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Migrations of the

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Origins of

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Variations of

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Armorial Bearings, Symbols and Mottoes

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Family history

Our 10^th great-grandmother, Catherine Cloué, is the only person currently known of this family line.   Catherine was born circa 1604 in the village of Fouday, now located within French canton of Schirmeck located within the Bas-Rhin department in Alsace in north-eastern France.  Before 1637 she married Christian Nicholas Christman also a native of Fouday.  To this union at least five children were born between 1637 and 1648.   We are descended through their eldest son Christian Christman  born in 1637.  Catherine lived for eighty years until she passed away at Solbach a small town also located within the canton of Schirmeck.

Direct ancestors

Additional information about the persons in our database  as   well  as   a   complete  listing   of

individuals with this surname may be reviewed by clicking on this LINK.

CATHERINE¹ CLOUE¹ was born about 1604 in Fouday, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹. She died on 02 Mar 1684 in Solbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹. She married Christian Nicholas Christman, son of Nicolas Christman and Dimanchette (Mongeatte) Christman (nee?) before 1637 in Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France^{1, 2}. He was born about 1608 in Fouday, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹. He died about 1664 in Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France³.

Christian Nicholas Christman and Catherine Cloue had the following children:

i.        CHRISTIAN² CHRISTMAN⁴ was born on 14 May 1637 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, France⁴. He died on 12 Nov 1699 in Solbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France⁴. He married Marguerite Mougenat, daughter of Claude Mougenat and Marguerite Mougenat (nee?) on 01 Nov 1664 in Waldersbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France⁴. She was born on 03 Apr 1643 in Neuviller la Roche, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France⁴. She died on 09 Jul 1705 in Solbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France⁴.

ii.      NICOLAS CHRISTMAN¹ was born about 1641 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, France¹. He died on

9   Mar 1676 in Waldersbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹. He married Jeanne Mareschal on 14 Jun 1670 in Waldersbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹.

iii.     JEHANNON CHRISTMAN¹ was born on 04 Jun 1643 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, France¹.

iv.     CATHERINE CHRISTMAN¹ was born about 1644 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, France¹. She died on 14 Apr 1707 in Solbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹.

v.      JEAN CHRISTMAN¹ was born on 22 Nov 1648 in Barr, Bas-Rhin, France¹. He died on

10Nov 1731 in Solbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹. He married D. (Mougeatte) Caquelin on 11 Feb 1673 in Waldersbach, Molsheim, Bas-Rhin, France¹.

1  Christman, Charles and Neva, The Christmann Heritage (Name: 102 Lawrence 2075, LaRussell, Mo. 64848;), p. 13.

2  Siler, Frederick G., Footnote (Name: 889 Dante Court, Mantua, NJ 08051;), [Place of marriage was most likely near Solbach or Fouday in the present day arrondissement of Molsheim becaue both were born in Fouday and all of their children were born in Solbach.].].

3  Christman, Charles and Neva, The Christmann Heritage (Name: 102 Lawrence 2075, LaRussell, Mo. 64848;), p. 13. [Bas-Rhin is most likely place of death event, based upon where Christian and his children were born, as well as where his wife Catherine died in 1684.].

4  Christman, Charles and Neva, The Christmann Heritage (Name: 102 Lawrence 2075, LaRussell, Mo. 64848;), p. 10.

The WorldConnect Project is a set of tools, which allow users to upload, modify, link, and display their family trees as a means to share their genealogy with other researchers.

The WorldConnect Project continues to grow, as it now contains several hundred million records thus it offers researchers the single largest collection of family trees on the Internet.

Use this free genealogy site to help you get the best genealogy searches from Google™ by using your family tree, for your research. It will create a series of different searches using tips or "tricks"

that will likely improve your results. The different searches will give you many different ways of using Google and the Internet to find ancestry information about this or any other Surname. 

Source documents

The documents contained within this “Source Documents Archives” have been located during our research of this family, and used as evidence to prove many of the facts contained within the database of this family’s record.   We have source documents related to the following persons within our database with this surname.

