Marriage Amsterdam 31 Dec 1699 Married Susanne Wattie. His other wife Susanne Le Faux must have died between the birth of Madeleine and this marriage. Or as was very common in those times, she might have died at childbirth.
Note: We do not find Francois leaving Amsterdam but the next time we find Francois is in London, England at the Walloon Church at Threadneedle Street, where he is witness to a Baptism record of a child Anne daughter of Jacques Levent and his wife Rachel on 22 Sept 1706. More about Jacques will follows. We also find a death of a Francis (English version of Francois) Which could possibly be our Francois. “Francis Levant, weaver, of Cock Lane, Bethnal Green, buried St Dunstan’s Stepney November 3 1712”.
SUSANNE LEVENT
Leiden Collection #199876*
Note: The Leiden collection is housed in Leiden, Netherlands. It is a vast card index of Huguenots in the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Germany and elsewhere (1500-1828), written in
both Dutch and French. A great research tool.
Susanne Levent ??? 1690 Just listed in record, no other Information.
Susanne Levent Receive Amsterdam 1 July 1693 Arrived in Amsterdam Walloon Church with husband Abraham Febre/Fabe. They are listed as coming from Maastricht Holland/Netherlands.
Note: Maatricht is located in the south eastern part of the Netherlands. But it was not included as part of the Netherlands until 1815 so probably at the time this family was there it could have been part of Southern Holland.
Walloon Church records #113398*
Marie Susanne Fabre Baptism Amsterdam 10 Oct 1694 Parents Abraham Febre and Susanne Levent. Witnesses were Daniel Levent and Maria LeBeau.
Note: This was the beginning of the connection between Susanne Levent and our Daniel LeBeau. Their paths cross several more times and so from this we are assuming they were brother and sister.
Walloon Church records #113398*
Susanne Levent Witness Amsterdam 21 Sept 1698 With husband Abraham Febre were witnesses to Baptism of Abraham Levent, who Parents were Daniel Levent and Marie Baux.
RootsChat.com/forum/England
Susanne Levent Buried London 16 Oct 1716 Weaveress of Bethnal Green, buried St. Dunstan’s Stepney Parish.
Note: The Huguenot church in England was located at Threadneedle Street and so the records are called Threadneedle registry. Baptisms can be found at:
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA361&id=OZFIAAAAYAAJ#v=onepage&q&f=false
Her husband, Abraham Fabre then remarried in England to a Mary Le Count and died in Bethnal Green December 1731, leaving a will. No access to this as far as I know.
JAQUES/JACQUES LEVENT
Note: The only reason to assume that Jaques belong to our Levan family is that he moved to the same place in London that the rest of the Levent family lived and that Francois Levent was a witness to one of his daughters baptism.
Leiden Collection Film#199876*
Jaques LeVent Received Haarlem 2 Aug 1687 Record said he left 10 Jul 1703.
Note: I thought the record said deceased (decede) but obviously it means departed as this family shows up in Threadneedle.
Jaques LeVent Marriage Proclaim 31 Mar 1696 At Haarlem married to Susanne Le Fevre.
Jaques LeVent Marriage Haarlem 31 Mar 1696 Married to Susanne Le Fevre It says he is from Vervin and she is from Guise.
Note: Vervin is actually Vervins and is a commune, located in Picardy, department Aisne, north eastern France. Guise is north west of Vervins. Haarlem/Harlem is located west of Amsterdam Netherlands.
Jaques LeVent Baptism Haarlem 14 Apr 1697 Parents were Jaques and Susanne Le Fevre.
Jean LeVent Baptism Haarlem 17 Nov 1699 Parents were Jaques and Susanne Le Fevre.
Leiden Collection Film#199876*
Jaques LeVent Remarried Haarlem 20 Apr 1700 He married Rachel Bisseu.
Note: Marriage says wife Susanne Le Fevre deceased, possible she died at birth of son.
Samuel LeVent Baptism Haarlem 6 Dec 1701 Parents were Jaques and Rachel Bisseu.
Note: As mentioned above Jaques moved from Haarlem Netherlands to London England, 1703.
Threadneedle Registry
http://books.google.com/books?pg=PA361&id=OZFIAAAAYAAJ#v=onepage&q&f=false
These were transcribed records so don’t pay too much attention to the spelling.
Elizabeth Levent/Leuant Baptism London 1 Oct 1704 Parents were Jacques and Rachel name spelt Leuant. He was a weaver in Heare Street, Stepney Parish. Witnesses were Daniel Destrois and Elizabeth Surton.
