Stirpes, Volume 40, Number 3, September 2000 Page: 34
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STIRPES SEPTEMBER 2000
The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin
In the Colony of Virginia
In France as early as 1522 certain clergy and laity became so concerned with the worldliness
within the Established Church of France that they sought reforms. This having failed, they began
to withdraw and form congregations, which they felt adhered more closely to the Bible. The French
Court and the Church were allies and considered the Reformers heretics, calling them Huguenots in
ridicule. Persecutions became so severe that hundreds fled to other countries rather than give up
their new faith. After two tragic massacres King Henry IV granted them the Edict of Nantes in
1598. This Edict gave them limited religious and civic privileges. After his death in 1610 the
extreme persecutions were renewed. In 1685 Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes thus outlawing
the Reformers. Hundreds of thousands escaped under drastic circumstances to friendly countries.
Many of them reached the American colonies.
In 1700 King William III, and other prominent leaders of London, concerned with the welfare of
the Huguenots who reached England, made possible the emigration to Manakintown. The first
settlers came on the Mafy andAnn and Ye Peter and Anthony Some who came on the Abssau and
two other ships also settled at Manakintown.
The Virginia House of Burgesses granted them 10,000 acres for homes and farms on the south
side of the James River west of subsequent Richmond. On December 5,1700 the House of
Burgesses established King William Parish and the church which became Manakin Episcopal Church.
The first church building was erected in 1701 on glebe land granted for that purpose. The present
brick building, the fifth church building, is modeled after Col. William Byrd's Church at Westover.
The Parish House in nearby Manakin Church is the only congregation in King William Parish.
The Huguenot Society of the Founders of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia was organized April
17, 1922 in memory of the French Protestant Refugees who settled at Manakintown and in the
Colony of Virginia prior 1786. The aims of the Society are:
To promote interest in the study of the Huguenots who settled Manakin and the lines
descended therefrom.
To erect a lasting memorial at Manakintown in memory of its valiant settlers.
To collect all existing documents relating to Manakin and the Manakin Huguenots to be placed in
a library for the use of the Society.
To encourage the preparation of fully documented papers and essays on the Manakin Huguenots
and their ancestry for deposit in the Society Library and for publication in The Huguenot Magazine,
when space permits.
To sponsor Huguenot Memorials for the training of young people in intellectual and spiritual
growth and development.
The first annual assembly was held in 1932 and the Society has convened annually since that
date. The assembly is held in odd years in Virginia. The Society's governing body between
assemblies is its Board of Management and its Board of Directors of the Incorporation. For the
convenience of achieving the Society's objects, state societies, called branches, bearing the name
of the state and chapters allied with it, may be organized.
In a joint venture of the Society and Manakin Church the fifth church building was erected and
the dedication was held on May 25, 1959. On an inside wall of the Church is a tablet stating: "This34
STIRPES
SEPTEMBER 2000
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Texas State Genealogical Society. Stirpes, Volume 40, Number 3, September 2000, periodical, September 2000; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39843/m1/36/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Genealogical Society.