Help with French occupations 1660s

[goldie61]

Jean Girault/Girot/Girauld etc is often given as ‘dit la garene’ on his chidrens’ baptisms and his marriage in 1654 in Montreuil sur Mer..

1. Louis, baptised March 1657 (Notre Dame image 226), has his father Jean given  as ’soldat’.
All good.

Some of the others I’m not sure about though. 
2. Charlotte (transcribed as Gebault? Notre Dame) 16 Jan 1659 says something different after Jean’s name. What?

3. Nicolas Girault (Notre Dame, transcribed as Jean!) baptised 21.3.1664 has something different again.
It’s not ‘soldat’, but looks more like ‘soldre d’aix’.

4. Jeanne baptised 23.6.1664. This time it look like ‘soider d’aix’.
(Google translate tells me this means Aix spider!)

5. Marguerite baptised 28.2.1666 has the same words, although by now that ‘d’ in the middle of the word looks more open and may not be a ‘d’ at all.

Any ideas gratefully received!


I can't imagine this is Aix en Provence which is 1000 kms away from Montreuil sur Mer.
But I have found out there was a place called Aix en Issart only 4 miles as the crow flies east of Montreuil Mer.
It was originally in Artois, and only became part of France during the 30 years war which ended in 1648, and confirmed in 1659 in the Treaty of the Pyrenees. It would have been right on the battle front.
It seems reasonable to assume the French army kept a large contingent at the citadel in Montreuil sur Mer during the 30 years war, (there are dozens of marriages, baptisms and burials of soldiers in the registers), and for some time afterwards, and there may well have been an outpost at Aix en Issart, which Jean Girault had something to do with.

[goldie61]

And Marguerite (only allowed 4 attachments on a post evidently).

[joger]

Number 2 : charpentier

[manukarik]

Could the word soider/soldre be soudier or soldier? Old French for Soldier or fighting man paid for his services.

[Zefiro]

Charlotte, fille de Jean Gerault charpentier
What looks like a b, actually is an r (GeRault & charpentieR). See also the name of the mother (FourrieR)
---
occupation of Jean: I'm not convinced the middle letter is d. It seems an e to me.
I read his occupation as soieur d'aix.

I found it in this dictionary
https://ia800305.us.archive.org/24/items/dictionnairepica00dairuoft/dictionnairepica00dairuoft.pdf
page 155

In modern French: scieur de long. In English: pit sawyer

If I'm right he had nothing to do with the army.

[joger]

Zephiro, that's brilliant, and it fits with "charpentier".

[manukarik]

Brilliant, Zefiro! I'll bookmark that dictionary for future reference...

[goldie61]

Many thanks everybody for your help in unravelling this.

I finally found this entry for daughter Peronne in 1672, (some pages of the register at this date have virtually disintegrated with huge bits missing, making it very tricky to find).
Father Jean is still giving his 'nom de guerre' of 'La Garenne', and I think it's a little easier to see that word of his occupation as 'soieur' (d'aix).

Interestingly when he died in 1687, it only mentions him as 'Jean Girault dit La Garenne', and no occupation given. Almost as if he is still a soldier, or at least still using his nom de guerre.

What is the actual translation of that word 'aix'?
I can't find anything that reasonably fits in on-line dictionaries.
Nothing to do with a place name then?!

[joger]

In this case I understand the word aix  as the word " axe" , mostly the tree trunk.