Anne Levent Baptism London 22 Sept 1706 Parents were Jacques and Rachele, name spelt Levent. Witnesses were Francois LeVent and Mary Blondin.
Andre Leuant Baptism London 5 Jun 1709 Parents were Jaques and Rachel, name spelt Leuant. Witnesses were Andre Le Faux and Maria Leuant. (Who is she?)
Susanne Levant Baptism London 17 Feb 1712 Parents were Jaques and Rachel. Witnesses were Jeremie Dupre and Mariane Susanne Lanbaire.
Daniel/Susanne Levent Baptism London 27 July 1713 Twins, parents were Jaques and Rachel. Witnesses were Jean Gardien and Daniel Biseu and Susanne Vaseur and Anne Finee.
Note: The first Susanne must have died for them to name another child Susanne.
RootsChat.com/Forum/England
Andre Levent Died London 1767 Died at French Hospital
Jean Levent Died London 1769 Died at French Hospital
Anne Levent Died London 1772 Died at French Hospital. She was admitted under her married name of Averard.
HENRY LEVENT
This one is added just because he is found in the Threadneedle registry living in the same area as the other Levents. According to the RootsChat.com Henry left France and went straight to Germany (where is unknown at this time) and then ended up in Threadneedle Street.
England Marriages Film #597246*
Henry Levent Marriage London 10 Jul 1715 Married Mary Maudlin Lecrue at Saint Dunstan, Stepney Parish.
RootsChat.com/Forum/England
Susanna Levent Birth London Feb Parent Henry Levent.
Note: She was admitted to French Hospital with depression age 39 and died in Bethnal Green Nov 1763.
LE BEAU RESEARCH
We wish we knew more about our Le Beau ancestors other then what was stated in relationship to her marriage to Daniel Leva/Levent. We have some clues, which I will list individually in the following pages.
First of all we know that Marie Le Beau was in Holland at the Walloon church by 1694 as she is a witness along with Daniel Levent at the birth of a child to Susanne Levent and Abraham Fabre. (See the section on Levan names that we have been able to piece together.) And we know she married Daniel Levent in 1697.
Note: Just to mention that in these records the females are always known by their maiden names. Even when they depart from Walloon Church, both husband and wife are listed separately.
http://www.roelly.org/~pro_picards/prop/index.html
Marie Le Beau Baptism France 7 Oct 1668 Parent were Isaac Le Beau and Margurite LeGrand
Marie Le Beau Died France 20 July 1669 Parent were Isaac Le Beau and Margurite LeGrand
Marie Le Beau Baptism France 29 Mar 1671 Parent were Isaac Le Beau and Margurite LeGrand
Note: They were living in Lehaucourt, Parish of Saint Pecinne, Saint Quentin, Picardy, France. They are known Protestants. Source “The Reformation in Saint-Quentin and around the sixteenth to the late eighteenth century” by Alfred Daullé, Le Cateau-1901. Isaac was a silk worker who died about 1685.There were many Le Beau Protestant families in the Roelly list. A lot in Saint Quentin and in the 1700’s. Only two Marie listed, both of them the ones listed above. There was another Isaac having children in 1680’s, notes say he has a cousin named Isaac Le Beau who was a silk worker.
Leiden Collection film #199867*
Walloon Church Records film # 113405*
Marie Le Beau Received Amsterdam 20 May 1691 Parents were Abraham Le Beau and Jeanne Gueul.
Note: They came together as a family: Abraham Le Beau and Jeanne Gueul his wife, Isaac, and Daniel Le Beau, Isabelle and Marie Le Beau his children. There are no Gueul names in the Roelly internet site.
Note: At this point information points to this Marie being ours, as there is no record of another Marie Le Beau being received into the Walloon Church. Hopefully further research will bring up some more clues.
Walloon Church Records film #113405*
Marie Le Beau Departing Amsterdam 29 July 1699 Departing for Germany.
Note: She is listed separately from Daniel but the same date and same information.
Leiden Collection film #199867*
Daniel Le Beau Marriage proclaim Amsterdam 27 July 1692 Married Maudaine Gombas?
Daniel Le Beaux Marriage proclaim Amsterdam 12 Jul 1692 Married Marie Agombar?
Note: Either of the above two Daniels could be Marie’s brother. We have seen Le Beau spelt Le Beaux many times. There is a Daniel Le Beau with a wife Marie living in Threadneedle Street, London, England, having a child born 1705.
MORE RESEARCH TO BE DONE