THE TOWN OF NEW ROCHELLE. 



599 



tranquility of ray family, etc. Imprirnus, I commend my soul to God, the 

 Father Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, that he might receive her in 

 His Heavenly kingdom among His blessed children. And as for my corpse, to 

 be buried after the custom and manner of my religion and discipline, till the ac- 

 complishment of times, and until the resurrection when our Lord shall come for 

 to judge the quick and the dead, &c, &c. The above will is dated New Ro- 

 chelle, 17th of April, 1694. 



Among the Lespinard papers (at Upper New Rochelle) is preserved 

 a diary kept by a member of that family, prior to their leaving France, 

 from which we make the following extracts (the originals are in the 

 French language) : 



"September 20th, 1671. — I have been married to Abel de Forge. I beg the 

 good God, that He gives us the grace to live a long time in His holy fear, and 

 that it will please Him to give us a good paradise at the end. 



October 2d, 1672. — My wife has been confined of a girl Margaret, at about ten 

 o'clock of the day, on a "Wednesday. Margaret died, and has given her spirit to 

 God, between six and seven o'clock of the afternoon."* 



In 1 710 Margaret Lespinard, or Lepperner, (as it was then spelt) who 

 was born in France in 1644, was living in New Rochelle with her two 

 children, Anthony and Susanna. 



" Between the French Huguenots who settled at Oxford in Massa- 

 chusetts, and those who came to New York, it appears by the Bernon 

 papers that there was some correspondence.'^ 



The Freeholders of New Rochelle in 1708 were as follows: 



Daniel Lambert, Jacoo Scurman, 



Elie Badeau, Ambroise Sycart, 



Daniel Giraud, Benjamin Faneuil, 



Gregoire Gougeon, Alexander Allaire, 



Daniel Bonnett, Jean Pemeau, 



Elie de Bonrepos, J. Levillain, 



Jean Magnon, Bolts, 



Besly, Daniel Rayneau, 



Isaac Mercier, Guilleaume Le Counte, 



Bartholomew Le Roux, Francois Le Counte, 



Pierre Valleau, Zacharie Angevin, 

 Frederick Schorman. 



Upon the 17th of April, 1724, we find the following freeholders 



a Extracts from the Lespinard Diary in possession of the late Peter Ganlladet, Upper 

 Rochelle. The French Huguenot ladies brought out their Bibles rolled up in their hair. One 

 of these Bibles is now in possession of Servoss, Esq., of Harlem. 



b Massachusetts Hist. Collect. Vol. II. 34. 



