Stephen Delancey

descendants with the same name

Stephen Delancey (; October 24, 1663 – November 18, 1741) was a major figure in the life of colonial New York. His children continued to wield great influence until the American Revolution.

Stephen DeLancy was born in Caen, France, on October 24, 1663 as Étienne de Lancy, the only son of Jacques de Lancy, Esq. and Marguerite Bertrand. His great grandfather was Jacques de Lancy, a crown prosecutor, and his 2x great grandfather was Charles de Lancy, 5th Viscount of Laval and Nouvion.

The de Lancy family were minor French nobility (fr: la noblesse française) and, despite being of the Huguenot faith, served the French Crown as administrators and bureaucrats for over two hundred years. Dating back to the early 15th century, successive generations of the de Lancy family (or de Lanci in older texts) held the titles of Viscount of Laval and of Nouvion, Baron of Raray, Lord of Nery and of Faverolles, Verines, Ribecourt and Haramont. (Vicomte de Laval et de Nouvion, Baron de Raray, et Seigneur de Néry et de Faverolles, Vérines, Ribécourt, et Haramont) The family coat of arms is blazoned: Or an Eagle Sable displayed beaked and membered Gules, overall an escutcheon Azure in pale three spears erect Or. (Armes : d'or à l'aigle de sable becqué et membré de gueules chargé en coeur d'un écusson d'azur surchargé de trois lances d'or posées en pal.) Jacques De Lancy, was descended from Guy de Lancy (d. 1436), the 1st Viscount of Laval and of Nouvion, which was created in 1432 during the reign of Henry VI. Guy was succeeded in 1436 by his son, Jean de Lancy, 2nd Viscount. He was succeeded by his son, Jean de Lancy, 3rd Viscount (born 1470), who was succeeded by his son, Charles de Lancy, 4th Viscount in 1525. Ten years later, in 1535, Charles was succeeded by Charles de Lancy, 5th Viscount of Laval, who was the eldest of his two sons from his second marriage to Marie de Villiers. On April 15, 1534, Charles, the 5th Viscount, married Isabeau Branche, daughter of Fourcy Branche, Lord of Bréau, with whom he had three sons: Charles de Lancy, Jacques de Lancy, and Claude de Lancy. The second son, Jacques, crown prosecutor in the provost, had a son Pierre de Lancy, Lord of Niville. His son, Jacques de Lancy, was Étienne de Lancy's father. Around 1600, the land of Raray was sold to Nicolas de Lancy, advisor to the King, war treasurer, Chamberlain of Gaston, Duke of Orléans. He built of the present castle of Raray along with the two outer buildings. In 1945, Raray Castle was the filming location for scenes from the film Beauty and the Beast by Jean Cocteau. In 1654, de Lacey was created Marquis de Néry Raray by Louis XIV, a title which is currently held by the Marquis de la Bédoyère who married into the family.

In 1686, de Lancy was forced to flee bitter persecution by French Catholics following the October 18, 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV, in which some two hundred thousand Huguenots left their native land. Escaping first to Rotterdam with a portion of the family jewels which his mother had given him sewn into his clothing, de Lancy sailed to England, obtaining an "Act of Denization" (naturalization) from King James II on March 3, 1686.

Through his eldest surviving son James, he was the grandfather of James De Lancey (1732–1800), a colonial politician and turfman, and Anna De Lancey (1746–1817), who married a Recorder of New York City, Thomas Jones. Through his son Peter, he was the grandfather of Susan DeLancey (1754–1837), who married Thomas Henry Barclay, a lawyer who became one of the United Empire Loyalists in Nova Scotia and served in the colony's government. His other granddaughter Jane (1750–1809) married John Watts, her first cousin. The sisters married in a double wedding ceremony. Through his son Oliver, he was the grandfather of Stephen Delancey (1748–1798), who served as Chief Justice of the Bahamas and Governor of Tobago and was the progenitor of the Bahamian branch of the De Lancy family; Oliver De Lancey (c. 1749–1822), a British Army officer who served as a Member of Parliament for Maidstone from 1796 to 1802; and Susanna De Lancey who married Sir William Draper, a British military officer who conquered Manila in 1762. Through his daughter Anne, he was the grandfather of John Watts (1749–1836), a lawyer and politician from New York City who represented New York in the U. S. House of Representatives.