The surname RANCEL comes from
France. So it has been always transmitted by family tradition, and it has been
proven by facts and documents. In the 18th century there were RANCEL living in
the town of Générac, not far from Nimes (Languedoc, France). Nowadays there are
still a few Rancel families in the départements of Gard, Herault, Bouches
du Rhône, etc... (Languedoc and Provence regions, Southern France).
But furthermore, there are several places called "Le RANCEL" in
the département of l'Ardèche, known in the past as "Le Vivarais".
These places are in Mayres (a site), in Aizac (a house and an estate) and a
mountain which is called Le Rancel in Asperjoc.
RANCEL has its origin in the old Occitan language, RANC meaning
"stone" or "rock", and "EL" meaning "water". "WATER
AMONGST STONES", "CURRENT BETWEEN ROCKS"... and precisely one of
the sites is a place at the shores of the Ardèche river, where the stream flows
among stones and rocks.
l'
ARDECHE
So the origin of the surname RANCEL is to be found in the département
of l'Ardèche (Región Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes).
Ardèche is a river wich gives its name to the département since the French
revolution, at the end of the 18th century. Before it was known as le VIVARAIS,
from its capital Viviers, the ancient Roman town of Vivarium. The bishops of
Viviers were Lords of the Vivarais until the 9th century, when it became part
of the domains of the Counts of Toulousse. In 1229 the territory became
directly dependent from the Crown of France, as part of the Languedoc
province. In the actual regional division of France it is part of the
Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region.
A research done in France about the etymology of RANCEL gives out the meaning
of "a place amongst rocks”, or "stream among rocks" in the ancient Occitan
language. Precisely one of the sites called "Le Rancel", in the town of Mayres,
is the shore and bathing area in the Ardèche river, where it flows among rocks
and stones.
"Way of the Rancel", in Mayres (Ardèche,
France). It is a small street leading to the path which goes to the site known
as "Le Rancel", which has been arranged as bathing and picnic area. There the
river Ardèche flows amongst rocks and stones, and you can clearly see the
Occitan origin of our surname: RANC = ROCK, EL =
WATER (*), "Water amongst Rocks".
(* The phoneme 'EL' coming from old
Occitan became in French, "la langue d'oeil" which became dominant
in the modern version of the French language, into "EAU" = water. It
may be clearly seen in words and roots like "Château" -castle-, from
Latin castELlum, and which is partially maintained in French words like "châtelain" -castle-dweller,
or castle-owner-).
(Picture by the web's author).
The place known as "Le Rancel",
in Mayres (Ardèche, France). Transformed into a public bath and picnic area.
The river Ardèche flows among rocks and stones, and one can see the Occitan
origin of our surname: RANC = ROCK, EL = WATER, "Water among Rocks".
(Picture by the web's author).
Place known as "Le Rancel", in Aizac
(Ardèche, Francia): a house and an estate.
(Picture by the web's author).
The "summit" or highest point of the
mountain known as
"le Rancel", over Asperjoc and Le Ranc, in l'Ardèche. It is an
ancient volcano (120,000 to 47,000 years old).
(Picture
by the web's author).
The house and estate known as "Le
Rancel" in Aizac, Ardèche.
The mountain "Le Rancel" in Asperjoc,
Ardèche. It is an ancient volcano, between 120,000 and 47,000 years old.
The site called "Le Rancel" in Mayres,
Ardèche. "WATER AMONG ROCKS".
water
IN
HISPANIC AMERICA THERE IS A LOT OF CONFUSION BETWEEN THE SURNAMES "RANCEL"
AND "RANGEL". THEY ARE TWO COMPLETELY DIFFERENT FAMILY NAMES. RANGEL
IS A PORTUGUESE FAMILY NAME, WHICH HAS ALSO SETTLED IN EXTREMADURA (SPAIN) AND
IN LATIN AMERICA.
San
Pedro church, San Pedro de Daute, Garachico (Tenerife),
where our ancestors were baptised and married.
Garachico
(Tenerife), view from San Pedro de Daute ---------------------------------------
The church inIcod de los Vinos, in Tenerife. ---------------------------------------
Garachico (Tenerife)
In the 16th century
a RANCEL settled in Tenerife, and precisely in Garachico (northwestern part of
the island).
There was simple
and logic reason for it: The island was conquered in 1496, and the
"Adelantado" (Governor) Alonso Fernández de Lugo gave land to those who had
stood out during the two-years war of conquest or had helped in the enterprise
of the incorporation of Tenerife to the Crown of Castile.
Among them was CRISTÓBAL de PONTE,
from the Italian city of Genoa, who had taken part in financing Fernández de Lugo's
expedition. The Ponte family received the land of the area where Garachico was
founded, so they promoted the establishment of craftsmen and settlers from
Northern Italy and Southeast France. That is, the region where even nowadays
still exist some families with the surname "RANCEL".
