The history of the Deyo Family in America begins, fittingly enough, with a grandpere named Christian, an apt title, because the impetus for reaching these shores was religious persecution in Europe. It is a Christian account which begins in the New World with a man named Christian.

The story of this remarkable and durable clan goes back to the tenth century when a chieftain held a fortress in the Jura Mountains, and continues to the 1600’s when descendants were forced to flee across Europe to avoid martyrdom for Calvinist beliefs. The succeeding flight to America brought new adventures, a unique form of government, treaties with the Indians, and at last refuge in a tiny settlement on the banks of the Wallkill River in the shadow of the Shawangunks.

Research would be much easier if the name had more consonants. In the past century, it has settled down to just a few variations: Deyo, DeYo, Deyoe, DeYoe, and possibly Deye. But in earlier days when literacy was low, before dictionaries were available to ordinary people to set a standard of spelling, phonetic spellings made the records chaotic. In France the ancient form of “de Iou” became “du Joue” and is now “de Joux”. In the German records, “d’Oiau”, “Doyot”, “Doyou” and even “Poyot” refer to the family of grandpere Christian. In the New Paltz Church records from 1683 to 1910 there are 41 variants of the name. Muster rolls of the American Revolution added a few more as far fetched as “Doran” and “Dolliow” both referring to Captain Abraham Deyo of the New Paltz Company, 3rd Ulster County Militia.

Fort Dejoux: In the 1958 edition of this work, substantial reliance was put on an 1898 study by Edward C. Marshall of New York City. The lengthy title indicates the bulk of his conclusions: “Historic Notes on the Origin of the Family of Deyo in New York State, who are believed to be descended from the Sires de Iou, Mountain Chieftans A.D. 1050, holding at Chateau de Iou the Pass from France to Switzerland. Knights of the Crusades, Kinsmen of Coligny, Huguenot Grandees. Their supposed descendant, Chretian du Joux, became in 1677 a founder of New Paltz.”

The Chateau de Iou, ancient seat of the Sires de Iou, opened in recent years as a museum as Fort de Joux, is located 4 km. east of Pontarlier, 52 km. from Neuchatel, 63 km. from Lausanne. From Neuchatel, take route N-10 to the French-Swiss border and Les Verrieres, about 41 km. This road joins N-67 from Lausanne. Go 11 km. to La Cluse-et-Mijoux, and then on a by road D-402 up the mountain 1 km. to the Fort.

Larousse’s Dictionaire Universal states that the site has been occupied from the time of the Romans, but that nothing was documented for the fortress until the 11th century. Larousse establishes that about 1050 the Sires de Joux were among the most powerful of the mountain lords of Burgundy. Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1419 to 1467, purchased the chateau which later was owned by Philip d’Hochberg, son of the Count of Neufchatel. It was captured by Charles le Temeraire Duke of Burgundy 1467-1477, son of Philip the Good and restored to Nicolas de Joux, Seigneur d’Abbans, who was named governor of the chateau. In 1473 Nicholas delivered it to Louis XI for 14,000 ecus or half-crowns.

The chateau is mentioned in connection with events in 1478 in Paradius’ Annals de Bourgogne, p. 904. The fortress, repeatedly captured and recaptured, became a state prison after the conquest of Burgundy (Franche-Comte) by Louis XIV in 1674. Mirabeau and Toussaint l”Ouverture were imprisoned within its walls.

According to Suchaux’s Nobilaire de la Franche-Comte, p. 314, the castle was from the 11th century the chief seat of a seigneurie or lordly manor which comprised four chateau - Joux, la Cluse, Mireval, and Usie. Many of the Seigneurs de Joux went to the Crusades. One of them, Landry, founded the Abbey of Montbenoit in 1100.

Suchaux thought that the de Joux line died out in the 16th century, and that the female lines remained in the Grammont-Fallon families. The Sires de Joux were allied in marriage with the family of Admiral Coligny, French Protestant leader who was killed in the St. Bartholomew’s Massacre on August 24, 1572.

The castle is perched on a rocky spur 600 feet above the village of La Cluse-et-Mijoux, at an elevation of 3050 feet. Its high defensive walls were erected as far back as the tenth century. It was transformed by Vauban in 1690 and is now composed of five surrounding walls of different levels, separated by ditches dug in the rock. Its exterior provides a fascinating illustration of stonework through the centuries. The triumphal gateway erected to Louis XIV, is Rennaissance style, the large Italinate windows of the officers’ quarters contrast sharply with the narrow slits in the old Horseshoe Tower whose walls vary to a thickness of 21 feet. The 212 step spiral staircase to the dungeon is modern metal. The old well, 16 feet across and over 400 feet deep, was dug by prisoners of the old chieftains who levied tolls upon travellers between Switzerland and France.

In the dungeon is a small but solid oak door about 2 x 3 feet, with a narrow grating, behind which one dimly perceives a tiny dark cell, just about 4 x 6 feet, and thereby hangs a legend.

Amauri III, soon after his marriage, left his young wife Berthe, to go on the Third Crusade. As the months and years dragged on while Richard of England confronted Saladin and quarreled with Philip of France, she was forced to assume responsibility over her husband’s domain and every person in it. One day a wounded knight came to the castle and asked for help. He turned out to be Ame de Montfacon, a childhood playmate of Berthe. They became lovers. When Amauri returned unexpectedly, Berthe was thrown into this tiny cell. Only once a day was she permitted out into the corridor where there was a single slit window allowing light through the thick stone walls. But even that glimpse of blue sky was blocked by the body of Ame’, swinging in chains at the mercy of the wind.

There is little furniture in the castle now, but in the Lord’s Hall the shield of deJoux is deeply carved in the mantel, and there is a good military museum of the Napoleonic era.

Coat of Arms: The Sires de Iou of the Franche-Comte were a princely house, and as grandes seigneurs, their coat of arms bore a crown on the helmet and lions on each side of the shield. A heraldic description in Rietstap’s Armorial General, Vol. 1, p. 1051, states:

D’or frette d’azur
Cimier: Une tete de cheval
Adage: de Joux

(A golden field bears a blue fretwork; crest is a horse’s head.)

The motto in medieval French is “Lascivite de Joux” which means the “gaiety of the house of Joux.” There are variations. Some branches of the family have the figure of an old man or the head of a bull as the crest. Some use a black fretwork.

Christian Deyo in Europe and America: A marriage entry for 1605 at the church on Threadneedle Street appears in the Publications of the Huguenot Society of London, Vol. IX, p. 6: “June 9, Roque du Joue, fils de feu Pierre, natif de St. Paul en Artois, et Marie, fille de George Terronenne de Londres.” It is believed that this might refer to an uncle and grandfather of the emigre’ Christian.227

“Perhaps born about 1622 from near Calais, France to the Palatinate, where he, among other religious refugees, enjoyed free expression of their religion under the auspices of the Elector Palatine;228 thence to Kingston, New York in the “Gilded Otter” in 1660 from Manheim. He was one of the 12 original New Paltz patentees. His testamentary disposition, dated 10 Aug 1676, was signed by Louys Du Bois and Christian Du Jou (his mark); his later Will was dated 1 Feb 1687, which stated his “corps may be buried att ye New Poalls.”

Christian Deyo came from the Palatinate to Kingston, NY, 1676, with his son Pierre (who brought his wife and child), and three daughters. He was called the "Grandpere of New Paltz".1