On Magloire Ambroise...

Whilst perusing an article on Magloire Ambroise by Alix Ambroise in the Revue of the Haitian Historical Society, we noticed some inconsistencies. according to Alix Ambroise, Magloire was born on the Pasquet habitation. He married Theophile Cangé, the daughter of Pierre Cangé. However, when checking the parish registers, we came across a Marie Rose Theophile who was the daughter of Jean Louis Cangé and Marie Charlotte Favre. It would seem that Alix Ambroise, presumably a descendant of Magloire Ambroise, the hero of Jacmel, made an error.

Pierre Cange

 

Checking Saint-Domingue's press also included some surprising finds of free people of color families. One of them, a large one whose surname is borne by many Haitians today, appear in this article from the 1780s. Apparently he sired 10 children. 

Origins of Celin dit Cangé

Due to our obsession with their dit name that has survived among many Haitians, we have completely overlooked the original family name of a large family of free people of color: Celin. The founders of the lineage in Haiti were actually a white man from Galice (Galicia) named Pierre Sellin (Celin, or perhaps a Gallicized Salinas?) and a woman of color named Marie Therese Damillide or Damilide. The latter may have been from Veracruz, taken in a French raid on that part of Mexico. It is difficult to read the surname of Marie Therese's mother (Orada? Orara? Arara?) and the place of origin seems to be Vella or Novella Cruz isle espagnolle, but Veracruz the ville might have been the intended place of origin. Regardless of her exact origins, Pierre Sellin appears to have married a woman of color since their children were identified as such in later records. Their daughter, for instance, married a Jean Baptiste Souché who was a "mulatto" and habitant of Jacmel.  

The two were married in Leogane parish in 1695 and produced at least 3 or 4 children. It looks like their household was enumerated in the Jacmel Quarter and its dependencies in the 1703 Census. We assume Jean Salin or Jean Celin born in Leogane parish was the one who married Marguerite Butet and produced numerous children, beginning with Jean Baptiste in Baynet. 

In addition to Jean, his sister Elizabeth or Isabelle also married a Souché and his brother Pierre Celin probably also had children. Perhaps Pierre the father or Pierre the brother also acted as the godfather to Jean's children born in the 1720s before they moved to Petit-Harpon. Intriguingly, one of the Pierre Celins (perhaps Jean's father, or more likely his brother?) married the widow of Francois Saugrain, Marguerite Francq. 

Trying to make sense of the numerous Cangé in 18th century Jacmel, Bainet, and Leogane is difficult with only digitized ANOM parish registers. The repetition of Jean and Pierre as names sometimes leads to confusion, although we now understand why Pierre was so commonly used as a first name (after the founder of the lineage and the brother of Jean). We assume the Jean Sellin born in the 1690s was the only one who had children with a woman named Marguerite Butet, perhaps a sister of Jeanne Butet (illegitimate daughter of Rene Butet of Le Mans). However, the Jean Baptiste baptized in Baynet in the 1710s had a mother with a different surname, something like Courville? We are also unsure about deaths of Jean Celin's parents or if most if not all people bearing the Celin dit Cangé name were actually descendants of Jean.

Part of our confusion stems from the 1703 census. According to that source, the Cangé (or Celin) household included 2 males bearing arms and 2 adult women. We are probably safe to assume that by this period Pierre Sellin and Marie Therese were 2 of the adults. Who were the other ones? Was Pierre Celin accompanied by some unknown cousin or brother we are ignorant of? His sons would have been children and too young to be counted as men bearing arms. 

What makes sense to us is that Jean Celin, born in the 1690s, was the "mixed-race" child who started having children with Marguerite in the late 1710s and 1720s. He was probably illiterate and by the late 1730s or 1740s, had established himself at Petit-Harpon. Some of his children stayed or moved back to Jacmel and Bainet, spreading their Celin Cangé name around the area. Some of their descendants ended up in the valley of Bainet, such as Jean Pierre and Jean Louis in the late 1700s. We assume the "Calit Cangé" habitation in the valley of Bainet was named after one of them and that some remained in the area after the Haitian Revolution. 

Since Celin disappeared and Cangé survives in the Bainet and Jacmel area, and the Cangé were a numerous family in the 18th century, we assume that some of us are descendants of them. Our earliest known ancestor with the name was probably born in c.1829 in the valley of Bainet, but we are missing too many years of the 19th century Bainet civil records to positively identify his parents. However, we earlier pointed out a connection between a Jean Charles Cangé and an Alexandre who acted as godfather to his child in the 1820s. There were also other Alexandre-Cangé ties in the valley of Bainet and Jacmel during the early 19th century. In nearby Jacmel, for instance, one Jean Baptiste Alexandre was married to a Cangé and had a child in the 1818. We think the parents of our great-great-grandmother may have been from close Alexandre and Cangé backgrounds, perhaps living in or near Bergin (Begin) but lack the required documents to prove it. Nonetheless, we're willing to bet good money Jean Michel Cangé was somehow related to Jean Charles Celin Cangé or another one of the Cangé living in the valley of Bainet during the 1790s. After all, the valley isn't that large of a place and many people must have remained in the area after independence. 

