It is likely that most Fleury families originating out of Ireland are descended from Louis Fleury, the protestant pastor of Tours and his wife Esther duBourdieu. Both familes were prominent families of clergymen in France. There was also a very close connection between the two families with several marriages between Fleury and Dubourdieu people taking place in the mid/late 17th century.

Louis Fleury was born in June 1641 at Preuilly, Touraine (baptised 21 June). He was Pasteur at Chavigny en Anjou (1673-77 and at St Lô (1678-82) He married Esther du Bourdieu (b. 1856) in 1678 at Ruillé le Gravelais Louis was the youngest child of Pierre Fleury (b. before 1620) and Charlotte du Bourdieu (b. bet 1616-1624).

In 1635 Pierre was a student at the Academie protestante de Sedan and in 1637 became Pasteur of Preuilly, where he remained until he death in 1671. Charlotte pre-deceased him, dying on 6 September 1665. Pierre and Charlotte had four children in total. Louis' elder siblings were Charlotte (b. 1637), Marthe (b. 1638) and Pierre (b. 1640). The younger Pierre also became a clergyman, being Pasteur at St Aignan du Maine from 1673-84.

Charlotte du Bourdieu was a brother of Olivier du Bourdieu who was the father of Esther du Bourdieu. Charlotte was therefore Esther's aunt and mother-in-law at the same time.

The Du Bourdieu family can be traced much further back. The family originally came from the medieval municipality of Bearn in the Pyrenees, but by the end of the 16th century they had moved north to Bergerac and the Garonne Gulf. Esther du Bourdieu's parents were Olivier du Bourdieu (b. 1616) and Marie de Gennes (B. Bef. 1637). Esther had one brother, Samuel (who also married a Fleury - Louise Fleury)

Olivier's parents were Pierre du Bourdieu (b. bef. 1590) and Michelle Maulevault (b. bef. 1603). Olivier was the Gouverneur du château de l'Ile Bouchard (1604-28). Pierre had a younger brother, Isaac, who was a Huguenot minister, the main ancestor of a number of American/Canadian du Bourdieu families, who have documented the story of the family's escape from persecution in France (see below)

Pierre du Bourdieu's father was also called Pierre (b. bef. 1581). Pierre the elder was Gouverneur of the château de Bergerac under Henri IV.

The first DuBourdieu was a French Knight of the 1st Great Crusade (1187ff.), who was originally known as Godefroy de Brius (Bruis). The Crusader services provided by de Brius were considered so considerable that King Phillip II of France made him lord of Le Bourdieu . He then adopted as his crest a Turkish scimitar. Subsequently, the family name of de Bruis was laid aside for the title, Du Bourdieu. One record states that the title of Le Bourdieu was conferred by King Phillip II upon Godefroy de Brius in Bearn.

The Dubourdieu family were forced to flee France in 1684 or thereabouts and many of the family eventually ended up in America and Canada (via the UK and Ireland). The history of the family's escape is documented in a book "Baby on her Back" by William DuBourdieu and published in 1967. The book tells the story of Jean Armond DuBourdieu (right)who was smuggled out of France on his mother's back Jean Armond's father James DuBourdieu of Blaye was killed by Catholics in 1684/5. Jean Armond would grow up in the house of his grandfather Isaac DuBourdieu (b.1597)

. Isaac had been exiled to London England in 1682 from Montpellier where he was a Huguenot Minister. Isaac was the son of Pierre DuBourdieu, the governor of the Chateau of Bergerac. in the time of Henry IV of France. Jean also became a Huguenot clergy at the Chapel of Savoy in London. He married Charlotte Massey (the Countess d'Erponage) and in 1716 and they had son Saumarez who would become a well know clergyman in Lisburn, Ireland.