Doing genealogical research is a rewarding but seemingly never-ending process. I know that there are some who claim to have "complete genealogies," but usually those people are either self-deceived or they are intentionally lying. In reality, there is no such thing as a "complete genealogy," as regardless of how extensive one's research is, the longer one looks into their family history the more discoveries will be made. However, despite the unrealistic goal of a "complete genealogy," one can begin to formulate a concise picture of certain ancestors, which I have designated over the years as "pivotal ancestors." In my experience researching my own family tree, I have found that many of these "pivotal ancestors" are often females (in the case of the Plantagenets, for instance, a good example would be Eleanor of Aquitaine). However, on occasion a male ancestor could also fall under this category, and I have such a person in my own family tree that will be the subject of this discussion.
On my paternal grandmother's side, the family name Richburg is the major name that shows up in the family tree. Richburg was my great-grandmother's maiden name, as well as my 3rd great-grandmother's maiden name on my paternal grandfather's side of the family tree. To explain this, my grandparents are actually third cousins, as their great-grandparents were half-siblings. For many years, the assumption was that the Richburg name was Dutch, but upon further research, it was found to actually be French. As in many cases, the name was Anglicized over time from its original spelling, and several generations back the name is listed as de Richebourg, and it is actually French. As a matter of fact, it is a Huguenot family that settled in Virginia in the early 1700s, and after some generations in the South Carolina "Low Country," the descendants of this family (including my own grandparents) made their way to southern Alabama. The progenitor of this family was a French Huguenot clergyman named Claude Phillippe de Richebourg, and it is he who will be the focus of the discussion from this point.
The Rev'd Claude Phillippe de Richebourg (1670-1718) was a Huguenot clergyman who was an ordained priest in the Church of England (Anglican). He was said to have been born in the village of St. Sevier in the province of Berri, France, but evidence suggests his actual hometown was La Chatre, which was nearby. Over the years a lot of legend has emerged among his descendants regarding his origins, as he was said to be a nobleman of the "Courts of Richbourg" in France, a former Catholic priest who converted to Calvinism in the late 1600's, and other such legends. When Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685, he was among a number of Huguenots who had to leave France that year, and the debate was whether he emigrated to England directly or went for a time to Switzerland. However, what is documented is that he did board a ship called the William and Mary which eventually made its way to Hampton, VA, in 1700, and he along with several other Huguenot emigres eventually made their way to a settlement some 12 miles west of Richmond called Manakintown, and there a small church was established. The Manakintown Church is still there today, as it is a museum operated by a Huguenot heritage society in the area. Although the assumption was that all the Huguenots were part of some Reformed denomination, in reality many did join the Church of England (especially in Virginia, where membership in the C of E was requisite for public office and other privileges then) and were ordained as clergy. However, oftentimes the Calvinistic convictions of the new French Huguenot arrivals would be at odds with the Anglican tradition of their hosts, and this caused some controversy. In the case of Claude Phillippe, this seems to be the case, as an inter-parish dispute around the year 1711 centering around organizational authority that eventually divided the parish prompted Claude Phillippe and several families to head south. After a brief stay at a settlement near the Trent River in what is North Carolina today, this group later found its way to what is today the area around McClellanville, SC, and would be instrumental in establishing the St. James Parish in what is now known as "French Santee."
It is documented that Rev'd de Richebourg and his party arrived in South Carolina around the year 1712, and he was immediately installed as the French vicar for the St. James parish there. He remained in that position until his death in 1718. As noted by Henry Brison Bailey, the arrival of the Huguenots fostered some resistance from other English-speaking Reformed Dissenters, and this animosity drove them to more closer affiliation with the Anglican tradition, into which their descendants would be fully integrated within a couple of generations. The St. James "Brick Church," as it is called today, is now a historic site which can be toured and is maintained by the local authorities as such. In all, Claude Phillippe de Richebourg spent about 18 years pastoring at least 3 French-speaking Anglican parishes, and as such he was no stranger to controversy.
Many writers who document Claude Phillippe de Richebourg attempt to do so by analyzing his personality based on the various primary sources (parish records, etc.). The consensus of his personal attributes was that he was a man of humility, yet also of strong conviction, which led him to be somewhat outspoken and at times a man who would "go against the grain" if necessary. He was also reported to be plagued with financial problems through most of his life, despite his own background coming from a stable merchant-class family and also being fairly well-educated and with connections to affluent English and French families (his cousin, Isaac Porcher, was a noted physician in colonial Virginia, and he married Ann Chastain, whose father Estienne was a prominent merchant as well). However, at his passing in 1718 he was reported to have been somewhat destitute, and this may have been the reason his widow, Ann Chastain, eventually remarried to Francis Morinna, a surgeon, who would provide well for her and her children by Claude Phillippe - Morinna was named the guardian of the three younger children in 1725. Claude Phillippe and Ann had 6 children total, and of them the youngest son, Claudius, would figure prominently as he would eventually marry a girl named Unity Fox, who was the granddaughter of Col. Henry Fox, who was the colonial Governor of Virginia, and 4th great-granddaughter of Sir Thomas West, the 2nd Baron De La Warre (after whom the state of Delaware was named) - through that lineage, it connected the Richebourg descendants to many noble families, including the Boleyn, Knollys, Cockayne, and other families who themselves were connected by ancestry to the Plantagenets. That could be covered more extensively in a more formal volume, as it is quite detailed and does have a lot of intricacies to it.
While most of this information is more or less just historical documentation, it is time to perhaps give my own personal perspective of my ancestor. There is much to be proud of having a figure such as Rev'd Claude Phillippe de Richebourg in the family tree, and indeed it is quite a rich part of my own legacy. However, I would have marked differences with him, in that I never have been a Calvinist myself and as a matter of fact I would be opposite as a traditionalist-leaning Catholic. That being said, Claude Phillippe did gift me with quite a legacy, and the more it is researched the more appreciative I am of it. His contributions to my personal legacy, aside from perhaps some personal limitations he had (as we all do as fallen humanity), are not to be taken lightly. I value them immensely and do take great interest in learning more about this enigmatic ancestor and getting to know more about who he is personally. Given the complexities of his character, he would qualify as a "pivotal ancestor" for certain, and thus research related to my own personal genealogy as well as that of his other descendants would warrant taking his legacy seriously. As he also played a pivotal role in the settlement of at least two different communities, the value of people like Claude Phillippe de Richebourg also lends credence to their importance to local historical research as well as particular genealogical interest.
This is but one glimpse into the complexities of my own background, and hopefully in the future I can add some other stories about those who were my forebears who may have colorful or interesting histories.
References:
Bailey, Henry Bryson. "Reverend Claude Phillippe de Richebourg: A Calvinist in Anglican Robes." Transactions of the Huguenot Society of South Carolina 121, no. 1(2017): 1-67.
Bridges, Anne Baker Leland, and Williams, Roy. St. James Santee Plantation Parish: History and Records, 1685-1925. Spartanburg, SC: The Reprint Publishing Company, 1997.
Simpson, William B. The Huguenot Trail: The Life and Descendants of the Reverend Claude Phillippe de Richebourg and His Wife Anne Chastain, Volume I. New York: Southern Heritage Press, 2008.
