8. LeBlanc - Gaudet - Lavergne Family

LeBlanc Family

Daniel LeBlanc 1626 - 1693 m Francois Gaudet
Daniel LeBlanc (c. 1626 - c. 1695) was an early settler of the Port Royal area of Acadia, and ancestor to many LeBlancs.

Biography

Daniel LeBlanc was born in 1630 at Port Royal Acadia  and emigrated from France sometime before the year 1650.

 Daniel LeBlanc son born Port Royal, settled on the north bank of the Rivière-au-Dauphin, to the northeast of the marsh at Bélisle, about 9 miles (14 km) up river from the fort at Port Royal and a half mile (1 km) below the chapel of Saint-Laurent.  About 1650, he married Françoise Gaudet, a widow with a small daughter, Marie Gaudet, from her previous marriage. Together, they became parents to one daughter and six sons.

Children of Daniel Leblanc and Francoise Gaudet:

1. Jacques Leblanc, Born in 1651 in Port Royal.
2. Francoise Marie Leblanc, Born in 1653 in Port Royal.
3. Etienne Leblanc, Born in 1656 in Port Royal.
4. Renee Leblanc, Born in 1657 in Port Royal.
5. Andre Leblanc, Born in 1659 in Port Royal.
6. Antoine Leblanc, Born in 1662 in Port Royal.
7. Pierre Leblanc, Born in 1664 in Port Royal.

LeBlanc became a well-respected and relatively prosperous farmer in Port-Royal. Around 1690, he became a member of a group of six commissioners who were charged with providing administrative and judicial oversight for the colony. Along with his neighbours, he was caught up in the settlement’s shifting political fortunes resulting from international conflict between France and England. In 1695, after a regime change, LeBlanc signed an oath of allegiance to the King of England.
Daniel LeBlanc died at Port-Royal sometime between the oath of 1695 and the census of 1698.
Descendants

By 1755, the descendants of Daniel and Francoise LeBlanc had created the largest family in Acadia. Le Grand Dérangement (The Great Expulsion) of the 1750s scattered this huge family to the winds. Since most of the LeBlancs lived in the Minas settlements, dozens of them fell into the hands of the British in the fall of 1755 and ended up on ships bound for Maryland, Virginia, and other English colonies down the Atlantic seaboard.

Many LeBlanc's were exiled to France and then about 1785, along with Acadian families carrying other surnames, left aboard ships for then Spanish Louisiana; some of these LeBlanc's gave testimony in France to a Catholic Priest who carefully recorded their oral testimony of who their ancestors were (since the Catholic and Civil records were unavailable, destroyed, or lost due to their mistreatment by the British authorities).

LeBlancs were among the first families of Acadia and some of the earliest Acadians to find refuge in Louisiana. The first descendants of Daniel LeBlanc to emigrate to the colony reached New Orleans in February 1765 with the party from Halifax via Saint-Domingue led by Joseph Broussard dit Beausoleil. After a brief stay in the city, during which one of them exchanged his Canadian card money for Louisiana funds, they followed the Broussards to the Atakapas District, where they helped created La Nouvelle-Acadie on the banks of Bayou Teche.

Most of the LeBlanc's in Louisiana are direct descendants of Daniel LeBlanc and Francoise Gaudet. It is now estimated that there are somewhere between 300,000 and 500,000 descendants scattered over all the continents of the globe, the biggest concentration being in Canada (in the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec) and the United States of America (in Louisiana and the states of New England).

Gaudet Family

Jean (or Jehan) Gaudet settled in Port-Royal, Acadia in the early 1600s. His age in the 1671 census of Port-Royal is given as 96 years. If correct, this would put his birth at about the year 1575. There is no other known confirmation of this birth year. The place of origin for this Gaudet family may be Martaizé in the Poitou region of France, where the Acadian Governor Charles de Menou d'Aulnay's families had land holdings. (See Genevieve Massignon's article " La seigneurie de Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, gouverneur de l'Acadie, 1635-1650", published in 1963 in French.) A number of surnames of Acadian settlers are found in Martaizé and nearby Aulnay during the early 1600s. 

A particularly interesting document is a report to the King, dated 1634, by Nicole de Jousserand, Dame d'Aulnay (mother of the future Acadian Governor), in which she mentions a Jean Godet and several other Godets: Aveu au Roi, 1634. (Thanks to Michele Touret for transcribing this document and to Pierre Gaudette of St-Basile-le-Grand, Quebec for sending it to me.) 

