Hi, Jeanette, What an interesting time for your ancestor to be in SAINT DOMINGUE !! (It did not become Haiti until 1804, although I think the term "Haiti" is presently used in reference to the French colony - 1697-1804 - because it is easier to identify it with a present-day country). Petit-Goave was founded in 1663, and the boucaniers/buccaneers, pirates, freebooters, etc. were there as early as 1659. After a rocky start during which it was burned by the French, the Dutch, and the Spanish, in 1690, the town received some settlers from the French colony of Saint-Christophe. Its port apparently served as the launching forth place for several forays into Jamaica and the Latin American mainland. The first church was built there some time before 1670. In 1692, the population of the parish was 225 whites. Unfortunately, the church registers do not start until 1763 and stop in 1794. The town suffered many floods, several hurricanes and earthquakes over the years, and perhaps the pre-1763 registers were lost during one of these natural disasters. Or, more likely, they were destroyed during the slave uprisings which became the Haitian Revolution. Although, by the Ordonnance du Roi of 1776, copies were supposed to be made of all pre-1777 church registers and sent to Versailles, the official responsible for this for Petit Goave did not go back past 1763. (The above info gleaned from a brief reading and a "quick and dirty" translation of the section on Petit-Goave from Moreau de St-Méry's <Description de la Partie Française... de l'Isle Saint-Domingue> ) The lack of registers for Petit-Goave makes your search more difficult. The good news is that the registers for les Verrettes start in 1715 and run through 1788. The LDS has microfilmed the registers AND the indices, so you don't need to go to France to search through them... too bad :-( . The indices for les Verrettes AND Petit-Goave are both on LDS film 1094163. I suggest you rent it and look for your ancestors in the indices for both towns. (You should be able to find the 1720 baptism and the 1762 death in the Les Verrettes indices). If you find your ancestors, then look up the number of the film that contains the images of the original registers and order it from the LDS. The LDS staff can help you find these numbers if you are not familiar with the procedure. I also encourage you to subscribe to the GHC Liste. Since it is sponsored by the U. de Picardie, you have to go to this link: http://listes.u-picardie.fr/wws/info/ghcaraibe?checked_cas=1 You may get a message that there is a problem with the site's security certificate, but just select the second (not recommended) option -- open the website. It is safe. I have never had any problems using it. Click on the word Abonnement half way down the left frame/side. They will ask you for some basic information - e-dress, name, etc. If anyone knows anything about Petit-Goave and/or the names you are researching, it will be one (or more) of the 493 subscribers of this List. They are good, they are sharp, many of them are professionals (professionals, historians, authors, lawyers) and they are all willing to help. Some of them are also "lurkers" on this list and the H-Caribbean list too. Although the language of the GHC Liste is French, many of the Listers understand English and Spanish (even German!) Make sure you give as much information as possible. Do you know what your ancestors were doing there so early? Military? Engagés? Transplants from St.-Christophe? I assume you got this information from Peter Frisch, or from the GHC Bulletin (pg. 2542) to which he responded. (The date of death is 8/1762). The GHC website is another good place to visit: all of the GHC Bulletins through 1996 are online, as well as a cumulative index and a table of articles. You won't regret the time you spend on this website. The URL is: http://www.GHCaraibe.org I also invite you to visit my website where you will find some hints for doing research on Saint Domingue with sources available in the U.S. or online: http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~saintdomingue/ I do not think the ship lists would be of much help now, because you must know the city from which your ancestors sailed, and the date of departure, and the name of the ship. A couple of the Archives Departementales have indices -- Nantes (has an index card file) and Bordeaux (online - a joint effort with Brigham Young University - Google search -- Immigration). You might find some information in the Séries E personnel dossiers, but that would mean a trip to France. :-) I believe they are in Aix-en-Provence and on microfilm in Paris. Hope this is of some help. Please feel free to contact me privately if you have any questions. Anyone else, please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about anything. Merry Christmas, everyone, and a healthy, happy, prosperous 2008 !! Augusta Elmwood in (slowly recovering) New Orleans ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, 13 December, 2007 19:36 Subject: MARCHESSEAU IN HAITI > Hi Listers. Anyone have any information on Francois Marchesseau (Francois > and Angelique Lesperance) from France to Haiti? I understand his > daughter, Marie Claire Marchesseau was born about 1692 In Petit-Goave, > Haiti and died in 1862 in Verette, Haiti. She married Jean Bernard, born > 1685 in Blois, France and died 1726 in Verette, Haiti. I have only one > child for this couple: Claude Bernard, born 16 Jan 1720 in Verette, > Haiti. > > Does anyone know where he came from in France and why? > > God Bless, > Jeanette >

I just came across this amusing little item in "The Barbadian Newspaper" of 1856 and it might be of interest to Jamaicans: "October 11 1856. Married. On 12 Sep. at the English Embassy, Paris, by Rev. Dr. Hall, and afterwards at the Portuguese Embassy in the presence of the Portuguese Ambassador and the Baroness de Piava, the duke of Saldana, Field Marshal, Commander-in-Chief of the Portuguese Army, Lord of the Black Rod of His Faithful Majesty, Counsellor of State, a Peer of the Realm and Knight of the Golden Fleece, to Caroline Binns, relict of E. Binns Esq. of Ware Park, Jamaica." [E. Binns Esq. is most likely Edward Binns, born 23 Jan 1804 in Hanover, Jamaica, the son of James Keitly Binns & Sarah Houghton Leigh his wife, (married 1 Sep 1801, in Hanover, Jamaica). The Duke of Saldana appears to be Juan Carlos Francisco, (1791-1876), made a knight of the Golden Fleece in 1856. But who was his Jamaican Duchess, Caroline???] EW Ernest M. Wiltshire No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.5.503 / Virus Database: 269.17.1/1183 - Release Date: 12/13/2007 9:15 AM