Cange Revisited, Part 2

The father of Jean Charles was baptized in 1760, also available on ANOM's website

Although we still face the huge problem with a lack of documents for the period from 1796-1803 and several years missing for the 19th century Bainet records in the Haitian National Archives, we thought it might be useful to expand on our last post. Using an 1827 birth act recorded for someone born in the same valley section of Bainet as our great-great-grandmother's father, plus the name of the godfather, we deduced the possible identity of his parents. We found it likely that our great-great-great-grandfather, Jean Michel Cangé, born in or about 1829, was the son of a Jean Charles Cangé and a Marie Jeanne Barthelemy. We would like confirmation with an acte de naissance, but the range of years for Jean Michel's birth have not survived. 

The 1729 baptism of Pierre Cangé, son of Jean and Marguerite (Butet, we think).

As previously stated, we searched for records of a Jean Charles Cangé born in the late colonial period, since we assumed Jean Michel's father was at likely at least 20 or older when the other son was born in 1825. We located one Jean Charles Cangé in our region in the late 18th century, baptized in 1789. That Jean Charles Cangé was the son of a Jean Pierre Cangé and Marie Louise Sougrain. Surprisingly, Jean Pierre Cangé was born in 1760, and baptized in Leogane. His father's name did not appear in the baptismal record, yet his marriage record identified him as Pierre Celin dit Cangé. Sometime between 1760 and his marriage in 1783, Jean Pierre's father recognized him.

In 1768, a Terrien married Elisabeth Cangé. Her parents, Jean Celin and Marguerite Butet, were described as free "mulattoes" 

The trouble now becomes identifying this Pierre Celin dit Cangé. There were far too many people carrying variations of Pierre or Jean or a combination of the two in 18th century Bainet, Jacmel, and Grand-Goave. This may have arisen from the original Cangé in this part of the island, which included 2 adult males according to a 1703 census. It is possible that these two adult males included a Jean and a Pierre who each passed on their names. We know that a Pierre Cangé baptized in Jacmel in 1729 was the son of a Jean Cangé and his wife, Marguerite (both presumably mixed-race). His godfather was named Pierre Cangé, perhaps a brother, cousin, or uncle of his father. Our original theory was that the Pierre Cangé baptized in 1729 married a Petit, and became the progenitor of several more Cangé in the 1750s-1770s. If he was the father of our Jean Pierre, born in 1760, he does not seem likely to have ever married his illegitimate son's mother.

If, however, the father of Jean Pierre was a Pierre Celin Cangé whose paper trail was recorded in Grand-Goave and not the same person as Pierre Louis Celin, we cannot identify him at the present stage. The Pierre Cangé born in 1729 seems like the best candidate based on age and known living locations. However, we still have to figure out his alleged "legitimacy" and if there was a Pierre Celin Cangé who did eventually marry the mother, Marie Francoise Geoffroy. The Petit-Harpon, Leogane, and Bainet connections make us inclined to see Jean Pierre as a grandson of Marguerite Butet, but we need more documents to affirm that theory. Either way, understanding Jean Pierre as born out of wedlock might have made him someone of lesser social standing?

Revisiting the Cangé

Jean Michel Cangé and our Alexandre appear here.

Although Cangé was and is a common surname, we are revisiting it to trace the origins of our great-great-grandmother, Marie Thérèse Cangé. A seamstress and farmer born sometime in the 1860s, our great-great-grandmother lived well into the 20th century. From the sole extant photograph of her and some of the descriptions recalled from our grandmother, we have a limited idea of who she was and cannot begin to imagine what her life was like. Of course, we could not even begin to imagine living in the Vallée of Bainet in the 19th century or the life of material deprivation or disease which characterized 19th century Caribbean peasant populations.

Our Marie Therese, born in c.1867 in the Bejin section of the valley of Bainet. Her father was Assez or Jean Michel, born in c.1829. His father was probably a Jean Charles, perhaps the one born in 1788.

In 1806, some of the old ancien libre Cangé were living in Jacmel. Dame Marie Magdelaine Cangé, married to a Varache, had General Pierre Cangé serve as her child's (Jean Baptiste) godfather.

What we could uncover from her past is the name of her parents and, perhaps, some of her father's origin. Her father, Assez or Jean Michel Assez Cangé, was a resident of the valley born in or around 1829. The paucity of surviving records from Bainet for much of the early 19th century made it difficult to pinpoint his origins. Fortunately, the indexed records on Family Search made it easier for surprise discoveries. An 1827 record identifying a Louis Jean Cangé born in 1825 provided the light. It identifies Louis Jean's parents as Jean Charles Cangé and Marie Jeanne Barthelemy, residents of the Vallée.

Almost indecipherable, this 1827 document identifies Jean Charles Cangé and Marie Jeanne Barthelemy.