Is this the same Jean Gaudet as our immigrant ancestor? Additional documentary evidence has not been found in the Martaizé parish registers (see Poitou, France below), but perhaps we can find a Gaudet (Godet) descendant in France whose direct paternal lineage can be traced (with clear documentary sources) to a Gaudet (Godet) in Martaizé. By comparing this person's y-chromosome DNA to that from a known descendant of our Jean Gaudet, we can determine if our Gaudet family is closely related to those in Martaizé, supporting the Martaizé origin. 

The name of his first wife (whom he probably married in France) is not known. Three children were born of the first marriage: daughters Francoise (born about 1624) and Marie (born about 1633), and a son Denis (born about 1625). On the 1671 Port-Royal census, he appears (as a labourer) with his second wife Nicolle Colleson (born about 1606) and their son Jean (born about 1653). Jean/Jehan Gaudet (the immigrant) probably died not long after the 1671 census, as he was of a very advanced age and does not appear in records after 1671. His widow last appears in the 1686 Port-Royal census (as Nicole Colson) in the same household as her son Jean and his family. 

Je(h)an Gaudet's oldest daughter Francoise first married to a man named Mercier (first name unknown). They had a daughter (Marie, who married Antoine Babin). Mercier died, and then Francoise remarried (probably in the 1640s) to Daniel Leblanc. Most of the Leblancs in Canada are probably descended from this couple. Daniel Leblanc died between 1693 and 1698, probably in Port-Royal. Francoise is listed as a widow in the 1698 Port-Royal census. The date and place of her death are not known. 

Denis Gaudet, son of Je(h)an Gaudet, married (probably in the early 1640s) to Martine Gauthier (or Gautier). Most of the Gaudets (and Gaudettes) in Canada and the are descended from this couple. Denis appears as a widower in the 1693 Port-Royal census. He was buried there in 1709. 

Marie Gaudet, daughter of Je(h)an Gaudet, married (probably in the late 1640s) to Etienne (or Estienne) Hebert. He died around 1670 (probably in Port-Royal). Marie remarried in the 1670s to Dominique Garault, who died between 1686 and 1698. Marie was buried in Port-Royal in 1710. Marie left many Hebert descendants in Canada and the Jean Gaudet, son of Je(h)an Gaudet and Nicol(l)e Col(le)son, was married three times. His first wife was Francoise Comeau (whom he married after 1671). He appears in the 1686 Port-Royal census with his second wife Jeanne Henry. She died between 1686 and 1693. By 1698, he remarried again to Jeanne Lejeune dit Briard. Jean last appears in the 1714 census of Pisiquit (on the Baie-des-Mines) with his wife. The date and place of his death is not known. Jean Gaudet had at least four children - three daughters and a son. Some of the Gaudets in Canada and the today may be traced to Jean's son (Jean). 

The Gaudet family settled along the upper reaches of the northwestern shore of the Dauphin River. 

Parentage. There is a debate about the parents of the Hébert brothers. According to Godbout, the Hébert brothers may have been the children of Jacques Hebert and Marie Juneau. The evidence supporting this claim is a link between: a) the presence of a Jacques Hébert in Acadia 30 years before the presence of the brothers Etienne and Antoine; and b) the April 15 1688 marriage contract at Quebec (Notary Lecompte; witness Louis Hebert's daughter Marie-Guillemette Hébert) between Francoise Chevalier and a Jacques Hébert from Le Haye in the Touraine parish of Balsesne, who was the son of Jacques and Marie Juneau. Stephen White argues that the connection is tenous. The name of the Jacques in the aforementioned contract had a surname Habert. Moreover, the presence of the witness Marie-Guillemette Hébert was likely due to the fact that Francoise Chevalier was her servant. 

Location of Birth. Stephen White remains silent presumably due to the lack of birth records. In contrast, Massignon  argues that a number of familial alliances that existed among the first Acadian settlers PRIOR to their arrival from France points to a common French origin. She believes they lived in the Acadian Governor d'Aulnay's seigneury in France near Loudon (comprising of the villages of Angliers, Aulnay, Martaizé and La Chausée). In the case of the Hébert family, it was allied with the Gaudet through Antoine's marriage to Marie. Marie's sister Francoise was also allied with the LeBLanc family through her marriage to Daniel. Evidence of their marriages in France is found in the Belle-Isle-en-Mer declarations in 1767. Morevoer, a certain Jean Gaudet, was censistaire in 1634 on land at Martaizé (Vienne) in the Seigneurie owned by the mother of Acadian governour Charles d'Aulnay. However, Massignon's research failed to find any relevant baptismal or marriage records. 

http://arslanmb.org/gaudet/gaudet.html

Lavergne Family

Francois Lavergne 1647 - 1687 married Anne Marie Simon 1660 - 1743.   Francois is a direct lineage to my cousin Helen Robinson.  He married Anne Marie Simon in 1675  in Quebec.  His was the son of Jean Lavergne, 1623 - 1703 and Marguerite De Bayssan 1625 - 1721. 

