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View Tree for Francois DaragonFrancois Daragon (b. 1664, d. August 25, 1734)

Francois Daragon was born 1664, and died August 25, 1734 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He married Marie Guilmet on 1697 in St. Jean, Isle D'Orleans, Canada, daughter of Nicolas Guilmet and Marie Sel.

 Includes NotesNotes for Francois Daragon:
A Brief History of Our Lafrance Ancestors
-----------------------------------------


Preface
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This history of our Lafrance ancestors in Canada covers the period from ab out 1660 to the present, and includes some information dating to the 1640’ s.

Aso on this website, we have provided a chart showing the complete descend ancy of our family in that span of time. There are, unfortunately, ga ps in our knowledge of some generations, because some records are not comp lete. Nevertheless, the Catholic Church in New France (now Quebec) was ama zingly thorough in its record-keeping from the very inception of the colon y, and genealogists have benefited from this thoroughness.

Since the marriage of Francois Daragon dit Lafrance to Marie Guillemet te in 1697, the Lafrance family has seen eleven generations. Those membe rs of the family who are small children now are part of the eleventh gener ation.

The descendants of the first generation are numerous. If we assume a ve ry conservative figure of four children producing offspring in each genera tion, the expansion of the family proceeds as follows:

· 2nd generation: consists of 4 descendants
· 3rd generation: consists of 16 descendants
· 4th generation: consists of 64 descendants
· 5th generation: consists of 256 descendants
· 6th generation: consists of 1,024 descendants
· 7th generation: consists of 4,096 descendants
· 8th generation: consists of 16,384 descendants
· 9th generation: consists of 65,536 descendants
· 10th generation: consists of 262,144 descendants


In the past two generations, families have tended to include only one or t wo children, but the number of descendants of Francois Daragon dit Lafran ce and Marie Guillemette in North America must by now exceed 300,000, a nd may approach half a million.

The First Generation
--------------------

Francois Daragon dit Lafrance
-----------------------------

The first member of the Lafrance family to arrive in North America was n ot named Lafrance at all -- he was Francois Daragon, a member of Louis XIV ’s Troupes de la Marine. He appears in a list of soldiers in a 1694 docume nt from the Ile d’Orleans, near Quebec city. His later marriage record sho ws him to have been 37 years old in 1697, so he must have been born arou nd 1660 somewhere in France.

At that time, newly-arrived soldiers in New France (what is now Quebec) we re sometimes given the nickname "dit Lafrance" by their companions -- th is happened to settlers named Dubois and Pinel, for example, and it also h appened to Francois Daragon. The "dit" name persisted for several generati ons, until the 1800’s. At that time, Francois’ descendants became wea ry of this lengthy name. Some began to call themselves Lafrance, and othe rs used the name Daragon (or some corruption of the name, such as Darrag on or Deragon).

There is considerable speculation among Lafrance family historians regardi ng the origin of Francois Daragon. At this time, no date or place of bir th have been found. This lack of specific information has given ri se to a variety of theories.

One theory is that the name Daragon (originally D’Aragon) indicates th at he was from the ancient kingdom of Aragon, which is now part of northe rn Spain. This theory is an empty one, however. Genealogists have found me mbers of large 17th-century Daragon families in areas of northern France s uch as Normandy, Picardy and L’Orne. Since these areas are on or clo se to the coast of France, it seems more likely that an emigrant such as F rancois Daragon was born there, rather than in Aragon. His name does indic ate that some of his ancestors must have come from Aragon, however.

Francois Daragon dit Lafrance died on August 25, 1734 in Montreal.


Marie Guillemette and Her Family
--------------------------------

Marie Guillemette (this name is variously spelled Guillemet, Guilmet) w as born on May 31, 1678 on the Ile d’Orleans and was baptised at the chur ch of Ste.-Famille. In 1697, at the age of 19 years, she married Franco is Daragon dit Lafrance in St.-Jean, Ile d’Orleans. Her husband was 37 yea rs old at the time.

Marie's father, Nicolas Guillemette, a habitant, was born in 1641 in Soiss ons, France. Her mother, Marie Selle, was born about 1647 in Rouen, Franc e. Marie Selle was a "fille du roi", a young woman sent to New Fran ce as a prospective wife for a soldier of the Carignan-Salieres Regime nt of the 1660’s. One of the regiment’s soldiers is recorded as "Nicolas G uillaume", and this is probably Nicolas Guillemette, the father of Marie G uillemette.

