A DeClue Family Web Site                   

A History of The DeClue Family

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 What's in a name?

The name DeClue was originally Duclos.  It was modified in the late 1800's for reason's that are not clear to me, perhaps to help fit in with the English speaking American's.  What does Duclos mean?  According to Ancestry.com it is "French: topographic name, with fused preposition and definite article du ‘from the’, from Old French clos ‘enclosure’ (from Late Latin clausum, past participle of claudere ‘to close’)."  Below is more info on the DeClue family history...

    The following was obtained from the Univ. of Missouri-Rolla Western Historical Manuscript Collection website        http://web.mst.edu/~whmcinfo/shelf1/r012/info.html

    R012 -- WALTER J. SAUCIER, "SAUCIER FAMILY GENEALOGY," 1969 Information Sheet

R12
Saucier, Walter J.
Saucier family genealogy, 1969.
One folder, 32 pages.

Members of the Saucier and Duclos families arrived in Quebec from France in 1666 and 1645, respectively. Members from both families served in the French military throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Francois Saucier, an engineer, designed Fort Chartres, near Kaskaskia, Illinois, in 1752. Alexander Decelle Duclos commanded French troops at Fort Chartres prior to his death in 1775. Descendants of these men located in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, by the 1750s.

Walter J. Saucier, who helped compile the genealogies of the families, gave copies to the Washington County Library's historical collection. Saucier recommends J. F. McDermott, ed., Frenchmen and French Ways in the Mississippi Valley* (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1969), for further information on Francois Saucier and Marie Jeanne Saucier.

This is "A List of Descent From Marie Jeanne Saucier by Her Marriages to Antoine Decelle Duclos and Jean Baptiste du (des) Martin." It includes all of the Duclos (Declue) family of Washington County, Missouri, through the nineteenth century. Photocopy from the Washington County Library.

18 April 1980; Danette DeClue; gift

    * I (Tom) bought this book online from Amazon.com and also recommends it to gain a greater understanding of the history and influence the French had in the areas from the Gulf Coast to the headwaters of the Mississippi.  However, it's only mention of any Duclos' by name is Antoine decelle Duclos who was married to Jeanne Saucier the daughter of Francois Saucier.  Antoine is one of the fifth generation Duclos' and the son of Alexander who was the Commanding officer at Fort Chartres, Illinois.  Antoine's reference is in the appendix of children and grandchildren of Francois (pg 228).  There is an entire chapter devoted to Francois for his efforts in building Fort Chartres in Illinois. The book is nicely referenced, has a strong academic flavor, and consists of a collection of histories by different authors.

    I has also purchased a copy of the 32 pages of Saucier and Duclos genealogy referenced above from UMR. I scanned each page as a .jpg file.  They were scanned in black/white at 300 dpi to ensure they captured all the data on each page.  Most of the information was hand typed in the 1960s and some is handwritten which may be difficult to read.  These files are available for free to view at the link below.   If you intend to distribute this information, please adhere to the request "Not to be cited without acknowledgement to the University of Missouri: Western Historical Manuscript Collection -- Rolla".  There is a total of 28 files and a combined file size of 35 MB.  The hand drawn chart is actually 4 pages, which Tom "stitched" into a single large page.   Also note that files (pages) 3 & 4 contain important information on how to interpret the records with information regarding the codes, abbreviations, locations and sources.  It appears to be fairly complete and provided me with the information I needed  to trace my DeClue ancestry all the way back to the city of Norai, France. Now if I can only figure out where Norai, France is?  Googling it comes up empty, and the only references to Norai are circular, i.e. references back to Duclos family. If you do choose to download these files please let the Webmaster (Tom) know. Thanks.   DeClue Genealogical Records Link

     

    Based on the extensive research done by Walter J. Saucier to create these Genealogical Records, plus some very helpful  information from Clarence G. Johnston, Tom created two spreadsheets that captures the "Duclos" family ancestry.  This is a detailed tree of the DeClue Family beginning with the Duclos' that came over from France in the early 1600's through the 9th Generation in the early/mid-1900's.  If you know your DeClue ancestors name and date of birth going back to the mid-1800's you may be able to trace your roots back to France with this info.