188 THE FRENCH BLOOD IN AMERICA 



Men of Estates were coming into Boston and Salem, other and more 

 fortunate Huguenots made their way to New England. 

 "Men of estates," as they were referred to in SewalFs 

 diary, who had been able to save something from the 

 wreck of their fortunes in France, began to seek new 

 homes for themselves in the colonies. It has been es- 

 timated that one hundred and fifty families came to New 

 England during the last decade of the seventeenth cen- 

 tury. Such an estimate only approximates the real 

 number, for the names of many families were never 

 entered on any records that are accessible to the historian, 

 and even of those whose names were recorded many 

 have always been regarded as of English origin, owing to 

 the fact that their French patronymics had become 

 anglicized beyond all hope of recognition. 



The following are the names of some of the more im- 

 portant refugees who were settled in and near Boston by 

 the end of the century : 



Andrew Sigourney, who became the ancestor of a well- 

 known New England family, was a citizen of La Rochelle 

 at the time of the Revocation. When the time came for 

 a squad of dragoons to be quartered in his house Sigour- 

 ney and his wife, Charlotte Pairan, decided to hold to 

 their faith and make their escape from France. To this 

 end they laid their plans carefully, and by making use of 

 several ingenious devices they were able to get a portion 

 of their property on board a friendly vessel then lying in 

 the harbour. The day set for their attempt to escape was 

 a holiday which they felt sure the soldiers would wish to 

 celebrate. Accordingly they made ready a tempting 

 feast, and while the unsuspecting troopers were in the 

 middle of their celebration, the family stole unobserved 

 from the house and got aboard the ship, in which they 

 were carried safely to England. From England they 

 came to Boston in the summer of 1686. 



Daniel Johonnot, nephew of Andrew Sigourney, was a 

 member of the Oxford settlement until 1696, when he came 



Andrew 

 Sigourney 



Escape from 

 France 



Daniel 

 Johonnot 



