Louis Du Bois (21 October 1626 – 1696) was a

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Bez ...

colonist in

New Netherland New Netherland ( nl, Nieuw Nederland; la, Novum Belgium or ) was a 17th-century colonial province of the Dutch Republic that was located on the east coast of what is now the United States. The claimed territories extended from the Delmarva P ...

who, with two of his sons and nine other refugees, founded the town of

New Paltz, New York New Paltz () is an incorporated U.S. town in Ulster County, New York. The population was 14,003 at the 2010 U.S. Census. The town is located in the southeastern part of the county and is south of Kingston. New Paltz contains a village, also wit ...

. These

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to ...

refugees fled

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

persecution in France, emigrating to the Rhenish Palatinate (in present-day Germany) and then to

, where they settled in Wiltwyck (present day

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

) and Nieuw Dorp (present-day Hurley, New York, settlements midway between

New Amsterdam New Amsterdam ( nl, Nieuw Amsterdam, or ) was a 17th-century Dutch settlement established at the southern tip of Manhattan Island that served as the seat of the colonial government in New Netherland. The initial trading ''factory'' gave rise ...

(present day

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) and Beverwyck (today known as

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City. ...

) before ultimately founding New Paltz.

Early life

Louis was the son of Chrétien du Bois and Françoise le Poivre of Wicres in Artois, and later Herlies in

Romance Flanders Romance Flanders or Gallicant Flanders is a historical term for the part of the County of Flanders in which Romance languages were spoken, such as varieties of Picard. Today the region straddles the border of France and Belgium. Name In Early M ...

, then part of

Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands ( Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was th ...

, today included in the

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ne ...

region, France. The third part of Horton, "The Memory of the Just is Blessed", begins with an extract from a document in the Archives du Nord, and commentary: The article seemingly demonstrates that the christening recorded 21 Oct 1626 at Wicres refers to Toussaint du Bois, not his brother Louis. Louis du Bois and his (apparent twin) brother Antoine were christened at Wicres 17 Jun 1622. Louis and Antoine appear to have been named after their paternal grandfather and great-grandfather. :The article is written in Picard which is the native language of Romance Flanders (including

Walloon Flanders Walloon Flanders (Dutch: ''Waals Vlaanderen'', French: ''Flandre wallonne'') was a semi-independent part of the County of Flanders, composed of the burgraviates of Lille, Douai and Orchies. It is sometimes referred to as ''Lille–Douai–Orchie ...

in Belgium nowadays). It is unrelated to Flemish Dutch spoken further west that is one of the three national languages of Belgium, together with French and German and a non official language in

French Westhoek Westhoek (; ; Dutch for "west corner") or Maritime Flanders (french: Flandre maritime) is a region in Belgium and France and includes the following areas: #Belgian Westhoek ( nl, Belgische Westhoek, link=no) including the West Flanders of Diksmu ...

. The various Dutch dialects spoken in Belgium and in France contain a number of lexical and grammatical features which distinguish them from standard Dutch. Crestien translates to Guislain (or Ghislain), and formal records were usually kept in Latin, as the Flanders region was then governed as the Spanish Netherlands. ''de stil Couturier'' above can be translated as "fashion designer" and a member of the wool supply trade at that time as Guislains lands were sold. His titleage was sold at a later date. In those days, wool was gold.

Refugee from religious persecution

Louis du Bois fled persecution in France to Mannheim before 1650. He married Catherine Blanchan in Mannheim on October 10, 1655.

Family

Louis and Catherine had at least eleven children: # Abraham Du Bois (1657–1731), who was also a New Paltz Patentee. He married Margaret Deyo, daughter of Christian Deyo, another New Paltz Patentee. # Isaac Du Bois (1659–1690), who was also a New Paltz Patentee. He married Maria Hasbrouck, daughter of Jean Hasbrouck II, another New Paltz Patentee, and his wife Anne Deyo, daughter of Christian Deyo. # Jacob Du Bois (1661–1745), married Gerritje Nieuwkirk # Sarah Du Bois (1664–1726), married Joost Jansen Van Meteren # David Du Bois (1667–1715), married Cornelia Vernooy # Solomon Du Bois (1669–1759), married Tryntje Gerritsen Foochen # Rebecca Du Bois (1671-by 1713) # Rachel Du Bois (1675-by 1713) # Louis Du Bois Jr. (1677–1749), married Rachel Hasbrouck. She was the daughter of Abraham Hasbrouck, another New Paltz Patentee and his wife, Maria Deyo, daughter of Christian Deyo. # Mattheus Du Bois (1679–1748), married Sara Van Keuren. # Magdalena Du Bois (1680-by 1713)

New Netherland immigration

Du Bois and his family moved to Wiltwyck, within

, around 1660, then to Hurley, New York. In 1663 the Esopus Indians captured Du Bois' wife Catherine and three children, who were rescued three months later. According to legend, but unmentioned in the detailed journal of the rescue expedition's commander, Catherine Du Bois was singing the about the

Babylonian captivity The Babylonian captivity or Babylonian exile is the period in Jewish history during which a large number of Judeans from the ancient Kingdom of Judah were captives in Babylon, the capital city of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, following their defea ...

when they were rescued. Louis Du Bois was also physically attacked by the Indians, but fought back and survived.