Nicolas Guillemette and Marie Selle were married in Notre-Dame, Quebec Cit y, on October 17, 1667, and had nine children between 1668 and 1691, inclu ding Marie Guillemette. The children were:

- Barbe, born September 12, 1668, baptised at Chateau-Richer, Quebec
- Jeanne, born April 20, 1670, baptised at Chateau-Richer, Quebec
- Prisque, born in 1672 and baptised at Ste.-Famille, Ile d’Orleans
- Jean, born February 20, 1674 and baptised at Ste.-Famille, Ile d’Orleans
- Nicolas, born February 25, 1676, baptised at Ste.-Famille, Ile d’Orleans
- Marie, born May 31, 1678, and baptised at Ste.- Famille, Ile d’Orleans
- Agnes, born in 1680, and baptised at Ste.-Famille, Ile d’Orleans
- Catherine, born March 27, 1683, and baptised at St.-Laurent, Ile d’Orlea ns
- Jeanne, born May 15, 1691, and baptised in St.-Famille, Ile d’Orleans


Using these years and places of baptism, we can trace the Guillemette fami ly’s movements between 1667 and 1691. For the first three years of their m arriage, Nicolas and Marie lived in Chateau-Richer, on the north sho re of the St. Lawrence River about 25 miles east of Quebec City. They th en moved to the Ile d’Orleans and settled in Ste.-Famille, on the north-ce ntre part of the island.

Why did they move from Chateau-Richer on the mainland to Ste.-Famille on t he Ile d’Orleans? The answer to this question may be found in the book His torical Reminder: Quebec and the Isle of Orleans, by J. C. Pouliot:

"The first settlers [of Ste.Famille] came from Beauport, L’Ange Gardien, a nd Chateau-Richer, anxious to protect themselves against the incursio ns of the Iroquois. Besides, the natural meadows on the north side of t he island afforded them excellent pasture for their cattle".

Nicolas Guillemette died on December 10, 1700 at the Hotel-Dieu hospit al in Quebec City (the first hospital established in New France). He is al so recorded as having been a patient there in April-May of 1692, and may h ave had an extended illness in the last years of his life.

After Nicolas’ death, his wife Marie Selle remarried. She died in St.-Jea n, Ile d’Orleans on June 13, 1719.


Children of Francois Daragon dit Lafrance and Marie Guillemette
---------------------------------------------------------------

As has been mentioned above, our ancestor Francois Daragon dit Lafrance ma rried Marie Guillemette in St.-Jean, Ile d’Orleans in 1697.

The first of Francois and Marie’s children, a girl named Marie-Marthe, w as born there on December 13, 1698.

By the time their second child, Marie-Marguerite, was born in 1701, the yo ung family had moved down the St. Lawrence River to Montreal Island. Th ey do not appear to have been in the main settlement, but on the north pa rt of the island, in St.-Laurent. It is here that their fourteen remaini ng children were born.

The second-youngest of these children is Philippe, from whom our bran ch of the family is descended.

But why did Francois Daragon dit Lafrance move his family from Ile d’Orlea ns down the St. Lawrence River to Montreal Island?

At this time, Montreal was becoming the centre of the fur trade in New Fra nce. In 1666, a census of Montreal showed about 900 inhabitants. By the ye ar 1700, there were around 15,000 Europeans spread throughout the colo ny of New France, and 1,800 of these settlers lived in Montreal. This sett lement needed to be defended to protect the profitability of the fur trad e, and Francois Daragon must have been among the soldiers charged with th at task.


The Second Generation -- Philippe Daragon dit Lafrance
------------------------------------------------------

Nine of Francois and Marie’s fifteen children survived to adulthood, marri ed, and had children.

Of these, the second-youngest, Philippe, born on June 6, 1720, is our dire ct ancestor.

Philippe married relatively late in life: he was almost thirty years old w hen he married Josephte Jean-Vincent in Lachine. However, they had no chil dren and Josephte must have died before 1756 (perhaps in childbirth), beca use Philippe married for a second time. This marriage was to Felicite Briq uet St-Didier in the village of Ste.-Genevieve on Montreal Island.

A notation on the marriage certificate describes both bride and groom as " unable to sign", indicating that both Philippe and Felicite were illiterat e.

Philippe and Felicite’s nine children were all born in Ste.-Genevieve on t he northwest shore of Montreal island, which is where their family must ha ve lived.


Occupations
-----------

Very little information survives regarding the occupations of our ancesto rs at this time. We can speculate that, as the settlement of Montreal gre w, farming must have been a logical occupation for most of the inhabitant s.

However, the fur trade was still a focal point of New France at this tim e. Philippe Daragon dit Lafrance’s brother Rene-Joachim was a voyage ur in the fur trade, transporting furs down the Ottawa river in a large ca noe with a crew of four men. A contract from 1740 has survived which sho ws him engaged as a voyageur in the service of one Julien Rivard, a mercha nt of Montreal. Once again, the document is signed only by Rivard and t he notary, but not by Joachim Daragon himself, a fact which suggests th at he was illiterate.


Perils of 18th-Century Life on the Ile de Montreal
--------------------------------------------------

Although day-to-day life on the Ile de Montreal was probably uneventful f or our 18th-century ancestors, it was also fraught with hazards which a re unimaginable in our own time.

