for all of them in one pedigree, that in an accepted pedigree there was found a grandfather, aged only nineteen. There were two Pierre Du Quesnes who died in London in 1671; each had a brother named Jean, and the father of each was named Jean; the wills of both of them are in the Somerset House Registry.
The refugee with whose family we are now concerned was Jean Du Ouesne, a native of Ath, in the Province of Hainault,[1] who fled from Duke Alva’s persecutions in or about 1568. He came to Canterbury, and afterwards removed to London, probably before 1600, the date of his son’s marriage. He was an ancien of the French Church. In the official lists of “Straungers” in 1618, he is entered as a merchant and a free denizen, residing in Broad Street ward. A Jean Du Quesne died in Canterbury, 17th September 1638. But our refugee is probably the person noted in Richard Smyth’s Obituary as “Mr. Ducane in the Old Jury,” buried in London, 1st September 1640.
Jean Du Quesne (secundus), the elder son of the refugee, was married in Threadneedle Street on 22d January 1600 (n.s.) to Sara De Francqueville, a native of Antwerp, daughter of Jean de Francqueville and Anne Le Maire. He was a diacre of the French Church. He was not included in the census of 1618, having died in London, 18th August 1612. A copy of his will, “translated out of frenshe,” is in Somerset House, beginning thus:—
“In the name of God, Amen. This sixteenth day of August 1612, I John du Quesne the yonger, beinge att this pnt. sick, was willing to ordaine my Testament and last will, peceably submittinge myself to God’s will, commending unto him my soule, he having Redeemed the same by the benefit of his deare sonne Jesus Christ, I give my bodye to the earth attending the blessed Resurrection of the faithfull.”
The will was witnessed by “Peter du Quesne, his brother,” and “Peter du Quesne, his cosin.”
This cousin’s existence seems to establish the fact that another refugee was Julien Du Quesne, brother of Jean. The cousin Pierre was probably the Pierre Du Quesne who married, in 1618, Ester, daughter of Hubert de la Vincquiere, and who is called “fils de Julien Du Quesne.”
The “brother” Peter is, in the census of 1618, entered as living with his father. He was a diacre of the French Church. He married, in 1611, Sara, native of Norwich, daughter of the late Hugues Harber, and had five sons and two daughters, but the line is extinct.
We come to the third Jean Du Quesne, grandson of the refugee Jean (and son of Jean, from whose will we have quoted). He was born in London, 31st January 1601 (n.s.), married, 22d September 1647, Ester, daughter of Samuel de la Place, “ministre de la Parole de Dieu,” and did not die until 22d April 1684, at the age of eighty-three, although he had received at the age of eleven from his father a supplementary legacy of £200 “because of his infirmities.”
A sister of the third Jean Du Quesne was Marie (born 17th October 1602), who became in 1620 the wife of James Houblon, the ancien, and died of the plague, 15th September 1646. Another sister, Sara (born 1608, died 1653), was married in 1636 to Isaac, son of Abraham Le Quesne, of Rouen.
There were several brothers of the third Jean Du Quesne; we single out Pierre, whom we may call Peter, the father of the founder of the English family. Peter Du Quesne (born 11th July 1609) married at Canterbury, 7th July 1636, Jeanne, daughter of Elias Maurois, of Canterbury (son of Elie Maurois, refugee from Hoplire), by Elizabeth, daughter of Laurens Des Bouverie. Their seventh son, Peter (born on Tuesday, 17th March 1646, new style), founded the English family which has anglicised the spelling of its name. The proper name Quesne is a corruption of the noun chesne or chène, signifying an oak; and ch being often pronounced like k, this noun to an Englishman would have the sound of cane; hence arose the name, Du Cane.
Peter Du Cane, born in 1646, was an influential citizen of London. On 15th August 1649 he was chosen as one of a committee of fifteen persons “to prepare bye-laws for the new bank” [i.e., the Bank of England]. On 11th March 1697 (n.s.) he was heard at the bar of the House of Commons in opposition to a bill for “engrafting” upon the Bank. He married, in 1676, Jane, daughter of Richard Booth, Esq., Alderman of London, and died at Tunbridge on 16th September 1714, aged sixty-eight. His son, Richard Du Cane (born 13th October 1681, died 3d October 1744), married Anne, daughter and heiress of Nehemiah Lyde, Esq., and grand-daughter maternally of Colonel Thomas Reade, a famous parliamentarian soldier; he was M.P.
- ↑ The other family were refugees from Valenciennes at a somewhat later date.