New Paltz patentee

Du Bois and others bought a 40,000-acre tract of land from the Esopus Indians in 1677. The tract, known in 17th-century colonial New York as a "patent," stretched from the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between New ...

to the Shawangunk Mountains. Du Bois was one of eleven men to begin settling on a rise over the

Wallkill River The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed ...

, in the center of the patent, in 1678. He served as one of the original elders in New Paltz's French Reformed Church, which is still in existence today. In the early years, Du Bois and his fellow patentees governed the land communally. In 1728, the surviving patentees and their descendants created a more formal form a government called "The Twelve Men" (later known as the Duzine). This body consisted of one elected representative for each patentee families. Membership was restricted to their descendants through either male or female lines. To this date, some of the Du Bois land is still owned by family descendants. In 1785, the New York State Legislature confirmed the actions of this body. Although a standard form of town government was established in the late 18th century, the Duzine existed in at least ceremonial form into the 19th century. In the later years of the Duzine, the members were consumed with lawsuits defending the boundaries of the New Paltz patent. At one time, the Duzine hired

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexan ...

to represent them in such a lawsuit.

Final days

Du Bois himself eventually returned to Wiltwyck, by then known as Kingston, where he died prior to his will being granted probate on June 23, 1696. His widow remarried, and in her will freed two of her slaves.

Legacy

The Reformed Church of New Paltz, New York, USA

The original settlement of Louis Du Bois and his fellow patentees survives today as Historic Huguenot Street, a National Historic Landmark District. The site includes the DuBois Fort, a colonial stone house built by one of Louis' sons.

W. E. B. Du Bois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American-Ghanaian sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up i ...

is said to be grandson of a loyalist descendant of Louis Du Bois' brother who left for the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...

. Most of his descendants supported the revolution, though, and now, descendants of the family's "French father" can be found in every state of the union and in Canada. Some of the notable descendants of Louis Du Bois include:DuBois Family Association. ''Historic Huguenot Street'

Retrieved September 3, 2017. *

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in Franc ...

, United States Army general *

Mary Cassatt Mary Stevenson Cassatt (; May 22, 1844June 14, 1926) was an American painter and printmaker. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania (now part of Pittsburgh's North Side), but lived much of her adult life in France, where she befriended Edgar D ...

, American painter and printmaker *

Marlon Brando Marlon Brando Jr. (April 3, 1924 – July 1, 2004) was an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he received numerous accolades throughout his career, which spanned six decades, including two Academ ...

, American screen and stage actor *

Joan Crawford Joan Crawford (born Lucille Fay LeSueur; March 23, ncertain year from 1904 to 1908was an American actress. She started her career as a dancer in traveling theatrical companies before debuting on Broadway. Crawford was signed to a motion pict ...

, American actress *

Sam Walton Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's l ...

, founder of

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarte ...

and

Sam's Club Sam's West, Inc. (doing business as Sam's Club) is an American chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Walmart Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Walmart founder Sam Walton as Sam’s Wholesale Club. , Sam's ...

Morton Deyo Vice Admiral Morton Lyndholm Deyo (1 July 1887 – 10 November 1973) was an officer in the United States Navy, who was a naval gunfire support task force commander of World War II. Born on 1 July 1887 in Poughkeepsie, New York, he graduated from ...

, United States Naval officer * George H. Sharpe, United States Army general and New York State Assemblyman and Speaker * Henry Granville Sharpe, United States Army general * Abraham J. Hasbrouck, United States Congressman from New York * Louis Hasbrouck, New York state assemblyman and senator * Josiah Hasbrouck, United States Congressman from New York * Sol Hasbrouck, Mayor of Boise, Idaho * John Needham, former VP, Canon Canada * Jon Huntsman Jr., Governor of Utah, United States diplomat and businessman * Horton D. Haight, Mormon pioneer * David B. Haight, LDS Church Apostle and Mayor of Palo Alto, California * Jacob LeFever, United States Congressman from New York * Frank J. LeFevre, United States Congressman from New York *

Jay Le Fevre Jay Le Fevre (September 6, 1893 – April 26, 1970) was a United States representative from New York. Life Born in New Paltz, Ulster County, he graduated from the Lawrenceville School and attended Dartmouth College. During the First Wor ...