Firstly, we must consider the infant mortality rate. About 20% of childr en did not survive beyond infancy at this time in New France (and this obs ervation is certainly true for our own family, as the ancestry chart at t he end of this document reveals).

For those who survived beyond childhood, diseases such as cholera and typh us were a threat. The causes and treatments for these diseases were unkno wn at the time, and epidemics might kill hundreds of settlers in a matt er of weeks.

Another peril of life on the Ile de Montreal, especially in Montreal prope r, was fire. There was simply no fire-fighting technology at that time, a nd fires could be astonishingly destructive. In 1721, a blaze destroyed ne arly half the city. In 1765, one-quarter of the city was razed by fire, a nd only three years later in 1768, yet another one-quarter of the city fe ll victim. The later 1803 fire, in which 25 homes were destroyed, was sma ll in comparison to previous incidents, but would be considered catastroph ic today.

A fourth danger was that of invasion by the Americans. An unsuccessful Ame rican invasion of Montreal took place in September, 1775, and the city w as actually taken by the Americans in November of that year. But the Ameri can forces, under General Benedict Arnold, were finally forced to retre at from Montreal seven months later in June, 1776.


The Third Generation -- Louis Daragon dit Lafrance
-------------------------------------------------

The first of Philippe Daragon dit Lafrance and Felicite Briquet’s nine chi ldren was a boy, Louis, born in Ste.-Genevieve in 1757. He is our direct a ncestor.

Two years after Louis was born, the British forces of Admiral Wolfe defeat ed the French troops of General Montcalm at Quebec city, and the colo ny of New France fell into British hands.

In February, 1779, at the age of 22 years, Louis married Marie Lauzon in S te.-Genevieve.

The first of Louis and Marie’s children, a girl named Marie Jeanne, was bo rn later that same year in December in Ste.-Genevieve. However, the remain der of their eleven children were born on the mainland, across the riv er in St.-Eustache, where the family appears to have moved in 1780.

The eighth of these children, Joseph, is our direct ancestor.


The Fourth Generation -- Joseph Daragon dit Lafrance
----------------------------------------------------

Joseph Daragon dit Lafrance was 22 years old when he married Pelagie Beauc hamp in St.-Eustache in 1809. Pelagie Beauchamp was 17 years old.

At this time, our only record of children is their son Louis, from wh om we are descended. Louis was the first of our ancestors to refer to hims elf only as "Lafrance".


The Fifth Generation - Louis Lafrance
-------------------------------------

Our ancestors appear to have lived in St.-Eustache for about eighty yea rs (1780-1859). Their marriages and baptisms occur there between 1781 a nd 1837. Then, abruptly, our family begins celebrating the sacraments in n earby St.-Hermas. Why?

The answer to this question involves an historic and tragic episode in t he history of Canada -- the Rebellion of 1837.


The Rebellion of 1837 in St.-Eustache
-------------------------------------

During the early 1830’s, a spirit of reform had begun to spread through Eu rope and the colonies of Britain in the wake of the French and American Re volutions. The American experiment in democracy appeared to be successfu l, and people in other nations viewed this model of government with some e nvy.

The early 1830’s also saw several years of crop failure and cholera epidem ics in Lower Canada. Many members of the working classes, who suffered mo st from these calamitous events, began to bristle at the indifference of t he small clique of merchants (many of them British), who effectively gover ned Lower Canada through influence. These working class people were suppor ted by some doctors, lawyers and journalists such as Louis Papineau, who a lso found fault with the Roman Catholic clergy for their complicity with t he British in refusing to promote universal education of the working clas s.

In 1837, mass meetings of these reformers, who called themselves patriote s, were held in Montreal and through the Eastern Townships, with thousan ds in attendance. In Montreal, the patriotes stormed the Armoury and remov ed weapons. Fearing an armed uprising, the British authorities sent troo ps to Montreal to crush the rebellion.

The climax of this conflict occurred in November 1837 in St.-Eustache, whe re over a hundred patriotes, led by local doctor Jean-Olivier Chenier, bar ricaded themselves in the church. The British troops responded by setti ng the building afire. Most of the patriotes were either burned alive or w ere shot while trying to escape the flames. Twelve patriotes were later ha nged in Montreal, and many others were transported to Australia for lif

Although the Rebellion of 1837 failed, the desire for reform could n ot be extinguished, and these events finally led to responsible governme nt in the 1840’s. Patriotes such as Papineau are revered in Quebec toda y, and those who perished, such as Dr. Chenier, are viewed as marty rs of a just cause.

Our family appears to have remained neutral in this conflict. There a re no records of any Daragon or Lafrance arrested after the rebellion or c ompensated for damages arising from it.

