Carignan Regiment and other Québec info
Dennis Campbell mentioned some information about the origins of the MADORE famile name, along with some related (dit) names of Bourlières, and others have mentioned Poirier, Thorne, etc.
I have no relation to these names, but have some general info about their origins:
Le Régiment de Carignan-Salières
About the Regiment: La Compagnie La Noraye of the régiment de Carigan-Salières (See - http://habitant.org/carignan.htmhttp://habitant.org/carignan.htm - for the lineage chart of the regiment and La société des filles du roi et soldats du Carignan for additional details). (See Verney, J., 1991) "The Good Regiment", McGill-Queens University Press: Montreal. The book has a very good history of the regiment and it is available at - http://www.Amazon.comhttp://www.Amazon.com -. The first ship of the six ships carrying the members of "the good regiment" was recorded as arriving 19 June 1665, but Jean Boesmé dit Bohémier, a soldier in the Régiment, arrived in New France on 25 May 1665, according to Verney, 1991. A nice webpage about the ships that carried the regiment to New France can be found at Michel Robert's URL - http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/6210/09_Nav_Carignan/E9nav_car.htmlhttp://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ranch/6210/09_Nav_Carignan/E9nav_car.html -
Jean Boesmé dit Bohémier was a soldier in the Régiment. Jean arrived in New France on 25 May 1665 (Verney, 1991.) The date is in dispute because the first ship of the six ships carrying the members of the good regiment was recorded as arriving 19 June 1665. Origin of the name "Bohémier": Jean's original surname was "Boesmé" but became "Boesmé dit Bohémier" in the régiment de Carignan-Salières.
What is a "dit" (DEE) name ?
Robert Quintin in RI (401-723-6797) published a book of "dit names" in 1993. Cyprien Tanguay was the first to publish such a listing, and his books are available at many of the larger genealogical libraries.
Under Québec's civil law (based on French Civil Law) the woman retains her maiden name instead of her husband's. A very experienced French-Canadian genealogy researcher has said that it was common in the 19th century for US border officials to record only the last name of an immigrating dual-named Québecois(e). An original "dit name" may have lost the original name upon entry into the USA.
The "dit name" business sometimes got changed around by the parish priest who was one of the few who could write. What he wrote down became law just like the notary.
There are a lot of theories about the "dit" names. Use of "dit" names was more common in early Quebec than it was in France.
A lot of French Canadians switched names themselves at the time of the English conquest 1758-1765. A man enlisting in the army had to take a "nom de guerre" which effectively became his "dit" name. The army likely required this for identification purposes. Suppose there were several men with the same given name and surname in the same regiment. Adding a "nom de guerre" would assist in keeping them separated in the records. Some non-soldiers likely took "dit" names for the same purpose - to better identify themselves from others with the same surname. For instance, there were about 8 different Tessier pioneers in old Quebec who were not related to each other. We would have had agenealogical nightmare if most had not elected to take a "dit" name.
Another reason - the pioneers who came to Quebec had to be adventurous, free spirits who wanted to do their own thing. This kind of person would want to add some spice to his name.
Example: French Militia fought along with French troops (Régiment de Sorel) at the battle of Carillon (Ticonderoga, NY) where the British suffered heavy losses. This regiment from the seigneurie of Sorel basically changed their names when the English took the census after the conquest in 1765. So, Benoit fought as Benoit in 1758, and were later counted as Livernois in 1765.
Any French Canadian not wanting to be recognized by the new English masters may have pulled the name switch for a while. All French of New France were in the militia from age 16 to 60 and were obliged to fight as required.
Ancestors originally named Godet (? Gaudet) were given the title of "de Marantay" by the French Government. After that, most descendants were then known as Marentette.
John Talon L'esperance (1838-1891) was from the "Talon dit L'esperance" line. He was a famous poet, author and was editor of the Canadian Illustrated News. There must be a bio or obit on him somewhere in the Montréal Archives.
La Carrière later became "Lecoyer" or "Lecuyer" and sometimes "dit Carrière" became "Carrier" or in English Coyer or Currier.
