ELEVENTH GENERATION

1160. AVIÉNY ⁽²⁹⁶⁾. Local documents used as a basis for raising taxes mention Avieny families in the hamlet of Varenc (elev. 6396 ft.) from as early as 1433. Varenc was located near Abriés in the Queyras Valley of the Dauphiné region of France. Around 1660 the families divided into three branches - Aviény, Aviény-Olivet, and Aviény-Philippon. Of the first two branches, several families emigrated after 1685, but one family of each branch stayed behind. The Aviény-Philippon branch either remained Catholic or returned to the Catholic faith, with none of their families emigrating. In 1730 there remains one Aviény family, one Aviény-Olivet family, and 11 Aviény-Philippon families. By 1860 Varenc was deserted. In 1940, Italian guard posts were stationed in the last ruins of the hamlet. In 1962 the last house collapsed.

Calvinism began to take hold in the Queyras valley in 1557. By the end of the 1500's the valley was a Protestant stronghold. Under the reign of Louis XIV they began to lose more and more rights so that, by 1661, they were second class citizens. In 1685 the Edict of Nantes, which had given the Huguenots earlier protections, was revoked. The protestant churches in the valley were burned in that year. The Huguenots were expected to renounce their faith and were forbidden to leave France. Most escaped via Piedmont (Italy) and Switzerland into Germany. Some remained in France and feigned Catholicism.
Eugen Bellon writes -

"None of these old Protestant families ever disappeared from the location entirely. However, regardless of whether or not they became new Catholics, they lost their leading positions in the community. Many became completely impoverished. Those who remained were older Protestants who, deeply rooted in their homeland, did not want to cut themselves loose, such as old Doctor Aviény......Our ancestors who fled provide examples of unshakable loyalty, not only in their faith, but also in everyday life. They took upon themselves, and survived, the troublesome and dangerous escape across the Alps, repeated lootings in the Palatinate, misery in the impoverished Switzerland, uncertainty about their future fate, expulsion and long marches (the march route Briancon - Lausanne - Hofgeismar was at least 600 miles long), the anxieties of war and misery in the land of a fickle prince, the hardships of colonists in a foreign land, in unaccustomed climate, among neighbors who rarely were sympathetic at first, and who spoke a different language in a foreign culture."

He continues -

"In spite of their human weakness, their impulsiveness, their stubbornness, their rebellious character, and their exaggerated sense of honor, the overwhelming majority of the refugees were strong-willed, ready for sacrifice, of deep religious conviction, and industrious...They were no weaklings or fools, but rather a true asset for the peoples and nations where they found acceptance." Children were:

580 i. Jean AVIÉNY.