'Who were the first Gauberts in England ' ? To answer this There are three important sources you need to read -

A. The Huguenot Society publications particularly ‘The Returns Of Strangers In The Metropolis (1593,1627,1635 & 1639). Although that book doesn’t show any Gauberts (nor does it record any likely variants such as Goubarts, Goberts, Goberes, or Gouberts) the absence indicates that even if we had fled France, we hadn’t reached London by 1639. However, the Returns of Aliens in the City and Suburbs of London 1623—1571 records the following information -


ALDKYCHEGATE WARDS.

1544 Peter Gobert C li (value of possessions) x li (amount of tax)  and his servant

1569 Charles Gobert (from the French Church of London)

1571 Nowell Gobert, jerkenmaker, howsholder, and Anne his wife, came into this realms about xij yeares past.

French, ij. Denizen, j. French church.

John Hewe, Frenchman, bookbynder, came into this realme about ix yeares past, and Suzan his wife, came into this realme about xij yeares past to se the cuntrye. They sojorne withe the saide Noell Gobert. French, ij. French church.

1571 Charles Gobert, his wyfe, and iij children, hath by& here iiij yeares, and are of the Frenche churche. Burgonians. Frenche churche, v.

Showing when we weren’t here is just as important and finding when we were. The Huguenot Society also published the registers of some of the first French churches established in England and these have given us a number of possible spellings. Some survive in France and the USA . One of our not-so-distant ancestors was George Manners GAUBERT, christened on 29th July 1826 at St. Petersburg in Russia. This event is recorded by the IGI but spelling his name as ' GAUBART'. One of HIS relatives had her travel documents needed to leave Russia, signed by the Earl of Clarendon. He and she both spelt her name as ‘ Ann Gobert’. I’ve reproduced all the Gaubert, Gobert, Goubert etc records from the Society’s registers.


B. The IGI (International Genealogical Index)
compiled by the Mormons (Church Of Latter Day Saints).

They take a verse from Corinthians as their right to baptise in absentia every identifiable Christian who has ever lived. This unique project is the family researcher's basic computer tool. Whilst this record can take you back to the earliest written records, certainly far beyond the PRO, it is not exhaustive. It only reflects the inspection of those church registers examined to date but this still includes about 85 – 90% of the registers. It is the fastest way of identifying a family and can indicate, in the absence of an expensive PRO certificate, a general pattern of location or migratory drift. The UK records have provided a very full picture of our family and, whilst not conclusive, do indicate probable dates of migration. The IGI records are freely available on the internet at www.familysearch.org. I haven't reproduced every single Gaubert record on the IGI as many are in the USA and clearly directly related to French emigrants rather than to us in England. At http://www.gaubertgenealogy.freeola.org/IGIEngland.html is a table of Gauberts taken from the IGI records for Britain and Ireland. I've also included the IGI records for Australia, Holland and Russia at those countries' pages.

C. Genealogical websites (ancestry.co.uk, findmypast.co.uk, gensereunited.com etc)

All of these sources include spelling errors. Firstly we face the errors created by the writer of the original document who may have also used a phonetic spelling. Our ancestors, arriving with a different language, may have been ‘officially processed’ with anglicised phonetic names in much the same way as their counterparts arriving at Ellice Island in the United States. Secondly we face the errors created by the modern reader/interpreter that occur in the compilation of current databases. 'Gaubert' / 'De Gaubert' / 'Gobart'/'Gobert' / 'Gobere' / 'Goubert' even 'Cobert' are just a few of the variants that need to be searched for in every database. One of our ’Russian family’ was found in the UK having assumed the title ‘De Gaubert’. It was only on making contact with other branches of the family, that I realised our surname had more than one present-day pronunciation – ‘GORBEAR’, ‘GOBEAR’, ‘GOBERT’.

Everything that now follows is largely due to the information contained within these three sources. Those sources need to be re-visited at regular intervals, probably annually, to see if any further material has been added.


Glossary of French terms used in Huguenot records


KEITH LE MAY & BARBARA JULIEN

Common abbreviations in the Quarto Serie

anc. ancien elder
bap. par baptise par baptised by
demo tous deux en demeurant tous deux

 

la par. en la paroisse de both living in the parish of
f.de fils de son of
ff.de fille de daughter of
M. marraine godmother
mar.par maries par married by
Min. ministre minister
P. parrain godfather
Past. Pasteur Pastor
sig. signature signature
tern. temoin witness

 

Common vocabulary in the Quarto Series

acote de next to
abjuration conversion from R.C. to Protestant
aveugle blind
ayant perdu I'usage de ses membres to be paralysed
ayant perdu la vue to lose one's sight
billet document certifying entitlement
bourgeoisie. la middle class
consistoire consistory
de son etat by profession
diacre deacon
enterrement burial
femme, epouse wife
feu/feue the late
gentilhommes, les aristocrats/well off
ledit/ladite/lesdits/lesdites the aforesaid
mari husband
mereau Holy Communion token
mort/e, dccede/e deceased
mort-ne/e stillborn
natif/native de native of
ne/nee born on (followed hy date)
noblesse, la the nobility
originaire de originating from
orphelin/e orphan
Paques Easter
pauvres, les the poor
pouvoir gagner sa vie to be able to earn a living
promesse de marriage promise of marriage
reconnaissance promise of loyalty to Protestant religion
remercie thanked
soussigne undersigned
temoignage proof of Protestant allegiance
temple French Protestant/Huguenot church
veuf/veuve widower/widow
vis-a-vis opposite
   
Trades and Professions  
boulanger baker
boutonnier button maker
chapelier hatter
chirugien surgeon
cordonnier boot/shoe maker
drapier draper
homme de joumee day labourer/journeyman
horloger clock/watch maker
maitre d'ecole schoolmaster
marchand merchant/shopkeeper
medecin doctor
orfevre gold/silversmith
oumer en soie silk worker
perruquier wig maker/barber
tailleur tailor
tapissier tapestry worker/upholsterer
tisserand en soie silk weaver
verrier glassmaker
   
Huguenot Institutions  



Le Comite Francais
The French Committee, which, overseen by an English Committee, distributed the Royal Bounty (money provided by the Crown for the relief of French Protestants in England, Edinburgh, the Channel Islands and Ireland).
La Providence The French Hospital, founded in 1718, now at its fourth home in Rochester, Kent.
La Soupe Soup kitchens that operated in London in the 18th Century for poor Huguenots