DeRosset

Annie DeRosset (the name has different punctuations) was the first wife of William Townes, and the mother of William Townes Jr. Her family's roots in Wilmington extend to the 18th Century, with the immigration of  Dr. Armand John De Rosset. For several generations, the male DeRossets were prominent physicians and businessmen.

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Sketches of Church History in North Carolina 1892 by Wm. L. De Rosset, Jr. pg 143
"On the revocation of the Edict of Nante, Captain Louis De Rosset, a man of rank in the South of France gave up his fair home for conscience sake and took refuge in England. A commission as Captain in the British Army was given him. He left one son, Dr. Armand John De Rosset, who took his degree at the University of Basle. Dr. De Rosset removed to Wilmington in North Carolina with two sons.

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From University of North Carolina Digital Archives:Link to Archive

The DeRosset family was established in North Carolina in the 1730s with the immigration of physician Armand John DeRosset, a French Huguenot. Four generations of the men worked as physicians and merchants in Wilmington, N.C.

Armand John DeRosset Sr. (1767-1859) was raised by his stepfather, Adam Boyd. He attended schools in Hillsborough before enrolling in Nassau Hall (now Princeton University) and studying medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He returned to Wilmington and became a prominent citizen. He married first Mary Fullerton (d. 1797) and with her had three daughters who died young and one son, Moses John DeRosset (1796-1826), who died shortly after completing his medical education. In 1797, Armand married Mary's sister, Catherine Fullerton (1773-1837), and had with her five children: Catherine (1800-1889); Eliza Ann (1802-1888), later known as "Aunt Liz"; Magdalen Mary (1806-1850); Armand John, Jr. (1807-1897); and Mary Jane (1813-1903). Catherine DeRosset married the Reverend William Kennedy (d. 1840), moved to Columbia, S.C., and became step mother to his children. Mary Jane married Moses Ashley Curtis (1808-1872), moved to Hillsborough, N.C., and had ten children, five of whom lived to maturity. Eliza Ann and Magdalen never married.

Armand John DeRosset Jr. became a physician and businessman in Wilmington. He established a mercantile partnership, with a branch office in New York City, and conducted business on behalf of the Wilmington and Weldon Rail Road in the United States and Great Britain. He married first Eliza Jane Lord (1812-1876), and had with her eleven children: Katherine (1830-1914); William Lord (1832-1910); Eliza Hill (Lossie) (b. 1843); Alice (1836-1897); Moses John (1838-1881); Louis Henry (1840-1875); Armand Lamar (b. 1842); Edward Swift (1844-1861); Thomas Childs (1845-1878), frequently referred to as "the Colonel"; Annie (1848-1855); and Frederic Ancrum (b. 1856). He married second Catherine (Cattie) Kennedy (1830-1894), his sister Catherine DeRosset Kennedy's step-daughter.

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Link to Online Research Study of DeRosset House with family history in UNC Archives

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Newspaper Article about the family below: