William Chambrelan of Paris (Born ~1540)

11^th Great Grandfather – FFFMFFMMFFFFF¹

William or Guillaume Chambrelan, Peter Chamberlen the younger’s father lived in Paris, France. According to the 1634 Visitation of London which was attested by his grandson Dr. Peter Chamberlen, William was a younger son of a Chamberlayne of Tankerville, Normandy².

William and his family were French Protestants or Huguenots and during the 1560s Huguenots were persecuted by the French government and nobility in the French Wars of Religion³. In 1569, presumably fearing their own death, William and his wife Genevieve Vingnon left France and settled initially in Southampton⁴.

On 3^rd July 1569⁵ they received their first communion and were welcomed into the Huguenot community that were worshiping at the Church of St Julien (see “St Julien’s Church, Southampton” 2022). This was recorded in the church register as was the custom of the church.

A few weeks later a son, Jacques, was baptised on 26^th July 1569⁶. Whether the child was born in France before they escaped or born just after they arrived is not clear.

The following year on 2^nd April 1570 a daughter Jeanne received her first communion, so she must have been born in France.

Two other older children also came with William and Genevieve, Peter the elder and Simon, and my 10^th great grandfather Peter the younger was born in Southampton in 1572.

We don’t know much more of William. He was probably a Doctor or Surgeon as two of his children became prominent Surgeons and his grandson speaks of having been “nursed up as from the cradle to all the parts of Physick, and that in Asclepiad Families”⁷.

We do know that William must have died before 1596 as in a deposition on the birth of Peter the younger dated 3^rd March 1596 he is referred to as the “late William Chamberlaine”. However there is no record of his burial or any will.

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