Letter of Raymond Weeks

Raymond Weeks
Manakin, Virginia
March 25, 1937

To: W. H. Fancher

In the family of David Faucher, the first Jean evidently d. in infancy, as you probably saw. If the
parents named another boy Jean, it means an attachment to the name. I see that this record of
David Faucher comes from the Register of the Walloon Ch. In Canterbury…

You noted how the name Catherine keeps recurring in the French families. It was not, in general,
a common name -- rather, it was quite rare. David was not so rare, but was unusual, to say the least. ….

The name Faucher had, in French, the vowel o as in go, but the English, seeing the name, would
pronounce it as if written Fawsher, with the vowel of law; then they inserted an n before the sh,
since they knew the words fawn and fan. An n was often inserted in this manner, as in messenger
and passenger, from the French messager and passager. ….

(Authors note-The records of David Faucher’s family are in the register of the Threadneedle Street
French Church in London.The second son Jean was baptized as "Jean David". Raymond Weeks
assisted in most French research that W. H. Fancher attempted. There is considerable French
information in Mr. Fancher’s records, but nothing to connect Jean Faucher to John Fancher. It is
unknown if Mr. Weeks and William Hoyt Fancher were aware of the other four Faucher children in
the Threadneedle Street Church records, whose given names do not match those of the Colonial
Fanchers. Catherine and David were common English given names.)

(I-7561)

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