Was William Witt’s Wife Mildred Daux?

Speaking of William Witt (who was suppose to be a French Huguenot, see my previous post), I have seen Daux as the maiden name of his wife for as long as I have been in genealogy. One of my Witt cousins even passed along in a personal letter to me in 1981 that William Witt's wife was Mildred Daux (I've also seen Elizabeth). Since Walter Daux only had two daughters (see below) and there were no other Daux's in the area, where did Elizabeth/Mildred Daux come from? Thin air!

Again to quote Bob Baird on his website at http://genfiles.com/Witt/Mildred_Daux.htm :

"His wife has variously been claimed to be a woman named Mary, Elizabeth Daux, and Mildred Daux. The fact is that we have not one single record of her – her name appears in no records, and therefore any name we assign to her is pure speculation.

 

"It is extremely unlikely that she was a Daux. We know that Walter Daux had only two children, the daughters Anne and Susannah – one of whom was William Witt’s mother. He had no sons and there is no sign of anyone else named Daux in the area."

 

You can get the full story at the link above. While you are prowling around also check out Bob's material on the Daux family at the links below:

 

The family of Walter Daux, father-in-law of John Witt I (Some Thoughts on Walter Daux) :- http://genfiles.com/Witt/Daux.htm

 

 In Search of the Ancestry of Walter Daux is a similar paper but adds some information on a brief search for his father Richard Daux in England. :-  http://genfiles.com/Witt/Witt_Daux.htm

 

 

Attention: Witt Family Researchers: Do you have Guillaume Witt the Huguenot in your family tree? Read On Please!

When I first started doing genealogy back in the 1970s, a great grand Aunt - Edna Witt Bless shared her (our) Witt genealogy with me. I was a newbee at genealogy and really didn't have a clue what the heck I was doing in my new hobby. Since Aunt Edna was a big wig in the Huguenot Society (National Society Secretary-Treasure) ,I just new I had hit a Witt family genealogical gold mine thanks to her family research.

Well as time went along I began to doubt this whole Huguenot thing as I dug deeper into her research.

But I was not the only one who had doubts. Robert W. Baird has really dug into this Witt family myth and published a research analysis on "Were the Witts Huguenots?" online on his wonderful website Bob's Genealogy Filing Cabinet (http://genfiles.com). If you have this Huguenot myth in your Witt family tree right now (and a ton of Witt trees at Ancestry do), please use the click thru link above to Bob's website and get the straight skinny. Do yourself and your family a favor and get rid of this myth once and for all.

So how did this all happen? To quote Bob, "The founder of this Huguenot Society, Mary Latham Norton, was a descendant of William Witt who apparently assumed that William Witt was a Huguenot and an otherwise undocumented settler of the Manakin settlement. She relentlessly promoted that view in the society’s documents and in a number of other publications. She was, however, unaware of the Witt records in Henrico and Charles City County and thus did not realize that John Witt of Charles City County was the immigrant and that his sons were born in Virginia. Nonetheless, the Huguenot Society persisted until quite recently in listing “Jean” and “Guillaume” Witt among the “authenticated founders” of the Manakin settlement, claiming that they arrived in Virginia about 1700 from France. Although the Huguenot Society has abandoned this stance it remains a very difficult myth to dispel, despite the fact that there is not a shred of evidence to support it."

"Were the Witts Huguenots? Probably not. They were almost certainly English citizens, born in England, and members of the Church of England."

Unfortunately, not everyone has gotten the word as William Witt was still included in a 2008 publication as an acceptable ancestor for membership in the Huguenot Society per a recent Google search on this subject.

Finally, as it turns out, I did get my Huguenot ancestor - old Nicolas Martiau, my 13th great grandfather, the Father of Yorktown, Virginia.

Naval action between the Huguenot fleet and the French Royal fleet, aided by English and Dutch ships, during the Capture of Ré island

Dr. Lonnie Clark Redus , MD

Dr. Lonnie Clark Redus, 93, of Amarillo died Friday, May 17, 2013.

Services will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday in First Baptist Church, 1300 S. Tyler St., with Dr. Howard K. Batson and the Rev. Reed Redus officiating. Burial will be in Llano Cemetery. Arrangements are by Cox Funeral Home, 4180 Canyon Drive.

Dr. Redus was born March 26, 1920, in Dallas to Lonnie and Ruth Redus. He graduated from Forest Avenue High School in Dallas before attending Southern Methodist University, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree. He served his country in the Army Air Corps in the South Pacific before being honorably discharged as a Major. During his service, his plane was shot down over the China Sea. Upon his discharge, he married Elvena Wilkey on July 7, 1946, in Braman, Okla.

He then attended Southwestern Medical School, where he obtained his M.D. He did his residency at University of Oklahoma Hospital. He practiced medicine in Weatherford, Okla., for 12 years. Together they moved to Amarillo in 1963 where he practiced medicine until 1986.

Dr. Redus loved his Lord and his family with all of his heart. He was a member of First Baptist Church for 50 years where he sang in the sanctuary choir for many years. He loved woodworking and continued working with power saws even after he had lost his sight. He loved to travel with his wife and family in their motorhome. He was an avid reader and enjoyed books on tape after losing his sight. He also loved to fish and had the opportunity to travel with his friends and fish all over the country.

Dr. Redus was an accomplished musician. He played with S.M.U. Mustang band. He had a great love for jazz music and put himself through college playing the string bass in jazz bands.
He was preceded in death by a son, Dr. Ronald Clark Redus, in 2006.

Survivors include wife, Elvena Redus of Amarillo; a son, Mark Redus of Amarillo; a daughter, Jana Gibbs and husband Duncan of Peachtree City, Ga.; a daughter-in-law, Pam Redus of Amarillo; a sister, Hazel Laverne LeFevre of Gainsville, Fla.; nine grandchildren, Mary Ann Leinen and husband Derek, Ronald Clark Redus II and wife Kasey, Rebecca Redus Smith and husband Ben, David Gibbs, 1st. Lt. Bryan Gibbs and wife Jenna, Michael Gibbs and wife Katelyn, Reed Redus and wife Amy, Cpt. Riley Redus and wife Rebekah and Desaray Jimenez; nine great-grandchildren, Reagan, Brooks and Grant Leinen, Audrey and Asa Redus, Noah and Emmarie Redus and Sierra and Ella Redus.
The family suggests memorials be to First Baptist Church Music Ministry or Audio-Visual Library.

Lonnie's Redus lineage is as follows:

1. Dr. Lonnie Clark Redus
2. Lonnie John Redus - Ruth Lee Cromer
3. James William Jefferson Redus - Josephine Lenorah Worthy
4. Thomas Jefferson Redus - Srah C. Robinson
5. Thomas Jefferson Maples Redus - Hester A. Howard
6. Thomas Redus - Rachel Maples
7. Private James Redus III - Martha Wilson (Rev War Ancestor)
8. James Readus II - Catherine Parsons

Thank you for your service cousin and now you can rest in peace in the Lord's arms. Your work here is done.