Servignan Family.


Nicolas Servignan and Geneviève.

Irancy, Bourgogne had been settled by the Romans who appreciated the value of the valley with gentle slopes inviting the growth of wine-producing grapes. Our ancestor Nicolas Servignien was born there sometime before 1559.

The village had been ravaged during a siege by Huguenots in 1568 during the Wars of Religion (guerres de Religion) between Catholic and Protestant interests. The dirt ramparts surrounding the town served as scant protection from the assault by prince de Condé. On 7 February Irancy was plundered and many of its inhabitants slaughtered. The bodies of the dead were cast into a well in the west, its street thereafter referred to as la rue des morts.

The child Nicolas would survive to marry Geneviève. Their four children included our ancestor Germain and another son Guillaume. The Catholic church reopened in July 1575 where the baptism of two daughters, Madeleine on 19 Mar 1578 and Geneviève on 1 Oct 1579 were found.

Germain Servignan's Marriage to Barbe Villette.

Henri IV of France was the first member of the House of Bourbon to take the French throne. Born Catholic but raised as a Protestant, his reign was notable for its tolerance. The 1598 Edict of Nantes (édit de Nantes) granted rights to Huguenots, effectively ending 36 years plagued by religious strife.

Germain Servignan stood as godfather to Germain Villette, son of his sister Madeleine and her husband Jean Villette in 1601. Around that time he married Jean's sister Barbe Villette. She was born in Irancy on 24 Jan 1579, the daughter of Michel Villette and Chrétienne Coquard.

They would have seven children. Their oldest son, François, was to become Vicar of Irancy. Our ancestor Nicolas was baptized in Église Saint-Germain d'Irancy on 18 Aug 1607. It appears Barbe Villette died sometime after the birth of her daughter Jeanne in 1617. She predeceased her mother, Chrétienne Coquard, who died 20 February 1625. Nicolas married the following year. His father Germain passed on 26 May 1630.

Nicolas Servignan and Jeanne Vatard.

church
Bell tower of St-Germain

Nicolas married Jeanne Vatard in Église Saint-Germain d'Irancy on 1 August 1626. The daughter of a printer, Jeanne was able to sign her name in the record.

Nine children were born. Their son Germain became a wine merchant in Paris. Our ancestor Jeanne was the youngest, baptized on 16 Feb 1646. Her aunt Jeanne Servignan was both her namesake and marrain or godmother.

Jeanne's parents, Nicolas Servignan and Jeanne Vatard died before her ninteenth year when she decided on a bold move. Young woman were being recruited to help establish a foothold in the colony. They would receive passage and a small dowry funded by the King. Jeanne boarded le St Jean-Baptiste de Dieppe arriving in Québec on 18 June 1665. Among the 90 filles du Roi on board were our ancestors Marie Debure and Perrine la Pierre.