I am looking for any assistance possibly from French (and hopefully English) language speakers researching French family history.

I have a seventh (7th) generation grandfather named Pierre Langlois (possibly John Peter Langlois) born possibly between 1700 and 1720 in either France or England.

What is known is that Pierre Langlois lived in London in the mid 1740-1760's and became a renowned Ebeniste (a French Cabinetmaker) and who is quite well known in the world of fine furniture and whose pieces can still be found in Buckingham Palace and a number of other art galleries in the USA and parts of the UK. He is quite prominent on the internet.

What is known is that Pierre's wife was a Tracey Langlois (whose name appeared on London rate books in the 1760's) and who died under this name in 1781 (death registered at St Pancras Parish Church, London). Pierre had three children named Mary (possibly Marie) Francoise Langlois born about 1740, Jane Alexander (or Alexandra) Langlois born about 1750 and Peter Daniel Langlois born between 1751 and 1755. It is unknown where the 3 children where born, however each were married in one of the St Pancras Churches, Camden, London. I have not been able to narrow down which London parish they may have been baptised in, if they were baptised in London at all.

Pierre's trade card (half written in French and English) is held at the British Museum. Given this and a number of his bills of trade being written in French, it would appear that he was definitely of French background, however his exact date and place of birth is unknown.

Pierre is believed to be one and the same whose burial was listed under the name John Peter langlois on 19 Feb 1767 in St Pancras, London.

Many articles have been written about Pierre Langlois and his furniture and same can be found in a number of fine furniture magazines etc. He sold his furniture to a number of English gentry including The Duke of Bedford, Horace Walpole, the 6th baron of Craven, the 6th Earl of Coventry, the 1st Duke of Montagu and the 4th Duke of Bedford to name a few.

Another French ebeniste named Pierre Eloi Langlois also lived in paris around the same time, however it is not believed to be the same person. This Pierre Langlois was not believed to have worked in London.

Some authors of these articles believe that Pierre was possibly of Huguenot extraction. A Pierre Langlois was born in 1718 at the Church of the Savoye, London, (Familysearch.com) however it is not known if he is one and the same person. Research conducted by someone with links to the London Huguenot Society was not overly productive and was uanble to shed any light on Pierre's background. In fact I am not overly sure whether he was of Huguenot background. The only reason this was suggested was because of the many Huguenot refugees in London at this time and the similar type occupations these skilled migrants brought with them to London. The skills that Pierre Langlois had were quite unique at this particular point in time and it is believed his trade/apprenticeship was most likely undertaken under a master tradesman/craftsman the type of which were working in Paris in the early 1700's.

I do not also believe that Pierre Langlois came from the Channel Islands (where many Langlois names exist) as I have yet to find any link there.

I have searched high and wide on the new ancestry.com parish records from London, however the records for quite a few churches are still to be put on line. These churches include a few where French migrants were baptised, buried, married etc including St Clement Danes, London, St Martin in the Fields, London and a few other churches in the Westminster area of Western London.

If there are any persons out there who may be able to assist in any way or possibly point me in another direction where I may have some luck, I would be greatly indebted.

Regards

Michael Langlois

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia