I could have written about a few ancestors for this prompt, but I’ve already written about several of the ancestors who have a birthday closest to mine. This time I’ve selected Jean Breil who was born 3 days after my birthday.
Jean Breil was born 31 Jan 1812 in Izeste, Pyrenees Atlantique, France. He was the son of Jean Breil and Marie Anne Claverie Moulare.
Jean married Jeanne Mazou Berges who was from the same village. I don’t have their marriage yet, but their earliest child was born in 1834. They had at least five children from 1834 to 1845.
Jean’s profession was miller. It was the same as his father.
Sometime between 1834 and 1839 when the second child was born, the family moved to the village of Castet. It’s not too far from Izeste.
This Google Map shows the two locations. Castet wasn’t that far from Izeste.
Jean died 17 Mar 1862 in Castet. He was 62 years old.
There is one thing that is different between Jean and his descendants. It’s the spelling of his surname. The people in this region of France were literate and signed records for themselves. He and his father used Breil.
In 1827, his father remarried. He signed his name Jean Breilh. The children of Jean Breil the son are all recorded in baptismal records as Breilh. Braille is the spelling we are more familiar with for this French surname. Breil must have been a regional spelling. Why they decided to stick an h at the end in the 1820s is a mystery to me.
Jean Breil, the son, is my third great grandfather.