The National Huguenot Society
Organization Honors Legacy of French Protestants in the U.S.
Oct 12, 2009
Once they arrived in America, they contributed their labor and ideals to their adopted homeland.
The Huguenots
The term “Huguenot” refers to French Protestants, most of who began to follow the teachings of John Calvin in the fifteenth century. As their numbers increased, persecution from the French crown and Catholic Church forced many to flee to other countries in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Some remained, practicing their religion secretly. Since the Huguenots were usually educated or skilled workers, they were often well-received in the countries to which they fled. Most went to Germany, the Netherlands, and England first, and then migrated to North America, though some came directly to the new world.
History of the Society
A variety of Huguenot societies developed in the United States in the early 20th century, all operating independently. However, in 1931, societies in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C. joined with several other organizations to form The Federation of Huguenot Societies.
During the following twenty years, additional state societies joined the federation, and in 1951 the name was officially changed to The National Huguenot Society. Today the Society is composed of more than 40 state societies and other organizations. Membership requirements in the organizations vary, but membership in those affiliated with The National Huguenot Society or as a Member-at-Large is dependent upon proven Huguenot lineage and remaining true to the Protestant faith
Objectives
The objectives of the society are patriotic, religious, historical, and educational. Their aims are to perpetuate the memory and promote the principles and virtues of the Huguenots, to commemorate events in Huguenot history, and to collect and preserve historical data and relics of the Huguenots. The Society also exists to promote the Huguenot tenets of faith and liberty, and to promote their understanding for the good of the United States, and to encourage the organization of new member societies.
Membership
Potential members must meet the following requirements:
- be at least eighteen years of age
- adhere to the Huguenot principles of faith and of liberty
- be a member of the Protestant faith
- be lineally descended in the male or female line from:
1. a Huguenot who, without regard to ethnic origin or adherence to any particular sect of Protestantism, who, subsequent to 10 December 1520 and prior to the promulgation on 28 November 1787 of the Edict of Toleration, immigrated to North America or some other country;
OR
2. a Huguenot who, in spite of religious persecution, remained in France. France, as used here, refers to any territory lying within the Kingdom of France on the date of the promulgation of the Edict of Toleration on 28 November 1787.
The National Huguenot Society Library
In 2003, the National Huguenot Society donated its library to the Daughters of the American Revolution Library in Washington, D.C. The resulting National Huguenot Society Collection includes more than 500 volumes; it supplements existing materials at the DAR library on the role of French Protestants in the settlement and growth of the American colonies and the United States.
Members of the National Huguenot Society continue to donate materials and funds to this collection to increase the holdings of Huguenot-related publications. All items in the collection are cataloged and appear in the online DAR Library catalog, and are available to all researchers coming to the library. Non-members of the National Huguenot Society pay a daily user fee to access the library, but members have free access to the DAR Library through May 2013.
Conclusion
The National Huguenot Society, like other lineage organizations such as the General Society of Mayflower Descendants and the Daughters of the American Revolution, helps present-day citizens learn about and remember the people who came from other parts of the world to North America to build a new society.
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