Essential Focus

06/12/2023

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01/25/2023

● Civil Record Document Translation ●

From French & Spanish into English

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$30 multiple page marriage record

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09/07/2022

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06/08/2022

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06/07/2022

05/11/2022

Boisrond / Boisrond-Canal / Boirond / Boisrond / Françoys / Françoys de Boisrond

In old french Bois Rond means round wood / round timber. The family could have been from a line of woods craftsman in France. (Still researching)

The interesting thing is that the families surname was not always "Boisrond". The ancestor in France had the surname "Françoys" but was known as Sieur de Boisrond. At some point he was sent to Saint-Domingue (Haiti) by King Louis XIV of France ( Louis le Grand / Le Roi Soleil ).

The Françoys de Boisrond was an honorable family in Nantes, Saint Nicolas, Loire Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France. This mention is what really helped the research take off. If you come from a family that was deemed honorable or noble then the family ancestry will be easier to locate.

Claude François Françoys de Boisrond (Sieur de Boisrond) was born in 1678, Nantes to Jullien Françoys, Sieur de Boiron & Claude Rubion.

At birth, his name was Claude Françoys then was given the title, Sieur de Boiron (Claude Françoys de Boiron). In old French fashion, you would sign your last name along with your title. This is how the family in St.Domingue (Haiti) obtained the surname "Boisrond". We also must take into account that if you were born from a French citizen and an enslaved woman, mulâtresse (mulatto woman), griffe (3/4 black), free black or quateronne (1/4 black) you could not legally obtain your French fathers name. Many times after the father would pass the children might reclaim the name which happened alot after the 1804 revolution.

He 1st married Catherine Mousson around 1697, who was a native of Grand-Goâve. She must have been a mulâtresse (mulatto) or quateronne (1/4 black) because in 4 of the children's marriage record they are labeled as mulâtre libre (free mulatto). So she definitely was not a French citizen. The fact that she had her surname recorded she was more than likely was not enslaved. The enslaved of Saint-Domingue sometimes received an N for their surname.

He secondly married Françoise Barbe Victoire Belin de la Caillere in 1718. He died in 1741, Les Cayes, Saint-Domingue.

The only way we knew how to search for Françoys/François was through his marriage record, the baptism of his children and their marriage records where his profression was given. He was a councilor to the King of France and a Judge in Petit-Goâve. During the early 1700s this could not be a title held by a mulatto or a man of color so we had to dig into French sites and records to find the information. VOILA ! We found his birth/baptism record (photo 2)

His son Claude François was born in 1702, Léogâne. He wed Marie Dominique Herard in 1739, Torbeck. They were both mulâtres libre (free mulattos). Marie was born to a French citizen native to Saint Christophe ( Saint Kikks & Nevis) and a free black woman Marie Guitte. Marie Dominique's paternal ancestry can be traced back to 1650 Touraine, France, and her maternal ancestry to 1580 Dieppe, France.

Between 1580 & 1700 the family was in France, Martinique, Saint Christophe & Guadeloupe before coming to Saint-Domingue (Haiti).

Their daughter Marie Catherine Françoise married a French man Charles Gellée in 1728, Les Cayes. He was a Knight and a Counselor to the Admiralty in Nantes. They had 9 children during their marriage. This lineage was completely wiped out by the slave revolts in Torbeck & Les Cayes in 1789. The revolution declared that all white citizens on the island be completely wiped out.

Now to Pierre Francois Mathurin Boisrond "Boisrond Blan". He was born on July 24, 1750 in Torbeck and baptized on September 1st of the same year. He married Marie Louise Victoire Felix in 1774. In their wedding record, it is stated that Mathurin was emancipated as a minor. Just because you were born a mulâtre (mulatto) did not mean that you were free. You had to be legally recognized (legitimized) by your father. Even John James Audobon (Jean Jacques Rabin) was legally recognized & adopted by his father in 1794. Victoire was a french citizen from a very wealthy family in Les Cayes. Her father was a free black. They had 13 children from their marriage. Victoire's ancestry can be traced back to 1600 Ligny en Barrois, France.