·        None

This Link will take you to our

archive of source documents.  

You are welcome to download any of the documents contained within this archive that does not cite a copyright.  Should you encounter a problem obtaining a copy you may get in touch with us via the contact information found at the end of this web-page.

     Most of these documents can be considered as primary or secondary evidence.  Primary evidence is usually defined as the best available to prove the fact in question, usually in an original document or record.  Secondary evidence is in essence all that evidence which is inferior in its origin to primary evidence. That does not mean secondary evidence is always in error, but there is a greater chance of error.  Examples of this type of evidence would be a copy of an original record, or oral testimony of a record’s contents.  Published genealogies and family histories are also secondary evidence.

     Classifying evidence as either primary or secondary does not tell anything about its accuracy or ultimate value.  This is especially true of secondary evidence.  Thus it is always a good idea to ask the following questions: (1) How far removed from the original is it, (when it is a copy)?; (2) What was the reason for the creation of the source which contains this evidence?; and (3) Who was responsible for creating this secondary evidence and what interest did they have in its accuracy?

SOURCE: Greenwood, Val D., The Researcher’s Guide to American Genealogy, 2^nd edition, Genealogical Publishing Co., Baltimore, MD 21202, 1990, pgs. 62-63

Migration routes

       Tracing our own family’s paths of migration can prove crucial in identifying previous generations and eventually, figuring out where and how they arrived in the “New World” as well as where they eventually settled.  Knowing the network of trails American pioneers traveled can help you guess where to start looking.  The trail map(s) provided below may assist you in understanding the routes that our direct ancestors of this family may have taken to find new homes and opportunities in the vast area now encompassed by the United States.

      During the 17^th, 18^th and 19^th centuries hundreds of thousands of Europeans made the perilous ocean voyage to America.  For many it was an escape from economic hardship and religious persecution.  For most it was an opportunity to start over, own their own land, and make a better future for their descendents.

Immigration records show a number of people bearing the name of CLOUÈ, or one of its variants, as arriving in North America between the 17^th and 20^th centuries.  Some of these immigrants were:  Louis Cloue, age 29, arrived at New Orleans, Louisiana from Le Havre, France in 1917;  Charles Cloue, age 62, came to New York, New York from Bremerhaven, Germany in 1923; in 1928 Raymond Cloue, age 29, arrived at New York, New York from Le Havre, France; and Antoine Clouet. Age 47,  New Orleans, Louisiana from Bordeaux, France in 1921.

Use the following links to find more early immigrants with this surname:

$ Search Ancestry.com Immigration Records; or Free Ship’s Passenger lists at OliveTreeGenealogy.com

The Development of an Historical Migration Route

It is understood that in many if not all cases we do not know exactly what routes our ancestors took as they migrated throughout the United States.   As such certain assumptions have been utilized to re-create the migration path presented above.  With regard to 18^th and 19^th century land routes we assume that they travelled along few trails and roads that were in existence at the time.  Research shows that a great many of these old paths and trails are today designated as U.S. Highway Routes.  For example, a major east-west route of migration known as the National Road is now U.S. Route 40, and a primary north-south migration route of the 18^th century followed the Great Indian War and Trading Path is now U.S. Route 11.  In some situations the re-created migration route may travel along state routes that connect or run through the seat of a county as that populated place is probably the oldest settlement in the area. The use of water as a migration route is also likely.  For example, during the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries many families travelled west on the Ohio River as they moved on the new lands in Missouri or the Old Northwest Territory.  As such when applicable water routes have been included as the possible migration route.   

Images gallery

During our research we have collected images and photographs that are of general interest to a particular family.  Some of them are presented on this website because we believe they tend to provide the reader with additional information which may aid in the understanding of our ancestors past lives.  We have images related to the following persons within our database with this surname.

NONE

This Link will take you to our

collection of family images.  

Use the power of Google™ to find more interesting images about this topic. This button will link you to the Google Images Search   page.   Enter   the   topic   you   are

searching in the box and click “Search Images”. At the “Images” display page you will see the image, as well as the website of which it is associated.