The first of our ancestors to be proven (with acts and documents) in an
uninterrumpted, direct line, Francisco RANCEL, was born at the end of the 16th
century (between 1580 and 1590). He lived in San Pedro de Daute, a village
above the town of Garachico, which at the time was the main port of the island
of Tenerife. Most probably he wasn't the first Rancel to settle there, but his
father or even his grandfather. His son Pedro RANCEL was born there, but he moved
to the neighbour town of Icod de los Vinos, where he married. There was born
his son Carlos RANCEL. Carlos' son, Ambrosio RANCEL HERNÁNDEZ, married in the
Canarian island of Lanzarote with Águeda FERNÁNDEZ de SOCAS.
Their son, Joseph Jerónimo RANCEL FERNÁNDEZ de SOCAS, was born and lived in Lanzarote,
the "Island of Volcanoes". His son, Mathías RANCEL de ABREU, was escribano (public notary)
of the
Villa de Teguise, then the capital of Lanzarote.
Matías' son, Domingo RANCEL HERNÁNDEZ, who was born in Teguise, joined the Spanish Army in the war against Napoleon,
(1808-1814). In 1815 in Cádiz he married Francisca
Javier PINTADO. In 1829 he came back to the Canary Islands, where he was
appointed Commander of the Royal Engineers in the islands. Among his eleven
children was Victoriano RANCEL PINTADO, my great-grandfather, who had been
born in Saragossa (Aragón, Mainland Spain) during one of his father's military
career postings. He settled in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where he was one of the
two official municipal teachers during the second half of the 19th century.
From these people
descend we, some of the RANCEL of the Canary Islands and Mainland Spain, as
well as family branches which went to Venezuela and Cuba, and from there to
the United States of America.
We have also found branches of our family in Uruguay and Argentina, the
REARDEN, descendants of Genara RANCEL HERNÁNDEZ, one
of Domingo's sisters, who married an irishman (Roderick or
Roy Rearden).
Las Montañas del
Fuego (The Fire Mountains), in Timanfaya National
Park
(Lanzarote)
The "thousand-years old Dragon-tree", in Icod de los Vinos
o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o
Aside
from these branches, there are many other RANCEL from the south of Tenerife, and
specially from the area of San Miguel de Abona. They are all descendants of a
José RANCEL and his wife María ALONSO, who lived in the 18th century in this
area dependant from the parish church of Vilaflor; probably in the town of
Granadilla de Abona. If you are a Rancel from these branches, you may contact me
and I can give to you the information I have about your branches. Thet are
surely descendants from the RANCEL of Garachico; although there are not all
links to connect directly with them, there is information about a Rancel from
Garachico who settled in Vilaflor in the 17th century. From him came this José
RANCEL, who is the origin of the many Rancel in South Tenerife and their
branches which went to Cuba, Puerto Rico and Venezuela, and from there to the
USA.
THE RANCEL and
VOLCANOES...
Our family's history is curiously linked to
volcanoes.
In the origin, a prehistoric volcano, where you can still see its magmatic
origin, which is called "RANCEL". There was originated the surname of
someone who, coming from the area, was called "the Rancel", or "the one from
Rancel", and who passed the name to his descendants in the Middle Ages.
After centuries past, about 1500, a Rancel settled
in the far-away island of Tenerife, in the Canary islands, created by volcanoes
and lava in the Atlantic Ocean, and he made his home in Garachico. A town below
a volcano... which would be partially destroyed -and its port ruined- by an
eruption in May 1706.
But at the time our ancestor Ambrosio
Rancel, born in 1687, was already, or went soon after, to the Canarian island of Lanzarote,
where the family lived until well into the 19th century. And Lanzarote, the "island
of volcanoes", experienced the biggest volcanic eruption in the History of
the Canary Islands, the breaking of Timanfaya, which lasted from 1730 to
1736 and changed the geography and economy of the whole island. Precisely in 1730
was born in Lanzarote Ambrosio's son, Joseph Jerónimo Rancel, our ancestor whose
arrival into the world was saluted by the most formidable volcanic eruption
remembered by the islanders.
Already in the 20th century, my grandparents Fernando José
("Marino") Rancel and Dolores Martín lived in Hoya Grande (Adeje, Tenerife),
where our grandfather was accountant in a British firm dedicated to the
production and export of bananas. I still remember the stories told by them
about the last volcanic eruption in the island of Tenerife, Chinyero volcano, in
November 1909, which took place in the same area where they lived. Although they
weren't directly under the volcano, which erupted further north from Hoya
Grande, a huge part of the population fled the area. My grandma told how she
fled to the coast, riding on mules, with her baby-daughter Albina (our aunt
"Alba" Rancel), born two months before, and her two sons Victoriano (three years
old) and Marino (one years old). At the coast they were evacuated by ship to the
islands' capital, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
There is clearly a link between us, the Rancel...
and volcanoes. ;-)
