Andre Bessette - A Saint in our Midst (1845-1937)

Saint Andre Bessette descended from our 7th great grandparents, Jean Bessette and Anne Seigneur. He was canonized by Pope Benedict in 2010. This is his story from American Catholic:

Brother André expressed a saint’s faith by a lifelong devotion to St. Joseph. 

Sickness and weakness dogged André from birth. He was the eighth of 12 children born to a French Canadian couple near Montreal. Adopted at 12, when both parents had died, he became a farmhand. Various trades followed: shoemaker, baker, blacksmith—all failures. He was a factory worker in the United States during the boom times of the Civil War. 

At 25, he applied for entrance into the Congregation of the Holy Cross. After a year’s novitiate, he was not admitted because of his weak health. But with an extension and the urging of Bishop Bourget (see Marie-Rose Durocher, October 6), he was finally received. He was given the humble job of doorkeeper at Notre Dame College in
Montreal, with additional duties as sacristan, laundry worker and messenger. “When I joined this community, the superiors showed me the door, and I remained 40 years,” he said.

In his little room near the door, he spent much of the night on his knees. On his windowsill, facing Mount Royal, was a small statue of St. Joseph, to whom he had been devoted since childhood. When asked about it he said, “Some day, St. Joseph is going to be honored in a very special way on Mount Royal!” 

When he heard someone was ill, he visited to bring cheer and to pray with the sick person. He would rub the sick person lightly with oil taken from a lamp burning in the college chapel. Word of healing powers began to spread. 

When an epidemic broke out at a nearby college, André volunteered to nurse. Not one person died. The trickle of sick people to his door became a flood. His superiors were uneasy; diocesan authorities were suspicious; doctors called him a quack. “I do not cure,” he said again and again. “St. Joseph cures.” In the end he needed four secretaries to handle the 80,000 letters he received each year. 

For many years the Holy Cross authorities had tried to buy land on Mount Royal. Brother André and others climbed the steep hill and planted medals of St. Joseph. Suddenly, the owners yielded. André collected 200 dollars to build a small chapel and began receiving visitors there—smiling through long hours of listening, applying St. Joseph’s oil. Some were cured, some not. The pile of crutches, canes and braces grew. 

The chapel also grew. By 1931 there were gleaming walls, but money ran out. “Put a statue of St. Joseph in the middle. If he wants a roof over his head, he’ll get it.” The magnificent Oratory on Mount Royal took 50 years to build. The sickly boy who could not hold a job died at 92. 

 He is buried at the Oratory. He was beatified in 1982 and canonized in 2010. At his canonization in October 2010, Pope Benedict XVI said that St. Andre "lived the beatitude of the pure of heart."

Ancestors:

Jean Bessette-Brisetout and AnneSeigneur

Francois Bessette-Brisetout and Marie Claude Dubois

Clement Bessette and Marie Charlotte Lamoureux

Oliver Bessette and Marie Catherine Masse-Sancerre

Pierre Paul Bessette and Rosalie Bedard

Elise Bessette and Joseph Desroches

Azilda Desroches and Arthur Noel Morin

“It is with the smallest brushes that the artist paints the most exquisitely beautiful pictures,” said St. André Bessette.

[Source: http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1252]

See also:

http://www.saint-joseph.org/  (Saint Joseph's Oratory, Montreal)
http://catholicism.org/br-andre.html (biography)
http://youtu.be/33m0yB_JAUg  (Holy Cross)
http://youtu.be/jhrXcQjGZpo   (movie trailer: God's Doorkeeper: St. Andre of Montreal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJSs-6CMKjE (canonization)

Laurent Soly - The Spaniard (1721-1786)

This is the story of Laurent Soly, our fourth great grandfather, that has been passed down to our family.

"Laurent de Soly, nephew of King Ferdinand VI of Spain, was born in Spain in 1721, near the French border. He married Marie Deligni about the time of King Ferdinand's
accession (1746), but she died shortly afterward.  [Note: They married in 1770 not 1746.]

