As I mentioned in my previous post titled “To me, genealogy is about…”, I have already made so many pleasant discoveries thanks to genealogy which have continued to convince me over the years that we are all connected.
Here is a “funny story” to illustrate this. And if you’ve been doing genealogy for a while, you will completely relate to this.
While working on Jérémy’s genealogy on his dad’s side (Jérémy is my son from my first marriage; his “closest-in-time” ancestors are from south of France and Italy), I noticed a last name that I already knew very well: “Viton”. (“Ting!” = Green flag in my mind + big smile on my face + heart rate accelerating with excited anticipation). Jérémy’s ancestor was Marie Viton (1767-1842), married to Étienne Agard (1765-1839). She spent her entire life in Mallemort (13) Bouches-du-Rhône, a commune about 1 hour drive from Marseille (13) Bouches-du-Rhône, where a lot of Jérémy’s paternal family is from.
Speaking of Marseille…
Never – ever – add an “S” at the end of “Marseille”…… unless you want trouble with Marseillais!!! It would be like removing the “S” at the end of “pastis”, and that’s just not right… That would be a double faux-pas… (Pastis is an anise-flavored spirit and apéritif, very popular in Marseille and the Provence region in general).
So… back to the “Viton” last name, and an hour away from Marseille… Our French friends Michel and Françoise Viton, who also live in Phoenix and whom I’ve known for over 20 years, are from Marseille… I was sure to “find a link” at some point between Jérémy and Michel. I told my friends about my discovery and my strong suspicion of “cousinage” between Michel and Jérémy, and gathered some of Michel’s family information.
Armed with enough data to start my research, I readjusted my seat, warmed up my fingers with excited anticipation, apologized to my keyboard for the upcoming beating, set my phone, my computer, and myself on “Do Not Disturb” (the latter directed at David, my husband. It’s my “I’m doing genealogy research — the outside world ceases to exist” look), and started researching Michel’s family.1
A few days later, sure enough… Jérémy and Michel are cousins! Their first common ancestors, Jean Viton (/1553-ca 1627) and his 2nd wife Jaumette Feraud (/1553-1614/), who were living in Lambesc (13) Bouches-du-Rhône, are at the 12th generation! So here we are, having known these friends for over 20 years in Phoenix, Arizona, across the world from Marseille, France, our kids were in French class together for 9 years, and not knowing that they were related! What were the odds… 5,826 miles away… Aaaah… the little joys of life and genealogy…
There is an “Avenue Viton” in the 9th arrondissement of Marseille. It was named after Pierre Jean Baptiste Viton (1810-1887) who donated a lot of money in 1885 to build an addition to the Sainte Marguerite Hospital in Marseille. Pierre Jean Baptiste Viton did not have any descendants, but he is a cousin of both Jérémy and Michel, having the same common ancestors: Jean Viton (/1553-ca 1627) and Jaumette Feraud (/1553-1614/)!
Genealogy
Here are Jean Viton (/1553-ca 1627) and Jaumette Feraud (/1553-1614/) on my Geneanet tree.
Jérémy’s line is from their son Benoît Viton, and Michel’s line is from their son Jacques Viton.
(FYI: on Geneanet, the “relationship” view (screen shot below) does not show the “green circles” indicating the direct lineage which are visible, however, on the “tree” and “profile” views).
- If you are not yet familiar with French archives: all vital records are available online for free on all French départements’ websites. You’ll find further help in my “Researching in France” section. ↩︎
My French Lineage 