Ancestral locations

Researching the locations where our ancestors lived has provided us with valuable evidence needed to fill in the gaps in our family trees.  It has also led us to many interesting facts that enhance the overall picture of each family group.

Locations of

Direct Ancestors

Locational Distribution

of  this Surname

Where In the World

are my Ancestors?

Locatiof Direct Ancestors

The names of states and counties on the following list were derived from the known places where the Direct Ancestors in the “Ancestral Lineage” (see above) were born, married, and / or died.

FRANCE

BAS-RHIN

Molsheim (Fouday, Solbach)

Use this LINK to find out more about this

ancestral family and the locations listed above.

Locational distribution of Surname

Knowing the geographical areas where the surname you are researching is clustered and distributed is an indispensable tool in deciding where to focus your research.  We believe that the “Public Profiler” website will open up to you a wide range of solutions which implement current research in spatial analysis.  This site provides an array of local spatial information tools useful to the genealogist. 

The information presented herein shows where the CLOUÉ surname is distributed within North America as well as in France the probable country of origin of this family.      Statistics show that there are approximately 2.96 persons per million of population with this surname, within France, and 0.01 persons per million of population within the United States.  The United Kingdom is found to be the country in the world where this surname is the second most highly clustered having approximately 0.02 persons per million of population.  The top region in the World where this surname is the most highly clustered is   the   Centre, France with  38.56 persons per million, and Gehee,

NORTH AMERICA

FRANCE

click on thumbnail for larger image

Centre, France is the top city where this surname is found.

Click on the LINK to the right to see more information about the World distribution of a surname.  You can get

greater detail for any of the following maps by clicking on the area, i.e state, county that you are interested in.

Where are my ancestors Ancestors

Resources which enhance our knowledge of the places inhabited by our ancestors are almost as important as their names. The LINK to the right will take you to Maps, Gazetteers,   and  other  helpful   resources 

that will assist in discovering Ancestral Locations.  These web sites comprise only a small portion of what is available for researchers interested in learning more about where their ancestors lived.

An Introduction

to the Surname

Source/Meaning

of the Surname

History of

the Surname

More About

Surnames

An Introduction to the Surname

Source(s) & Meaning(s) of the Surname

     As in other European countries French surnames developed from four major sources: (1) Occupational Surnames are also very common among French surnames, these last names are based on the person’s job or trade for instance Jean Tailleur i.e.  John the tailor. (2) Patronymic & Matronymic Surnames that are based on a parent’s name, these are the most common origins of French surnames. The greater part of French patronymic and matronymic surnames are derived directly from the parent's given name like Michel Adolphe, i.e. Micheal son of Adolf.   In some cases prefixes and suffixes are attached to a given name to create a patronymic surname such as Jacques de Edmé which means James the son of Edmond. (3) Geographical Surnames are those surnames based on a the place where person came from like Claude from the city of Lyon, becomes Claude Lyon.  This type of name may also describe the location where the person resides within a village or town such as Jacques Jardin lives near a garden.  (4) Descriptive Surnames are usually based upon a “nickname” (i.e., Moody, Wise, Armstrong); status (i.e. Freeman, Bond, Knight); and acquired ornamental names that were simply made up, for example Charles Leblanc come from Charles the white.

History of the Surname

Coming from the Medieval French word 'surnom' translating as "above-or-over name," surnames or descriptive names trace their use back to 11th century France, when it first became necessary to add a second name to distinguish between individuals with the same given name. The custom of using surnames did not become common for several centuries, however.

Variations of the surname

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to unfold and expand often leading to an overwhelming number of variants.  As such one can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames because in early times, spelling in general and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized.  Later on spellings would change with the branching and movement of families. The complexity of researching records is compounded by the fact that in many cases an ancestors surname may have been misspelled.  This is especially true when searching census documents.

If The Name Thesaurus doesn’t adequately address the name you are looking for check out the following link:

Top 10 Tips for Finding Alternative Surname Spellings & Variations

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Use LINK button to view our Surname Locator & Resources page.

