By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

EDGARD – Around 200 members of the Landeche/Landaiche clan descended on the grounds of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church last weekend to reconnect with family members both past and present.

According to family historian Sheldon Roy, Jean Landeche, born in Bordeaux, France, was the first Landeche to settle in the Edgard area nearly 200 years ago. There he met and married Adele Delanier.

Eventually the couple returned to France for a time, and while there a second son is born to the couple. Roy, a native of Marksville, La., said it was on this child’s baptismal record that the family name was first spelled “Landaiche,” creating the dichotomy seen today.

Roy said he began researching the family three years ago and has now made connections with nearly 3,500 family members. On Saturday some of them from as far away as Pennsylvania and California came to see where it all started — and get a healthy dose of family history in the process.

As the extended family gathered around the newly cleaned and restored tombs of Landeche’s long gone, Roy shared stories he learned while conducting his research. Following the stories, Deacon Nemour Michel Landaiche Jr., who hails from Georgia, blessed the tomb where his father was buried.

Following the blessing, the family members enjoyed a lunch of south Lousiana fare and gathered for a Mass at the church.