Laurent was banished from the country when he disagreed with the new policies of the King, one of the Bourbons, described as "anxious-minded and weakly" but who,nevertheless, instigated a  period of reform in Spain and started the country on a career of prosperity. 

Laurent went to Canada, settled at St. Charles du Richelieu, Quebec, where he married Marie Clemence Guiette, a native [in 1771]. A son, Pierre, was born in 1784. Pierre
married and had fourteen children, among them Marguerite de Soly. In 1760 the King died, and Laurent, who would have been welcomed by the new King, Charles III, was persuaded by his wife not to return. 

Laurent's wife burned the deed to the baronial estate when he attempted to return, twenty years later, at the instance (sic) of a French priest, to claim his lands. [note: This wife would have been our ancestor Marie Clemence Guiette. [I have always loved this part about burning the deed.] In St. Charles du Richelieu, both Laurent and Pierre were known as 'L'Espagnol.'"

The name Soly is Spanish and refers to the sun. There is a parish in the Asturias region of Spain called Solis (Corvera). It is not near the French border. Variations of the name are Saulie, Sauly, Solly, Soli and de Solis. It was a surprise to learn of his four other marriages and many children.

Here are the facts that we have so far with the help of Stephen A. White, author of Genealogy Dictionary of Acadian Families:

Laurent came to Nova Scotia, Canada (Ft. Louisbourg) before December 1744. According to the 1752 Ill Royale Census, he originated from Spain. No records have so far been located to confirm or deny that claim of origin. Laurent was part of a Swiss regiment (Karrer) station at Ft. Louisbourg, Acadia, Canada.

 

Laurent Soly, his first wife, Jeanne Lécuyer, and their four children were deported from île Royale to France in the fall of 1758. The youngest of their children, Rose-Françoise, died shortly after their arrival at La Rochelle [France]. The family then went to Rochefort, where Jeanne Lécuyer herself died on August 10, 1759. She was buried in the cemetery of St-Louis parish there the following day. 

We do not know what became of the three other children from Laurent Soly's first marriage. They may all have died young, like their little two-year-old sister, as their names do not appear on the lists of refugees from île Royale at La Rochelle in 1761 or 1762. It might also be that they were placed with relatives, while their father returned to North America. There is nothing that might suggest that they went back to New France with him.

As a widower, Laurent Soly was free to remarry Théodose Girouard in 1760, (the young widow of Pierre Arseneault).  No record of Théodose Girouard's death has been found. It appears that she must have died soon after her second marriage. There were no children of this marriage.

 Laurent Soly and his first wife, Jeanne-Françoise Lécuyer, had four children:

1. Antoine-Thomas, born about 1750
2. Laurent, born about 1752
3. Marie-Françoise, born in Louisbourg 1754
4. Rose-Françoise, born in Louisbourg 1756; buried St-Nicolas de La Rochelle, France 1758

Laurent Soly's third marriage is to Marie-Charlotte Guyon (Dion)  in 1765. She died in 1769. They had two children who both died young:

5. Marie-Charlotte, born Québec Nov. 1765; died  Québec 1769, aged 4 years.
6. Marie, born Québec Sept. 1768; died Chambly Feb. 1774, aged 5 years. 

Laurent Soly and his fourth wife, Marie Déligny, had twin boys who died at birth. She died a week later.

7 and 8. Unbaptized twin sons, buried St-Charles-sur-Richelieu on March 26, 1771.

Laurent Soly's fifth marriage was to Marie-Clémence Guillet dit Saint-Mars in 1771. At least seven children were born to this marriage:

 9. Marie-Clémence, born Chambly April 1772; buried Chambly December 1774
10. Laurent, born Chambly 1773; buried  Chambly 1773, aged 1 month
11. Josèphe-Clémence, born Kamouraska November 1775
12. Marie-Euphrosine, born Kamouraska April 1777
13. Marie-Angélique, no baptismal record found, but probably 1779
14. Marie-Rosalie, born Kamouraska  March 1781
15. Pierre Laurent, born Kamouraska  June 1784

Laurent Soly moved back to St-Charles-sur-Richelieu around 1785, and he died there at the beginning of 1786. He left a thirty-five-year-old widow with at least four, and possibly five, of their young children, and perhaps as many as three adult children from an earlier marriage. Our ancestor, Pierre Laurent, was the youngest and was only 12 when he lost his father. Laurent outlived four other wives, and at least seven (and possibly as many as eleven) of his fifteen children. No one can say that he had lived a life free of troubles considering his living through the last siege of Louisbourg, his deportation in 1758 as well as his presence at the Battle of Restigouche in 1760.