Anne Marie Simon was the daughter of Hubert Simon 1626 - 1704 who married Marie Viez 1642 - 1682.  

Marie was a Fille a Marier

Most of us are familiar with the story of the King's Daughters or Fille Du Roi; the state sponsored program that brought almost 800 single women to Quebec in the early days of the French settlement, but what is not so well known is the story of the Fille a Marier.  Between 1634 and 1662; 262 young ladies braved the elements to begin an uncertain future in the backwoods of Canada.

When the Company of 100 Associates began their settlement scheme, their plan of recruiting only families proved to be too costly, so instead they signed on single men; tradesman and labourers; who would be indentured for three years.  However, this meant that more than 80% of the colonists were men, so even if they decided to stay at the end of their term, there was little hope of them starting a family, unless they chose a Canadian girl. But, since her family would never allow her, or her children, to leave their village; the company directors needed to avoid this from happening.

So instead, they began recruiting "marriageable young girls", who would first sign a contract in France and then be given passage and a small dowry to become the wife of a Quebec settler.  You might wonder why these young girls (many under 16), would risk the dangers and hardships, which by now most of France were well aware of; but believe it or not; for many it was the best option.

At the time, marriages were arranged, so if the girl's family did not have the means to provide a suitable dowry, her only option was to become a nun, if she was Catholic; or marry beneath her station.  In the case of the young Filles a Marier, though a marriage contract must be signed before departure, she had every right to refuse the union, once she met her husband-to-be.  As a matter of fact, many of them did just that, and were provided safe passage home.

Below is a list of all the women brought over under this plan.  Some were sponsored by their church, a company associate or merchant.  Others were of minor noble families; cousins or sisters of men already in the colony.  Marguerite Bourgeoys and Jeanne Mance, also escorted several, training them in the necessary domestic skills, and ensuring that they would be well looked after.  

Later, critics of the plan tried to say that all the girls were prostitutes taken off the streets of Paris, but this was rarely, if ever, the case.  Most settled down, raised families and formed the roots of many French-Canadian families. 

http://www.lookbackward.com/perrault/marier/

http://www.many-roads.com/2009/08/31/les-filles-du-roi/

http://www.oocities.org/weallcamefromsomewhere/Kebec/marie_vie.html

Louis Lavergne was assuredly recruited by the Company of New France to help construct the slowly growing Quebec City. He moved to the New World right at the time of the rise of King Louis XIV to absolute power in France. The king's appointment of Jean Colbert as Finance Minister signalled the development of a clear policy regarding the relationship of Canada and France: Canada was to be used to make France rich. The objective was to make France an imperialist nation; the colonies were to develop raw materials and serve as markets for the mother country; the colonies were to become the springboard for further penetration into the North American continent. (The economic policy is called Mercantilism, and it was that policy that led to the American Revolution against the British from 1776-1783). In order to build a proper infrastructure to meet those objectives, skilled laborers were needed very badly. As a mason (bricklayer), Louis Lavergne was almost certainly recruited for his skills.

After his arrival in Quebec City, the 28 year old Louis Lavergne met and married Marie Anne Simon, the 14 year old daughter of Hubert Simon and Marie Viez de la Mothe. Their marriage would last only 12 years; Louis Lavergne died in Quebec in 1687. At least one and more probably two of his sons, Louis and Phillippe, floated down the Mississippi River to help settle yet another new territory and city, New Orleans in Louisiana

(1) Lavergne family tradition maintains that two brothers floated down the Mississippi River by canoe to the New Orleans area. The tradition is supported by documentation in Quebec, insofar as Phillippe Lavergne is recorded as having been born in Quebec on 18 June 1683. There is no record of his marriage or death there, possibly suggesting his departure for Louisiana with his brother Louis, Jr. However, unlike Louis, there is no record of his living in Louisiana either. There are a number of possibilities; he could have died en route to Louisiana; he could have never left Quebec and died in obscurity there; or he could have made it to Louisiana and died in obscurity there. Most family traditions are rooted in historical fact, but in this case there is no way to establish this tradition as an historical truth.

 http://www.garylavergne.com/quebec.htm

• Jean Lavergne was born in 1623, at birth place, to Francois Lavergne and Guillemette Lavergne (born Peronne).

• Francois was born in 1610, in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Limousin, France.

• Guillemette was born in 1620, in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Limousin, France.

• Jean was baptized on month day 1698, at baptism place.

He had 5 brothers: Arnoul Lavergne, Francois Renaud and 3 other siblings.

Jean married Marguerite Lavergne (born DeBayssa) in 1647, at age 24 at marriage place.

