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Parents of Elinor Durier - (Possibly Avanthay Jacque* & Jean Durier)

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Parents of Elinor Durier - (Possibly Avanthay Jacque* & Jean Durier)

Posted: 4 May 2014 7:32AM GMT
Classification: Query
Surnames: Avanthay, Jacquemataz, Charoy, Durier, Durie, Porter, Hersulier, Demarest, Cresson, Jacquemetez, Jacquemetas, Jacquemetes, Jacque-Mates, Jacquesmetaz, Jacquesmetez, Jacquesmetas, Jacquesmetes, Jacques-Mates
So here is a mystery that seems to have eluded all genealogists working on the line of Miss Durier, wife of John Porter Sr. (1693 – 1776). Some background will help:

My 7th great grandfather, John Porter Sr. was born 20 Jan 1693 in Bishops Cleeve, Gloucestershire, England and died in 1776 in Carrollton, Carroll, Maryland, United States. Numerous searches of pretty much every record in Maryland have revealed nothign about John's wife except that she was called "Miss Durier", the main source for this being Samuel Doaks Porter's book, "A genealogy of the Porter family of Maryland, West Virginia, Michigan".

My great uncle, Edward Porter, is a leading Porter genealogist and believes he was the first to suggest that Miss Durier's name was Elinor, though he does not remember where he first came upon this name. Many (many!) trees suggest that Elinor Durier was the daughter of Jean Durier and Jacquemetaz Avanthay. I find this to be rather problematic, as both Jacquemetaz and Avanthay are surnames. It is possible that her name was hyphenated or that Jacquemetaz was her middle name and that her first name has been lost to history. Other possible variations are Jacquemetez, Jacquemetas, Jacquemetes, Jacque-Mates, Jacquesmetaz, Jacquesmetez, Jacquesmetas, Jacquesmetes, or Jacques-Mates.

Both Jean and Jacquemetaz Avanthay are reported to have been born about 1676 in Val, Vilais, Switzerland (or Val d'llliez, Valais, Switzerland/Suisse) though I have yet to find a single source that corroborates this information. To make matters more interesting, it is believed that Miss Durier was also born in Gloucestershire (around 1692).

Several trees also link Jean Durier to a father of the same name, born 12 Nov 1654 in Holland, Reusel-de Mierden, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands and died 10 Jun 1698 in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey. This Jean is known to have had two wives (and four children) in New Jersey. First Jeanne Hersulier (Born 1658 in New Milford, Bergen, New Jersey and 1691 in New Milford, Bergen, New Jersey). The children of Jean and Jeanne were Jeanne "Jane" Durier (b. 1688 – ) and Pieter Durie/Durier (1690 – 1767).

After Jeanne's death, Jean married Rachel Pierresdatter Cresson (Born 1656 in Holland, Reusel-de Mierden, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands and died 1 Oct 1710 in Hackensack, Bergen, New Jersey). Rachel was the widow of David Demarest Jr. and was the mother of 9 children by Demarest, one who died in infancy. When Jean died, she was left with her 8 Demarest children, Jean's two children with Jeanne, and her two children with Jean, Margrietje Durie/Durier (1693 – 1737) and Jean Durie/Durier (1695 – 1773).

Jean Durier Sr. emigrated to New Jersey in 1686, at the age of 32, so it is entirely plausible that he had an earlier wife in either the Netherlands or Switzerland. His father, Pierre Durier, and mother, Margaret Charoy, were both born in France and moved to the Netherlands in the 1650's. Switzerland, as a French-speaking nation would have been a plausible destination for Jean Durier, and so the possibility of his marrying (or moving there after marriage) would be within the realm of possibility. In 1676, when the Jean Durier (who married "Jacquemetaz Avanthay") was born, the older Jean Durier would have been 22, so old enough to father a son. Jean Durier and "Jacquemetaz Avanthay" may have moved to Gloucestershire, England before moving to New Jersey, as this was the path for several Huguenot descendants. There were also Huguenot settlements in Switzerland, which again lends credence to this possible detour.

I have had at least one DNA match with another person in this Durier line (a descendant of Pieter Durier, son of Jean Durier and Jeanne Hersulier, and I am very interested in speaking with others who may be descended from Durier, Avanthay, Jacque*, Charoy, and Porter lines. Hopefully with enough DNA evidence we will someday be able to untangle this mystery.

I can be reached at taniapdx@gmail.com. I am also on Gedmatch (kit #A323194). My great-uncle (also in this line)'s Gedmatch kit is #F212048.

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