The elusive father of Peter Mottice is thought by Charles D. Mottice to be James Thomas. In a letter to Bob Mottice, son of Grant on Aug. 31, 1994, Charles D. says:
"There are records that do indicate Peter's father was named James Thomas Mottice. He was born in Mons, France. He was at an early age forced out of France by the Catholic faith and so all Protestants left France and went to Germany or as close to Germany as they could get. From there [Peter's] father came to the colonies. As you know, his father went into the colonial army under George Washington."
Unfortunately, Charles D. does not specify the records he says name Peter's father. Nevertheless, his story fits a working hypothesis about Mottice ancestors. Peter's naturalization papers citing prior citizenship of France plus his stout Presbyterianism support the idea that his father left France to escape persecution.
The city of Mons is now in southern Belgium although was part of France in the mid 1700s. Jean-Marie Motice, who Lynn Mottice claims is Peter's brother and therefore James Thomas' son, was supposedly born in Isle-de-France, which is the Department that includes Paris. Mons is not particularly close to Paris, so placing Jean-Marie in Paris when James Thomas allegedly moved close to Germany requires an explanation. The German aspect of the story, however, fits in with other vague threads of family history that suggest that the Mottices were, at some point, in Alsace-Lorraine. This area is along the Franco-German border and has shifted between French and German sovereignty for hundreds of years.
The last sentence of Charles D.'s story, "As you know, his father went into the colonial army under George Washington," is a reference to the widely circulated family history story that Peter's father died in Washington's service at the Battle of Trenton in 1776.