No record of his "royal" birth has yet been found. We continue to look for his birth record and expect to find it in the future when more Spanish records come available. I did find a Dona Isabel de Solis, Queen of Granada. Hmm . . . [See map of Laurent Soly's travels]

Searching for John Dillon

 John Dillon is  my paternal great grandfather. He states in his marriage record to Sarah Montague that he was born in New Jersey in 1849. However, other later documents state that he was born in 1851 and 1853. We know from census reports that his parents were born in Ireland. We have no information about any siblings or whether he came on his own to Illinois or with is his family. I had previously understood that John's middle name was Francis but John Francis Dillon is actually the name of his son. John did not use a middle name on any census or other records. However, his obituary states his name as John Henry Dillon.

John Dillon was a blacksmith and carriage maker. An 1875 city census shows John Dillon, born in New Jersey, working at the Novelty Carriage Works. 

He married Sarah Montague, the daughter of Frank Montague (also a blacksmith), in Chicago in 1879. They had six children: Charlotte (born September 14, 1880), Kathryn (born December 24, 1882), George (born May 5, 1887), Sarah (born February 11, 1886), John Francis (born December 15, 1889) and Royal Andrew (born November 30, 1891). John worked at his own blacksmith shop during their marriage. They did not own their own home and, in fact, moved frequently.

The 1888 Chicago Voter Registration ledger shows John Dillon living at 2426 La Salle Street. The record indicates that he has lived in Illinois for 27 years, which would mean since 1861. The 1892 Voter Registration ledger shows 14 people with the name of John Dillon, but only one is born in New Jersey.

In the 1900 census, John is working as a blacksmith. Sarah is a homemaker. Charlotte is already working as a hairdresser, Kathryn and Sadie (listed as Lottie, Kittie and Sadie), George, John and Royal are at school. Charlotte married in 1908 and was living with her husband Ed Greene. In the 1910 census, John is working in a blacksmith shop, Sarah is a homemaker, Kathryn and Sadie are hairdressers, George is a machinist, John is a driver and Roy is a steamfitter helper.

In 1908, the Model T Ford becomes mass produced and most likely impacted the carriage maker and blacksmith trades.

In 1915, their first grandson, my father, is born and a family dinner is held to celebrate. The baby book for George indicates that John Dillon was not present.

 In the 1920 census Sarah is living at 7078 Chicago Avenue and listed as head of household with her sons George and John. The record states that she is married but husband John is not listed. No record has been found for John after 1910. The next and last record located is his death certificate, which erroneously states that he was widowed. John Dillon died alone at Chicago State Hospital on April 4, 1926. It was Easter Sunday and he was about 76 years old. His doctor had been treating him for three months and the cause of death was arteriosclerosis cerebral which indicates he may have suffered from some memory loss. (I can't help but wonder how prohibition affected this Irishman.)

The death certificate also notes his place of burial as "Central Plant", which means burial on the hospital grounds. Chicago State Hospital was a place for both the mentally ill and the destitute. People were buried there if they had no money. He died alone on Easter. Clearly his wife and children were unaware of his passing. The death notice below shows that he was finally buried nine days later on April 13, 1926. He and Sarah must have been separated but they are together now at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. 

