THOMAS JANVIER I, child of Pierre I and Clude D'Elbouf Janvier, was born ca 1664 in La Flotte, Ile de Re, France He married SARAH CROYSI or CROSSE DE JOURDAIN ca 1692 in New Castle, Delaware. Thomas was Christened May 12, 1669 in La Flotte, Ile de Re, France.

        The Janvier family were Huguenots and three sons fled France because of religious persecution. Their property was confiscated and they were driven into exile for refusal to renounce their adherence to the Protestant faith. Thomas' father died, either in Paris or on the Isle de Re and was buried in his cellar because Christian sepulcher was forbidden to Huguenots. His mother was of the Scottish Presbyterian faith. Apparently the three sons escaped from the Isle de Re and later to England first, and then to America to enjoy religious freedom.
        Thomas came to America in 1686, leaving Plymouth, England on the ship "Disire" as a servant to Mr. Francis Rawles. He arrived in Philadelphia on June 23, 1686 and was listed on the ships roster as "Thomas Janviers alias January".  He moved to New Castle, Delaware in 1695.
         Among the earlier settlers in the new world, Thomas could find understanding of the plight that drove him from France and the company of men and women who  could speak his native language. It is reported that he was so bitter about  the treatment of his family in France that he considered changing his French name to its English equivalent, "January". However, he is recorded in his lifetime only a few times as January, but many of his descendants who remained in Delaware, and some who spread over the country, kept the original family name, Janvier.
        In 1695 Thomas married Sarah Jardine Crosse, the daughter of Dr. John des Jardine (also Jourdain) of Cecil, Maryland, who died in 1677. He was naturalized in Maryland, June 6, 1674 as a Protestant alien (Huguenot). He   apparently died in New Castle, Delaware and his estate was probated there.   Her stepfather was William Croisis (Cross or Crosse in some English deeds).   Following her mother's second marriage Sarah was sometimes known as "Sarah Crosse". !Sarah's mother was Mary Tayne, daughter of Isaac Tayne alias Lapier. Sarah inherited from her grandfather Tayne`s estate the major share of a dwelling and garden on the Strand, a site of the present Presbyterian Manse. Here at No. 20 the Strand, Thomas and Sarah may have lived. The original house or one that replaced was destroyed by the New Castle fire in 1824. In any case the present Manse was presented to the Presbyterian Church in 1885 by Samuel Cooper, a descendent of the Janvier family. In 1707 Thomas Janvier and John Brewster sold to the church the lot on which the Presbyterian Church now stands, which was built in that year. On the original deed Thomas Janvier's name appears as one of the three signers for the church. Thomas and Sarah are believed to have been buried in the churchyard but their graves have been lost, although the graves of their sons' Thomas, Jr. and Francis are there.  !His earliest interest was in woodworking. Later he became a miller with bolting mills and a merchant with diversified interests in maritime commerce and real estate. In 1703, in connection with a re-survey  of 1701, Thomas is shown to own considerable land between Second and Fourth Streets bounded on the north by the present Chestnut Street.
        Thomas was naturalized as a citizen of William Penn's Province of Pennsylvania by Governor William Markhan, February 21, 1695. (Penn archives L - first series - 1,118.) However, before this Thomas had renounced his loyalty to France and given it to Queen Anne shortly after she came to the throne of England. The London Notary, "Tabellion Public of Royal Authority", testified that "Letters Patent of Denigration, granted by our Sovereign Lady, Queen Anne," included Thomas Janvier, who although born beyond the seas, is made her Majesty's Leige Subject and is to be held reputed and taken as Subject born in this Kingdom of England and may, as such, purchase, buy, sell and dispose of lands, tenements and hereditaments in this Kingdom or in any other of Her Majesty's Dominions. (Deed book B, 1,272, New Castle Company, dated 1703, recorded August 23, 1704.) In the original Provincial manuscript, there appears the signature of Thomas Janvier upon a proclamation of King George II, which is dated New Castle, Delaware, September 4, 1727. He is also listed as a Judge. (Colonial Records of Penn., Vol. 6, pages 74-84).
        Thomas and his sons learned crafts to support themselves in early New Castle. It was required by William Penn that every child in his province, irrespective of the means of his parents, be taught a trade or craft by which he could support himself and benefit the community.
        Thomas Janvier January`s name has been placed on The American Immigrant Wall of Honor at The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., officially certifying that he came to the United States of America from France.
In 1707, Thomas and Sarah conveyed part of their home lot at its Market Place end to the Presbyterian Church, and their neighbor, John Brewster, gave an adjoining piece of land. Church was built in 1707-8, New Castle Deed Book 1-40-1707.
        Thomas Alibone Janvier Journal, 1869: "Deed from William Penn granting to Thomas Janvier a water lot, on condition that within seven years erect a wharf thereon and in consideration of the yearly payment of "one half bushel of merchantable wheat." The lot is in Mr. Janvier's possession and is used as a coal wharf.
        Thomas was a "miller" with interests in bolting mills, and a merchant with diversified interest in maritime commerce and real estate. His earlier career was in woodworking and two of his sons, Isaac and John, followed in his footsteps. 
   Sarah Javier died in 1776 in New Castle, Delaware.  Thomas I died ca 1728 in New Castle, Delaware.  Both are buried in the Presbyterian Church Cemetery, New Castle, Delaware.

The children of Thomas I and Sarah Croysi Janvier:

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