A glance at its roll-call suffices to recall the fact that many names held by families long since thoroughly anglicised, are of French origin.
Indeed an amusing chapter might be written on the curious modifications of certain old French names, by which they have gradually acquired an anglicised appearance in print, whilst still preserving some little similarity to their original pronunciation. Cottew (Côteaux), Cussans (De Cusance), Dampier (Dampierre), Dobree (D’Aubraye), Ducane (Du Quesne), Margary (De Marguerie), Perowne (Piron), Rainier (Regnier), Shoppee (Chapuis), Woollett (Viollet), and many others might be cited.
The Secretary of the Huguenot Society of London is Mr. G. H. Overend, F.S.A.
There is also a German Huguenot Society, a Huguenot Society of America, and another for South Carolina, besides La Société de l’Histoire du Protestantisme Français, all of which tend to preserve the traditions of the Huguenots, and to encourage the study of their history and genealogy.
In the United States there are also numerous families claiming Huguenot descent; take Gabriel Duvall as an instance, born in Maryland, 1752, Member of Congress, Comptroller of Currency, 1802, Associate Justice, U.S. Supreme Court, 1811. Died 1844. He had a book-plate dated 1778.
A more modern example is the book-plate of the late Mr. Daniel Ravenel, curious on account of its heraldic bearings, which its owner in simple good faith, and in ignorance of all the laws of heraldry, thought himself entitled to assume, as he would have done a trade-mark. In the innocence of his heart the good gentleman accompanied each copy of his book-plate with the following curious explanation:
“THE DANIEL RAVENEL BOOK-PLATE.
“My coat of arms (according to d’Hozier and other celebrated authors on Heraldry) consists of a field gules,[3] with six crescents of gold, each surmounted by a star of the same placed two and two, with a gold star at the base of the shield.