Alternate Origins

* Notes: “Tobias had an elder brother Captain (Army) Robert Felgate who arrived in Bermuda aboard the ‘Starre’ in March 1614 where he remained (apart from several journeys back to England,) until 1627 when he left Bermuda. One journey back to Bermuda was in the ‘Garland’ which was due to sail to Virginia with 250 passengers called in at Bermuda on the way. However This is a very important and interesting chapter, though none of it might be true. I’m going to deal with the Fugates here, the Master William Wye picked up a cargo of Tobacco in Bermuda and returned straight to England. Other ships listed as carrying although many of the same lessons can be taken from the other families studied in this book. Rumors, tall tales, misconnections, passengers to Bermuda were the ‘Blessinge’ with 100 passengers in March 1614, two days later came in the ‘Starre’ with 180

diversions, and just plain wrong ideas riddle most accounts of family trees. As was said before, all genealogies are works in more but the only people named were Mr. Lower to be marshall, Mr Barrett an ingineer and Mr Felgate an old soldier.” Below progress.

this paragraph is “Histore of the Bermudaes”by Nathaniel Butler, “Records of the Virginia C ompany of London” by Susan In the old days, people relied on family Bibles, or – as I did – the memories of your grandparents or irregularly published Kingsbury, .

family newsletters. Now, we rely on the Internet, and once the family tree has been posted, we imagine our story has been set in

* It would seem logical that many of the names that begin with “I” are actually “J”, James, John, etc. but without seeing the stone and is correct.

original, I can only guess (dw)

Similarly, when alternative origins crop up – on the Internet – we tend to dismiss them; after all, we have the proof…on the Internet.

Ring, Joseph, lived at “Ringfield” formerly patented by Captain Robert Felgate in York County on Felgate’s Creek. He was a You would think that with a family as uniquely spelled as the Fugate name is, there can be little to argue about: a few hundred prominent justice of York County, and in 1691, one of the feoffees of Yorktown. He was recommended to the authorities in England years ago a French immigrant came to Maryland; his name was Anglicized from the French, and he or his brother or cousin started by the governor as a suitable man for membership in the council. He died February 26, 1703, aged fifty-seven, and the house in having babies, and all the rest is history. But, even with the Fugates, there are mysteries that may or may not have some validity.

which he lived is still standing. In the garden is his tombstone, bearing his coat-of-arms.

Here are some of them which have been considered:

There are a few lessons here for the amateur genealogist. First, follow the rules of genealogy as you know them, but still, anything is possible. Second, there were lots of alternative spellings and many reasons to have you name change over time, and – again

Florida

- anything is possible. Third, many people stopped along the way on the voyage to America, and immigration was not always direct, so – anything is possible. Fourth, at least half of the Virginia settlers died within a few years of arrival, and, as people There have been references made by some writers of Fugate genealogies that the original Fugate settled at Fort Caroline, often followed their relatives, or traveled with them, you may have relatives who are part of the American pageant but who didn’t now near Jacksonville. He was a Huguenot, the story says (as does almost any story about the original Fugates) and, in leave any children but who still might be listed in the early records. Last, is the stark reality that there simply were not many 1564 he escaped the Spanish slaughter by Menendez. This Fugate was of royal birth (or course), and had his own coat of white Europeans here, and the French were less represented than the English. If someone’s surname has “gate” at the end of the arms (what else would you expect?) and was deeded a large parcel of land in what is now the center of the city (can’t be a name, it could certainly indicate a French origin. (For example, Twillingate, Newfoundland is transliterated from the French name cow pasture).

“Toulinquet.” “Fouquet” was similarly transliterated.

Given the magnitude of the Spanish slaughter, it is hard to imagine this story is anything more than a fantasy; in fact, the Spanish takeover of Florida lasted for 250 years after the leveling of Fort Caroline, and given the enmity between the Huguenots and the Were the Felgates of Bermuda and the Fugates of Virginia related?

Catholics, and the Spanish need to protect their sea lanes out of the gold capitals of South America, it is almost impossible to imagine them allowing even one lone Huguenot to live among them and marry their daughters.

Louisiana Territory

And yet…

I have just finished reading, “Laudonniere & Fort Caroline” by Charles E. Bennett, and in the author notes that, shortly after In a valiant attempt to separate his origins from the “other” Fugates/ Fugitts in the southern states, a neighbor whose name closely the book’s publication, he was contacted by two large families – descendants of the original Huguenot settlers - who trace their resembles “Fugate” informs me he is descended from a French soldier who settled in the American Midwest after being posted roots back to Frenchmen who managed to hide, survive, and eventually settle down in Spanish Florida. I do not know if one of there just before President Jefferson purchased Louisianna from Napoleon. No, he said, he is not related to the Southern family of the names is Fugate, and I should write the writer, but perhaps the Florida advocates are onto something.

the same name-who are notoriously poor and southern. In fact, his ancestors eventually settled in Buffalo.

I have heard this story before from other French soldiers’ descendants, and it may have some truth to it. There may be entirely

Bermuda

different branches of the family – or even not closely related families who wear the same surname. Most amateur genealogists like to think that anyone with a name even vaguely like their own, is probably related.

Many years ago on a trip to Bermuda, I bought a reproduction of a map of the early English colony, and noticed that a man named The key to this particular conundrum might reside in French military records and not in American colonial. While I am doubtful

“Felgate” had once owned the property where our hotel was built. Of course, not realizing then the importance of “Always trace about this story, I don’t dismiss it.

backwards” in genealogical research, I entertained the idea that someone who misspelled my wife’s maiden name had been to Bermuda before us – and could actually afford to settle there.

Fouquet, Fuqua, Fowke, Fauquier, Fugate, Fugett, Aw, Fuckitt!

Take note of this typical posting on an Internet genealogy site and see if you can imagine any connection to “Fugates”: From Wikipedia:

“Not long after setting out from Bristol, the Supply (70 tons) carrying 56 passengers, sprung a leak and had to call into a port in Ireland to be repaired. This so unnerved some of the passengers that 6 of them decided to settle in Ireland For this journey Tobias

Nicolas Fouquet

Felgate was Master. Thereafter he appears to have made a journey nearly every year as Master, several in the ‘James’ (he was part owner with his eldest brother William and others), then the ‘Defense’ and one journey in the ‘William and John’. He died at Nicolas Fouquet, marquis de Belle-Île, vicomte de Melun et Vaux (January 27, 1615 – March 23, 1680) was the in from 1653 until Westover, Virginia about Christmas Time in 1634” See “The Records of the Virginia Company of London” by Susan Kingsbury.

1661 under . He fell out of favor with the young king, probably because of his extravagant displays of wealth, and the king had Original documents in NY PublicLibrary.

him imprisoned from 1661 until his death in 1680.

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