, United States Congressman from New York * Abraham A. Deyo, New York state senator * Vernon Dubois Penner Jr., United States diplomat * Brodie Van Wagenen, current sports agent and former

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

general manager * Jeff Van Wagenen, pro golfer and businessman * Gertrude Van Wagenen, biologist *

William Gilmer William Wirt Gilmer (May 21, 1863 – January 8, 1955) was a United States Navy Captain who served as both the 22nd and 24th Naval Governor of Guam. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he commanded the USS ''South Carolina'' durin ...

, United States Navy captain and naval governor of Guam * Winfield Scott Schley, United States Navy admiral * John Monroe Van Vleck, American mathematician and astronomer *

Edward Burr Van Vleck Edward Burr Van Vleck (June 7, 1863, Middletown, Connecticut – June 3, 1943, Madison, Wisconsin) was an American mathematician. Early life Van Vleck was born June 7, 1863, Middletown, Connecticut. He was the son of astronomer John Monroe Van ...

, American mathematician *

John Hasbrouck Van Vleck John Hasbrouck Van Vleck (March 13, 1899 – October 27, 1980) was an American physicist and mathematician. He was co-awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1977, for his contributions to the understanding of the behavior of electronic magnetis ...

, American physicist, mathematician and 1977 Nobel Prize in Physics winner * Theodoric R. Westbrook, United States Congressman from New York * Roeliff Brinkerhoff, American lawyer and editor * William Lounsbery, United States Congressman from New York and second mayor of

* Walter F. Frear, Hawaii Supreme Court justice (1893–1907) and 3rd territorial governor of Hawaii (1907–1913) * Trudy Stevenson, Zimbabwean politician and ambassador * Charles G. DeWitt, United States Congressman from New York and chargé d'affaires in Guatemala * Henry Richard DeWitt, New York state representative and clerk of Ulster County Board of Supervisors * Lucas Elmendorf, New York state representative and United States Congressman from New York *

Washington Irving Chambers Captain Washington Irving Chambers, USN (April 4, 1856 – September 23, 1934) was a 43-year, career United States Navy officer, who near the end of his service played a major role in the early development of U.S.Naval aviation, serving as the fir ...

, United States Naval Officer * Cornelius A.J. Hardenbergh, New York state representative and Shawangunk, New York supervisor *

Billy Bush William Hall Bush (born October 13, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of President George H. W. Bush and cousin of President George W. Bush and Florida governor Jeb Bush. After appearin ...

, radio and television host, as well as nephew of President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; p ...

and first cousin of President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

* Jonathan S. Bush, technology entrepreneur and brother of Billy (above) *

Darren O'Day Darren Christopher O'Day (born October 22, 1982) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Oriole ...

, Major League Baseball pitcher for the New York Yankees * Van Vechten Veeder, New York State District Judge appointed by President William H. Taft * William Donovan III, college basketball player and high school basketball coach * Bill Dole, college football coach at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

and

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

Cleve Benedict Cleveland Keith Benedict (born March 21, 1935) is an American politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served one term in the United States House of Representatives for West Virginia's 2nd congressional district from 1981 to 1983. Li ...

, US Congressman from West Virginia * Alexander B. Donner, musician * Katherine Lawrence Sharpe, wife of Ira Davenport, United States Congressman from New York * Elizabeth Van Wyck Westbrook, wife of

Marius Schoonmaker Marius Schoonmaker (April 24, 1811 – January 5, 1894) was a United States representative from New York. Biography Schoonmaker was born to Cornelia (nee Groen) (1784–1874) and Zachariah Schoonmaker (1785–1818) in Kingston, Ulster County, ...

, United States Congressman from New York * Mary Louise Schoonmaker, wife of Alton B. Parker, American judge and Democratic candidate for United States President in 1904 * Mary Elizabeth Hasbrouck, wife of Harcourt J. Pratt, United States Congressman from New York * Shirley Deyo, wife of Douglas Dayton, co-founder of the Target Corporation * Christine Hasbrouck D'Auria, wife of

Billy Donovan William John Donovan Jr. (born May 30, 1965) is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He has served as head coach of the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA) since September 2020 after previously coa ...

, college basketball and

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

head coach * Cordelia Phythian, wife of Vice Admiral Joel Robert Poinset Pringle, United States Navy * Anne Justine Van Dyck, wife of college football coach John McLaughry

References

External links

Historic Huguenot StreetDuBois Family AssociationSlavery's hidden history in the mid-Hudson Valley coming to light
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dubois, Louis 1626 births 1696 deaths People of the Province of New York People from New Paltz, New York People of New Netherland