First Black Sheep

The tragic odyssey of Louis Morin, the son of Francoise and Pierre Morin dit Boucher

Documentation from «Les Morin d'Acadie», by Archange Godbout

It seems that Pierre Morin dit Boucher and 19 of his close relations including wife, Francoise; his son, Pierre Morin II, Jacques Cochu and Rene Deneau; his son-in-law, Pierre Draper; his brothers-in-law, Pierre Gaudin and Pierre Pellerin; his nephews, Jean Chiasson and Michel Chiasson; the brothers-in-law of Pierre Morins son, were all banished from Beaubassin in 1687. Pierre Morin dit Boucher's son, Louis Morin, was said to have made a child with a young lady of Beaubassin. It seems that she was from a family of high standing. Monsieur Trouve, priest, hears the young girls confession, and concludes against Louis Morin. [So much for confidentiality and the seal of the confessional.] The officer of Roy imprisons Louis and ships him back to France. Enforced by Mr. de Meneval, governor of Acadie, 19 close relations to Louis Morin were banished from Beaubassin and the colony. The goods of these families were confiscated with the profit going to the father of the young lady.

There is no doubt that the Morin family would have faired better if they would have taken their case to Quebec, where Governor Menneval would have had no say in the matter. However, Morin, undoubtedly, did not make a point of going to spread out their miseries in the capital.

Courageously, while his son was inserted in the fogs of the ocean not to reappear any more, the old man Pierre Morin, with the help of his other children, tried to create a new establishment. After being struck by a cruel injustice, the Morins saw emerging on all sides much sympathy and many offers of help, for they had been a family of high social standing. Help in reestablishing a home came from Michel LeNeuf de Lavalliere*, and Richard Denys who to repair the wrongs of his family, among others, helped establish the Morins in Ristigouche, in Bay of Chaleurs.

The Morin family is found at the Bay of Chaleurs in the spring of 1688 "They came to shelter in the shade of its house and its warehouse, to some steps of the micmacque mission." The Morin family took refuge in Quebec after the death of Pierre Morin dit Boucher, deceased in1690.

[note: Another source indicates that Michel LeNeuf was the French nobleman who had the Morins banished from Beaubassin. His help in reestablishing their home came when they first moved to Beaubassin.]

Source: Les Morin d'Acadie by Archange Godbout  

.

Pierre Morin - Our Patriarch (1634-1690)

Pierre Morin dit Boucher is our eighth great grandfather, and here is his story collected from several sources. [These writings may have been machine translated from French.] He is the first Morin in our family to come from France.

Pierre Morin, also known as "Boucher", which means butcher; born 1616 in Coulonges, sur L'Atize, France, came to Acadia as a saddler. He married Marie Martin in Port Royal Acadia in 1659. At that time Pierre was about 43 years old. Marie, the daughter of Pierre Martin and Catherine Vigneau, native of Port Royal, was about 14 years of age. At the time of their youngest child's birth (Jacques) in 1686, Pierre was 70 years old and Marie was 40. Pierre died in 1690 at age 74 in Restigouche. The site today is near Old Mission/Church Point, New Brunswick. Pierre obtained a piece of land near Port Royal and built a log home. This little farm provided an existence with excellent fishing in the river and coastal waters. According to Acadian census records of 1671, Pierre's land tax consisted of a chicken and one bushel of wheat payable November 11, of each year. His possessions were: 3 cows, 4 sheep and 1 acre of land under cultivation.

The following nine children were born in Port Royal: Marie, Pierre II, Louis, Antoine, Marie Anne, Anne, Jacques, Charles and Marguerite.

By 1680, Port Royal had prospered a great deal and had six small craft outfitted as fishing vessels which aided the welfare of the community. Although Acadia had been returned to French control in 1667, by the Treaty of Breda, the area was far from being a peaceful place to live. French and English ships were in constant battle, with pirate ships making repeated raids on the territory often burning houses and killing livestock. On one occasion the pirates hung two inhabitants just for sport. Since the fort was only lightly manned, there was little security for the area residents.

By 1680, Pierre has had enough of this uncertain life and sells his small farm. The family and possessions are then moved to a little village far to the north side of Acadia called Beaubassin. This colony had been founded eight years earlier by a friend of Pierre, named Jacques Bourgoeis. This place was first known as "Bourgoeis Colony". The family travels there partly by ship up the north coast in the Bay of Fundy with their farm livestock. Beaubassin, the name means "Beautiful Basin", was located near the north shore of Chignecto Bay near what is now Fort Beausejour National Park, and Aulae, New Brunswick. It was then in the possession of a French Nobleman by the name of Michel Le Neuf, through concession of the King of France. Pierre Morin obtained several acres of farmland and built a house there for his family. He was thus a "habitant" of the Seigneury of Beaubassin.

