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Michael Cadet Baptism April 29, 1700
Parish Register- St. Andrew County-Middlesex Borough-Enfield
Michael Cadet Young’s real father, François Cadet, died on December 28, 1712, in the Parish of St. Mary Magdalen, Bermondsey, Surrey, England. François Cadet’s will was probated in 1713. (Prerogative Court of Canterbury Wills, 1 Leeds 531-545.) Jacques Cadet l’aine (a.k.a., James Cadet Sr.) and Michael LeGros testified when the will was probated. François Cadet left half of his modest estate to his wife Mary Martha and half to his three surviving children, Francis, Michael and Benjamin. Judging from the way the will was drafted, it appears that the three sons were unmarried and probably under-age 21 in 1713. (See François Cadet’s file for the text of the will.)
Cadet, Marie Marthe 1721-3. (French Refugees in Great Britain in the early 1700s, Relief Rolls <http://freepages.history.rootsweb.com/~frpayments/C.htm>)
At some point, Michael changed his French name, Cadet, to the English equivalent, “Young.” This was typical of Huguenots, who assimilated fairly quickly into English society and Anglicized their family names. For example, the name Dubois became Woods and Le Jeune became the English Young. (Gwynn, Robin “England’s ‘First Refugees,’” History Today Volume 35 Issue 5 May 1985 <https://www.historytoday.com/robin-gwynn/englands-first-refugees> accessed October 20, 2018.)
It is not clear whether Michael Cadet Young added “Young” to the family name in England or Virginia, but, starting about 1729 in Virginia, he began showing up as some variant of Michael Cadet Young. From that point on, most of his signatures were either M. Cadet Young or Michael Cadet Young. His sons, Francis, Thomas, Michael, and LeGros, showed up on records with the double surname, “Cadet Young,” while their father was alive, but all appear to have dropped the “Cadet” after their father died. (Robert Young Clay, Select Virginia Huguenot Resources in the Library of Virginia, Call Number: 32204, copy in my paper file.)
On 3 May 1739, Michael Cadet Young testified that it was “now Seventeen years since his “Importation from Great Brittain [sic]. . . .” (Brunswick County, Virginia. Deeds & Wills, 1725-1737, p. 241.) This means that he arrived in Virginia about 1722, when he was about age 22. On the same date (3 May 1739) and in the same court, a number of other individuals also testified about their importations. Some of the individuals who testified included John Stevens, John Scott, John Jackson, Cornelius Keith, Marmaduke Johnson, Henry Morris, William Eaton, Patrick Dempsey and Thomas Avent. (Brunswick County, Virginia. Deeds & Wills, 1725-1737, p. 241-243) Prepared 20 October 2018, by Janice McAlpine, 2345 Oleander Street, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806. E-mail: [email protected]
He practiced law in Virginia as listed below.
