According to Pierre Chastains and His Descendants “The Chastains fled across the Jura Mountains, to Yverson, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland” and later Pierre Chastain took “his family from Switzerland…northward to Holland.” Also I found information that shows that Pierre Chastain had children born in Vevey, Switzerland and a child born in Leiden, Holland before they went to England to board the ship to America.
Just across the border in Vaud, Switzerland is
where the Chastains went.
Vevey (French pronunciation: [vəvɛ]
pronunciation) is a town in
Switzerland in the
canton of Vaud, on
the north shore of Lake
Geneva, near Lausanne.
Time line and Route of the Chastain family took from France to England:
1685 October 18 Louis XIV of France deprived protestant subjects of religious freedom.
Chastain Huguenots migrated to Switzerland, Netherlands, England and then to America. Other Huguenots also went to Germany.
1690 May 8, Pierre Chastain “the Immigrant” had children baptized in Vevey, Switzerland.
1691 October 8 all proven with baptismal records
1693 April 24
1694 August 24 The religious wars existed over 3 centuries. Some Huguenots migrated before the
1697 February 26 families went to America. Chastains went to Switzerland 1680-90? to Netherlands
1698 May 5 May 1698- sept 1699 to England Sept 1699 – April 1700 when ship left for America.
1699 September 10 Pierre Chastain had a child baptized in Leiden, Holland
1703 Pierre Chastain had a child born in Henrico County, Virginia
Leiden is a city and municipality
in the province of South
Holland,
Netherlands.
... Highlighted position of Leiden in a municipal map of South
Holland.
That is where the Chastains went
after they left Switzerland.
Bon & Marriage of Pierre Chastain & Suzanne Renaut
Note the transcription misspelling of the name. Here is their Bon (thanks to Bruno for explaining that) – announcement of their engagement - and information of their marriage. This can be seen in the French section of Family Search Org
Pierre Challin
Groom |
Marriage 28
January 1687 |
Parents Estienne Challin, Jeanne Laurent Spouses Susanne Regnault |
008/AC GG 031, Issoudun,1687 Page 12 of film in French book
See Pierre Chastain & Suzanne Regnaut in the left hand margin
See all the family & friends signatures.
The below can be found in the French version of Family Search Org
The first child of Pierre Chastain & Susanne Regnault/Renaud was born in France before they left for Switzerland. Note incorrect transcription of name spelling in Family Search records.
In Family Search – never would have found this. Apparently the name spelling was transcribed wrong.
Anne ChartainPrincipal |
Baptism 23
February 1688 |
ParentsPierre Chartain, Susanne Renault |
Anne Chartain - obviously spelling mistranscribed
Christening • France, Indre, Parish and Civil Registration, 1564-1905
|
Name |
Anne Chartain |
|
Sex |
Female |
|
Baptism Date |
23 Feb 1688 |
|
Baptism Place |
Issoudun, Indre, Centre-Val de Loire, France |
|
Birth Date |
1688 |
|
Father's Name |
|
|
Father's Sex |
Male |
|
Mother's Name |
|
|
Mother's Sex |
Female |
|
Event Type |
Baptism |
Anne Chartain's Parents and Siblings
088/AC GG 32, Issoudun, 1688 Page 19 on the film
At that time in France, girls could legally marry when they were 12 years old. It is very likely that this is the Ann Chastain, wife of Rev. Claude Philippe de Richebourg. Anne Chastain Richbourg's son claimed descent from Estienne Chastain. More on that under my Richbourg line. My autosomal DNA proves a connection to the descendants of Pierre Chastain.
If you are interested in looking at some of the French records - they can be found in the various record books for St. CYR (by year) in the old church registers located at:
The French is not user friendly, but the names are recognizable even in the old French handwriting.