A good description of Walloon is found in the excellent foreward by Jeremy Dupertuis Bangs in the Francis Cooke genealogy. (MF 12:v) "French—speaking Protestants of Belgium who lived in the southern provinces collectivley known as Wallonia, the land of the Walloons."

In 1578 the Walloon border areas were captured by the Catholic army and by 1585 thousands of Huguenots had fled to England or north to Zeeland and Holland. Here the Flemish and Walloon immigrants provided poorly paid industrial labor, revolutionizing the weaving industry in Holland by introducing new skills which had been developed in the southern towns, such as Lille (Lille, formerly a part of Walloon Flanders, now lies in northern France.) Among the refugees were Jan de Lannoy from Tourcoing (another translation of the same material calls him of Lille) and Marie Mahieu from Lille.

On 13 Jan. 1596 Peter du Bu and Gysbert Lano, the groom's father, were witnesses at the betrothal of Jan de Lano and Mary Mahieu. Only two children are recorded to this couple as the baptismal registers of the Walloon Church begin in the year l599 and there may have been older siblings of Jenne, bpt. 6 Nov. 1601 and Philippe, bpt. 6 Nov. 1603.

Jan Lano/Jean de Lannoy d. bet. Nov. 1603 and Feb. 1605, for his widow remarried on 6 March 1605 with the woolcomber Robert Mannoo, widower of Simone Pachette.

Francois Coek (Francis Cook) appeared as a baptismal witness for Philippe, son of Jan de Lannoy and Marie Mahieu. On 8 Feb. 1609 Jan Carwer (John Carver) and his first wife Marie de Lannoy were admitted to the Walloon Church. It is suggested that Philip Delano very likely was the nephew, not only of Francis Cooke, but probably of John Carver who became the first governor of Plymouth Colony.' "It is possible to see a strong Walloon connection in the Pilgrim congregation."