SECOND GENERATION
François Baudouin I (see above) Born in either  Colletot or Valletot in 1703, but christened in Valletot in April of 1703. François was the son of François and Françoise Leprince. Somewhere along the line, someone started writing Françoise' maiden name as Lepreine  (more on this later). François apparently stayed in the immediate area around Colletot until around 1732. Around this time, all references to him in the Archives, such as his signature witnessing baptisms, ends.  I have to assume that he left for parts unknown around this time, but I don't know whether he went elsewhere in France, or to the Colonies. 

Now begins the mystery. Our family originally found François referred to in his marriage contract (1) to Catherine Petrimiche, his second wife. In the reference, the groom was listed as the son of  François and Françoise Lepreine. In those days,  most official records were based upon Catholic Church Parish records. Ms Forsythe's book indicated that he was a native of "St. Jesu de Collon in Rouen". 

Everyone knows that Jesus Christ was not a saint, and would never have been referred in this fashion in any Catholic Church document. A little looking around soon revealed that there were no Church Parishes of a similar name near Rouen or anywhere else in France during the 18th century. Using various Internet search engines for the surmane Petrimiche, or Lepreine both in the USA and French websites returned "0" hits.

I began to suspect that the information in Ms. Forsythe's book was faulty; and probably a mistranslation of ther 1769 marriage contract. Therefore, I began to look for the original document.  I made a number of searches and email queries, and it took a little while, but I soon located it at the Louisiana State Archives housed in the old US Mint in New Orleans. Within a very few days, I received a scanned copy of the original, and surprisingly , it was quite legible. Coincidentally, on the day it arrived in the mail, I received an email   response from Albert Robichaux, author of several books dealing with Louisiana history and the original families of several parished in South Louisiana, offering to send me a copy. Mr Robichaux has been a valuable resource in my search.

Without going into extreme detail, I was soon able to determine correct names for the Parish, the town, and the names of most of the individuals referred to  within the document. Shortly after, I located the online archives, and things began to fall into placee. Through my research, I discover that François was married twice.

Marie Jeanne Carelle, b. ?, died before 1769, based upon courthouse records from st. charles parish dated 1771 regarding the succession of "françois' late wife.  i have been unable to determine Marie's lineage. it is possible that she was a relative of charles carelle and catherine lemoine, who resided in new orleans at that time. Marie Jeanne Carelle remains a mystery. I suspect her name was misspelled in the the marriage contract, where she was mentioned as François' first wife. I suspect that her name was spelled as Carel or more likely Courel, a much more common surname assuming she was also from the Cure.  I still do not yet know where or when she and  François were married or much of anything about her. François and Marie Jeanne Carelle had two children: François II   (b. 1741) and Geneviève Catherine (1756-1797) married first to Andrè Jean Edelmayer  and then to Sebastien Hymel. Catherine Petrimiche (Petrimide) this name first appeared on the translation of a marriage contract dated January 20, 1769. The document states that François is the widower of Marie Jeanne Carelle and also that Catherine is the widow of Manuel (Emmanuel) Lafleur. The succession of Emmanuel Lafleur is also recorded in the St. Charles Parish courthouse.  However, the succession document indicated that the widow's name was Catherine Chemitte (Schmidt), not Petrimiche.   I suspect that Catherine's surname was incorrectly translated from the marriage contract and that her surname actually was Schmidt and her father's name was Peter Schmidt and her mother Catherine Leclerc.  There was a Pierre (Pietr)Schmidt included in the German Coast Census of 1724. Also, the Ursuline Convent orphanage records indicates a young girl named Catherine Pietr Chemite residing there in 1731.   I don't know whether this is the same Catherine or not, but the way her name was recorded and the timing are coincidental. Several databases, including LDS, credit Catherine as being the mother of François II.  She could not have beenl; he was married to Marie Jeanne Carel wat the time.