In Québec, notarial records exist because Québec, being a colony of France, ran under the principles of French law and all civil or non-criminal matters were handled by notaries. They drafted many commercial transactions such as land sales/purchases, mortgages, leases, powers of attorney and loans. Notaries also were responsible for papers of great interest to genealogists such as marriage contracts, wills, discharges of bequests, and applications for tutorships for insane individuals or minor aged children, among others.
Besides wills or marriage contracts, land transactions should be scanned because they sometimes note a familial link between the seller and purchaser. Married women were almost always referred to under their maiden names, making notarial records often the only source for this all too rare information.
Some notaries even made a practice of referring to previous husbands if a widow was remarried, sometimes proving a link which is very difficult to establish through church records. Thus, you might see a land sale referring to a woman as Mary Smith, wife of John Baker and widow of Thomas Best. It is important to read the little scraps of paper salted in among the legal documents.
Most pre-1900 notarial records are available to researchers on microfilm at the regional branches of Les Archives Nationales du Québec, grouped under the old system of judicial districts just as church records are.
By the mid-1800's, Quebec's English government required that all dual-named Quebeckers drop one of their two names. Many elected to drop their original family surname and retain their "dit" name. The 1800's was also the time of considerable migration to the U.S. The U.S border officials required that a dual-named Quebec immigrant drop his first name.
It was the "French" custom to list the wife under her maiden name, but the "French-Americans" soon fell into the "American" habit of having the wife "lose" her surname. In VT, try funeral notices in "The Burlington Press", death certificates or funeral home records.
The "DETROIT CONNECTION"
The Archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan may be able to help locate parish records for ex-patriate Québecois once they got to USA. Many of the Québec parishes either sent their records to the Burton Library in Detroit, State Library of Michigan, or the Archdiocesan Archives for safekeeping. They may have documentation of confirmations or communions, including names of parishes, for you to work from. They may also tell you where the family parish was in Québec, if the records are complete enough.
ref: Denissen's "French Families of the Detroit River Region"
ref: "Histoire des Canadiens du Michigan et du Comté d'Essex, Ontario", Montreal, 1895 by T. Saint-Pierre, talks of French surnames in Detroit area in the mid-1750's.
American-Canadian Genealogical Society, NH
It was the "French" custom to list the wife under her maiden name, but the "French-Americans" soon fell into the "American" habit of having the wife "lose" her surname. In VT, try funeral notices in "The Burlington Press", death certificates or funeral home records.
Manchester, NH has the American-Canadian Genealogical Society that focuses on French-Canadians of that area. Go to URL - http://www.acgs.orghttp://www.acgs.org - Donald Chaput, queries editor for "the American-Canadian Genealogist", journal of the American-Canadian Genealogical Society receives e-mail at - 102475.2260@compuserve - The Society website is - http://www.acgs.orghttp://www.acgs.org - Look at their Research Services. They charge modest fees for research. Fees are halved if you join the society which is also modestly priced. If you live in New England, visit them because they are the best library for French-Canadian genealogy research.
American-French Genealogy Society in Woonsocket, RI
The American-French Genealogy Society in Woonsocket (in MA, where MA, RI and CT borders come together) is a very good society which focuses on the people of S-E MA and RI. The theme of that museum is "La Survivance", and tells the story of the survival of the French language, religion and culture. They have microfilm copies of all the birth, marriage and death certificates for all of Quebec, as well as some other Canadian provinces. They are an excellent source for genealogical records if you are tracing a Canadian name. Go to - http://www.mtn.org/mgs/branches/nw.htmlhttp://www.mtn.org/mgs/branches/nw.html - with LINKS to:
Acadian Cultural Society
American-Canadian Genealogical Society
American French Genealogical Society
Cloud County Kansas Genealogical Society
Father Leo E. Begin Chapter, ACGS
Franco-American Genealogical society of York County Maine
French-Canadian/Acadian Genealogists of Wisconsin
French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut
French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
Kankakee Valley Genealogical Society
Northern New York American-Canadian Genealogical Society (1999: no internet site)
Northwest Territory Canadian & French Heritage Center, MGS
Southern California Genealogical Society-French Canadian Interest Group
Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society
It was the "French" custom to list the wife under her maiden name, but the "French-Americans" soon fell into the "American" habit of having the wife "lose" her surname. In VT, try funeral notices in "The Burlington Press", death certificates or funeral home records.
