The community of Lapèze in relation to the town of Sainte-Livrade shown on Google maps
Lapèze is a farming community about three miles north of Sainte-Livrade along the Lot River. It’s a lieu-dit, a small community with a name. It is known that several Védrines families lived at Lapeze since at least the middle of the 1400’s. While the parents of Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines – Jean Baptiste de Védrines and Marie de Raymond – had a house in the city of Sainte-Livrade, they also had land in Lapèze, which was most likely a farm.
This lieu-dit is what gave “Lapaise” to the Progenitor of the Louisiana Vidrine Family’s name – Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines. It first appears in the Marriage Record of Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines and Elisabeth de Moncharvaux when they were married at St. Anne in Fort de Chartres, IL.
The Marriage Record of Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines and Elisabeth de Moncharvaux at St. Anne de Fort de Chartres, courtesy of St. Joseph Church in Prairie du Rocher, IL.
This record in the archives of St. Joseph Church in Prairie du Rocher, IL perplexed many of the early researchers of our family, like Jacky Vidrine and others. They were confused because when Fr. Forget recording the marriage (in the above record) he appears to write “Jean Baptiste la freile de Védrines” for both he and his father. The record does, however, tell us where he was from in France: “du Diocese d’Agen.” This is what led Jacky to Agen France to search for his records. With the help of those in Agen, she found it in Sainte-Livrade and then discovered the nearby lieu-dit of Lapeze. It became clear that while Fr. Forget wrote “Lapeize,” he meant Lapeze.
Jean Baptiste Lapaise de Védrines himself signed his name at least once a little later in New Orleans as Jean Lapeze Védrines. Further, his second son was named Etienne Vidrine, dit Lapaise, and several of Etienne’s children carried the name in theirs.
Today, the small community of Lapèze seems to be growling a little. New homes have been built, and young families seem to be establishing their lives in the community where our branch of the de Védrines Family in Sainte-Livrade once had a farm…and which gave the name to our ancestor who brought the Family to the Louisiana Territory.
Fr. Jason Vidrine on a visit to Lapèze in April of 2025.