With the church at St.-Eustache in ruins in the wake of the Rebellion, o ur family’s marriages and baptisms took place in St.-Hermas after 1837.

There, Louis Lafrance married Henriette Asselin in 1840.

Their son Onesime Lafrance was baptised at St.-Hermas in 1843.

The church at St.-Eustache has since been rebuilt, and looks much as it d id before the Rebellion.


The Sixth Generation -- Onesime Lafrance and the Move to Ontario
----------------------------------------------------------------

Onesime Lafrance is known to have moved from St.-Eustache to St.-Albert, O ntario in 1859. In fact, Louis Lafrance, his wife Henriette and all the ir children moved from St. Eustache to St. Albert, arriving there by bo at via the South Nation River. Apparently, many French-Canadian families m igrated from the Montreal area to Prescott and Russell counties in this ti me period.

At the age of 24, in 1867, Onesime married Sophie Godard in St.-Albert. Li ke Onesime, Sophie was born in Quebec.

Over the next 18 years, Onesime and Sophie had twelve children. Of thes e, the eldest, Francois, is our direct ancestor.

Onesime and Sophie’s farm consisted of fifty acres, and was just sou th of the village of St.-Albert on the west bank of the South Nation Rive r.

By this time, the literacy rate among Canadians was improving. In fact, On esime Lafrance was sufficiently educated to hold the position of Cambrid ge Township clerk for Russell County, an accomplishment which would have b een unthinkable for his grandfather.

Sometime between 1888 and 1891, Onesime made a decision to move the enti re family to Sturgeon Falls, Ontario. At this time, only two of the childr en -- Francois and Agnes -- were married, and it was natural that they wou ld all move north together.

Once the family had settled in Sturgeon Falls, the remaining children grad ually married and established their own homes. The first was Melodie, w ho married Alfred Tremblay in 1891. The second was Philadelphe, who marri ed Leah Chretien in Sturgeon Falls in 1894.


The Seventh Generation -- Francois Lafrance
-------------------------------------------

The first of Francois and Marie Lafrance’s children, Marie-Agnes, was bo rn on June 28, 1890 in St. Albert, and the last, Simon, was born in Sturge on Falls on January 25, 1911. He is our direct ancestor.

Simon Lafrance married Julienne French on November 24, 1931 in Sturgeon Fa lls, Ontario.

The twentieth century, with the introduction of the automobile, increas ed the mobility of Canadians. If one wished to travel or move, one no long er needed to rely on public modes of transportation, such as the railwa y. Although several of Francois and Marie Lafrance’s children remain ed in Sturgeon Falls, some moved to southern Ontario.

The economy within which Francois Daragon’s seventh-generation descendan ts worked was no longer strictly agrarian. With the move to Northern Ontar io, Lafrances became involved in other resource industries such as minin g, although some were still farmers. The availability of universal educati on opened up other possibilities, such as skilled trades and work in the p ublic service.


The Eighth Generation: Simon and Julienne Lafrance's Children
-------------------------------------------------------------

The history of this generation is well known to us.

After Simon Lafrance and Julienne French married in 1931, they remain ed in the Sturgeon Falls area for some time, but moved to Timmins in the m id-1930's. This is where their four children were born: Bernadette in 193 6, Georgette in 1938, Romeo in 1939, and Lucille in 1941.

In 1951, Simon and Julienne moved their entire family south to Kitchene r, Ontario, a "booming" city with promising employment opportunities. T he four children gradually adjusted to life in their new home -- for the f irst time, they were not living in a primarily Francophone community -- gr ew into adulthood, and married.

Simon Lafrance died on October 5, 1987 in Kitchener, and his wife Julien ne died in 1997.




More About Francois Daragon and Marie Guilmet:
Marriage: 1697, St. Jean, Isle D'Orleans, Canada.

Children of Francois Daragon and Marie Guilmet are:
  1. Anne Daragon, d. date unknown.
  2. Rene Joudin Darragon, d. date unknown.
  3. Marie Marthe Daragon, b. December 16, 1698, d. date unknown.
  4. Marguerite Daragon, b. June 19, 1702, d. date unknown.
  5. +Micheal Daragon Dit Lafrance, b. May 11, 1704, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, d. date unknown.
  6. Helene Daragon, b. June 02, 1707, d. date unknown.
  7. Joseph Daragon, b. June 09, 1709, d. date unknown.
  8. Marie Angelique Daragon, b. March 27, 1711, d. date unknown.
  9. Francois Daragon, b. December 17, 1712, d. date unknown.
  10. Charles Daragon, b. August 28, 1714, d. date unknown.
  11. Marguerite Charlotte Darragon, b. March 13, 1714/15, d. date unknown.
  12. Alexis Darragon, b. April 13, 1717, d. date unknown.
  13. Philippe Darragon, b. June 07, 1720, d. date unknown.
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