The area marshlands were a haven for wildlife and seafood. Due to the extreme high and low tides here, residents had begun to build dikes to control the water and to reclaim fertile marsh slopes along the Le Marguerite (Missiquash) River. This was a time of peace for these people, far from Port-Royal and its troubles.

The family made their own furniture, boiled their own maple sugar, spun wool and flax, and made their own clothing. Cooking was done in an open fireplace with a stone oven. The big round loaves of French bread were put in and removed from the oven with long handled paddle-shovels. Favorite foods were pea soup, meat pies, pigs feet, ragout and the French bread. Large eels were caught and smoked for winter food. Butter as we know it was not generally used, but they did put the thick milk into crock "noggins" where it became quickly sour and even thicker. This was consumed "ravenously" with their meals. The children often captured and rode on the backs of big turtles which lived in the rivers.

Here in Beaubassin, Acadia, were born four more children to Pierre and Marie Morin. They were: Jean-Marie, Jacques-Francois, Simon-Joseph and Jacques aka Jacques Beausejour.

In 1682 two of the children are married in a double ceremony at the chapel of Notre Dame de Bon Secours, in Beaubassin. Pierre who is 20 years old marries Francoise Chiasson, daughter of Guyon Chiasson and Jeanne Bernard. Marie now 14 years old, marries Jacques Cochu, a navigator.

The Acadian census of 1686 lists for Pierre Morin Sr. possession of 15 cows, 12 pigs, 8 sheep, 30 acres of land.

Pierre's son Louis, born in 1664, was suspected of  "misconduct" with Marie-Joseph LeNeuf, the daughter of the French nobleman. The governor of l' Acadie, Mr. de Menneval, confiscated all the goods of the family to the profit of the father of the young lady without any formality of justice. He then banishes the father, mother, sisters and even the sons-in-law from Beaubassin and colony. 44 people out of 129 of the total population of the village are banished. Then Louis is sent to France on the Rascal, and nobody ever heard of him again. Banished from Beaubassin in these painful circumstances, this family takes refuge at the village of the Micmacs Indians of Restigouche in the content of Bay of Hearts in 1688.

A sample of Mi'kmaq "hieroglyphic" writing, the Ave Maria

The earlier text tells of this family's fate two years later, in 1688. Pierre Sr. died at Restigouche in 1690. The family protector, Richard Denys, was killed in 1691 with many others who were aboard the great schooner Sainte Francois Xavier, which was torn apart at sea in a violent storm. The family then disposed of their allotted land and moved to the capital city, Quebec, where several members received land grants. In 1697, Pierre's widow, Marie, received a grant of  "a half-league on each side of the Gaspe River" from Francois De Galliet, lieutenant of the King, in Montreal. This she gave up in 1702 and lived out her days in Quebec City.
[see map of Pierre Morin's life]

"Indian" Princess or Daughter of the King?

This is about one of our 8x great grandmothers, Catherine Pillard (Pilliat or La Plat), a *First Nations woman who lived from 1651 to 1717.

Who was the real “Catherine Pillard”, wife of Pierre Charon? What were her origins and who were her parents? Until recently, it was presumed that Catherine Pillard, daughter of Pierre Pillard and Marguerite Moulinet, was baptized 30 March 1646 at La Rochelle, France, and confirmed in Montréal in 1664 under the name of Catherine Plate; that this same Catherine, future wife of Pierre Charon, was also part of the contingent of King’s Daughters (Filles du Roi) who arrived in Canada in 1663.

