Origins of Michel Le Borne (d. Valenciennes, 1712)

Research question

Where was Michel Le Borne, tavern keeper at the White Glove in Valenciennes, born, and who were his parents?

Summary

Michel Le Borne was not from Valenciennes. He married Marie Jeanne Manart at St-Martin, Cambrai, on 4 February 1687, and their first two children were baptized at St-Nicolas, Cambrai, in 1687 and 1689. The family had moved to Valenciennes by 1694.

This overturns an earlier assumption in the tree. His eldest son Jean Claude, later a master brewer at Cambrai, was Marie Jeanne Manart’s son, not the child of an unknown first wife.

Michel’s own baptism and parents are not yet found. The baptism registers of two Cambrai parishes have been read for the likely years with no result, and the search continues in the earlier volumes and through a godmother, Maria Le Borgne, who is probably his kin.

Findings

1 Marriage of Michel Le Borgne and Joanna Manart, Cambrai, 4 February 1687 Proven

Transcription4ª februarij 1687 matrimonio juncti sunt Michael Le borgne et Joanna Manart parochiae hujus, denunciato uno banno et dispensatis duobus, testes fuere Joannes Dercourt[?], Franciscus Prevost[?] et plures alii…

TranslationOn 4 February 1687 Michel Le Borgne and Jeanne Manart, of this parish, were joined in marriage, one bann published and two dispensed; witnesses Jean Dercourt[?], François Prevost[?] and many others.

AnalysisManart is a rare surname, and Michel’s wife in Valenciennes was Marie Jeanne Manart. The marriage was never found in Valenciennes because the parish books there before 1694 are lost. No ages or parents are given. Witness surnames are uncertain because the image is low resolution.

Cambrai, St-Martin parish, marriages 1664–1702, folio 65; Archives départementales du Nord, 5 Mi 012 R 021, image 38. Found through the parish table, 5 Mi 012 R 003.

2 Baptism of Jean Claude, son of Michel Leborne and Marie Jeanne Manart, 30 October 1687 Proven

TranscriptionDie 30ª 8bris baptizatus fuit Joannes Claudius filius legitimus Michaelis Leborne et Mariae Joannae Manar. eius susceptores fuerunt Joannes Claudius Lepine et Dom[icel]la Isabella Masselot.

TranslationOn 30 October was baptized Jean Claude, legitimate son of Michel Leborne and Marie Jeanne Manart; his godparents were Jean Claude Lepine and Demoiselle Isabelle Masselot.

AnalysisBoth parents’ names match the Valenciennes couple exactly. The 1707 marriage contract names “Jean Claude, aged 21” among Michel’s living children, and the Cambrai brewer Jean Claude Leborgne was buried in December 1747 “aged sixty”. A birth in October 1687 fits both. The earlier tree placed his birth about 1686 and gave him an unknown mother; that is now withdrawn.

Cambrai, St-Nicolas parish, baptisms 1658–1694, folio 663; Archives départementales du Nord, 5 Mi 012 R 025, image 97.

4 Marie Jeanne Manart probably baptized at La Madeleine, Cambrai, 30 August 1665 [?] Probable

TranscriptionMarie Jenne Manar[t?] fille de Hierosme et Barbe Douchet[?]…

TranslationMarie Jeanne Manart, daughter of Hierosme [Manart] and Barbe Douchet.

AnalysisShe would be 21 at the 1687 marriage, which fits, and her sister Marie Anne (b. 1663) matches the Marie Anne Manart who married Jean Claude Lespine, godfather to both of Michel’s Cambrai children. Not yet proven: no record links Michel’s wife to these parents by name.

Cambrai, Ste-Marie-Madeleine parish, baptisms 1594–1695, image 801; Archives départementales du Nord. The page is faint.

Ruled out

• Michel Le Borgne who married Anne Le Clerc at St-Nicolas, Cambrai, in 1666 is a different man: he was buried at Cambrai in 1720 aged 80, while ours was buried at Valenciennes in 1712.
• The parents given in online trees, Nicolas LeBorgne and Josette Darembourg, are a phantom pairing with no source; WikiTree removed them in 2020.
• A candidate baptism for Marie Jeanne Menart at St-Géry, Valenciennes, in 1673 is withdrawn: she would have been 13 at the marriage.

Search log (excerpt)

The full search log for this line has more than 40 entries, including every search that came up empty. An excerpt follows.

Open questions

• Where and when was Michel baptized, and who were his parents?
• Who was Maria Le Borgne, godmother in 1689?
• Was Michel part of the Le Borgne household of Michel Leborne and Jeanne Fi[?]lle at La Madeleine in the 1640s, or of Jean le Borgne and Elizabeth Quaranthomme at St-Nicolas?

Next steps

1. Read the La Madeleine, Cambrai, baptisms of the 1630s–1650s page by page (in progress).
2. Read the La Madeleine and St-Martin marriage sections for 1625–1695, looking for Michel’s parents and for Maria Le Borgne.
3. Ask the Archives départementales du Nord about Cambrai marriage dispensations and contracts for 1687, which often name the couple’s parents.