In the Valley of Bainet

Although the Cange of the valley of Bainet are only one group of interest to us, we decided to revisit them in our efforts to piece together the origins of families in that part of Bainet. Again, we were forced to consider that some of the Cange in the valley are indeed descendants of people living there in the colonial era. For instance, Pierre Louis Cange, identified above as the owner of a habitation at Petit Harpon in 1806, was probably the same Pierre Louis Cange born in the valley of Bainet in 1791. 

Baptized in 1792, Pierre Louis was the son of Pierre Louis Cange and Marie Elisabeth Barreau. Interestingly, his godmother was a Bejin or Begein, Marie Jeanne Begein. The Bejin name survived in the valley of Bainet, and Habitation Bejin was where our great-great-grandmother was born. This suggests that the Cange of the valley of Bainet and the Bejin were connected in the late 18th century. Pierre Louis Cange was also still living in the area after independence, too. 

Indeed, it was probably this very same Pierre Louis Cange who registered the birth of a son, Jean Baptiste Cange, in 1826. The godfather of the child, a Julien Cange, is unknown to us but presumably a relative. Nonetheless, the evidence supports the idea that this Pierre Louis Cange was likely the one born in 1791. In addition to him, we have suggested that another Cange in the valley of Bainet, Jean Charles, was probably Jean Charles Celin Cange born in the 1780s in the valley of Bainet. There was also a Barthelemy Cange residing in the valley of Bainet during the 1820s, who served as the godchild of a child of a Francillon and a Varache (of Cange origin). 

Knowing the pattern of naming children after their grandparents, we wonder if a later Barthelemy Cange, born sometime in c.1841 in the valley of Bainet, was related to him. This later Barthelemy Cange, the son of Zamir Cange and Alphonsine Fiefe, married in 1884. His marriage certificate indicates he was 43 years old, so we assume he was probably born in c.1841. His father, Zamir, however, would have been probably born in the 1810s or 1820s, and was perhaps a son of Barthelemy Cange. Considering the longevity of the Fiefe and Cange names in the valley of Bainet, we consider it possible that Zamir was related to our Jean Michel Cange in some form or another. 

We also know that an Alexandre was married to a Marie Therese Cange, having a child together in 1818. Their child had the same godmother, Rose Adelaide Lacour, as a child born in 1804 of a Louise Alexandre in the valley of Bainet with Pierre Minaud. And the godfather of Louise Alexandre's child was a Louis Jean, the same name given to a son of Jean Charles Cange with Marie Jeanne Barthelemy. All of these people, living in the valley, must have known each other, assuming Louis Jean and Louise Alexandre were still around in the 1820s. Jean Baptiste Alexandre, married to Marie Therese Cange, may have been married to one of the Cange related to Pierre Louis or Jean Charles Cange. The godmother of Louise Alexandre's child was the same godmother to Jean Baptiste Alexandre's child, perhaps suggesting that she was a friend or relative of both. Louise Alexandre's child had a godfather named Louis Jean, which was also the name of Jean Charles Cange's son born in 1825. And last but certainly not least, the godfather of Jean Charles Cange's son was a Desire Alexandre. Our theory is that Jean Michel Cange and Cherilise Alexandre may have been a product of these Cange and Alexandre families.