The results from mtDNA genetic testing, which is the analysis of genes transmitted from mother to daughter, providing genetic information on our distant ancestors, have led to questions. The answers to which no longer let us assume “facts”. The results obtained through eight descendants of three of Catherine’s daughters indicate that Catherine’s maternal line was not of European origin. [See full article]

Atsena, Huron Chief of the Bear Nation

It is now believed that Catherine Pilliat or La Plat is the daughter of Atsena, the Huron Chief of the Bear Nation. She was born Oenta, written as 8enta, (meaning the color red) and given the name Catherine at her baptism by her godmother, Catherine La Vaux. Atsena would be our 9x great grandfather. There is a strong resemblance in that face . . .

*Within Canada, "First Nations" (most often used in the plural) has come into general use—replacing the deprecated term "Indians"—for the indigenous peoples of the Americas [Wikipedia]

Filles du Roi - Daughters of the King

Between 1663 and 1673, 768 Filles du Roi or "King's Daughters" emigrated to New France under the sponsorship of the French government as part of the overall strategy of strengthening the colony until it could stand on its own without economic and military dependence on France. 

In 1663, about 2,500 colonists lived in New France, for the most part on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence between Québec and Montréal. With a constant threat from the Iroquois and the more populous English colonies on the Atlantic coast, the need to populate New France became a growing concern for Louis XIV and his colonial advisors. Through the early 1670s however, men of marriageable age far outnumbered the women of marriageable age. Unable to find a wife in Québec, a great number of male immigrants returned to France after their three-year term of service expired.

In 1663, the King took over direct control of the government of New France and initiated an organized system of recruiting and transporting marriageable women to the colony. On September 22, 1663, thirty-six girls—the first group of Filles du Roi—arrived in Québec.

The recruiting of Filles du Roi took place largely in Paris, Rouen and other northern cities by merchants and ship outfitters. A screening process required each girl to present
her birth certificate and a recommendation from her parish priest or local magistrate stating that she was free to marry. It was necessary that the girls be of appropriate age for giving birth and that "they be healthy and strong for country work, or that they at least have some aptitude for household chores."

The cost of sending each Fille du Roi to New France was 100 livres: 10 for the recruitment, 30 for clothing and 60 for the crossing itself—the total being roughly equivalent to $1,425 in the year 2000. In addition to having the costs of her passage paid by the state, each girl received an assortment of practical items in a case: a coiffe, bonnet, taffeta handkerchief, pair of stockings, pair of gloves, ribbon, four shoelaces, white thread, 100 needles, 1,000 pins, a comb, pair of scissors, two knives and two livres in cash. Upon arrival, the Filles received suitable clothing and some provisions. 

All of the Filles du Roi first landed at Québec City where 560 remained, with 133 being sent to Montréal and 75 to Trois-Rivières. While awaiting marriage, they were lodged in houses in dormitory-style settings under the care of a female chaperone or directress where they were taught practical skills and chores to help them in their future household duties. Suitors would come to the house to make their selection, and the directress would oversee the encounters.

Every Fille du Roi had the right to refuse any marriage offer that was presented. After agreeing to marry, the couple appeared in front of a notary to have a marriage contract drawn up, and the wedding ceremony generally followed within 30 days. For the Filles du Roi, the average interval between arrival and marriage was four to five months, although the average interval for girls aged 13 to 16 was slightly longer than fifteen months. 

In addition to any dowry of goods that the bride may have brought with her from France, each couple was given an assortment of livestock and goods to start them off in married life: a pair of chickens and pigs, an ox, a cow and two barrels of salted meat. The King's Gift of 50 livres is believed to have been a customary addition to the dowry, but only 250 out of 606 known marriage contracts make reference to an additional dowry given by the King. Once married, there was an incentive to have large families. A yearly pension of 300 livres was granted to families with ten children, rising to 400 livres for 12 children and more for larger families.

 In September 1673 the last shipment of Filles du Roi arrived from France, and the program ended. The population of New France had risen to 6,700 people, an increase of 168% in the eleven years since the program had begun. Although the Filles du Roi represent only 8% of the total immigrants to Canada under the French régime, they account for nearly half of the women who immigrated to Canada in the colony's 150-year history.

