LE NOBEL

Ancestors

Our Dutch ancestor, Jan Lenart Lenobel, is of French descent and was actually named Jean Léonard LENOBLE. He was baptized on May 27, 1700, in Roncq, near Lille, France.  His father, Léonard LENOBLE, married three times. Was he the son of Henri LENOBLE and originally from the province of Berry? Or were his parents from Verviers, Belgium?

 

The primary source is the original Roman Catholic parish registers of Saint-Piat Church in Roncq. These registers contain the handwritten records of baptisms, marriages, and burials from that period. In 17th-century sources, Léonard is also often found as Lienard or Lenard.

 

Baptism date often equals birth date

In the 17th century and around 1700, the baptism date in France was almost always the same as or very shortly after the birth date. There were several reasons why the baptism date was often the birth date:

Religious necessity: In the Catholic Church at the time, it was believed that an unbaptized child who died could not enter heaven. Due to high infant mortality, it was essential to baptize a baby as soon as possible.

Legal obligation: In 1698, a royal decree in France stipulated that children must be baptized within 24 hours of birth.

Emergency baptism: If a baby was weak, the midwife would often perform an emergency baptism at home (undoyé), after which the official ceremony in the church was recorded later.

In the Roncq registers, you often see the text “né ce jour” (born today) or “né d'hier” (born yesterday)

 

Remarriage 

In the 18th century, remarrying quickly was quite common (see Léonard’s third marriage), for both practical and social reasons:

Caring for the children: Léonard was left with very young children (Marie Thérèse, age 5, Jean Léonard, age 2, and the baby Marie Elisabeth). In an era without childcare, a “new mother” was essential to keep the household running while the father worked (often on the land or in the textile mills around Roncq).

Economic necessity: A household was viewed as an economic unit. Without a woman to provide for food, clothing, and the animals, a family could barely survive.

Social pressure: The church and the community encouraged widowers to remarry quickly to prevent “immorality” and ensure the stability of the family.

 

War and Destruction:

The Nord region (French Flanders) was a frontline area during the wars of Louis XIV in the 17th century. Many early records were lost during that time or were simply never consistently maintained prior to the implementation of the Edict of Villers-Cotterêts and subsequent legislation in 1667, which mandated double-entry bookkeeping. Before 1650, names often varied greatly in spelling (e.g., Le Noble, Lenoble, Noebel), which makes verification in the scarce surviving documents difficult.

The village of Ronq is located north of Lille. The village still exists today and lies along the Kortrijk-Lille highway. However, it was completely destroyed during both world wars (WW I 1914–1918 and WW II 1939–1945) and subsequently rebuilt. As a result, almost no traces of the past remain. Despite these obstacles, research into our ancestors and their history continues.

 

 

1st Marriage of Léonard LENOBLE                                                                                                                                                           Léonard LENOBLE (father of our Dutch progenitor) was born around 1670 and married Chretienne CAMBIER on August 12, 1695, in Ronq. She was the daughter of Pierre CAMBIER, master surgeon, and Marie DELCAMBRE. Léonard and Chretienne had three children: Marie-Jeanne, baptized on August 25, 1696; Christophe, baptized on September 12, 1697; and Marie Thérèse, baptized on January 24, 1699. Chretienne CAMBIER died on January 25, 1699. One day after the baptism of her daughter Marie Thérèse. This may have been the result of a tragic but common occurrence: childbed fever.

 

The notarial deed of the marriage between Léonard LE NOBLE and Chretienne CAMBIER contains information about the name of Léonard’s father, Henri, his profession as a surgeon, and the witnesses to the marriage. Chretienne CAMBIER’s father was Pierre CAMBIER of Roncq. He remarried on March 3, 1682, to Jeanne DU CROCQUET. This notarial deed shows that Léonard LE NOBLE’s father-in-law (Pierre CAMBIER) was a surgeon in Roncq. The surname LE NOBLE was rare in the Lille area during the 17th century. Furthermore, none of the records mention any direct relatives of Léonard LE NOBLE.

 

Based on these arguments, it seems likely that Léonard moved to Roncq from another location to begin his professional life following in the footsteps of his father-in-law, Pierre CAMBIER. Various names (CASTEL, CROCQUET, MAHIEU, WAIGON) that appear in the records and Pierre’s family tree can be found in a letter from, among others, the aldermen of the village of Roncq regarding the income of the parish of Roncq. 

 

The parish record of the marriage of Léonard LE NOBLE to Chretienne CAMBIER on August 12, 1695, in Roncq indicates the region from which Léonard might have come. The detail is unclear and could be read as “Lorin” or “Berie.” So far, no suitable matches have been found in these areas.

 

Léonard LENOBLE’s Second Marriage                                                                                                                                                           Léonard remarried Elisabeth FAUVELLE in Ronq on July 27, 1699. She was the daughter of Jean Baptiste FAUVEL and Catherine HOTON. From this marriage, Jean Léonard LE NOBLE was born, our Dutch progenitor. He was baptized in Ronq on May 27, 1700. Two years later, on April 4, 1702, his sister, Marie Elisabeth Joshep, was baptized.  They were not granted a long marriage. Marie was only 7 months old when Elisabeth, according to the parish register (burial record) of the church in Roncq, died on November 25, 1702.