Armorial bearings, symbols and mottoes

French heraldry is the use of heraldic symbols in France.  Although it had a considerable history, like England, existing from the eleventh century, such formality has largely died out in France. The role of the herald (héraut) in France declined in the seventeenth century.  Many of the terms in international heraldry come from French.

Gallery of Images

Descriptions of the

Armorial Bearings

Motto(es) of

this Surname

More About Heraldic Bearings

Image gallery

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Figure 8

ARMORIAL BEARINGS

The associated armorial bearings for this surname and close variant spellings are recorded in Burke’s General Armoire and Rietstap’s Armorial General.  The additional information, presented below, is offered with regard to the armorial bearings depicted above:

These arms were bestowed upon Jehan Clouet Souilly Autrécourt, 1471-1532, a native of Autrécourt. He was knighted by the Duke Antoine February 28, 1511 for his service rendered during the wars with Italy.  Today Autrécourt-sur-Aire is a commune in the Meuse department in the Lorraine region in northeastern France.  These arms are described as a barry of six fesses alternating red and blue with a rustre* of silver and gold in the center.  *A rustre is a lozenge with a circular perforation. Certain ancient armour composed of links of this shape sewed upon cloth is thought to have supplied the origin of this charge.

These arms have been attributed to a Clou of Limousin.  Limousin is one of the 27 regions of France. It is composed of three départements: Corrèze, Creuse and the Haute-Vienne.

These arms are best described as a red shield containing a crowned lion* and three gold stars in the chief.  *The lion represents dauntless courage and the associated crown signifies the defender of a fortress, a token of civic honour; or one who first mounted the breach in the walls of a fortress.

Rietstap has attributed this coat-of-arms to a Clouet of Normandy.  The shield is silver or white and contains a red cross (saltire), with the head of a spear* in each of the four quarters. *The spear heads means dexterity and nimble wit; and a readiness for battle.

These arms were granted to a Clouseaux of Orleans, France.  The red* shield contains three spear or pike heads. *The heraldic utilization of the color red signifies military strength and magnanimity, or that the owner of the arms was a warrior or martyr.

These armorial bearings were bestowed upon a Cloutier of Normandy.  This Cloutier held a seigneurie in the Pas de Calais at Cléty a village in the arrondisement of St. Omer where the family was a member of the of the Norman nobility.  First recorded records of this family date back to the 12^th century. 

The arms feature a blue shield containing two white or silver lions and a gold chief holding a black leopard*.  The crest shows a black leopard in the same position. *The leopard represents a valiant and hardy warrior who enterprises hazardous things by force and courage.

These arms belong to a du Cloux of Farouville, in the locale of Orleans.  They show a blue shield with a white escutcheon containing a black nail*.   *The French word for nail is “clou” and “clouer” means to nail something down.  As such it is common to see a nail, spike, or the head of a spear (pike) as a charge in the arms of French persons with the name of Cloue and its variant spellings. 

These arms have been attributed to a  du Cloux of Holland.  It is possible that these arms belonged to Jean du Cloux (c.1520-c1578) or one of his descendents.  The arms feature a two-masted ship* sailing on the sea.  The crest (not shown) is of a natural arm holding a dagger* in strike action. *The ship is utilized as a heraldic charge to recognize ancient sea voyages.  The dagger found in the crest signifies justice and military honor.

Rietstap has attributed this coat of arms to a Clouet of France. The arms feature a blue shield with a silver chevron and three golden nails. *The chevron generally means protection or it may recognize builders or others who have accomplished some work of faithful service.

MOTTO(ES)  

     A motto is a word or sentence usually written upon a scroll and generally placed below the shield, but sometimes, especially in Scotland, above the crest.    Many ancient mottoes were war-cries such as the Douglas motto of “Forward.”    Many mottoes refer to the name of the bearer, for example “cole regem” for Coleridge.   In general most mottoes convey a sentiment, hope, or determination, such as the Cotter motto “Dum spiro spero” where the meaning is “While I have breath I hope“.     Mottoes are often used by several successive generations, but may be changed at any time by the grantee. The languages most in use are Latin, French, and English.  Exceptions are seen in Scotland where they are often in the old Lowland dialect, and in Wales, often in the language of the principality.   

