(Vue de la Rivière du Fort Saint-Pierre de la Martinique
Bassot, 1765, Bureau du patrimoine, Conseil régional de la Martinique)

This is a very cool painting of the island of Martinique in 1765, which the Védrines family has connections to. On a document from Barsac, France during the French Revolution, in November 1790, it is stated that Jean Baptiste de Védrines (nephew of Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines and son of his brother, Pierre Védrines) had three brothers who “have been gone from the Kingdom for more than 10 years”, meaning that they had moved out of France, most probably to the new world. Perhaps they were inspired by their uncle, Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines, who was the first member of the family to leave France for the colony of Louisiana in 1743. Pierre’s sons were Jacques (born at Preignac on April 27 1743), Pierre (born at Preignac in March 1746), and Pierre Augustin (born at Preignac on July 27, 1757). According to Jackie Vidrine, Pierre Augustine left France for Saint Domingue in 1774. There he married Francoise Celeste De Villeneuve. They had at least one son, Jean Charles Michel Védrines, who was born in December 1796 at Saint Domingue. Francoise Celeste De Villeneuve died on the Island of Martinique and was buried there some time before 1802. Pierre Augustine returned to France with a passport dated April 11, 1802 along with his son Jean Charles Michel, and they went back to the Chateau at Barsac. It was there that Pierre Augustine died on June 29, 1802. (Védrines-Vidrine: Our Védrines in France, p. 138). Jean Charles Michel Védrines’ son, Henri Védrines was born near Barsac in 1820. He was issued a passport on October 15, 1837 at Bordeaux, France for New Orleans, LA. He settled in the Attakapas district near St. Martinville.