The roots of the Aycar [Aycard, Ayeard, Icard] family lie in the South of France, in particular in the Provence and the Côte d'Azur. My family line goes back to Six-Four-Les-Plages, located near Sanary-sur-Mer in the mid-1600s, where they remained until 1788 with the exception of the birth of Jean Joseph Aycar 1748 in Bandol, a neighboring town of Six-Fours.

Not much is known about the family, other than that they seem to have been mariners, as one of my Aycard ancestors died died on board of the Saint Antonia in the vicinity of Athens in 1818.

The first known member of my direct Aycar family line, venturing out of Six-Fours was Marie Anne [Marianne], my .... grandmother. She left France for the Levante around 1806 after marrying Marius Michel Geofroy. Judging by church records of the time, she wasn't the only member of the Aycard family to settle in the Levante.

Marianne's husband, Marius Michel Geofroy was a second-generation Levante resident originating from Saint-Tropez. He was residing in Tarsus at the time of marriage, where he was a French consul and merchant.