Roy Laran's Genealogy Page
Roy and Jo Laran
This page will be dedicated to the history of the Laran family in America beginning with its roots in Capvern les Bains, France.
The Laran Family tree will be included to provide the history of the family as far back as I've tracked it to date.
More will be included later. I have been researching our family's emigration from France to America and have traveled to
France to meet my French cousins.
Check back often if you're looking for a particular member of the Laran family.
Thanks for checking us out!
My cousin Emile and I were talking about family one day, and he mentioned names
I never knew. I thought that since he lived in New Orleans (our hometown) all of
his life, and was older than I, he had learned and remembered more. As a boy I
remembered that my dad mentioned people's names, but I never learned who they
were. I assumed that they were his friends; later, I suspected they were his cousins.
Ben Laran, Sr.
After this discussion with Emile, more questions were raised, which resulted in my
starting a family study.
My immediate goal was to find out how all of the Larans in New Orleans of my
grandfather's generation were related. Emile had mentioned our cousin Olga, whom
I never knew. I contacted Olga, and she gave me the names of her
parents and grandparents, as well as from what area in France her
father had emigrated. Neither she nor I knew how we were related. She
mentioned the Hautes-Pyrenees, and then I remembered my dad saying years
ago that he had cousins there. Then she mentioned the town of Capvern.
I wrote the archivist in the Hautes-Pyrenees Department, hoping that my
grandfather was also from there. I had already learned that he came to the
U.S. on May 25, 1891. The archivist sent me his birth record and the names of
his parents.
Simultaneously, I was receiving information from the U.S. embassy about Capvern.
I received the name of the local church and pastor to contact for records, as well
as a copy of the town's telephone directory-one page! I wrote many letters to the
Larans there, but heard from only one, a Rene Laran, who said he wasn't related. He
gave me, however, the name of a lady (Colette) there whom he said was related to me, and
that she and her father were the only ones who were. So then I wrote to Colette,
and she answered with the greeting: "Cher Cousin Roy."
My wife and I had already planned a trip to Europe, so now we were thinking
about extending it to include Capvern.
A tentative family scenario had been put together after getting together information
from cousins in New Orleans. It appeared that my dad's "friends" were
his 2nd cousins.
Colette answered that she would be delighted for us to visit. Neither she nor Rene
had replied to my inquiry about their being able to speak English.
Capvern
After our sightseeing trip was over, we traveled to Capvern. Rene met us, and I
said: parlez-vous Englais?" He replied "non," and I thought "uh oh." Rene was very
gracious, and said that we would meet my cousin later, after we went to the
courthouse. He introduced us to the mayor of Capvern, to whom I gave an honorary
Mayor of Baton Rouge certificate and a "key" to the city. He was greatly surprised,
and as he looked at his name on it he said: "c'est moi." After looking through old records for two hours we were joined by two women, and one, Cecile, could speak
English!We left there and were taken on a tour of the area, which included them
showing me the house my grandfather had lived in prior to 1891.
Jean-Francois Laran
That evening we met Colette, her husband Remi, and her old father Jean-Bernard,
who was ninety-one year's old. Colette had prepared a wonderful meal for us and we
talked, with Cecile translating, until nearly midnight. At one point during the meal Cecile
said to me: "Rene and old Jean-Bernard are speaking Patois."
I had a great feeling of satisfaction upon being able to meet my 2nd cousin Colette.
The train ride back to Paris was filled with memories of the night before.
About a year later I finished my family "tree" to my satisfaction, which started with
great-great grandfather Pierre who was born in 1799. It also linked together the Larans
in New Orleans, and I even found out that Olga is my 2nd cousin once removed!
Below is a list of my ancestors which includes two generations of which remained
in France:
Great-great grandfather Pierre Laran dit Pey de Bette (1799-1859)
Great-great grandmother Simone Tailade Antonie (1799-1870)
Great grandfather Jean Laran Antoni (1826- ? )
Great grandmother Marie Laran* (1831-1884) *maiden name Laran also
Grandfather Jean-Francois Laran dit Antoni (1864-1933)
Grandmother Eliza Monteau (1875-1944)
Father Benjamin F. Laran (1896-1962)
Mother Edna Haydel (1898-1980)
Eliza Monteau Laran
Colette, Jean-Bernard, Roy Laran
This page was last updated on January 23, 2005!
