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Charlatte's Story

The History of the La France (Lagreug) as written by Elizabeth may Cox Jones to her granddaughter Jo Anne Elizabeth Jones.

Your Great Great Grandfather's ancestors lived in France until the late 1600s. At that time they spelled their name La France. They were some of the nobility of France and through the political troubles, they were exiled to Germany, where they were forced to speak the German language and also change the spelling of their name to Lafreug.

Your Great Great Grandfather, John Lafreug, was born about 1815 in the little village of Toekendaeup Schleiswig-Holstein, and at that time that province belonged to Denmark. They still called themselves Germans, however, they were under the Danish Rule and continued to be until 1864. That was long after John Lafreug came to this country in the 1840s. His first wife was your Great Great Grandmother. She was the daughter of a wealthy minister at the Little Danish Court. Her father was not a nobleman but was considered a noble man's equal. John Lafreug worked for her father as a coachman and the two young people fell in love and eloped. She was disinherited. The marriage took place at an English port on their way to America. I can't remember, or find out, what her name was, although my Mother often told me, she also told me that she was considered a great beauty and had many trunks of lovely things. She died shortly after their daughter Charlatte (my mother) was born.

John Lafreug then left his little baby with friends and came to California (around Oroville). He stayed here for about 7 years and remarried. He then returned to Davenport, Iowa, where he had left his little daughter, Charlatte. That is the town where she was born June 20, 1851.

He and his second wife had 3 children, Theresa, John and Will, and then this wife died and in time he married again, this time to Helen Koehuke. They had 4 children, Charles, Earnest, Herman and Ellen.

In later years the spelling of the name was changed again to La France. Pictures of his ancestors looked like good people and well to do. They owned land and some followed the fishing industry.

John La France died about 1891 or 1892. He operated a drayage company in Davenport, Iowa. My mother loved this last step-mother very much. She always said her father was a good provider for his family but was a very stern man. Little Charlatte grew up a very sad lonesome little girl. Charlatte La France came to California in 1883.

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