Marguerite was born in 1625, in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, Limousin, France.

They had one son: Louis Lavergne.

Jean passed away on month day 1703, at age 80 at death place.

The Canadian records indicate that Francois Lavergne arrived in Quebec in 1671.

In those times people were referred to as de Laverge, de Bayssan, all relative to the area they lived in.  So Margueriete from Bayssan.   

Joseph Lavergne (October 29, 1847 – January 9, 1922) was a lawyer, judge, editor and political figure in Quebec. He represented Drummond—Arthabaska in the House of Commons of Canada from 1887 to 1897 as a Liberal member. 

He was born in Saint-Pierre-de-la-Rivière-du-Sud, Montmagny County, Canada East, the son of David Lavergne and Marie-Geneviève Delagrave, was educated at Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and studied law with his uncle Joseph Delagrave. He was called to the Quebec bar in 1869, set up practice in Princeville and then Arthabaska, where he practised law in partnership with Wilfrid Laurier. In 1876, Lavergne married Émilie Barthe, the daughter of Joseph-Guillaume Barthe. 

He served as mayor for Arthabaskaville and warden for Arthabaska County. Lavergne was editor for L'Union des Cantons de l'Est. He was also bâtonnier for the Arthabaska section of the Quebec Bar.

Lavergne resigned his seat in 1897 after he was named puisne judge for the Quebec Superior Court for Ottawa district. His brother Louis succeeded him as representative for Drummond—Arthabaska in the House of Commons. In 1901, he was transferred to Montreal district. Lavergne was named to the Court of King's Bench in 1906. He died in Montreal at the age of 74. 

His son Armand Renaud also served as a member of the House of Commons.

Quebec

Quebec City's history is inextricably tied to its strategic position on a bluff high above a narrowing of the St. Lawrence River. Its value as a military fortress was first realized by the founder of New France, Samuel de Champlain. Champlain was New France and without him it is doubtful that French Canada would exist today. He was the first to see that the chief obstacle to colonization was not the climate, but disinformation spread by French fur trading interests, who monopolized trade and did not wish to see the country settled. Much of Canadian History is the struggle between trappers and agrarian homesteaders.

One of world history's great practitioners of realistic power politics in international relations was the Bishop of Lucon, Cardinal Richelieu (1585-1642), a sincere but certainly not an ardent Catholic, and an efficient, ambitious, even brilliant administrator. Raison d' etat (Reason of State) motivated all his policies. He lived in splendour, usually accompanied by his private choir and corps of musicians because he believed such a retinue befitted the chief minister of a great and splendid kingdom. 

He was largely responsible for building la grande nation of Louis XIV. It was Richelieu who sent many Jesuits to the New World for the purpose of spreading the faith, but also spreading French influence. In addition to sending Jesuits, he formed the Company of New France in an effort to make France a world power. The Company's objectives were simple enough:

1. New France was to be self-sufficient in agriculture;

2. natural resources were to be discovered and exploited; and

3. missionary activities were to be fostered.

 The Company of New France owned the lands and had the right to parcel them out to settlers. In turn, they agreed to settle 4,000 settlers in the next 15 years. Not surprisingly, the Jesuits, the fur trappers (referred to as Coureurs de Bois or "Runners of the Woods"), and colonists were often at odds over the use of the land and natural resources of New France.

Samuel de Champlain was a born explorer. In an area recently abandoned by Indians he founded the first French settlement in the New World in 1608. The settlement was Quebec. Fishing was not feasible there; its value was military. Early defence systems would be built and rebuilt many times over the next 200 years, resulting in a walled fortress that earned Quebec the name "Gibraltar of North America." 

When Louis Lavergne entered Quebec City sometime before his marriage to Marie Anne Simon on 26 May 1675, he entered an area fraught with danger. He lived among a people dangerously divided and reduced to petty bickering. The French alliance with the Algonquins and Hurons made bitter enemies of the Mohawks and Iroquis Indian tribes. Political struggles between the Jesuits and colonial leaders were simultaneous with economic struggles between agrarians and Coureurs de Bois. Champlain's governorship was occupied by wars with the British and the Indians.

 Life for Canadians was very hard, especially whenever France and England were at war on the European continent. 

By 1650, there were approximately 500 settlers in Canada. Most of those settlers were engaged in agricultural pursuits. For a long period of time Canada was on the brink of disaster. What was done in North America in the name of France was pretty much accomplished by what the Catholic Church or independent commercial enterprise could get done, and the success of either of those efforts depended upon a delicate and unreliable alliance with selected Indian tribes against other Indian tribes and the British. Those efforts should have been directed by the government, but that period of French- English history was dominated by war.