Our French Ancestry in Huron County Our French Ancestry

OUR FRENCH ANCESTRY IN HURON COUNTY OUR FRENCH ANCESTRY IN HURON COUNTY 1631-1976 e Avec permission 2002 L Pour la Socleté franco-ontarienne d'histoire et de g6nGalogie FOR WARD To everyone who, in any way, was instrumental in helping me to find the information gathered and recorded in this work, a very sincere thank you. This includes so many people living in so many areas, people from Massachusetts to Californin; New Orleans to Quebec City; North & South Dakota; Salt Lake City, Montreal and so many others. 1 refrain from naming people because there were so many and ln doing so 1 might omit a very important one that mny have slipped my mind. 1 nlso want to express my appreciation to my wife and family, my brothers, sisters, cousins and relatives who were so helpful and encouraged me during the ten years this work vas in process. There 1s much more information of families gathered during my researches that are not included in this work due to my lack of ability to make it seem relevant and interesting. It 1s available and if this venture proves successful, time permitting, a supplement may be issued. T. W. Denomme PREFACE In genealogy, as in many other endeavors there 1s a tendancy to eulogize the gp& citizens of the past. jhis 1s vhy ve find readily arailable the genealogies of the majority of familles that are considered noble or carry titles. What genealogist did not exert himself tracing his parentage, even if vague, to a distant cousin of an eighth generation, in order to have the pleasure tosay their noble cousin So and So made a mark in the history of our land or even passed by ou vay. In reality hovever, the real founders of ou. society uere, vith fev exceptions, humble patriots. The French that caae from Quebec to Huron County can Class themselves as courageous people, vfio in spite of the many hardships came to cultivate and build a nev vay of life for themselves. None of them claimed to be heroes. They did not leave monuments commemorating their f irst efforts. They just accomplished their humble task of clearing the land and it is they &O are the seeds of our society today. Like al1 seeds, some fol1 among thorns, some on rocks, some by the vayside, but some fell on good ground and ne, the seeds of the original ancestors of Huron County, can al1 be proud of our heritage. May the fev comnts of passing moments of these ancestors and, their children be agreeable to all. Page Iitroduct ion 1. Genealogy and family names 2. France ln the 17th Century 3. Life ln New France 7 Orlgin of some Huron County Ancestors 19- Huron County 23 De nomme Gensalogy 27 Durand Genealogy 45. Miscellaneous Genealogies 63 Marriages 77 Everyone, regudleas of hov unimportant he may be, should have hii genealogy. Lnr~oneihonld take interest and paas it on to hii ruccesaora. The kaowledge and the memorios thnt came dom from hi8 ancestors ire ver7 dou and close to tho heart of every man. He lovoi to hear reeomtod the experiences and happeniua of hi# forefathers which, in hla aaiories brings them back to life. He likea to acrutinise their examples, iheir virtues, their labors and the aiall detaila of thelr existence. He koeps firmly attached to the land that hie father homesteaded and to the cemeteries where rests their iortal remains. They must hold on to those nemories llke the fruit to the branchos and tho branches to the roots. Children born of noble familles are familiar with the history of their ancestors. They know vell the characteristic traits of their family and thelr title to glory of each one of their forefathers. But do ve not have among our ancestors some hoble forefathers, who, in spite of the lack of written parchment, 1s nonethe- lesr worthy of nobility. They are the ones who conferred the glories of good homst labor and strong virtnous habits. It 1s not in honorary titles that wu will have to look for the true greatness of many of onr ancestors, but rather in their virtues, their strength of faith and their great courage that they manl-fested in coming to iïew France to create for themselves a dornnin of their lilcing. We will never adequately revere or romember these humble heroes, many *ose names are lacking in the manuals of our history, but should be profoundl~engraved in our hearts. We honor al1 these old founders of our race, men of sound heart and strong arms who chopped so much, labored so hard nnd so painfully. We olso hcnor those wbmen who had hearts of gold and silver hair, that rocked so many cradles, knotted so many fish nets, spun the mol, shnttled the looms, cried nnd prayed for the existence of onr young country. We can salute them al1 vithout Pear and with the proud gladness of being the sons and daughters of a noble race. kt us not satisfy ourselves vith stale sentiments of admiration for the heroic pioneers that were our forefnthers. Rather let us study their persevering energles, their unfailing patriotism and their heroic devotion. Let us conserve the minute details of their lives so that xe may determine vhat led them to think of vhat they could give to their country rathor than vhat their country could give to them. Let us endeavor to reconstruct their train of thought from the remotest possible time and pass on the souvenirs of their deeds and our memories of them to those who will soon replace us in this wonld. We make haste to gather these souvenirs of the past because many guideposts vil1 soon be erased forever. Long ago our grand- parents and their ancestors before them lived and died within site of the Church spire that saw them born. Today it 1s'- altogether different. One by one the staunch support of the family disappeara. The ancestral farm and home passes to strange hands. The youths scatter and the old folks knov not in what area they vil1 die. It is, therefore, hoped that our famillos, so unfortunately uprooted from the ancestral home and tossed about by the events of the day, can carry with them a register in which will be consigned the names of those who preceeded them. It 1s with this thought in mind thnt 1 hope to implant among us the interest in orir ancestors by very sparsely highlighting soma traces they left on this continent. It 1s hoped it will be of interest especially to the descendants of the early settlers of Huron County and in a more intimate vay to the Denomme and Durand familles and tteir children. Over three hundred years have passod since these ancestors plant- ed in the Canadian soi1 the families that perpetuate their names. The human chains that lead to those patriarchs already have fifteen -. or more links. First of all, who wero theçe ancestors? What vas their status? -. What part of Europe did they come from? Why did they come to New France? Al1 these questions are very interesting. In son8 cases these questions vlll be answered by authenticated documents. This - work has entailed many days of research and assistance from many relatives and friends, many of whom have been pressing for publica- tion of my findings. To find many things about many people, and interesting events that occurred diring three hundred years 1s one thing, bu^ to CO-ordinate, classify and put it in its proper perspec- tive and to make it interesting historical, factual Btc. 1s some- thing else. In my limited abillty, my endeavorç wili be dlrected toward the recounting of interesting details connected with some of the family names and historical events that took place during theh llves in which they played a part. This vil1 lndicate that most of the familles rnentioned had a plebeian origin. They were common people but people that conquered the country for civilizatlon and a Christian faith. They vere brave people, martyrs, men of steel muscles with generous hearts. The blood that ran in their veins vas the old Christian blood that was hathed in the faith of justice and horior. Even if our ancestors were not heroes of the first rank, they lived a life of loyal chilàrsn to their Church and their country. They have played a large part in the development of the Canadian Country by filling nobly the ungrateful task of settler, pioneer, U colonist, soldier, and are, therefore, heroes. In the course of research you come upon yellow pages of documents of which are traced the signatures of our ancestors. It 1s as emotional as viewing relics. It gives you great joy and bppi- ness when you discover a choice morsel of information. It 1s feared that too much of this sentiment 1s narrated in some of the chnpters, thus leaving other chapters too dry and stale, stating.with coqla- cence many of the details. Be that as it may, it 1s hoped that this history of our ancestors and their posterity vlll sprend a patriotic aura capable of pardoning the imperfections of their recounting especially to al1 who hold dear to thoir hearts, the mernories oh their forefathers. 1 feel confident you wlll hold, along with some of your most precious objects, this book of our ancestral famiiy. It will hold in its pages the veins, Setter yet, the arteries of a living organ. The same blood that activated so generously the hearts of our ancestors.

Load more