[2] [3] Of noble extraction,[4] Du Quesne escaped to England in 1568 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I following the Low Country persecutions of Protestants under Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba.
[5] A historical record of Du Quesne's flight and of the sale of his goods and furniture in 1569, as well as the letting of his "maison, chambre, estatte et jardin" (house, bedroom, estate, and garden) is contained in the Belgian Archives.
[8] He was married to Judith Millon (died 2 May 1627) and they had three children: Jean du Quesne, the younger, David and Marie, mother of John Houblon, first Governor of the Bank of England.
Of the same Huguenot family that produced the famous French Admiral, Marquis Abraham Duquesne, Jean Du Quesne was also the patriarch of its English branch, which came to be known as "Du Cane" (an early 17th-century anglicization of the original family name) and included several prominent men of business and politics.
[3][10] The Du Cane family played a prominent role in the founding of the Bank of England and the East India Company, as well as in British politics of the 18th and 19th centuries.