Pierre Manigault

Background

Pierre Manigault was a native of La Rochelle, France. The son of Gabriel and Marie Manigault, he was a member of a family of good position that had long been Protestant.

Career

Pierre with his brother, Gabriel, left France about 1685, after the Edict of Nantes was revoked. They went to London, where they remained for several years, then to South Carolina, arriving in Charlestown (now Charleston) probably early in 1695 since, on June 28, 1695, Gabriel received a warrant for land for the arrival of himself and a negro man named Sambo. On June 22, 1696, Pierre received a warrant for 100 acres. The two brothers seem to have had some means when they arrived, from their earnings in England and from the sale of lands in France. They first settled on the Santee River but, finding the work of planting uncongenial and the climate unhealthy, removed to Charlestown, where Gabriel pursued the trade of carpenter, and Pierre set up in business as a victualler. He set up a small distillery to make brandy and, about 1719, also became a merchant, conducted trade directly with England, built storehouses, and sold his goods to the colonists. He died on December 8, 1729. He was buried, on December 10, in the French churchyard.

Achievements

• Pierre Manigaultwas a prosperous merchant during his period of life.

Personality

Pierre identified himself with the English colonists, changed his name to Peter, and, although he still kept a connection with the French Church, attended the English Church. Unlike so many of the French refugees in South Carolina, who arrived in a destitute condition and suffered for some years from the refusal of the colonial government to grant the rights promised before they left England, Pierre prospered greatly. His will, written in English, left £10 each, Carolina currency, to the English and to the French Church in Charlestown, for their poor.

Connections

Pierre was married in 1699 to Judith (Giton) Royer, who with her first husband, Noe (Noah) Royer, came to South Carolina before the Manigaults. She died in 1711, leaving two children by her second marriage. Her son, Gabriel Manigault, her grandson, Peter Manigault, and her great-great-grandson, Arthur Middleton Manigault, as well as numerous other descendants, continued to represent her Huguenot blood in the life of South Carolina. Pierre was married in 1713 to Ann Reason, of English parentage, who died on August 10, 1727, leaving no children.

Father:

Gabriel Manigault

26 September 1643 - 1685

Mother:

Marie Manigault (Dubartet)

1645 - 1666

Wife:

Judith Jetton-Gitton Manigault

1665 - 1711

Son:

Gabriel Manigault

21 April 1704 - 5 June 1781