The Maré family are direct descendants from the French Huguenots. The Huguenots  were French Protestants who were members of the Reformed Church which was  established in 1550 by John Calvin. The origin of the name Huguenot is  uncertain, but dates from approximately 1550 when it was used in court cases  against `heretics` (dissenters from the Roman Catholic Church). As nickname and  even abusive name it`s use was banned in the regulations of the Edict of Nantes  which Henry IV (Henry of Navarre, who himself earlier was a Huguenot) issued in  1559. The French Protestants themselves preferred to refer to themselves  as `réformees` (reformers) rather than `Huguenots`. It was much later that the  name `Huguenot` became an honorary one. At least 200 000 French Huguenots fled  to countries such as Switzerland, Germany, England, America, and South Africa,  where they could enjoy religious freedom. Between 1618 and 1725 between 5000  and 7000 Huguenots reached the shores of America.  The organised large scale  emigration of Huguenots to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa occurred  during 1688 - 1689. However, even before this large scale emigration individual  Huguenots such as François Villion (1671) and the brothers François and  Guillaume du Toit (1686) fled to the Cape of Good Hope. In 1692 a total of 201  French Huguenots had settled at the Cape of Good Hope. Most of them settled in  an area now known as Franschhoek (`French Corner`), some 70 km outside Cape  Town, where many farms still bear their original French names.  Marais and Maré must not be confused. They are not from the same areas of  France. Marais means Man from the marshlands and they come from the north of  France. Maré means Man from the Sea and they come from the south of France.  Maree and Maré are from the same family. Ignace Maré was born in 1684. It is  not known for certain where he was born however the records show that he  arrived in South Africa in 1706 from Calabria which could be Italy or Germany.  He arrived as a widower in the Cape of Good Hope and it is not known if his  wife died before or during the trip out to the Cape. There is also some  indication that he arrived with two daughters. In 1706 he married his second  wife, the eldest daughter of Gerrit Van Vuuren and Susanna Jacobs. They settled  in the Drakenstein and had nine children. One daughter was name Fenesie  probably confirms an Italian connection and another Francina his French.

In 1707 he received permission from the then Governor Simon Van Der Stel to  settle in the Drakenstein area.

This is a man that took his first breath back in 1684. The generations to come  will still carry his name forward but most of them wont know about him. He is  forgotten and belongs to the past. His trials and tribulations, his joys and  his sorrows no one shall know. And so we also, shall one day be forgotten.