Jean and his wife, Marthe Baudoin, arrived in England as refugees in 1688. They are listed as ‘confesseurs', those who suffered or were tortured because of their faith, and were among a group of deportees ordered out of France by Louis XIV:

Noms des Confesseurs qui par les ordres du Roi Louis XIV furent amenez de diverses prisons au Chateau de Dieppe en Mars et Avril, 1688 et embarquez par le meme ordre le 27 Avril, pour etre transportez en Angleterre - Goderville: Jean Malandain, Marthe Baudouin sa femme.

Jean was born in Normandy in 1648, the son of Pierre Malandain and Anne Fichet. Pierre and Anne were married in Lintot, Normandy on 18 June 1634. Pierre was the son of Jean Malandain but his mother's name is not recorded. Anne's parents are not listed but her birthplace is recorded as Bolbec.

Marthe Baudoin was born in Sanseuzemare, Normandy in 1658. She was the daughter of Jean Baudoin and Judith Lemarie.

Jean and Marthe were married on 13 February 1678 in Criquetot L'Esneval, a small rural village west of Fecamp. On their deportation order, Jean is listed as a labourer, aged 43, and his wife, aged 30, was from St Anthoine de la Foret. The family most likely escaped France and travelled from the port of Fecamp or Le Havre to Dover and then by land to Canterbury. They joined the existing Huguenot community in Wandsworth before settling in London.

Their second son was born in London about 1691 but by 1694, the family had moved to the Huguenot community of Portarlington in Ireland. The community consisted primarily of retired military personnel:

“The first wave of French immigrants arrived in 1692, many of whom were pensioned-off soldiers and their families who had served in the armies of William of Orange in Ireland.  Most came from the officer class, which, at that time, was made up of sons of noble families.  There were six ensigns, one cornet, 16 lieutenants, 12 captains and one lieutenant-colonel. However, the nobles of that era could hardly have been expected to fend for themselves, and a second group of "labourers" 13 families in all, arrived from the Swiss cantons where they had taken refuge, and gave the colony a more balanced character.”

Their third son, Daniel, was born in Portarlington on 26 July 1696 and Jean was described as a Sieur in the baptismal record. The term was used to describe “ a non-noble person who holds a “fief” or property under the lord of the manor to whom he would pay his manoral dues, such as a certain number of pullets, eggs, heriots, etc. In the case of refugee families, the territorial title was used by the refugee, and also by his son, because there was always hope, so often expressed in wills, of the return to France.”

This is consistent with associated records that record Jean as a labourer or farmer. There is no record of what led them to Portarlington but by 1699, they had returned to London and settled in Spitalfields. Jean was admitted to the French Church on Threadneedle Street on 23 April 1699 based on the testimony provided by Huguenot churches in Wandsworth and Ireland.

In 1685, King Charles II began a sponsorship scheme to provide funds to poor French refugees that continued until 1724. The disbursement records show that Jean received funds totalling £7 in 1705 and confirms that he was a ‘confesseur' and a farmer. He was 63 years old, with a wife aged 51 years, and resided in Spitalfields. Jean and Marthe received an additional £8 in 1707. They also appear as godparents in numerous baptismal records in the registers of Threadneedle Street from 1701 to 1707. Marthe appears as late as 1712 but no records beyond this date have been found.

 

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