A History of the Rachal Family of White Point, Texas - New Page 1

INTRODUCTIONThis history documents the Rachal family of White Point in San Patricio County, Texas, startingwith the early Rachal settlers and going forward about seven generations and ending with DianeRachal Pinter, daughter of D.C. Rachal (1914-1991)This report will be a work in progress and will follow the line mentioned above. Along the way,some of the side branches of the tree may be researched and added to the report, but primarilythis report will follow the direct ancestral line noted above.The data contained in this history is only as accurate as the sources it comes from. Spellings werechecked and are believed to be correct.Note that many tables presented below have blank spaces since this data is unavailable to me.CreditsA complete list of credits is found at the end of this report.THE 18 TH CENTURY RACHALSThe first Rachal in this family to arrive in America was Pierre Rachal. He immigrated to the USfrom France. Pierre Rachal dit St. Denis was born in about 1698 in St. Denis on the IsleD‘Oleron off of the west coast of La Rochelle, France. He came to the US as a soldier and latersettled in Natchitoches (NAK-uh-tush), Louisiana. Pierre was the first member of this Rachalfamily to enter the Americas.Note: Some of the Rachal names in the 18 th century carry the ―dit‖designation. ―dit‖ in French means literally ―say‖ but means―called‖ in this context. For example, the first Rachal in Americawas Pierre Rachal dit St. Denis. There are a few possibleinterpretations of this ―dit‖ name:1. Pierre had an ancestor named Rachal but he chose to usethe name St. Denis instead. So he is Pierre Rachal calledSt. Denis.2. It might refer to the person‘s birth place, ie., St. Denison the Isle D‘Oleron.3. Sometimes a dit name is used to distinguish two familieswith the same name who lived close to each other ie,two different Pierre Rachal families, one of which livedin St. Denis.1 | A H i s t o r y o f t h e R a c h a l F a m i l y