Second Generation

2. Guillaume D'AUDRIEU (+) was born in 1020 in Normandie, West Francia (France).^3,4 Gary Griggs' Notes: This is the earliest known ancestor of this branch of the Andress family. As shown, (Given name unknown) Andrews was born in Normandy. And, as mentioned in the article below, Normandy was settled in the 9th century by Vikings from Scandinavia. So, it is possible that this branch of the family originated in Sweden or Norway. "Andrus" is a common surname in that area, so it is possible that that is the original family name.

Normandy (French: Normandie, plural of Normand, originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical region of France corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy.

The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two regions:  Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy.

The population of Normandy is around 3.45 million. The continental population of 3.26 million accounts for 5.5% of the population of France (in 2005). The Channel Islands (referred to as Îles Anglo-Normandes in French) are historically part of Normandy, cover 194 km² and comprise two bailiwicks: Guernsey and Jersey, which are British Crown dependencies.

Upper Normandy (Haute-Normandie) consists of the French departments of Seine-Maritime and Eure, and Lower Normandy (Basse-Normandie) of the departments of Orne, Calvados, and Manche. The earlier province of Normandy comprised present-day Upper and Lower Normandy, as well as small areas now part of thedépartements of Eure-et-Loir, Mayenne, and Sarthe.

The name is derived from the settlement of the territory by Vikings  ("Northmen") from the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century. For a century and a half following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman and Frankish rulers.

During the Second World War, the D Day landings on the Normandy beaches, under the code name Operation Overlord, started the lengthy Battle of Normandy and resulted in the Liberation of Paris and the restoration of the French Republic. These landings were a significant turning point in the war.

Lower Normandy is predominantly agricultural in character, with cattle breeding the most important sector (although in decline from the peak levels of the 1970s and 1980s). The bocage is a patchwork of small fields with high hedges, typical of western areas. Upper Normandy contains a higher concentration of industry. Normandy is a significant cider-producing region, and also produces calvados, a distilled cider or apple brandy. Other activities of economic importance are dairy produce, flax (60% of production in France), horse breeding (including two French national stud farms), fishing, seafood, and tourism. The region contains three French nuclear power stations. There is also easy access to and from the UK using the ports of Cherbourg, Caen (Ouistreham), Le Havre and Dieppe.

Archaeological finds, such as cave paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Belgae and Celts, known as Gauls, invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC. When Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Gallic tribes in Normandy. The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the usual methods: Roman roads and a policy of urbanisation. 

Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy. In the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates. Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast. The Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy. As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis.

The Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of 9th century. After attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagne's empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Norwegian/Danish Viking leader Hrolf Ragnvaldsson, or Rollo (also known as Robert of Normandy). Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he and his Viking allies had previously conquered. The name "Normandy" reflects Rollo's Viking (i.e. "Northman") origins.

The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and intermarried with the area's original inhabitants. They became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Scandinavians, Hiberno-Norse, Orcadians, Anglo-Danish,Saxons and indigenous Franks and Gauls. Rollo's descendant William, Duke of Normandy, became king of England in 1066 in the Norman Conquest culminating at the Battle of Hastings, while retaining the fiefdom of Normandy for himself and his descendants.

In 1204, during the reign of England's King John, mainland Normandy was taken from England by France under Philip II of France. Insular Normandy (the Channel Islands) remained under English control. In 1259, Henry III of England recognised the legality of French possession of mainland Normandy under the Treaty of Paris. His successors, however, often fought to regain control of mainland French Normandy.

The Charte aux Normands granted by Louis X of France in 1315 (and later re-confirmed in 1339) – like the analogous Magna Carta granted in England in the aftermath of 1204 – guaranteed the liberties and privileges of the province of Normandy. French Normandy was occupied by English forces during the Hundred Years' War in 1345–1360 and again in 1415–1450. Normandy lost three-quarters of its population during the war.  Afterward prosperity returned to Normandy until the Wars of Religion.

When many Norman towns (Alençon, Rouen, Caen,Coutances, Bayeux) joined the Protestant Reformation, battles ensued throughout the province. In the Channel Islands, a period of Calvinism following the Reformation was suppressed when Anglicanism was imposed following the English Civil War.

The historical Duchy of Normandy was a formerly independent duchy  occupying the lower Seine area, the Pays de Caux and the region to the west through the Pays d'Auge as far as the Cotentin Peninsula. The region is bordered along the northern coasts by the English Channel. There are granite cliffs in the west and limestone cliffs in the east. There are also long stretches of beach in the centre of the region. The bocage typical of the western areas caused problems for the invading forces in the Battle of Normandy. A notable feature of the landscape is created by the meanders  of the Seine as it approaches its estuary.

The highest point is the Signal d'Écouves (417m) in the Massif armoricain. Normandy is sparsely forested: 12.8% of the territory is wooded, compared to a French average of 23.6%, although the proportion varies between the departments. Eure has most cover (21%) while Manche has least (4%), a characteristic shared with the Islands." He died in 1066 at the age of 46 in France.^1,2

Guillaume D'AUDRIEU (+) and Lady Petronel DE GRENOBLE (+) were married in Normandie, West Francia (France).^3,4 Lady Petronel DE GRENOBLE (+) was born in 1010 in Grenoble, Isere, Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, France.^1,2 She died in 1070 at the age of 60 in France.^1,2

Guillaume D'AUDRIEU (+) and Lady Petronel DE GRENOBLE (+) had the following children: