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Welcome to the
Blondell Family History Page
Coat of Arms associated with some of the
French Blondel families as the "Blondel Coat of Arms"
To view additional Coats of Arms associated with the Blondel
surname click on this "Blondel Coat
of Arms"
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Name Origin
According to Thierry
Blondel, who lives in France, his research indicates that the name
Blondel was derived from the first Blondel and was a reference to his fair
complexion and blonde hair. He was a Viking warrior who, with the
Vikings, invaded the North of France. The north of France, or Normandy,
is where the majority of the French
Blondel Families settled, acquired property and made their homes.
And, according to the demographic
studies of the Blondel families in France, the majority of the French
Blondel population reside in Normandie or Northern France with a secondary
population density in Flandres. Men such as Jules
Blondel, the French ambassador to the United Nations, were born here
and to the Blondel family.
There are also Blondel families with French origins
in Switzerland, Luxembourg and other
areas in the European continent.
It is our hope and earnest desire to gather much
more information concerning the European Blondel families and to record
their histories and family stories, here for the heritage and the posterity
of all Blondel -- Blondell family members. So, please
those of you who will read these pages, please consider spending some time
to record your history, thoughts and cares and submit them for inclusion
on these web pages!
Religious Emigration
Beginning in around the 12th to the 16th centuries
many families fled France because of intolerance and religious persecution.
We believe that during this time some Blondel families left France seeking
religious freedom. Some went to the Scandinavian countries, Switzerland
and some went to the British Isles. We believe that this is
probably the origin of the Blondel families in England who became the "Blondell"
and "Blundell" families in the British isles and who later immigrated to
other parts of the world, including the United States. There is evidence
today of French Blondel families who crossed the English Channel, but settled
first in the Channel islands. These were originally French Blondels
who had their ancestral roots in France, but were loyal to the United Kingdom
of the British Isles. We believe that this loyalty change came about
because of their religious convictions and desire to follow them.
That was the beginning of the name changes that would later affect the
French Caribbean Blondel family that were refugees from Saint Domingue
and assimilated into the population of the United States. The French
Caribbean Blondel family from Saint
Domingue was subject to their surname being changed from Blondel to
Blondell.
Political & Economic Emigration
Several Blondel families settled
in the French West Indies. Their immigration there could have been
for various reasons. When the French began colonizing the New World
the French King needed colonists to settle in the crown's colonies.
According to Jean Claude Blondel
La Rougery's research he believes the first patriarchial Blondel of
the Blondel La Rougery family in the Caribbean islands was "Le
Commandere de Poincy" and his nephew "Robert
de Longvilliers" who were both Blondels. We concur with our esteemed
cousin Jean Claude until proven otherwise.
Apparently in the 1600's, the first Blondel, "Le
Commandere de Poincy" was assigned the oversight of the colonization of
the island of Saint Christophe. As such, he also brought additional
Blondel relatives to the French West Indies and they settled additional
land holdings. When the French colony on Saint Christophe failed
the King of France reassigned the remaining colonists to the colony of
Saint Domingue. The French King also assigned Robert Blondel le Longvilliers
de Poincy to the governorship of the French West Indies and as such was
the head of government of all the French colonies in the Caribbean.
He enforced French territorial rights on behalf of the French Crown there.
If this is indeed true, and if there was a direct
relationship between the Saint Domingue Blondel family, the "Poincys" and
the Martinique Blondels, it would explain the reason the Saint Domingue
family could not return to French residence in Europe after the beginning
of the French Revolution. Their relation to the French crown would
have been well known and would have placed them in danger.
There were also such programs as indentures wherein
passage to the New World would be provided for a man or woman by a wealthy
individual or company in exchange for work for a period of time, usually
three to five years. Such an indentured individual would have
accepted an agreement like this for the opportunity to obtain land and
wealth in the New World after his indenture was served. At this point
in time, we have found no evidence that the original Blondel families in
the French West Indies were established from such indentures.
There were many noble families of various
surnames that fled France during the French
Revolution. They fled to escape persecution and the threat of
death sentences. While the Blondel family in France has many noble
branches we do not yet know the exact reason the French Saint Domingue
Blondel families chose to settle in the Caribbean or what their connection
to the French government was, or even if there really was a connection.
We do believe that it may have been for the reason cited above. Or,
it may have been solely upon the invitation of Blondel le Poincy to family
members. This may have been inductive to bringing more Blondels to
the islands during the French Revolution who were of noble descent as they
believed they could obtain refuge from family members already on the French
colonies and safely wait out the French Revolution in the Caribbean.
There is also ample evidence according to Rudi Blondia
that the some of the Blondel family members in Normandie took the surname Blondia,
other Blondels accompanied William
the Conquerer to the British Isles where they acquired the surname Blundell
and became the royal foresters, and then many of their surnames were later
changed back to Blondell with one additional "L" added to the end of their
original French surname "Blondel." There is additional information
the "Blundell" family on Jerome Blondell's page at this link: Jerome
Blondell
So, according to the research of Rudi
A. Blondia the Blondia name is a variant of the Blondel surname.
Rudi states that her original research and notes do show that the earliest
Blondia can trace their heritage to the surname Blondel. This occurred
in Normandie, France. The Blondia
Family Web Pages have a lot of additional data in regard to the Blondia
family that is accessible there.
Blondel Immigration to the French West Indies
There were at least two Blondel families in the French
West Indies and a very strong probability of more. One family had
a plantation on the island
of Martinique and another had several plantations in Saint Domingue.
There was one Blondel Plantation in Caracol and another Blondel Plantation
in Jeremie, both of these cities were and are in Saint Domingue which is
the present day nation of Haiti. The majority of the material on these
web pages concerns the Blondel family from Caracol, Saint Domingue, and
their descendants; however, a significant amount of material concerns
and is dedicated to the Blondel
La Rougery family from the island of Martinique. We have yet
to learn of what happened to the Blondels in Jeremie, Saint Domingue, but
we suspect that they may have lost their lives during one of the numerous
assaults upon the city of Jeremie and the surrounding areas. General
Rigaud was a mulatto general who fought for the French against the English
during the early stages of the Haitian Revolution, and was well known for
allowing muderous assaults on defenselesswhite people in and arounbd Jeremie.
However, it is also possible that the Blondel plantation in Jeremie was
owned by the Blondel family in Caracol, and as absent owners. There
is some information concerning ownership of the planations in Etat
Detaille, but it has not been fully analyzed yet.
We search earnestly to learn more of the Blondel
history concerning all of these families and their connection to the European
mainland in France.
Historical Summary
of the French Caribbean Blondel Family
that Immigrated to the United States of America
© Blondel 1998-2002 Blondell