[Source: King's Daughters and Founding Mothers: The Filles du Roi, 1663-1673 by Peter J. Gagné. Pawtucket, RI: Quinton Publications, 2001. pp 15-42]

We have descended from at least 26 women known as "Les Filles du Roi" and they are:

Marie Marguerite Ardion (1636-1677),a widow, married Jean Rabouin, age 23
Francoise Boivin (1642-171), married Louis Lamoureux in 1668, at age 26
Jeanne Marie Burelle (1658-1724), married Andre Poudrete-Lavigne, at age 19
Marie Chapelier (1621-1697), married Robert Drouin, age 28
Marie Chevreau (1645-1724), married Rene Reaume, at age 20
Claude Damise (1643-1705), married Pierre Perthuis, at age 25
Isabelle Doucinet (1646-1710), married Jacques Bedard, at age 19
Anne Grimbaut (1650-1718), married Jean Joanne, at age 20
Marie Guillet/Guyet (1647-1716), married Pierre Ledoux, at age 21
Marie Marguerite Hedouin (1655-1718), married Francois Barbeau, at age 16
Marie Jallet (1653-1671), married Jean Lauze, at age 16
Suzanne Lacrois (1656-1718) married Jacques Savaria in 1672, at age 16
Marie Lamarre ( 1650-1708) married Guillaume Renaud in 1668, at age 18
Marguerite Laverdure (1646-2737), married Maurice Crepeau, at age 20
Marie Louise Lecoutre (1648-1689), married Nicolas Crevier-Bellerive, age 17
Elisabeth Agnes Lefebvre (1655-1725), married Francois Thibault, at age 15
Louise Menacier (abt 1636-1687), married Toussaint Ledran, at age 26
Marie Marguerite Moitie (1646-1701), married Joseph Elie Gauthier, at age 17
Marie Morin (1641-1725), married Noel Boissel, at age 18*
Marie Marguerite Pelletier (1645-1707), married Mathurin Renaud, age 24
Francoise Piloy-Depitie (1639-1713), married Antoine Lacasse, at age 26
Marie Robineau (1647-1700), married Jean-Pierre Forgues-Monrougeau, age 19
Anne Roy (1653-1719), married Nicholas Bouchard, at age 15
Jeanne Roy (1641-1721), married Etienne Bonnet-LaFortune, at age 29
Anne Talbot (1651-1740) married Jean Gareau-Stonge in 1670, at age 19
Anne Seigneur (also known as Anne Lord) (1649-1733) married Jean Bessette in 1668, at age 19 [see also St. Andre Bessette]
Catherine Pillat (1646-1717) married Nicholas Pierre Charon in 1665, at age 19. She was widowed in 1700 and later maried Sebastien Brison.

 It is likely that Catherine Pillat-Pillard is not, in fact, a Fille du Roi but a First Nation descendant. No record of her immigration can be found. There is information that actually links her parentage to Chief Atsena of the Bear Nation of the Huron tribe and that she is Ouenta dit Catherine Pillard. This needs a closer look.  [See http://www.geninfo.org/Pillard/La_Rochelle-E.htm ]

*Marie Morin is not directly related to our ancestor Pierre Morin dit Boucher.

Filles a Marier - Jeanne St. Pere (1632-1704)

I could almost imagine traveling to Italy to find a husband but not this. One of our great grandmothers, Jeanne St. Pere (1632-1704), came from Saintes, Saintonge, France in 1648 with her widowed mother and her sister Catherine. She was 21. Catherine was 14.  Catherine contracted to Mathurin Guillet and Jeanne to his brother Pierre. They were filles à marier.

Between 1634 and 1663, 262 filles à marier or "marriageable girls" emigrated to New France representing one quarter of all the single girls arriving in New France through 1673. They were recruited and chaperoned by religious groups or individuals who had to assure and account for their good conduct. In general, they were poor, although there were some members of the petty nobility among their ranks. 

As opposed to the Filles du Roi who emigrated between 1663 and 1673, the filles à marier came alone or in small groups. They were not recruited by the state and did not receive a dowry from the King. They were promised nothing but the possibility of a

French Names

Dit Names

In French Canada, dit (alias) names were often used. These are alternate family names used in place of the original family names.  Dit in French is a form of the word dire, which means "to say," and in the case of dit names is translated loosely as "that is to say," or "called." Also, because the people were primarily illiterate between 1600-1800, names were often mispelled in several ways (and misspelled).  Very few people could sign their own names.