 

3rd Marriage Léonard LE NOBLE                                                                                                                                                            Fourteen months after the death of his second wife, he married for the third time. On January 26, 1704, his bride was Marie Anne VANREST in Ronq. She was a daughter of Pierre VANREST and Marie Jeanne SUING. Together they had eight children. 

Pierre Paul: January 17, 1705 - Anne Françoise: January 10, 1707 - Marie Anne: April 22, 1708 - Jean Baptiste: March 23, 1710 (twins) - Marie Françoise: March 23, 1710 (twins) - Catherine Joseph: July 5, 1712 - Marie Agnès: September 15, 1714 and Anne Marie: December 24, 1716 (died September 28, 1761). All were baptized in Ronq.

Léonard died on November 12, 1715, in Roncq, around the time his youngest daughter, Anne Marie, was born. His wife remarried six months later, on May 8, 1716, to François Joseph de Vos, who was also a surgeon.

 

 

Two scenarios for ancestor Henri LE NOBLE

At this time, we have two strong scenarios for the grandfather of our Dutch progenitor Henri LENOBLE and his wife:

 

Scenario A (Berry, France):

In Saint-Benoit-du-Sault, a Henri Le Noble (born in 1630) has been found as the son of Jacques Le Noble and Anne de Lerpiniere.

Although the Berry region is mentioned in old records as the place of origin, no concrete evidence has yet been found for this specific line to confirm that this Henri is Léonard’s father.

 

Province of Berry

In the early Middle Ages, it was an independent county and, until the French Revolution, one of the provinces of France, with Bourges as its capital. At the end of the 11th century, the French kings took an interest in the area, and in 1360 King John II the Good established the Duchy of Berry for his third son, John. The title of Duke of Berry remained within the royal family for centuries. In 1790, all those titles were abolished, and Berry was divided into the new departments of Cher and Indre. These departments are now part of the Centre-Val de Loire region.

 

Why the confusion with “Berry”?

Léonard’s marriage certificate (1695) refers to “du pais de Berie” or “Lorin”

 

A clerical error?

It is quite possible that the priest in Roncq misheard the place of origin as “Verviers” or “Liège,” or that there was confusion with the Berry region due to the similarity in sound.

 

Migration?

There is a small chance that the family migrated even earlier (before 1594) from central France to Belgium.

But the hard evidence in the archives clearly points to Verviers.

 

Scenario B (Verviers, Belgium). The most likely match:

A Henri Le Noble has been found in Verviers who married Catherine Le Hardi on November 12, 1668, in Verviers (parish of Saint-Remacle). She came from a family that had been settled in the Verviers and Liège region for generations. The name Le Hardi appears frequently in the local archives of artisans. Around 1669/1670, they had a son named Léonard (the father of the Dutch progenitor Jan Lenart) baptized (possibly on October 27, 1669) in Verviers, in the parish of Saint-Remacle, Verviers, Belgium. The Léonard born in Verviers matches based on name, expected year of birth, father’s name, and religion (Catholic).  According to the naming tradition in Verviers, the first son was named after his paternal grandfather. The choice of the name Léonard is the direct link to Henri’s father. Further supporting evidence would be helpful to confirm this lineage.

 

This matches perfectly with the estimated date of birth of the Léonard from Roncq. The fact that he later worked as a surgeon in Roncq suggests that he may have received his training in the Liège or Lille region before settling permanently in France. Thanks to the data from Verviers, we can look back another generation to Henri’s parents.

 

Henri Remacle Le Noble (1602–1650). He was a central figure in the Verviers branch. He married Mabille Le Charlier (died 1664) in 1632. The name Le Charlier is also a well-known name in the Walloon region.

The line itself traces back to his grandparents, Remacle Jean Le Noble, who married Catherine Leloup in 1594.

 

Verviers

At the end of the 7th century, monks from the Abbey of Stavelot founded a parish in Verviers, the Parish of Saint Remaclus. Around the year 1600, Verviers found itself at a historic turning point. During this period, the town underwent a transformation from a modest settlement into a thriving industrial center, even before it was officially granted city rights in 1651. Around 1600, Verviers’ economy was inextricably linked to the Vesder River. The low-calcium water of this river was essential for washing wool, which formed the basis of the local cloth industry. Verviers was part of the Prince-Bishopric of Liège, an independent territory within the Holy Roman Empire.

Today, Verviers is a city that balances its rich industrial past with modern socioeconomic challenges. Although it is still known as the “Water Capital of Wallonia,” the city has faced significant setbacks in recent years, including the devastating floods of 2021. Verviers is the second-largest city in the province after Liège and offers interesting sights that highlight its connection to water and textiles.

 

So we still have some leads to follow in our search for our ancestors. At this point, we’re not ruling anything out.

Many thanks to Matthew House for his time and effort, which resulted in this wonderful genealogical research.