This is a photo of the marriage certificate between Jean Simon Camroux, native of Berlin, son of Simon Camroux of Gozarques near Duzes and Anne Claire Laplace of Mannheim, and Susanne Desvaux, native of London, daughter of Pierre Desvaux native of Rouan in Upper Normandy and Marie.
Who? Yes, my great great great great grandfather (I lost count of the greats) got married in the Huguenot church in Threadneedle Street in London on 17th May 1747. His son was Jean Louis Camroux, who seemed to have changed his name to Jean Lewis in the meanwhile as they were now in London and so the generations of the Camroux settled and spread in England. I found their origins in France in a little village near Montpellier, but they fled like most Huguenots from France, as being protestant in France at the time did not make you very popular. They arrived in Germany and from Germany my ancestor made his way to London.
It was fashion at the time to trace your ancestors, the age of computer had arrived. Every ten years in England there was a census, registering who lived where and when. Unfortunately the people knocking from door to door in the earlier days were not so gifted with reading and writing, and neither were those that were asked. My grandad was a Lay, but I found his family registered under the name of Day and Say because someone did not write the details in handwriting very well.
My great grandfather Relf on my dad’s side of the family was never registered at birth and so his parents remained a mystery forever. However undaunted, thanks to examining all the records, I had a family tree with 970 members, some of which I have the birth, marriage and death certificates. After 10 years of digging and researching, I gave up eventually, probably out of disappointment realising that I was not a descendent of the British royal family. Do I speak fluent french due to my pedigree, definitely not, I just learnt it in school.
Actually there were a few families in East London, where I grew up, with French sounding names as many Huguenots settled in this part of London. Most were weavers and their houses with the large windows still exist to a certain extent. I even had contact with a branch of my Camroux family in Canada, through my research and now and again spoke to my sixth cousin via computer. One of these days I must get my DNA analysed, who knows what might turn up.
Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss 
Family trees are so interesting. On my father’s side of the family, there are French connections – Du Bois, Guisson and the Le Marinel – my great grandmother was Sarah Le Marinel and she lived in Jersey, as far as I know.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had quite a large tree, it covered half the living room floor with about 950 members.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes! It’s worth getting your DNA analyzed, although…it’s also rather eye-opening as well. Got mine done last year!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did a lot of research and had contact with some unknown family members, but have now lost interest
LikeLiked by 1 person
It must be fun to have a traceable family background. Beyond grandparents — and even they are pretty sketchy — I know really nothing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I knew absolutely nothing. My aunt spoke about a French guy that owned property but the deeds were burnt in a church fire – wishful thinking. There was a branch of the Huguenots that were very wealthy, they owned barges on the Thames, but too distant to us to inherit, and no deeds were burnt because they never existed.
LikeLike
It must have been quite a research to find a family tree with 960 members. I only know that my family has a tradition of centuries of ship’s captains and that among our immediate ancestors ther were some barons, but they left no proprties no wealth, only a name. Besides, their country had been ruled by the communists, so they had to forget about he nobility titles to survive.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Suddenly ancestrry became a popular thing to do. Internet was full of sites where you could trace your relations. I discovered my grandparents had brothers and sisters I never knew existed and one thing lead to another. It can almost become an addiction. One of the reasons I stopped doing it
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have never do it. I have simply believe the stories I have heard at home after seen seen the old pictures of the last baron and the paintings of the old captains with my surname in some history books about the ancient Naval Academy of my father hometown bay. I have begin to do some digging now for my book, but only about my grandparents and grand grand parents and that is easy.
LikeLike