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Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Posted: 30 Mar 2005 7:35PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 20 Jun 2006 3:15PM GMT
Surnames: DuBois, Du Bois, Brunel, Bentyn, Bentyne, Burhans, Welling, Burghardt
Being a descendant of the DuBois family of New Paltz, NY, I have long been intrigued by our relationship to pioneer sociologist and civil rights leader W. E. B. DuBois. The Du Bois Family Association makes note of the link (see http://www.dbfa.org/family_history.htm).

I recently came across an excerpt from Dr. DuBois’s "The Autobiography of W.E.B. DuBois: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life from the Last Decade of Its First Century," (New York: International Publishers Co. Inc., 1968), pp. 61-77, in which he recounts his own ancestry back to Chretian Du Bois and his son Jacques, the brother of my ancestor Louis (see http://www2.pfeiffer.edu/~lridener/DSS/DuBois/DUBOISP1.HTML). In his account,

“In the early 17th century, two French Huguenots, sons of Cretian Du Bois, migrated from Flanders to America. Perhaps a third son who spelled his name Du Bose went South. Louis and Jacques Du Bois settled in Ulster County, New York State. They were in all probability artisans descended from peasants; but the white American family declares they were aristocrats, and has found a coat of arms which they say belongs to them. From Jacques in the fifth generation was descended James Du Bois, born about 1750, who became a physician in Poughkeepsie, New York, and migrated to the Bahamas… Whether, as is probable, he took a slave as a concubine, or married a free Negro woman--in either case two sons were born, my grandfather Alexander in 1803 and a younger brother, John.”

As a web search did not turn up a ready-made family tree for cousin W.E.B., I turned to the Mormons’ much-maligned International Genealogical Index to see if it would fill in the blanks. W.E.B is the subject of a number if IGI submissions, but none of the submissions link beyond his parents, Alfred DuBois and Mary S. Burghardt.

Using the trial and error method to work forward from Jacques and back from James, I put together this possible line of descent. Consolidated IGI information is in [brackets], while the other information comes from the DuBois autobiography:

1. Cretian Du Bois [(b. 1597, Wicres, Artois, Spanish Netherlands; d. before 1655, 1653, or about 1628) may have married (1620, Wicres) Jeanne Masic Brunel (b. 26 Mar 1599, Chenille-Change, Main-et-Loire, France) and/or (1619 or 1626) Cornelia (last name unknown, sometimes reported as Brunel)].

2. Jacques Du Bois [(ch. 27 Oct 1628, Wicres, Artois, Spanish Netherlands/France; d. 1676, Kingston, New York; brother of Louis) married (25 Apr 1663, Leiden, Holland) Pierronne/Pierrone Bentyn/Bentyne (ch. 1632, Leiden, Holland)].

3. [Peter Pierre Du Bois (ch. 18 Mar 1674, Kingston, NY; d. 22 Jan 1738, Fishkill, NY) married (12 Oct 1697, Kingston, NY) Jannetje/Janneke Burhans (b. 1676, Brabant, NY; ch. 15 Oct 1689, Kingston, NY; d. 1732).]

4. [Matthew DuBois (b. ca. 1725, Kingston, New York), son of Peter Du Bois and Jannetje Burhans, could be the Matthew DuBois (b. 26 Aug 1724?; d. 24 Aug 1799?) who married (ca. 1744, New York) Mary Welling (b. ca. 1726) and fathered James Du Bois (b. ca. 1750, of New York), who could in turn be the father of Alexander Du Bois.]

5. Dr. James Du Bois (b. ca. 1750, New York) took as a concubine or married a black woman in The Bahamas.

6. Alexander Du Bois (b. 1803, The Bahamas; d. after 1883, Springfield, Mass.?) first married a Haitian woman.

7. Alfred DuBois (b. 1825, Haiti; d. unknown; Pvt. Union Army) married (1867, Great Barrington, Mass.) Mary Silvina Burghardt (b. 1831, South Edgemont Plain, Mass.; d. 1885, Great Barrington, Mass.)

