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flllllfll!llllll!lllllllllllIIIIIIIHIIIIHIIIIHIIIII[II|l|l||I||||IIIllI|Illl|IIIIIIIHIIIIHHKIIHIIIIHIIIIIHIHHIIIIIIIIIIIIHHIHIIIIHIIIIIIIIIIIHHIIIIHH Neil Payne, 7, and Rover house, to be torn down i By JENNIE RAYCRAFT LEWIS The Coursey (DeCoursey) families of Biddulph can trace. their origin back to French royalty. & ‘The early DeCourcy familâ€" ies arrived in England from Normandy, â€"a province of France, around 1150 and aSs early as 1177 began to settle in Ireland. _ In the history of British peerage there was a Sir John DeCourcy involved in battles who was a descendant . of Charles, Duke of Lorraine, a son of Louis IV of France and who reigned in the 12th century. 5 _ Sir John was (given , the province of Ulster in Ireland, no doubt for favors to the monarch reigning at that time. England ~had made conâ€" quests in Ireland and was slowly trying to take, posâ€" gession. Because the northern chiefs had not submitted to English rule, the fierce warâ€" rior, Sir John, used this exâ€" cuse to enter Ulster in a hostile manner and begin conâ€" flicts with the. surrounding chiefs until he eventually sucâ€" ceeded in subduing the north. He was honored by King Henry II and was given the title of Lord of Connaught and Earl of Ulster. He ruled wisely and improved Ulster. Rover are shown beside the Payne home on Highway down inâ€"November, has been replaced by a modern There was another warrior, Hugh «DeLacy.. who became jealous and fought against Sir John. â€" He travelled to England and carried tales to the king about the bold and bad Sir John DeCourcy and a price was put on his head. When DelLacy returned from England with papers to arâ€" rest Sir John, the family proâ€" tected him but one day after DelLacy had hired his servâ€" ants to shadow him, Sir John was captured . in a church while he was unarmed, but not before the bold fighter had killed 13 of Delacy‘s men with a wooden cross. Sir John was taken to England and put in prison. The king at this time was having a dispute with France over lands and the lords deâ€" cided it should be settled by a duel of swords. They knew they had the mighty DeCourcy in jail and. offéered him his freedom if bhe would, fight a Frenchman. Sir John agreed and the day of the fight .& large crowd gathered at the field that had been set aside for the duel but when the Frenchman looked at big Sir John he took to his heels and fled, leaving England immediâ€" ately. 3 4 The king was pleased over the settlement of land â€" and asked Sir John what favor he might bestow on him. Sir John requested that he and his descendanfis.be allowed to wear hats in the presence of the king evermore. This wish was granted and the custom honâ€" ored for more than 600 years. Sir John returned to Ireland and it is presumed that the DeCourseys of Ireland _ are descendants of this bold fightâ€" er. The surname DeCourcy has undergone many changes. In England it was DeCourcey; in. Tfeland it was DeCoursey. It has varied from DeCoursey to DeCorci, DeCourci, DeCourcy etc., but DeCoursey appears to o t Sn ylllto etiede m M c omm c 2e t eoe 5 20 be the correct Irish spelling that: bas lasted through the years. Apparently the "De‘" was dropped â€" when families left Ireland for Canada durâ€" ing the great potato famine. The late Richard DeCoursey made a study of the name and as a result his three children were christened DeCourseyâ€" belived to be the,only ones in Canada with the "De" at that time. John Coursey came to DiCâ€"~ dulph at an carly. date. « He was 80 favorably‘ impressed with the country that he sent word to his father and brothâ€" Highway 2, west of Thamesford...The modern ranchâ€"style house. f vy i 0 o en tm mt im tm en mmA to Bidâ€" ers in Tippera Canada. In Ireland at this time there was a great famine of potaâ€" toes, the chief food product. Also, the country was ravaged by violent and often torturous . fights over religion and teâ€" ligious convictions and many were glad to leave Treland. Hundreds left the old land to seck fame or fortune in the new world. Several families of DeCourâ€" seys left Tipperary. They disâ€" embarked at Boston or New York and made their way up through New York State to Canada. Some of the DeCourâ€" seys dropped off around Bufâ€" falo and their descendants can be found in New York State and Buffalo today. One family, the father, mothâ€" er, two sons and a daughter, bound for Biddulph went by way of Hamilton. Here the _ father, old and feeble, stopped at a tavern awaiting a promâ€" ised ride in a WARgON: When the rest of the family had gone some distance and the 'falther __did not appear, the mother sent the boys back to find him ao e esA s Renest 1e t but no one could offer any inâ€" formation. Thinking the faâ€" ther had met with foul play, the <brothers‘ resumed their journcy to Biddulpbh.. . > . P ieescust The father wa of again but, if at this time there the father, mothâ€" and a daughter, iddulph went by s+an â€" Here the rvy to come to was never, heard if he had been illed it was not for gold beâ€" cause the mother carried all the money with her. On went the family, the mother, §0n8, Thomas and Richard and. daughter Ann _ to meet. the other son John â€"already in Biddulph. After the family reached _ their _ destination, nothing more is told about the mother. Presumably she died and was buried in St. John‘s Cemetery, Arva. &», John, Thomas and Richard all took up land on the Courâ€" sey Line, Biddulph. John who ' 2. S y took up lot 37 con, 2 marred4 Elizabeth, daughter of Col. James Hodgins. The farm is still in the Coursey name, being owned by Harold Courâ€" sey. â€" Thomas married Jane, another _ daughter _ of Col. James. They lived on lot 38 con 3 now owned by Lawrence Hodgins. Richard never marâ€" ried but lived on lot 32 con, 24 now owned by Wilson Hodgâ€" ins. John: and Thomas both had large families and all the Courâ€" seys in Bidduiph could. trace their origin back to the one family who arrived from Ireâ€" land. s Now. there arg Courâ€" seys and DeCourseys of the same origin scattered throughâ€" out Canada and United States, T am indebted to Miss He DeCoursey, of Dearborn, Micl for information in this article. 37 con. 2 married