My cousin Emile and I were talking about family one day, and he mentioned names
I never knew. I thought that since he lived in New Orleans (our hometown) all of
his life, and was older than I, he had learned and remembered more. As a boy I
remembered that my dad mentioned people's names, but I never learned who they
were. I assumed that they were his friends; later, I suspected they were his cousins.
Ben Laran, Sr.
After this discussion with Emile, more questions were raised, which resulted in my starting a family study.
My immediate goal was to find out how all of the Larans in New Orleans of my grandfather's generation were related. Emile had mentioned our cousin Olga, whom I never knew. I contacted Olga, and she gave me the names of her parents and grandparents, as well as from what area in France her father had emigrated. Neither she nor I knew how we were related. She mentioned the Hautes-Pyrenees, and then I remembered my dad saying years ago that he had cousins there. Then she mentioned the town of Capvern.
I wrote the archivist in the Hautes-Pyrenees Department, hoping that my grandfather was also from there. I had already learned that he came to the U.S. on May 25, 1891. The archivist sent me his birth record and the names of his parents.
Simultaneously, I was receiving information from the U.S. embassy about Capvern. I received the name of the local church and pastor to contact for records, as well as a copy of the town's telephone directory-one page! I wrote many letters to the Larans there, but heard from only one, a Rene Laran, who said he wasn't related. He gave me, however, the name of a lady (Colette) there whom he said was related to me, and that she and her father were the only ones who were. So then I wrote to Colette, and she answered with the greeting: "Cher Cousin Roy."
My wife and I had already planned a trip to Europe, so now we were thinking about extending it to include Capvern.
A tentative family scenario had been put together after getting together information from cousins in New Orleans. It appeared that my dad's "friends" were his 2nd cousins.
Colette answered that she would be delighted for us to visit. Neither she nor Rene had replied to my inquiry about their being able to speak English.
Capvern
After our sightseeing trip was over, we traveled to Capvern. Rene met us, and I
said: parlez-vous Englais?" He replied "non," and I thought "uh oh." Rene was very
gracious, and said that we would meet my cousin later, after we went to the
courthouse. He introduced us to the mayor of Capvern, to whom I gave an honorary
Mayor of Baton Rouge certificate and a "key" to the city. He was greatly surprised,
and as he looked at his name on it he said: "c'est moi." After looking through old records for two hours we were joined by two women, and one, Cecile, could speak
English!We left there and were taken on a tour of the area, which included them
showing me the house my grandfather had lived in prior to 1891.
Jean-Francois Laran
That evening we met Colette, her husband Remi, and her old father Jean-Bernard, who was ninety-one year's old. Colette had prepared a wonderful meal for us and we talked, with Cecile translating, until nearly midnight. At one point during the meal Cecile said to me: "Rene and old Jean-Bernard are speaking Patois."
I had a great feeling of satisfaction upon being able to meet my 2nd cousin Colette. The train ride back to Paris was filled with memories of the night before.
About a year later I finished my family "tree" to my satisfaction, which started with great-great grandfather Pierre who was born in 1799. It also linked together the Larans in New Orleans, and I even found out that Olga is my 2nd cousin once removed!
Below is a list of my ancestors which includes two generations of which remained in France:
Great-great grandfather Pierre Laran dit Pey de Bette (1799-1859)
Great-great grandmother Simone Tailade Antonie (1799-1870)
Great grandfather Jean Laran Antoni (1826- ? )
Great grandmother Marie Laran* (1831-1884) *maiden name Laran also
Grandfather Jean-Francois Laran dit Antoni (1864-1933)
Grandmother Eliza Monteau (1875-1944)
Father Benjamin F. Laran (1896-1962)
Mother Edna Haydel (1898-1980)
Eliza Monteau Laran
Colette, Jean-Bernard, Roy Laran
