The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 protected Protestants living near Metz when King Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. Yet, this is the year, the Pfarrer Kormann said Mary’s great grandfather, Lucus Challie (various spellings), “emigrated from the vicinity of Metz.” 1
Based on the Pfarrer’s research, Lucus’s birth year was 1670, calculating his age as fifteen when he made the risky trip to Germany. Another report suggests he came with, “Michel from Bern”. Family researchers in the early 2000s speculated this Michel from Bern was Lucus’s younger brother, but no proof was found.
Why did the Challies’ go to Germany?
Besides the continual religious and political unrest in the Alsace regions, Pastor Kormann suggested an acquaintance existed between the Challie family and Wilhelms, who owned the tenant farm near Marienthal, Germany. Proof exists that these families attended the Marienthal Reformed church. However, no one found baptismal records for Lucus’s children.
The birth year for Mary Shirley’s grandfather Carl shows in family trees as 1700 or 1699.
*Note: “The Pfarrer Kormann Paper” is currently an unpublished report compiled in Germany, date unknown, from a Pastor researching his line of the Challie family. This work came first to Arthur (Hal) Laube from a Peter Schally in the late 1990s. Mr. Laube had it translated by Darryl Larson, June 1997.
CORRECTION: Darryl Larson contacted me! :) He is the one who received the document from Peter and had it translated, “…with the help of a parishioner who came from Pfalz.” (So happy to receive this correction.)
Hal shared bits and pieces of this work on the old RootsWeb site under the Swawley-L Thread. I received them from a fellow descendant of Lucus who no longer has the name or contact information of the sender. If any other Shally/Shirley or Shawley researchers know more about this valuable document, please contact me.
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