Through history, many religious groups have dealt with persecution, sometimes being forced to flee their countries. Two of these groups where the Huguenots and Doukhobors.
Huguenots
Prior to starting my genealogy research, I never heard the word Huguenot, much less knew what it meant. However, while researching my great-grandmother’s family, I discovered that some of my ancestors fled from France during the mid-17th century to escape religious persecution (discrimination/mistreatment). They were Huguenots-members of the Protestant Reformed Church, inspired by the writings of John Calvin, a 16th-century pastor. Calvin’s writings reject religions, such as Roman Catholicism, and believe that God has total control of the world and afterlife.
In reaction to the religious persecution, many Huguenots left France and went to other countries, including America (especially the Carolinas, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York), Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, England, and South Africa. My ancestors fled to and settled in what was once called New France (it is now called Quebec). Many Huguenot descendants still reside in these countries.
Doukhobors
The Doukhobors are a group of Christians, originating in Russia, who reject the ideas of secular government, church rituals, and the Bible, as the utmost source of divine revelation. They are now defined as one sect of Spiritual Christianity (other sects are Molokans, Khlysts, Skoptsy, and Ikonobortsy).
In order to avoid religious persecution, many of the Doukhbors fled Russia for Canada, after being granted permission by the Russian government in 1897. Permission was granted under three conditions: that the Doukhbors shall never return; that they shall migrate at their own expense; and that community leaders who were imprisoned, serve out their sentence. ,
The trip across the Atlantic Ocean was largely paid for by two sympathetic religious groups: the Quakers and the Tolstoyans, and by Leo Tolstoy (author of novels, including War and Peace and Resurrection). Tolstoy had royalties from Resurrection, and a few other works fund the migration.
Today, the majority of Doukhobor descendants (between an estimated 25,000-40,000) reside in southern British Columbia and southern Alberta. Only 4,000 still claim Doukhobor as their religion. Others live in and around Russia, and in the United States, along the Canada-United States border.
Related Articles:
Religion in Genealogy Part 1: Quakers and Shakers
Religion in Genealogy Part 2: Anabaptists