There are some really good Quebec records in the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum, which is part of the Springfield Public Library site, next to St. Mikes (hospital ?) in Springfield CT.
MAPS - Québec
There are a number of moderately-priced maps showing regions, for example "Estrie Plus", which shows all the country roads of the Eastern Townships. There are others like this one for other regions. A number of cadastral plans can be used to find the exact location of the ancestor's farm.
- http://www.virtuel.qc.ca/simmons/http://www.virtuel.qc.ca/simmons/ - shows Eastern Townships and Quebec Genealogy. There is a very old map posted.
Louisiana Parish Records
Evangeline Parish, Birmingham, LA, est. 1910, was carved out of St. Landry Parish. Birmingham has one of the best research libraries in the Southeast, some say it is "the best". St. Francis of Pointe Coupee (St-François du Point Coupé ?) Catholic Church, Diocese of Baton Rouge.
In his marriage record (found in BRDA, V. 1) his parents are named Gabriel Louis LeDoux and Marguerite Richomme. Richomme was his grandmother's surname. His mother was Marie Marguerite Monin. Gabriel Louis LeDoux's parents were Louis LeDoux and Marie Provost who married March 20, 1678/79 in Varennes, Vercheres Co., Quebec, Canada. Louis was born Abt. 1628, Notre Dame-de-la-Conture, LeMans, Sarte, France.
LaVerne Thomas III published a book "LeDoux: A Pioneer Franco-American Family". In his book, Fr. LeDoux corrects the error re surname of Pierre's mother. Although the book is out-of-print, a copy of the book exists in the Evangeline Parish Library, LA. Rev. Donald J. Hebert (now deceased), the publisher of Southwest Louisiana Church & Civil Records, said the book could NOT be reprinted since "the book is so large it would be too expensive". The book has more than 900 pages. It's a real treasure.
"The Diocese of Baton Rouge Catholic Church Records (BRDA), Volume 1-a" [Revised] says: The Registers of St. Charles Aux Mines in Acadia 1707-1748 is a book containing information found in the three old registers of St. Charles aux Mines, now Grand Pré in Nova Scotia.
The National Archives of Canada in Ottawa have the following census records for Quebec: 1666-1681 (N); 1825, 1831, 1842 (HF);1851, 1861, 1871, 1881, 1891, 1901 (N). HF means they only list the head of the household, N means they list other people living there by name as well. They also have land petitions from 1764-1867.
NOTE: A census was not taken in 1841 but rather in 1842. It lists only the head of the house. There are 4 rolls of film for Ontario and 9 rolls of film available for Québec. These are listed in the LDS Family History Catalog.
The 1851 census was actually done in Jan./Feb. 1852 so birth dates can be calculated from 1851. The birth dates in this census are not always accurate because many of the enumerators were semi-literate.
To get a microfilm reader-printer copy of a pre-1900 record, you can E-Mail - http://www.anq.gouv.qc.ca/ANQ-F.htmlhttp://www.anq.gouv.qc.ca/ANQ-F.html - or - http://www.anq.gouv.qc.cahttp://www.anq.gouv.qc.ca - or write:
Les Archives Nationales du Québec
Bas-Saint-Laurent et Gaspésie et Îles-de-la-Madeleine
337, rue Moreault
Rimouski
(Québec)G5L 1P4
Tél: (418) 727-3500
Fax: (418) 727-3739
Horaire: lundi au vendredi: 8h30 à 12h et 13h à 16h30
or the main archives at:
Les Archives Nationales du Québec
Pavillon Louis-Jacques-Casault
Cité universitaire, C.P. 10450
Sainte-Foy
(Québec)G1V 4N1
Tél: (418) 643-8904
Fax: (418) 646-0868
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Re: Carignan Regiment and other Quu00e9bec info
Thomas LaTour 2/10/09