There are no known mottoes attributed to THE French surname of CLOUÈ, or its variant spellings.    For more information about mottoes associated with French surnames see the LINKS below.

Heraldic bearings

The art of designing, displaying, describing, and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry.   A Coat of Arms is defined as a group of emblems and figures (heraldic bearings) usually arranged on and around a shield and serving as the special insignia of some person, family, or institution.  Except for a few cases, there is really no such thing as a standard "coat of arms" for a surname.  A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings or often just arms for short, is a design usually granted only to a single person not to an entire family or to a particular surname.  Coats of arms are inheritable property, and they generally descend to male lineal descendents of the original arms grantee.  The rules and traditions regarding Coats of Arms vary from country to country. Therefore a Coat of Arms for an English family would differ from that of a German family even when the surname is the same. 

Some of the more prominent elements incorporated into a  coat of arms are :

Crest - The word crest is often mistakenly applied to a coat of arms.  The crest was a later development arising from the love of pageantry.  Initially the crest consisted of charges painted onto a ridge on top of the helmet.

Wreath or Torse – The torse is a twist of cloth or wreath underneath and part of a crest. Always shown as six twists, the first tincture being the tincture of the field, the second the tincture of the metal, and so on.

Mantling – The mantling is a drapery tied to the helmet above the shield. It forms a backdrop for the shield.

Helm or Helmet - The helmet or helm is situated above the shield and bears the torse and crest. The style of helmet displayed varies according to rank and social status, and these styles developed over time, in step with the development of actual military helmets.

Shield or Arms - The basis of all coats of arms.  At their simplest, arms consist of a shield with a plain field on which appears a geometrical shape or object.  The items appearing on the shield are known as charges.

Motto - The motto was originally a war cry, but later mottoes often expressed some worthy sentiment. It may appear at the top or bottom of a family coat of arms.

Searching for more information about heraldry? Click on the button at the  right to look at our webpage featuring links   to   websites   having   images

of a wide variety of arms, crests, and badges.  They may also feature additional heraldry resources as noted in the accompanying descriptions.

Web resources

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·             Our Surname Locator And Resources web page contains the following: (1) links that will take you to an updated listing of all surnames as posted in our three databases at the Rootsweb WorldConnect Project; (2) the Surname List Finder a tool that finds sound-alike matches for a given surname from among RootsWeb's thousands of surname lists; (3) the Soundex Converter that can be used to find the soundex code for a surname, plus other surnames/spellings sharing the same soundex code;  (4) Surname Message Boards the world's largest online genealogy community with over 17 Million posts on more than 161,000 boards; (5) Surname Mailing Lists of all surnames having mailing lists at RootsWeb, as well as topics that include (6) Surname Heraldry, and  (7) Mapping a Surname. 

·              Your genealogy research of this surname can be facilitated by use of Surname Web. This website links to the majority of the surname data on the web, as well as to individual family trees, origin and surname meaning if known, and many other related genealogy resources. 

·              Surname Finder provides easy access to free and commercial resources for 1,731,359 surnames. On each surname specific "finder" page, you can search a variety of online databases all pre-programmed with your surname.

·             Use All Surnames Genealogy to get access to find your surname resources .  There are almost 1300 links in this directory.

·             SurnameDB Free database of surname meanings - This site SurnameDB.Com contains a large FREE to access database (almost 50,000 surnames) on the history and meaning of family last names.

·             Public Profiler / World Names - Search for a Surname to view its Map and Statistics.

·             Linkpendium Surnames - Web sites, obituaries, biographies, and other material specific to a surname.

·              Cyndi's List - Surnames, Family Associations & Family Newsletters Index - Sites or resources dedicated to specific, individual family surnames.  

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-- This webpage was last updated on --

01 January 2013