Le Bracq?

The family name "Le Bracq" comes from the town of Valenciennes in Northern France. Based on family tree research it appears that my surname "Brakel" was originally "Le Bracq".

Estienne Le Bracq, born 1645 in Valenciennes, married on 16-01-1671 to Anna Peltier (Piltier), born 1650. From this marriage four children were born, all in Leiden between 1672 and 1683. The first child was baptized with the surname "Le Bracq" and the other three children were baptized with the surname "Brakel". When Moijse Brakel was born in 1674, the surname Brakel originated.

Valenciennes in Northern France was an important textile city and most of my ancestors worked in the textile industry.  I came across the following professions in the archives;  grain worker, cloth worker, tailor servant, dry shearer, wool washer, skirt worker, tailor, etc.

In 1670 there was a ban on any faith other than Roman Catholic throughout France.  In Valenciennes, for example, there were many so-called Huguenots, the name given to Protestants in France in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries.  Those who followed the Protestant faith had two choices at the time, become a Catholic or flee.  Hundreds of thousands of Protestants have fled to different parts of Europe, including the Netherlands.  It is not unlikely that this is why the Le Bracq family went to court in Leiden and changed their name.  Leiden was probably a logical choice because this was a city in the Netherlands where textiles could be found.