Given Names

Alternate given names can also present problems. Each French Canadian child usually had several given names. Only one of the names was listed in the christening record. A different given name may have been used in later records. So Blanche may also have been called Louise, and Joseph may have been Ignace. Or a boy christened as Napoléon may have gone by Paul or Léon, and a girl named Marie des Anges may have prefered Angélique. Many times the same name is used
twice or recycled, so to speak. If a child dies young, the next child might be given the same name. One good thing is that the women always keep their family names and are easier to trace.

https://www.familysearch.org/learn/wiki/en/Quebec_Names,_Personal

Joseph and Mary

It was the practice among the French Catholics to honor Joseph, or Mary, by giving the baptized child the honorary name in addition to the given (first) name. [Joseph Marie is a boy and Marie Josephe is a girl, trust me.]

Popular Names:

The table below lists the most common first names among the some 400,000 individuals baptized before 1800:  [See http://www.genealogie.umontreal.ca/en/nomsPrenoms.htm] I think every one of our families has Jean Baptiste.

BOYS			GIRLS
Rank	First name	N	Rank	First name	N
1	Jean Baptiste	22 011	1	Marie Josèphe	18 807
2	Joseph	21 616	2	Marie Louise	13 115
3	Pierre	16 664	3	Marie Anne	11 060
4	François	13 088	4	Marie Marguerite	9 217
5	Louis	12 057	5	Marie Madeleine	8 812
6	Antoine	7 800	6	Marie Angélique	8 750
7	Charles	7 429	7	Marguerite	8 663
8	Michel	5 689	8	Marie	7 133
9	Jacques	5 627	9	Marie Geneviève	5 947
10	Augustin	3 790	10	Marie Françoise	5 695
11	Joseph Marie	3 612	11	Marie Catherine	5 594
12	Jean	3 599	12	Marie Charlotte	4 797
13	Étienne	3 098	13	Marie Thérèse	4 478
14	Alexis	2 500	14	Geneviève	4 074
15	André	2 204	15	Catherine	3 250
16	Nicolas	2 158	16	Marie Élisabeth	3 131
17	Jean François	2 054	17	Élisabeth	2 631
18	Paul	1 854	18	Angélique	2 399
19	François Xavier	1 782	19	Françoise	2 098
20	Ignace	1 701	20	Louise	2 048
21	Jean Marie	1 532	21	Marie Amable	1 982
22	Gabriel	1 531	22	Madeleine	1 765
23	Amable	1 443	23	Thérèse	1 745
24	Toussaint	1 020	24	Charlotte	1 686
25	Guillaume	995	25	Marie Archange	1 685

Morin Crest

Heraldic Description: Azure background for the gold cross confined, to the one and four, four lily flowers applied with silver two and two; to the two and three, of two corn cobs of eight grains each, their stems joined surrounded by leaves, the whole made of gold, and as for their motto: Decide and accomplish".The coats of arms of the Association des Morin d'Amérique have been the first to be granted to a family association in the Province of Quebec by the Canadian Heraldic Authority at Rideau Hall, Ottawa. May, the 18th, 1994; as entered in Volume II, page 325, in the public register of Arms, Flags and Badges of Canada.

GOLD denotes Generosity, Courage and Perseverance.

BLUE-GRAY symbolizes political science and therefore, the outstanding contribution of Morin to the municipal, provincial and federal politics.

KERNELS OF WHEAT symbolizes agriculture and remembers that most of our ancestors were land clearers and farmers. It symbolizes also the founding couples: 16 Morin settled in New France before the Treaty of Paris.

The CROSS reminds us of the first Canadian priest and the first Ville-Marie nun, born in New France, came from Morin families.

The 8 LILIES symbolize two things: First, that our Ancestors came mostly from France; and second that 8 of these families still have progenity in America.

Decide et accomplis [Decide and Achieve] is an invitation to Reflexion, Perfection and Achievement.