Français
Set up on the forecourt of the Wall House in Gustavia, his stand is always busy. Alongside his son, Jérôme Montoya is busy signing his book "Saint-Barthélemy: Histoire et généalogie d'une île" (Saint-Barthélemy: the history and genealogy of an island) to mark Heritage Days this Saturday, September 21. "For the article, you take a blurred photo and don't talk too much about me," Jérôme Montoya tries to negotiate, naturally shy. When you read the three hundred pages that make up his book, the author comes through with a few comments or details of his approach. But it is above all the history of Saint-Barthélemy, and all the people who have brought it to life, that is highlighted in this work. "This book is like a big thank you to this little piece of difficult, rocky land surrounded by water," he sums up in the introduction.
A compilation of dozens of articles
With a mother who teaches history, the shipping agent has always been interested in the subject."At first, I worked on my genealogy and that of my wife for my children," he explains. But as his research progressed, Jérôme Montoya was drawn into the "rich history of Saint-Barth". It was initially in the form of articles published on his blog The Saint-Barth Islander that the genealogy enthusiast shared his discoveries. For the past ten years, Jérôme Montoya has been delving into the archives of Saint-Barthélemy, Guadeloupe, Martinique and various communes in France, to trace the island's family tree. "Today, everything's online, so it's easier, you just cross-reference the information and it points us in the right direction," he says modestly, without mentioning the hours spent straining his eyes over Latin archives.
In his book, which chronologically reproduces the articles in his blog, Jérôme Montoya is keen to share with readers his "journey" and the difficulties he encountered in finding information. "Don't take everything at face value", he says. Errors in the registers can lead to a series of inconsistencies. For example, marriage certificates written in Latin have given rise to numerous mix-ups, such as the Blanchards who were said to have come from Lille, whereas their ancestor, Jacques André Blanchard, was actually born in Noirmoutier, Loire-Atlantique.
"I'm constantly cogitating
Genealogy is also a story of frustration. "The elements are inevitably there in front of me, but where? "exclaims Jérôme Montoya. To increase his chances of success, he doesn't hesitate to consult the registers of neighboring islands. Saint-Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, but also Saint-Christophe or Saint-Vincent, the Saint-Barths are scattered all over the Caribbean. "Sometimes I get messages from families who left the island two hundred years ago," he says with a smile.
This quest for answers doesn't leave him a moment's peace. I'm constantly thinking," confides Jérôme Montoya. Sometimes I'm asleep, and suddenly I have the connection I was missing. Behind his genealogical research, this enthusiast's main aim is to flesh out the Saint-Barth of yesteryear. His aim: "To put a little color on what we imagine to be black and white. Whenever he can, Jérôme Montoya enriches the genealogy by indicating the neighborhood in which they lived, or the trade they practiced. This allows us to better understand movements between neighborhoods, and the paths taken by generations," he explains. For example, the countryside had links with the city every day, right up to marriages.
An English translation forthcoming
He confides that he is always "moved" when he discovers "surprising" unions between country girls and foreigners, such as the marriage between Suzanne Laplace from Lorient and Jean Giambrun, originally from Genoa in Italy. "How can parents accept that their daughter is going to marry a guy we don't even know what he's saying? It's extraordinary! "he marvels.
Even before he says it, it's clear that the shipping agent puts "a lot of heart" into his search. And he has no intention of stopping there. An English translation of "Saint-Barthélemy: Histoire et généalogie d'une île" is in preparation, and the Saint-Barth Islander blog continues to be regularly updated. With stars in his eyes, Jérôme Montoya smiles: "There's still plenty to tell.
"Saint-Barthélemy: Histoire et généalogie d'une île"
self-published.
On sale at La Case aux Livres, Domaine Félicité or from Jérôme Montoya.
Price: 30 euros
