Pioneer history of Ingham County, compiled and arranged by Mrs. Franc L. Adams, secretary of the Ingham County pioneer and historical society.

BUNKERIIILL TOWNSII'P AND ITS HISTORY

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government D. A. R. marker, with appropriate ceremonies. This
was a part of the program at the annual meeting of the Ingham
County Pioneer and Historical Society in June, 1918.
The history of the Dubois family is one of unusual interest, and
a part of it is not out of place as an introduction to Revolutionary
records of its members.
The "Dubois" family is one of the oldest of the noble houses
of Colentin, Duchy of Normandy, France, and we find it spelled
"DuBois," "du Booys," "Dewboys," and "Dubo," before
"Dubois" seemed the accepted form.
The Heraldic records at Paris begin with:
Geoffroi du Bois, a knight banneret and companion of Duke
William in the Conquest of England in 1066. The coat of arms
is described in full in the records at the State Library at Lansing,
and among the symbols it bears is a lion, and the motto "Tiens
ta foy," which means "Keep the Faith" or "Keepers of the
Faith."
This seems very appropriate for a family which figured so conspicuously in the history of the Huguenot's, as the Dubois family
did.
Much research would be necessary to get the direct line down to
the time of Chretian, whose name appears soon after 1600, though
these records, too, are to found at the State Library.
Two sons of Chretian were strong in the Huguenot faith, and
because of continued religious persecution they left their native
Normandy, like others of that day, and sought homes in other
lands. Louis, the elder, went to Mannheim, while Jacques took
up his abode in Leyden.
About that time there was an effort made by the enemies of
the two brothers to destroy all evidence of their connection with
the French nobility, because of their adherence to the Huguenot
faith, though this proved unsuccessful.
Louis was born in 1627, and came to America about 1660 with
his wife Catherine Blanchan, whom he married in 1655. They
came on the ship "Gilded Otter," and soon settled in New Paltz,
Ulster county, N. Y. Catherine and three sons were captured by
the Indians, but soon rescued by Louis and his friends after a
"bloody fray."
For fifty years Louis was known as chief of the Huguenot settlers