Even more convincing of a possible link to our great-great-grandmother is the name of Louis Jean's godfather: Desiré Alexandre. We know that our great-great-grandmother's mother was named Chérilise Alexandre. It is likely that the Alexandre and Cangé of the valley were close. That helps explain why Jean Michel Assez ended up with Chérilise Alexandre. Moreover, this tells us that Chérilise's father could have been named Desiré or he was likely part of the same family. The Alexandre of the valley were also linked to the Tournesy, another family with marriage ties to the Francois. It was a small world, so everyone knew everyone else. 

1789 Baptism of a Jean Charles Cangé.

Knowing that Jean Michel Assez was born in c.1829, and his brother was born in 1825, we suspect their parents were born in the late 1700s or very early 1800s. Since the Cangé were a large family of free people of color in the 18th century, spread across Bainet, Jacmel, and Petit-Harpon, we thought it useful to check Saint Domingue records (digitized and available at Archives nationales d'outre-mer) for anyone with a name of Jean Charles born in the late 1700s. To our surprise, there was a man of that name born in 1788. His 1789 baptism was recorded in Jacmel, and it identified him as Jean Charles Celin Cangé, son of Jean Pierre Celin Cangé and Marie Louise Saugrain. His godfather was Jean Charles Celin Cangé, godmother Marguerite Celin Cangé. Marie Louise Saugrain and Jean Pierre Cangé also had at least one other child, a Jean Louis Alexis, baptized in 1784. His godfather was Alexis Saugrain, and he was certainly an older brother of Jean Charles. Anyway, the two were married in 1783, and neither one knew how to sign their name. The parents of Jean Pierre Celin were listed as Pierre Celin dit Cangé and Marie Francoise Geoffroy.

1784 Baptism of a Jean Louis Alexis, brother of Jean Charles.

In 1806, Marie Jenevieve's birth was recorded. The daughter of a soldier named Pascal, she was born in 1798 on the habitation Calit Cangé in the valley of Bainet.

These Cangé were from the Petit-Harpon branch, the group that bequeathed Pierre Cangé to the struggle for Haitian independence. However, the Cangé free people of color were all related in those days, many deriving from the union of a Jean Celin Cangé and a woman of color, Marguerite Butet. We have discussed Marguerite Butet before, and thought it worthwhile to share that she died in 1786, in Bainet. The Cangé living in the valley of Bainet before Haitian independence included her relatives, such as Jean Louis Cangé and his wife, a Favre from Croix-des-Bouquets. We won't bore you with rants on the Cangé origins anymore than we have done in the past, but it might be worthwhile to take a look here.

The 1786 death of Marguerite Butet reported here. We suspect this woman's sister was one of the ancestor of several Boursiquot of Jacmel in the 1700s.

We know a Jean Pierre Cangé was living in the valley of Bainet because he served as the godfather to a Marie Antoinette Lanneau in 1791. He was unable to sign his name and was probably the very same Jean Pierre Cangé married to Marie Louise Saugrain. Of course, this would also make him the father of Jean Charles Cangé and established in the valley section within a few years after 1788.

Although our theory for the origins of Jean Michel Cangé requires more proof, we find it likely that he could be a descendant of the less fortunate, illiterate members of the Cangé family already living in the area before 1804. In fact, it is possible that a more established, wealthy Cangé like Jean Louis and his wife Charlotte may have supported or attracted relatives to the valley. We know the valley also included Pierre Louis Cangé and his wife, Marie Elisabeth Barreau, in addition to a Jean Pierre Cangé, a griffe. It may not have been too surprising or difficult for free people of color with less means or education to marry or reproduce with ex-slaves and their descendants in the early 19th century, giving birth to people like my great-great-grandmother, with nouveau libre and ancien libre blood. The close relations between less fortunate free people of color and the enslaved majority must have encouraged intermingling. 

The marriage of Pierre Cangé and Marie Louise Saugrain. The Saugrain name goes back to the earliest days of the Jacmel quarter, and appears to have been associated with a number of free people of color, including a mixed-race Marie Saugrain, baptized in 1718 in Bainet. Her emancipation was also proclaimed in her baptism, but her mother's origins remain a mystery. They were also linked to the Gaury or Gory of Bainet in the 1700s, as Marie Saugrain married a Francois Gaury. Their daughter, Marie Francoise Saugrain, was baptized in 1738. Coincidentally, Beresfort Francois's mother used the Gaury name, perhaps a link to the same family or due to an old place name.

The fusion of free people of color and former slaves in the beginning of Haitian independence helps elucidate why some of our Bainet forebears were fair-skinned or white-looking. Some of our ancestors were free people of color, who were already known in Bainet as being disproportionately numerous. Indeed, the large number of free people of color who owned land made them attractive wives to French settlers in the 1700s. However, the true challenge and major interest of ours is to explore the African past of the Haitian people. That is a far more difficult task which requires tools and measures currently inaccessible. DNA testing is one option, but we prefer a paper trail. Perhaps there are freedom papers or more detailed records on the slave population during the Compagnie de Saint-Domingue era that could tell us more. Discovering how our Congo, Nago, Arada, Hausa, Mandingue, or even Madagascar forebears became Haitian is the final, most interesting challenge.