Family Trees
Pages are dedicated to the three oldest American lines: Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Information is also provided on the Irish line, and the Norman-English line believed to have given rise to them all. Due to size limitations on the site I have had to trim many of the trees. More extensive versions have been placed on Ancestry.com in the Family Tree section under the filename Devereaux and Devericks. I welcome questions, and corrections.
A Brief History of the Devereux Name and Family
The family name Devereux (pronounced Deverooks) arose in Normandy, France around 980 AD. This was to signify "de Evreux" which translates to "of the town of Evreux." Evreux is located in the Eure, a region of Normandy on the road to Paris. The name Devereux was first applied to Robert, 2nd son of Richard the Fearless ( 4th Duke of Normandy). Robert was Comte (Earl) of Evreux and Archbishop of Rouen. His descendants passed to England with the Norman conquest, and settled on the Welsh border. Representatives remain there as the Viscount of Hereford, and others passed on to Ireland with the Norman invasion around 1100 giving rise to the Lords of Balmagir in Wexford County. Representatives of the English and Irish branches immigrated to British colonies around the world including America where three of the earliest lines are known: John Devereux of Massachusetts, Jonathan Devereaux of Connecticut, and Thomas Devericks of Virginia.
When the Devereux family was evicted from Normandy, their lands were given to a relative of the French king and gave rise to a second and smaller Devereaux family centered upon France.
Y-Chromosome DNA Study
As discussed in the section above, the surname Devereux and its myriad of variations is believed to have had a common origin in a single individual. An extension of this assumption is that all male descendants will share common markers on their Y-Chromosome. The Devereaux/Devericks/Devereux Y-Chromosome Surname Project is examining this, and results have demonstrated at least one line of Devereaux's has a Norman ancestry supporting the descent outlined. Several distinct ancestral patterns have been established with family trees defined back to the eaarly 1700's. Further testing is needed to expand upon these these trends. If you are interested in this study, please visit the FamilyTreeDNA.com website for more information or contact me. The currently identified patterns are presented on the DNA page of this site.
Contact Me
cdevere1@san.rr.com
