Lapeyre Family in Ascain?
Replies: 1
Re: Lapeyre Family in Ascain?
JP,
I didn't know I had a cousin in San Diego!
I went to Ascain 2 years ago while I was in France visiting my husband's family (I married a French). It was a fascinating Basque town with a church in the center where men sat segregated in the rafters to look down on the women praying. It's a nautical town even though it isn't directly on the coast. They were celebrating the tuna festival while I was there.
I scoured the cemetaries out of curiosity since my ancestor is also Jean Martial Lapeyre and couldn't find a single Lapeyre among the tombstones. I wasn't expecting to to find JM there since my family's documents say that he died and was buried in Pau... But no trace of a Lapeyre family there; at least from the ancient tombstones.
Some details about JM's life lead me to believe that his family was not exactly Basque. Since he was employed as a secretary to a wealthy British man for many years before retiring to New Orleans suggests that he was very well educated and came from high social standing given the time he was born in France. The British man had many financial interests in the Caribbean (possibly sugar, rum, or slaves) and JM's linguistic skills were valuable given the mix of French, Portuguese, Spanish, and English that was spoken in all the ports of call.
What I know of JM is that he served the British man until he was in his forties (giving more than 20 years of service). He retired in New Orleans, a city he was enamored with, and married the teenage Angeline Avegno. She was from an aristocratic family and they had many, many children.
The Lapeyre name is common in France, especially in a broad swath of the southwest and central regions. Peyre is Basque for pierre (meaning "peter" or "stone"). It's a pronunciation/spelling that's pretty ancient so I don't think it's a devolution of "pierre" to "peyre"... just an alternative that arose the same time as "pierre". Lapierre did not necessarily become Lapeyre, in other words. Lapeyre may have always existed as Lapeyre.
As far as Martial goes, it's a name that's common to the southeast of the Limousin region. St. Martial is the patron saint of this region, which gives more evidence to my inkling that JM's family wasn't originally from Ascain. I'm very curious about Jean Martial's family. If you find any info, let me know.
Good luck.
Angele
I didn't know I had a cousin in San Diego!
I went to Ascain 2 years ago while I was in France visiting my husband's family (I married a French). It was a fascinating Basque town with a church in the center where men sat segregated in the rafters to look down on the women praying. It's a nautical town even though it isn't directly on the coast. They were celebrating the tuna festival while I was there.
I scoured the cemetaries out of curiosity since my ancestor is also Jean Martial Lapeyre and couldn't find a single Lapeyre among the tombstones. I wasn't expecting to to find JM there since my family's documents say that he died and was buried in Pau... But no trace of a Lapeyre family there; at least from the ancient tombstones.
Some details about JM's life lead me to believe that his family was not exactly Basque. Since he was employed as a secretary to a wealthy British man for many years before retiring to New Orleans suggests that he was very well educated and came from high social standing given the time he was born in France. The British man had many financial interests in the Caribbean (possibly sugar, rum, or slaves) and JM's linguistic skills were valuable given the mix of French, Portuguese, Spanish, and English that was spoken in all the ports of call.
What I know of JM is that he served the British man until he was in his forties (giving more than 20 years of service). He retired in New Orleans, a city he was enamored with, and married the teenage Angeline Avegno. She was from an aristocratic family and they had many, many children.
The Lapeyre name is common in France, especially in a broad swath of the southwest and central regions. Peyre is Basque for pierre (meaning "peter" or "stone"). It's a pronunciation/spelling that's pretty ancient so I don't think it's a devolution of "pierre" to "peyre"... just an alternative that arose the same time as "pierre". Lapierre did not necessarily become Lapeyre, in other words. Lapeyre may have always existed as Lapeyre.
As far as Martial goes, it's a name that's common to the southeast of the Limousin region. St. Martial is the patron saint of this region, which gives more evidence to my inkling that JM's family wasn't originally from Ascain. I'm very curious about Jean Martial's family. If you find any info, let me know.
Good luck.
Angele