Finding the Lombas Connection
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So I had found a Max/Mack Lombas in Louisiana whose parents were listed in his marriage records as Perrique Lombas and Catherine Baptiste. Now I had more questions than answers. Was Perrique our Pierre, and was this Mack our Mack? If so, why had they changed their names? On most of the Lombas family trees, the mother of Max Lombas is listed as Catherine Jenkers or Jenkins, not Baptiste. Using the white pages on the Internet, I looked up Lombas in the Morgan City area of Louisiana. I found several Lombas families in Berwick, LA where Max had died. In Feb 2009, Dad and I drove to Berwick. We called some of the Lombus families and found one of Max/Mack’s descendents. His name was Gary Lombas... my dad is Gary Lombard. Click here for a photo of the 2 of them together. Is there a family resemblance?? Gary told us that his sister had researched family history and that "Perrique", Max's father, came from Spain by way of Cuba. At this point I figure we have the same family, but his sister must have made a mistake. In my research I had found some Lombus in Louisiana who had come from Spain, but I figured it was another family with the same name. I figured Gary's sister had made a mistake and combined the 2 Lombas groups. I continue to believe that since Pierre and Mack were French, and their speech was misunderstood, in Alabama they had become known as Lombard and in Louisiana as Lombas. |
| Mack Lombas |
In April, 2009 I found a researcher for the Lombas family named Sandra Kleibert (cousin to Gary, who we had met in Berwick). I wrote to her and told her what I was looking for. Here is her answer:
Hello my grandfather was Frank Lombas he married Ophelia Sons in St Mary Parish I have some of the history. If you would like, contact me at s...@yahoo.com
Francois Bartholomew Lombas
Born: September 11, 1895
Died: June 12, 1967 in Berwick La.
He married Mary Ophelia Sons who was born Jan. 17, 1891 they were married June 30, 1936 in St Mary Parish. his father was Marc Narcisse Jean Lombas who was born in Mobile Alabama abt 1854. He died June 30,1944.
I am Frank’s granddaughter. I hope this helps I know how hard it is to find stuff. If you find anything please let me know.
Sandra and I shared a lot of information back and forth, but what she shared with me didn’t seem to match what we “knew” about Pierre’s origins. Sandra's family tree showed Mack's parents as Pierre Lombas and Catherine Jenkers.
One day I wrote the following to Sandra:
There are 2 groups of Lombas in Louisiana… one originated in Spain then went to Cuba, the other is the line that includes Marc Narcisse Jean Lombas… his father and uncle came to the Gulf Coast from Laird, France. You can see that “Marc Narcisse Jean” is a French name. I think at some point, the 2 Lombas groups were wrongly combined in someone’s family tree.
Like I said, it’s a very long and complicated story and will take a while to sort out. When Marc Narcisse Jean’s father and uncle arrived on the coast, his father settled in Alabama and his uncle went on to the Morgan City area of Louisiana. His father went by Pierre Lombard in Alabama. After the death of Pierre’s wife, Catherine Baptiste, Pierre and Marc Narcisse Jean (his youngest son) went to Louisiana to live with Pierre’s brother. I searched for them for over 10 years, then finally found them using the last name Lombas. On one of Marc Narcisse Jean’s marriage records it lists his parents as Perique Lombas and Catherine Baptiste. That’s when I knew I had the right family.
One of Pierre Lombard’s descendants had a letter from France addressed to Pierre Lombas, so I think that was the original last name. On some of the Alabama records he is listed as Pierre Lombard, but on his marriage record to Catherine Baptiste his name is written as Pierre Lborns and he signed it Pedro Lombas. I think being French, people writing his name had a hard time understanding him.
During our correspondence, Sandra mentioned, “I have a book I copied from the Morgan City library. I also have a few pictures.”
The book was "The Lombas (de Lomba) Family of Louisiana" written by the late William Lombus, March 1994. The original copies are in several libraries in South Louisiana, but the author included permission for it to be freely copied. Sandra made a copy and sent it to me.
On page 26b, I had my answer. It was a photocopy of Pedro Lombas’ marriage license to his first wife, Marie Marcelline Azema Sevin. It was written in French, but his signature was a match to the signature on Pierre and Catherine’s marriage license. View the 2 signatures here and see what you think.
So, Lombard family members, here is what I have learned about Pedro Lombas aka Pierre Lombard. For many it will be hard to digest because it is so different from family lore. I would love to hear your thoughts when you finish reading.