Were They Huguenots?

[gralorn]

Lately I came across some information that an ancestor William ALWOOD and his wife Hannah lived in Wheeler Street and are to be found on the London Tax Records of 1743 paying annually 2 shillings. He appears again in 1745, this time living in Denmark Street and paying one pound and four shillings annually. The family name is ALLARD and the Alwood/Allwood name reverts back to Allard in December 1773 on the birth of James Allard and John Allard (twins) to the son of William & Hannah Alwood's son James Alwood who was born in Denmark Street on the 8th October 1747. He then married Mary POTTER in May 1773 in Wetheringsett, Suffolk. What I would dearly love to know is if William & Hannah Alwood were originally of the French family Allard and escaped from France changing their name for safety and traveling across to Spitalfields with the many other Huguenot refugees. Any information or advice would be most appreciated.

[philipsearching]

I don't know if this thread on Huguenot Allard will help:
http://www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=689723.9

Worth looking through it, just in case
Philip

[gralorn]

thanks fof that, did not find a link to my Alwood/Allard ancestors, but certainly made intersting reading. There seem to be many variations of thd way Allard is written down over the years, so fingers crossed something may click one day.

[JonathanJB]

Hi - new to rootschat.  My tree also brings me to James Allard of Suffolk, but I'm very curious as to why you feel there's a link to Huguenots?

[diplodicus]

Huguenots? Perhaps!!!

My stepmother's maiden name was "Bardouleau" and she always assumed that she was of Huguenot descent.

Turns out quite the opposite. Her earliest known ancestor was a catholic monarchist who fled France to London to escape "The Terror" following the French Revolution. I only wish I'd found out before she died; she would have been fascinated.

Genealogy will always offer tempting conclusions; some of which are probably correct... maybe.

[JonathanJB]

Thanks.  When I was young, I can vividly remember my maternal Grandmother saying her family (originally from Suffolk) was descended from Huguenots.  Stupidly I never asked her any more questions, but since researching my family tree I've always been on the look out for this connection. The Allard line has always been that I've thought might be the "one" hence your post was interesting to me.

[trish1120]

Earliest ALLARD Marriage on FreeREG in London was 14 Jan 1563/4.
Looking a variants using soundex option earliest Marriage is Elyzabeth AYLARDE 31 Jul 1541
Others spellings are Alard/Aylarde etc.   

Earliest ALLARD Marriage in Middlesex was 04 Nov 1593 on there.

So the name and variants goes back a long way.

Trish

[Billyblue]

You could always contact the Huguenot Society in UK, for advice.

Google them (sorry can't remember full name etc and I'm nearly asleep!)

Dawn M