Surname help

Question

I was working on a profile and the wife had no last name I assumed she was illegitimate since that's what the reasons were in other records I've worked with but I just found their marriage record and her parents do not have any surnames either, instead, they have "d'autre part" I have never come across this before and I'm curious as to what it means? The husband's mother also has no surname she has "d'une part".

Comments

Where is it ? In the French West Indies ?

If so, when ? Before or just after the slave emancipation ?

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It was in Saint-Barthélemy 1849

Acte de mariage

Slide 12  Acte n° 480

Answer 1

d’une part et d'autre part. On one side and the other. 

Which really doesn’t get you anywhere, except depending on the times, they may not of had a last name and we’re just known as Jack and Jill of The Hill.

Comments

Thank you, sorry for the late reply was dealing with health issues. I suspect you may be right because upon their marriage they legalized 7 children who all took different last names, 1 child took their father's first name as his last name the others took "Piton" which the father's family were using as a last name BUT on one of their daughter's marriage certificate she was listed as using the father's first name as her last name and the father went by "dit Piguion", it's really confusing.

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I think piton and dit (called) piguoin might be a case of mis hearing, especially if they were illiterate and some stranger did the recording.

Answer 2

In the recording of a marriage, d'une part refers to the groom and d'autre part refers to the bride.

Comments

That sounds like legalese: "the party of the first part" and "the party of the second part".

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That sounds like a two-part document to me do you have access or is there an arrow on the document? are you online? In Canada, sometimes are Census records when we open them up have page numbers at the top and we can click to the next page to see other families in the same census area. Maybe it's the same for you?

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The document isn't two-part just one page and it's found here Acte de mariage   Slide 12 acte n°480

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In 1849, the island is still swedish. I don't know if it's like in Guadeloupe where the lack of family names indicates that the people concerned are freed slaves or free people of color.

After the end of slavery in 1848, the French authorities gave surnames to all the newly freed slaves. Slaves only got a first name. It took several years. For example, on the small island of La Désirade in 1849, most of the grooms and brides only have given names because they haven't been registered yet.

The people freed between 1837 and 1848 received a family name during the manumission process.

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I see!  I totally understand now.

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D'une part et d'autre part

A marriage is a legal contract between two people, two parties

The first party is the groom on one side and the second party is the bride on the other side.

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A la French genealogy

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Thank you! I think you're right about them probably being newly freed or free people of color. The only frustrating thing is I haven't been able to trace this family on Saint-Barthélemy after these early records they more than likely left to go somewhere else.

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If you don't find them, don't focus on the family name. The children probably also went by the given name of their father.

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Mariage record of Augustine in 1851 (frame 4 - number 4), daughter of Augustin dit Piquion and Gertrude

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In the birth record of her daughter in 1858 (frame 15 - number 25), she is called Augustine AUGUSTIN

Same thing in 1852 (frame 22 - number 46)

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Her brother Noël Pition could be the same as Noël AUGUSTIN, husband of Jeanne Rose Françoise. They have a daughter in 1860 (frame 2 - number 2). They are married. Their marriage record will tell us if he is a son of Augustin and Gertrude. 

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This was the review that brought my attention to this family. I looked backwards for their marriage record and from there her parents marriage record.

By this I mean the birth of Augustine's daughter.