First, I think we may be reaching critical mass in getting a good research community for
ROOME going - please pass this message board address to others and let's make it very active!
I am looking for Henry
ROOME born 1854 Harlem NY and Eugenie
ROOME b 1856 Yorkville NY, father Henry(?) Roome born 1806 or 1807. This gentleman seems to have spoken French. All branches of my extended
ROOME family has heard way back we were
Huguenots. The
Huguenots were French Protestants who were driven out of France by the Catholics because the Hugeuenots were industrious and the Catholics wanted to take their stuff (in a nutshell). Holland accepted many refugees, mainly because the
Huguenots were considered very industrious. Holland also accepted the Pilgrims before they moved on to
America. I have learned the term "de
Vroome" means "the Pious" - there is a family named de
Coursen in France who came to Holland and became known as "
Coursen de
Vroome" or "
Coursen the Pious". So
ROOME *may* derive from this. One
Coursen (de
Coursey) family who later emmigrated to
America had two branches use the surname
ROOME and one use the surname DE
Coursey. There is a
Huguenot family that went to Holland and produced painters and sculptors - Hendrik and
Cornelious are first names there for several generations. They started the
Dutch Maritime school of painting. Over the next year I will update my website and add this and other info I have collected over the years. I have been stuck for 25 years on
ROOME, so if any of this matches up with your info be sure to contact me at
thomas_e_wood@yahoo.comMy website is
http://www.visi.com/~tomcat/genealogy/roome.shtmlTom