The early history of some of the emigrants is almost the reality of romance.  Henri de La Tourette fled from La Vendee, after the Revolution, and to avoid suspicion, gave a large entertainment.  While the guests were assembled at his house, he suddenly left, with his wife, for the sea-coast.  This was not far off, and reaching it, he escaped on board a vessel bound for Charleston.  The ship was either cast away upon the shores of Staten Island, or made a harbor in distress.  Here La Tourette landed, and a long list of exemplary, virtuous people trace their origin to this source, and one of them has been pastor to the ‘Huguenot,’ a Dutch Reformed church on the Island, and is now a useful minister among the Episcopalians of the Western States.  A branch of this family still exists at the chateau of La Tourette, in France, and some years since, one of them visited this country to obtain the ‘Old Family Bible.’  But he was unsuccessful, as the holy and venerable volume had been sent long before to a French refugee in Germany.  But few of such holy books can now be found, printed in French, and very scarce; wherever met with, they should he carefully perused and preserved.

Dr. Channing Moore for a long time was the faithful pastor of St. Andrew’s, the Episcopal Church at Richmond.  Afterward he was consecrated the Bishop of Virginia.  He was connected by marriage with an old Huguenot family of the Island, and his son, the Rev. David Moore, D.D., succeeded him here, living and dying, a striking example of fidelity to his most important duties.  That eloquent divine, the late Rev. Dr. Bedell, of Philadelphia, was a Staten Islander by birth, and of the same French origin on the maternal side.

His son is the present Bishop Bedell of Ohio.  There are scarcely any of the original Richmond county families but claim relationship to the French Protestants either on the father or mother’s side.  In all the official records are to be found such names as Disosway, Fontaine, (Fountain,) Reseau, Bedell, Rutan, Poillon, Mercereau, La Conte, Britten, Maney, Perrin, (Perrine,) Larselene, Curse, De Puy, (Depuy,) Corssen, Martineau, Morgane, (Morgan,) Le Guine, (Leguine,) Journey, Teunise, Guion, Dubois, Andronette, Winant, Totten, La Farge, Martling, De Decker, (Decker very numerous,) Barton, Ryers, Menell, Hillyer, De Groot, Garretson, Vanderbilt, etc., etc.

Few communities are blest with a better population than Richmond county, moral, industrious, thrifty, and religious, and they should ever cherish the remembrance of their virtuous and noble origin.  The island is not more than twelve or fourteen miles long, and about three wide, with some thirty thousand inhabitants; and within these small limits there are over thirty churches, of various denominations, each having a regular pastor; and most of the official members in these congregations are lineal branches of the first settlers, the French Protestants.  What a rich and glorious, harvest, since the handful of Holland, Walloon, Waldenses, and Huguenot emigrants, two centuries and a half ago, first landed upon the wilderness shores of Staten Island!