Map-FRA

France

OVERVIEW
	The Dibrell family is said to have come from somewhere around Paris, France. Charles Debrille Poston said that he had been "at the old home of the De Brilles, at Lagnx on the Marne, just above its junction with the Seine, 25 miles above Paris". The "Dibrell Bible" says that "He [Charles Debrille Poston?] visited France in 1872 and says the original home of the Dibrells or Dibrilli is at Lagry Junction of the Seine and Morne about 25 miles South East of Paris." According to Henry Barroll, "Dr. Christoffe DuBreuil . . . was born about the year 1680 in Lagny, a small village about thirty miles above Paris on the Marne River". While these descriptions may have come from the same source, they are somewhat inconsistent with each other and with the geography of Paris. The first gives a location of "25 miles above Paris", the second says "25 miles South East of Paris", the third says "thirty miles above Paris". The first indicates that the junction of the Seine and Marne is about 25 miles above Paris. Instead, the junction is about 5 miles southeast of Paris. The first indicates that the home is located at "Lagnx on the Marne", the second says "Lagry Junction" and the third says "Lagny, a small village . . . on the Marne River". The map to the left shows the junction of the Seine and the Marne [1], which is about 5 miles southeast of Paris. The most likely location of the Dibrell home appears to be 15 miles northeast of junction (20 miles east of Paris) along the Marne, at Lagny-sur-Marne [2], a village in the Seine-et-Marne region east of France. Lagny-sur-Marne is located 26.1 kilometers from the center of the city of Paris. This is the unit of measure that would have been in use when Charles Debrille Poston visited in 1872.

OVERVIEW

The Dibrell family is said to have come from somewhere around Paris, France.

Charles Debrille Poston said that he had been "at the old home of the De Brilles, at Lagnx on the Marne, just above its junction with the Seine, 25 miles above Paris". The "Dibrell Bible" says that "He [Charles Debrille Poston?] visited France in 1872 and says the original home of the Dibrells or Dibrilli is at Lagry Junction of the Seine and Morne about 25 miles South East of Paris." According to Henry Barroll, "Dr. Christoffe DuBreuil . . . was born about the year 1680 in Lagny, a small village about thirty miles above Paris on the Marne River".

While these descriptions may have come from the same source, they are somewhat inconsistent with each other and with the geography of Paris. The first gives a location of "25 miles above Paris", the second says "25 miles South East of Paris", the third says "thirty miles above Paris". The first indicates that the junction of the Seine and Marne is about 25 miles above Paris. Instead, the junction is about 5 miles southeast of Paris. The first indicates that the home is located at "Lagnx on the Marne", the second says "Lagry Junction" and the third says "Lagny, a small village . . . on the Marne River".

The map to the left shows the junction of the Seine and the Marne [1], which is about 5 miles southeast of Paris.

The most likely location of the Dibrell home appears to be 15 miles northeast of junction (20 miles east of Paris) along the Marne, at Lagny-sur-Marne [2], a village in the Seine-et-Marne region east of France. Lagny-sur-Marne is located 26.1 kilometers from the center of the city of Paris. This is the unit of measure that would have been in use when Charles Debrille Poston visited in 1872.

SEINE-ET-MARNE DEPARTMENT

Lagny-sur-Marne is located in the Seine-et-Marne Department, located in the Ile-de-France Region. The Seine-et-Marne Department is located east of Paris and is Department #77 out of 83 Departments created during the French Revolution of 1790.

Above: The Ile-de-France Region.
The Seine-et-Marne Department (#77) is the east half

Right: The Seine-et-Marne Department.
The Lagny-sur-Marne Canton is located in the north.
This Canton may not have existed in 1700.

LAGNY-SUR-MARNE CANTON AND COMMUNE

Lagny-sur-Marne is a canton located along the Marne River, about 20 miles east of Paris. The Canton currently contains about 30,000 inhabitants. The Canton contains 4 Communes (Towns), including the town of Lagny-sur-Marne. The town currently contains about 20,000 inhabitants.

An aerial view of the Canton of Lagny-sur-Marne	An aerial view of the town of Lagny-sur-Marne

HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LAGNY-SUR-MARNE

The town of Lagny-sur-Marne is probably dates back to before Roman times. It is located along the Marne River and is a "gateway" to Paris. The Roman name for the town was Latiniacum. Many changes have been made to the village since 1700. Charles Debrille Poston claimed to have visited the "home" of the Dibrells. It is not clear whether he was referring to the house or the town.

Here are some of the major events in the history of the town:

The Abbey of St. Pierre (St. Peter)

In 644 AD, St. Fursey of Ireland visited Clovis, King of the Franks, at Paris. Erchinoald, mayor of at the palace, invited St. Fursey of Ireland to build a monastery anywhere in their lands. St. Fursey chose Latiniacum (Lagny) which, at the time, was covered with shady woods and abounded in fruitful vineyards. He built a monastery and three chapels, one dedicated to Jesus Christ, the Savior, one to St. Peter (Saint-Pierre), and the third, an unpretending structure, was later dedicated to St. Fursey himself.

In 1179, a grand tournament was held at Lagny-sur-Marne. An estimated 3,000 knights attended.

In 1430, the English attacked Lagny-sur-Marne. Joan of Arc left the Royal Court with a small number of troops and came to Lagny-sur-Marne to help the French army there. When Joan departed, she left 6 swords. One of them belonged to Charles Martel, who used the sword when he stopped the Arabs at Poitiers in 732. This “holy sword” was hidden by a priest of the abbey. It would be always in Lagny, either in an underground located under the church, or walled in a pillar of the vault.

In 1590, the Huguenot Henry of Navarre laid siege to Paris, using Lagny as a base of operations. The Catholic League sent Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, to lift the siege. Parma successfully attacked Lagny and butchered the entire garrison.

So for an entire week the Spanish general kept Henry and his Huguenots chafing under their disappoint ment at being unable to cross swords with their opponents, and then, after bringing out a part of his army as though for battle, quietly but rapidly shifted the main body and brought it opposite to the town of Lagny, which lay a little to his rear, separated only by the stream of the Marne. Important as was Lagny, the 6 fortifications were of the old Style and such as not to be capable of withstanding even the primitive kind of artillery then in use. A bridge of boats had been provided while the Flemish army lay apparently inactive, and the troops that crossed upon it were ready to rush in and take possession of the place, the moment that a practicable breach had been made by the cannon. With the capture of Lagny and the butchery of its garrison, Parma accomplished one part of his mission. The Marne was once more open.
[Henry M. Baird, "The Huguenots and Henry of Navarre", Vol. 2 (1886), p. 229]

In 1598, King Henry IV of France issued the Edict of Nantes which ended the French Wars of Religion and granted various civil rights to the Huguenots. The Edict granted the Huguenots several places of safety.

In 1680, Cristoffe Dubreuil was born in Lagny.

In 1686, King Louis XIV repealed the Edit of Nantes and declared Protestantism to be illegal. Louis Gerevaise, a Protestant leader from Paris, was imprisoned at the Abbey in Lagny and was banished from France in 1688.

In 1700, Christoffe Dubreuil left Lagny and France for the shores of America.