8. Dr. William Edward Burghardt DuBois (b. 23 Feb 1868, Great Barrington, Mass.; d. 27 Aug 1963, Accra, Ghana; Ph.D, Harvard, 1896)

Beyond the issues of IGI reliability and lack of documentation, there are three problems with this hypothesis. First, while there is one IGI individual record that lists Matthew DuBois as the son of Peter DuBois and Jannetje Burhans, a complete family group record for the DuBois-Burhans marriage apparently based on church records lists 12 children between 1698 and 1722, but does not include Matthew. Second, we must make a leap of faith that two records for Matthew refer to the same person, and again for James. Third, James appears in the fourth generation from Jacques, while W.E.B. recalled that he was in the fifth generation.

Any comments from other DuBois family researchers or W.E.B. experts?

Re: Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Posted: 24 Aug 2005 4:32PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 26 Apr 2006 12:44PM GMT
Surnames: Du Bois, Gilberts
Hi David,

Glad to know that someone else is looking for the link here. I can't find any trace of James Dubois, wealthy physician of Poughkeepsie.

A possible clue is the assertion in the Lewis bio of W. E. B. that ". . . the Du Boises and their cousins, the Gilberts, had spread their plantation holdings to Haiti." Who were the Gilberts?

About the only new thing I've managed to learn is that James died in Newburgh in April of 1815. A query to the library in Newburgh brought no information about him.

Regards,

Peggy

Re: Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Posted: 30 Jan 2010 6:02PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: DuBois
This might be another possibility. There may have been a second Matthew, which would confirm W.E.B.'s assertion that James was in the 5th generation -- though then the descent would be from Louis...

http://www.archive.org/stream/historyoftownofn00rutte/histor...


*Isaac. David, James and Matthew Dubois, were the sons of Matthew Dubois who was of the fourth generation of the first Louis Dubois, one of the Huguenot settlers of New Paltz. .Matthew, Jr., was engaged in commercial business in the village of New Windsor; was a petitioner for a ferry franchise there m 1762 and during the Revolution was an assistant commissary. He lived neighbor to Robert Burnet, in Little Britain, but subsequently removed to Newburgh, where he engaged in the manufacture of tobacco and where he died in 1799, in his 75th year. (Hist, of of Newburgh) His wife. Mary Welling, died Sept. 21, 1799. His daughter, Mary W., in 1829. Ann M., died Sept. 17, 1828; and his son, David ^L, died in 1855 aged 77 years. David and James (brothers of Matthew, Jr.,) were engaged in the war the of Revolution, the former as lieutenant in Col. James Clinton's regiment in the expedition against Canada in 1775, from which he returned with impaired healih and died soon after, and the latter under Gen'l McDougal in the battle of Monmouth.


Re: Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Posted: 1 Feb 2010 5:02PM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: DuBois, Legg
Didn't WEB say that the line was through Jacques's son Jacques DuBois who married Susanna Legg?

Re: Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Posted: 12 Apr 2010 10:30PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 13 Apr 2010 1:27PM GMT
Surnames: Dubois, Carpenter
I have Chretian DuBois in my line (born 1597.

and a William DuBois (Oct 15 1891 to October 1982) from Kingston, Ulster, New York. He was married to what appears to be Jean Carpenter.

What can you tell me about these people? Are they some you are looking for?

Cynthia

Re: Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Posted: 6 Mar 2011 1:49PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 6 Mar 2011 2:35PM GMT
Surnames: DiBios, Duval
I am finding out about my Dubios family and I was wondering if you knew about Philadelphia DiBios who married Daniel Duval? She was born 1677-1715.

Re: Chretian Du Bois to W. E. B. DuBois

Posted: 24 Dec 2012 6:39PM GMT
Classification: Query
Edited: 25 Dec 2012 5:28PM GMT
Surnames: Dubois, Freeman
I am looking for information of W.E.B. Dubois being the great-great grandson of Elizabeth Mumbet Freeman. I have read some info on the internet about it, but wondered if you have found any also?
Thank You.
Dolores
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