At the moment we have been able to trace this family back to the mid 1600s.This family is connected to most of the families from Torbeck, Les Cayes, Aquin or Saint Louis du Sud, not all by blood but many by marriage. These towns are all located in the Sud department of Haiti.

This particular family history shows the complexities of Saint-Domingue during the 1700s. In order to obtain results you must understand the time period, what was deemed as normal, the specific practices and the history of the land.

Can you imagine having a father and he has to legally adopt you in order to be called his son ? This is the story of many mixed-race families during the 16 & 1700s.

PHOTO 1: Mathurin & Victoire's marriage record
(dark blue Mathurin and his parents are listed, light blue he is emancipated as a minor, red Victoire and her parents are listed)

PHOTO 2: Birth record for Claude Françoys son of Jullien Françoys & Claude Rubion.
(orange Claude, dark blue Jullien, red Claude)

05/11/2022

Researching into the "Baudouin" family who originated from La Rochelle, France dating back to the 1400s. Yes that is right back to the Middle Ages. It is one of the oldest and very well documented families.

I ran into many brick walls because once these descendants found out their ancestor ended up in St.Domingue (Haiti) their research stopped. This has absolutely nothing to do with color or even colonizer vs. enslaved, it had to do with the way you research and understanding the system used.

The way you search for information in Haiti is not the same way you would search in Germany, Sweden, Italy or even Louisiana. Every country, state, island had their own significant way of recording births, marriages & deaths. Every place must be attacked differently and never with the same previous thought process.

My 10th great-grandfather Solon Baudouin Des Marattes was born in 1631, St-Martin, Ile de Ré, La Rochelle, Aunis, Normandie, France to Jacques Baudouin & Anne Collard. He wed Anne Gautreau at the Temple Calviniste Villeneuve in La Rochelle, France, 1641.

He was a great wine producer and an important negotiator. The land of Solon was located between Couarde-sur-Mer and Bois-Plage-en-Ré. From this couple their descendants migrated to Louisiana, Quebec, New England colonies, Saint-Domingue (Haiti) and other carribean islands.

This will focus on the families that went to St.Dom. They have branches in Léogâne, Jacmel, Cayes du Fond (Les Cayes), Saint Louis du Sud, Torbeck & Fond des Negres (Miragoâne).

When I first started researching into this family I was unsure that they were all connected but doing some research, digging into records and connecting with other genealogy fanatics which proved me wrong.

Solon's son Jacques (my 9th great grandfather) & his wife Marie Massiot had 5 children. They wed in 1687, Dompierre-sur-Mer.

Their daughter Anne Marie wed Louis Les Pays de Bourjolly in 1704, La Rochelle, and moved to Les Cayes. These are the ancestors of the very large "Bourjolly" family in the south; Torbeck, Aquin, Saint Louis du Sud & Les Cayes.

Their son Jean Charles wed Elizabeth Boutard in 1723, Jacmel. These are ancestors of Chevrain, Brun, Leger, Mauriac and other known families of Jacmel.

The grandson of Solon, François Baudouin wed Marie Guindet in 1712, Léogane and secondly Françoise Blanchard in 1732, Archaye. At the moment I have 6 children accounted for. All of these descendants for about 3 generations were born in Parroise Saint Michel in Fond des Negres & Parroise Sainte Rose in Léogâne. A few branches went to New Orleans, Jamaica, Cuba and a few back to France at the height of the most successful slave revolt in the world. Recently found out that another branch ended up in Petit-Goâve.

I am still doing some work up to gather more information. I have connected with a multitude of distant cousins from France, Louisiana & Quebec to gather more information on this specific family.

10/26/2021

Need assistance translating a record from French/Spanish into English - Contact us for pricing !!

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09/26/2021

Starting on our "Toussaint L'ouveture" case study.

Francois Dominique Toussaint L'ouveture also known as "Fatras Baton" "Toussaint Breda" or "The Black Napoleon"

We are reaching out to the descendants who are aware of their connection to one of Haiti's many forefathers.

We will be gathering family oral tradition, copies of documents & search the national archives for records.

One of the biggest tools we will be using is DNA testing in order to triangulate and paint the chromosones to understand the relations even better.