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The Gourdin Family from South Carolina has a long and illustrious history in America dating back to as early as 1693. The Gourdins are direct descendants of the Huguenots from 16th century France, and are the beneficiaries of a rich culture and enviable history. These Huguenot descendants were among the most prosperous and prestigious emigrants to the new world. Prior to 1830, Theodore Gourdin was one of the wealthiest men in Williamsburg County owning more than 100,000 acres of land in the counties of Berkeley, Charleston, Georgetown, and Williamsburg.
Among the first Huguenots to reach America was Louis Gourdin, who arrived sometime before 1693. Louis was the son of Valentin Gourdin and Mary Piedevin from Caucourt, France. They had five children, one of which was named Louis or 'Louis II'. Louis II was born around 1700, and married Mary Ann (last name unknown) at about 1727. They had six children, one of which was named Theodore. In 1761, Theodore married Ester Newman and they had three children. Following the family tradition, one was named Theodore or 'Theodore II'. Theodore II was born during 1764, at the family's Red Clay Plantation. In 1785, he married Elizabeth Gaillard, and they had ten children, one of which was named Robert Marion.
Robert Marion Gourdin was born in 1799 at the family estate located at Buffalo Lick, Red Clay Plantation, in Williamsburg County. He attended and graduated from the New York College of Physicians in 1824 with an M.D. Degree. Dr. Gourdin began his medical practice at the Lenuds Ferry plantation, Georgetown county, and never married. In 1826, he acquired a Mulatto servant, Daphne Singleton, from the estate of his brother Peter Gaillard Gourdin.
Historical documents and plantation records indicate that Robert and Daphne had at least seven children. These offsprings of Dr. Robert Marion Gourdin, a Huguenot descendant or "French-American," and Daphne Singleton, his Mulatto servant or African-American" formed the nucleus of the "French-African-American" family from Oceda. |