• Before the French revolution the registers of births, marriages and deaths were kept by parishes and parish priests did not really take care about spelling.

• The villages cited in the study are in the neighborhood of my grand parents’ town.

• A fact that does not help reading the parish registers is that some Christian names are also last names. Mathieu and Martin are good examples of this. There are also numerous last names made of an adjective and of a Christian name, for instance Grosjean made of gros [fat] and Jean [John].

• I suppose that godfathers and godmothers were chosen among parents and close friends of the family as it was still the case forty years ago. It looks like things did not change between seventeenth century and the beginning of sixties. First names like Claude, Nicolas and Etienne were still popular in 1960.

• You may notice that sons have frequently the first name as their godfather or as the father of their godfather. Later the godfather name was the middle name. I am actually Alexis P[ierre] Grandemange because my godfather was Pierre.

Someone named Demange Berlandier was called Grandemange presumably because his first name was Demange and because he was tall. This was recorded for the first time in 1638. Then up to 1717 people hesitated between Berlandier and Grandemange.

Demange Berlandier married Mougeotte N. [Today Mougeotte is a common last name in this area. I think that this is a last name and that the godmother of Marie is parent with her.] They were living in Menaurupt [rupt meaning brook.] They had four children:

• Claude and Marie Berlandier born on April 19, 1637. The godfather of Claude was Demenge Nicolas Francois from Sappois. [Logically the first names should be Nicolas François and the last name Demenge and he should live in Sappois. However this is clear that he is the father of Nicolas, the godfather of Marie and of Estienne, the godfather of Nicolas. Last names made of two first names are common in Vosges, for instance Didierlaurent. So I believe that Demenge is the first name and Nicolas François the last name]. The godmother of Claude was Presson Jean from Belmont. [Here I am not sure. The first name has to be Jean, which is a male name (John) in France. Is it the name of her husband?] The godfather of Marie was Nicolas, son of Nicolas Francois from Sappois. The godmother of Marie was perhaps Mougeotte, wife of Jean Richard from Censlaville.

• Nicolas Grand Domange, son of Demange Grand Domange born on October 6, 1638. [Here happens the magic. Demange Berlandier becomes Demange Grand Domange.] His godfather was Estienne, son of Nicolas François from Sappois. His godmother was Barthelemy, wife of Francois Picquel from Gerbamon. [We know that (1) the first name of her husband is Francois (2) Barthelemy is a male name. So we necessarily conclude that Barthelemy is her maiden name.]

• Claude Berlandier born on May 30, 1640 [I understand that the Claude born on April 19, 1637 died before May 30, 1640.] His godfather was Claude, son of Jean Demange Mathieu from Gerbamont. His godmother was Colette, wife of Blaise Briot from Gerbamont.

Demange Berlandier, also known as Grandemenge died on February 13, 1660.

His wife, Mougeotte N died on January 20, 1679.

Nicolas Granddemange, the son of Demange Berlandier, from Sapois married Marie, the daughter of Nicolas Lambert, also from Sapois in 1660. He died on January 25, 1665 and his widow married Jacquot Valentin [here Jacquot is probably the last name] on May 27, 1670.

Claude Berlandier, the other son of Demange Berlandier, married Marie N. They had five children, all born in Menaurupt:

• Nicolas and Jean Berlandier, born on January 15, 1675. The godfather of Nicolas was Jean Lecomte from Rochesson. The godmother of Nicolas was Anne, daughter of Mathieu Dechezdemange [which means living in Demange house]. The godfather of Jean was Jean, son of Joseph Antoine. The godmother of Jean was Catherine, the daughter of Gerard Cuny.

• Nicolas Berlandier, born on September 24, 1677. His godfather was Nicolas, son of Nicolas Robert and his godmother, Marie, daughter of Nicolas Berlandier [is this Nicolas Berlandier the aforementioned Nicolas Granddemange?]

• Agathe Berlandier, born on February 5, 1680. Her godfather was Joseph, son of Nicolas Berlandier and her godmother was Sebastienne, daughter of Jean Curie.

• Dominique Berlandier, born on August 1, 1681. His or her godfather was Amey, son of Demenge Claudon and his or her godfather was Marie, daughter of Claude or Blaise from Enselaville.

Claude Berlandier died on December 12, 1692.

Marie N. died on July 9, 1697. She was said to be the widow of Claude Grandemenge, also known as Berlandier.

Nicolas Berlandier, the son of Claude Berlandier married Agathe Laurent in Lapoutroie on March 1, 1707. They had five children:

1. Marguerite Berlandier born on December 16, 1715 and died on May 2, 1716 in Lapoutroie.

2. Nicolas Grandemenge, born on May 15, 1717 in Orbey.

3. Marie Anne Grandemenge, born on March 6, 1719 in Orbey.

4. Marie Grandemenge, born on July 18, 1720 in Orbey.

5. Joseph Grandemenge, born on November 11, 1722 in Orbey and died on June 18, 1730 in Lapoutroie.

Marie married Pierre Meyer on February 1739 in Labaroche.

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