A street near Statesboro City Hall will bear the name Nicolas Anciaux Lane, recognizing a French immigrant who served in the Continental Army and later settled in Bulloch County. City Council approved the designation unanimously on Sept. 1.
Georgia Southern University French professor Olga Amarie led the naming effort, which had support from Statesboro residents and Anciaux’s descendants. Some family members were present at the council meeting.
Anciaux fought at Yorktown after joining the American forces. Amarie said he was 35 at the time and brought experience from military service in France as well as financial skills. He served as paymaster for his regiment.
Amarie began looking into Anciaux’s history after a travel brochure drew her attention to a French immigrant connected to the land that is now Mill Creek. She later searched Bulloch County historical records at the local library. Her research showed Anciaux received 1,200 acres in the county in return for his war service.
Anciaux died in 1810, aged 67. He was buried somewhere on his Mill Creek-area property, but his exact grave site has not been established. Finding it is one of the questions Amarie hopes to pursue.
Amarie has also discussed the possibility of writing Anciaux’s biography with Georgia Southern’s history department. She said documents in Statesboro and Savannah could contribute to that work, though some are in French, including a commission signed by the King of France.
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
