For many years I’ve known that my
third great grandfather was French Canadien and was born in Quebec. I just
didn’t know where or to whom. However, I suspected that his roots probably went
back to New France.
Well about two months ago I finally
out where my ancestor was born and to whom. His name was Henri Gauvin and he
was born in 1788 to Augustin Gauvin and Marie Angelique Chapais in Riviere
Ouelle on the south shore of the St. Lawrence just west of Riviere du Loup.
Within 48 hours I had all his lines going back to New France and to France
thanks to many well-documented genealogies online.
One
of the first things I noticed was that both his grandmothers were Levesques. I
wondered could I be a distant relative of the late separatist premier of Quebec
Rene Levesque? A search on Google brought me to an article that mentioned
Rene’s second or third great grandparents, who were from Riviere Ouelle. This
in turn led me to search a French Canadien genealogical site, which confirmed
my suspicions – Rene Levesque and I are both direct descendants of Robert
Levesque and Jeanne Marguerite Chevalier.
Out
of curiosity I decided to check to see if I was distantly related to any of the
Quebec-born prime ministers of Canada. Sure enough I was to every one, except
Brian Mulroney, whose ancestors did not marry into the French population. In
fact every prominent person who had French Canadien ancestry I checked I was
distantly related to. I was even a distant relative of my wife, who is French
Canadien.
The
reason for this is due to the small population of New France compared to the
English colonies. For example in 1640 New England’s European population was
about 26,000, while in 1641 New France’s was 240. Nearly 100 years later in
1734 things were not much better as New England’s European population numbered
about 250,000, while New France’s was 37,716. (New England’s population
estimates come from here http://books.google.com.au/books?id=zPnD , while New France’s population estimates come from here http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/98-187-x/4151287-eng.htm) This meant that if you have any French
Canadien ancestry you are distantly related to everyone else. That blew my
mind.
Having
ancestors in New France has changed how I feel about the Battle Of Quebec on
the Plaines Of Abraham. I used to see it as this great victory of Wolfe over
Montcalm. Now I see it as a defeat and a tragedy that could have easily have
been avoided if only Montcalm hadn’t been so stupid and either waited for
reinforcements or just stayed within the walls of Quebec. I can better
appreciate the sense of loss and fear my ancestors must have felt upon being taken over by the English, especially as they had so recently expelled the Acadians from Nova Scotia.
I
have a deeper appreciation of the history of New France and French Canadien
culture in general, even though I don’t currently speak French. My French
heritage has made me determined to try once again to learn French. (Living in a
primarily English society makes it difficult.) I now understand the sense of
community that French Canadiens have and that English Canadians don’t have to
the same degree and the desire to preserve that community.
It’s exciting for me that
I am now able trace my ancestry back to 1634 when my 10th great
grandfather, Zacharie Cloutier arrived from France. (His wife, Sainte/Xainte
Dupont, and their family arrived in 1636.) Some of the houses my ancestors
built are still standing in Quebec and I long to see them. The oldest surviving
marriage contract in Quebec is of my 9th great grandparents Robert
Drouin and Anne Cloutier, daughter of the above couple. In the end it deepens
my connection to French Canada and to Canada as a whole that not only my marriage but my heritage reflects.
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