The Gerow/Giraud Line (Cross Side)

(Thanks to cousin Kris for sharing this family tree information!).

Doesn’t everyone long to be a little French, after all? If you’ve ever caught yourself scarfing down baguettes or admiring your own chicness (as my French host mother often would), it may not be your fault. It could be your genes.

As a former French teacher, this bit of family history particularly excites me. I knew I had some ties to France on both sides of my family, but with all immediate family surnames pointing so squarely at the UK, I never had much inspiration to dig deeper. However, since beginning my family history research over a year ago, I’ve found we are all a little more French than I’d thought!

Alice Cross Noble’s maternal grandmother was Minnie Gerow. Her surname, like many, became distanced from its original form in the United States (immigration has a way of doing that, it seems). The French surname Giraud (“au” makes an “o” sound in French and the final consonant is typically silent, hence Gerow) was associated with great political and economic influence in medieval France, with the family seat located in Languedoc.  

Our Gerow ancestors have been in North America since the 1600s, settling first in New York and later in Eastern Canada (New Brunswick and Prince Edward Co.- not to be confused with the island). Our immigrant ancestor was Daniel Giraud, born 1664 in Poitiers, France. Poitiers is known for two famous battles: one leaving Charles Martel victorious in 732, and another a key victory for the English during the Hundred Years’ War. During the 17th century, many left Poitiers for the French settlements in the New World. As a result many Acadians and Cajuns (I could go on about this- it was one of my final paper topics in grad school!) trace their ancestry back to Poitiers or other areas in Northwestern France.

It is worth noting that the Gerow family were Huguenots- French Protestants. This explains why our group went first to New York, as there was a large Huguenot population living there at the time. Apparently our Huguenot ancestors traveled with friends, and Daniel was one of the first settlers of New Platz, NY. You can find records of our Gerow ancestors at the Huguenot Historical Society, located (conveniently on Historic Huguenot Street) in New Paltz, approximately an hour and a half north of the city.

Still, the line does jump to Canada before finally descending into Michigan!  Our first Michigan settler, Freeman, was born in Prince Edward County (what was then Sophiasburg Township) and settled in Linden Township, MI. Interestingly, Freeman’s father died when he was very young, and he was raised by his mother and her family, the Christy family, who were Quakers!

WHERE TO GO:

Historic Huguenot Street in New Platz, NY. Click here for a link to their website and a blurb about the Gerow family.

Historic Sophiasburg Township in Prince Edward County, Ontario. Click here for the Prince Edward County Historical Society blog.

FAMILY LINE @ A GLANCE: Cross-->Warden-->Gerow