European origins of our Besners

Until recently, all that we knew of our ancestors' French origins, is that, from the marriage contract dated the 21st of April 1760, he was the eldest son of Jean Bézanaire and Marie-Anne Nogano (Nogarole in local dialect), of Rieumes (Riomoux in local dialect) more exactly of Savères, 6 km south-west and close to Rieumes, in the Lombez diocese, in the province of Gascogne, France, today the Toulouse diocese, Haute-Garonne department, in the region of Midi-Pyrénées. He would have been born in this area in 1728, since his death certificate dated of October 3rd 1796 mentions that he was aged 68 years old at the time of his death.

The geographical area, where many of the events and documents took place, was situated near the borders of the present day department Haute-Garonne and Gers; these two departments were anciently included in the province of Gascogne.

France in Europe

Regions in France	Midi-Pyrénées in France
Departments of Midi-Pyrénées	Canton of Rieumes in Haute-Garonne in the region of Midi-Pyrénées

Alain Costes has established a partial family tree of the Bézanères, the tree was completed by Mrs Marie-Renée Colin, born Bézanère. With several Bézanères with the given name "Jean", it wasn't easy, the results that we show here are not, so it is told, one hundred percent accurate.

The rural scenery of the Savès area

The conditions of origin of the ancestor of French Canadian Besner family were rural and very humble. It appears that his family did not own land until the 19th century. From father to sons they were "helping hands", renting out their arms; and lived in poverty.

This house resembles the one the ancestor of French Canadian Besner family could have lived in	The hearth was truly the center of the house

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