French-Canadians: A Family History
PRE-NOTE: This post is a new book, presented with permission of the author. More below. There are four preceding posts you might wish to view as well: The Solar Eclipse (April 9); Propaganda (April 11); Senate District Convention (April 12); and Covid-19 first year (April 6). The Covid post includes several recent comments.
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The subject of todays post is a new and fascinating book, the Roy-Collette Family History, here, by cousin, Dr. Remi Roy of Montreal. The book is accessible in its entirety at the link, with permission of the author. I encourage reading and sharing this. Anyone with, or who knows anyone with, any French-Canadian ancestry will find this book a useful template when considering how to reconstruct their own family history, most especially with French-Canadian background.
Take some time to browse the books contents pages. You’ll not know what’s inside till you look.
My Dad was 100% French-Canadian. We never lived in a French-Canadian enclave, so it wasn’t until half a lifetime ago, 1980, that I even began what became a deep dive into this rich heritage. About 15 years ago, Remi and I first met – through the internet – and in the last few years he continued and completed his exploration of his families of origin (His great-grandfather and mine were brothers, Octave and Philippe Collette. His maternal line were Germans from Russia; mine was German-American). So both of us are 50% French-Canadian. (My 23&Me Ancestry declares I’m 100% French and German, northwest Europe. I don’t know Remi’s.)
Remi’s Quebec ancestors routes to their future home are in the two maps below (pp 65 and 82 in the book). There were tens of thousands of French-Canadian immigrants to the United States, primarily mid-1800s. Their ancestors came to what is now Quebec in the 1600s and 1700s.
Back in 1980 the U.S. Census included a question about the ancestry of those counted. Fourteen million (of then-226.5 million population in the U.S.) indicated some French ancestry, from France or Canada, including 8% of Minnesotans. Most of these, I think I can confidently say, were of French-Canadian descent.
Here in both pdf (French in U.S. 1980001 ) and jpeg is the page from the calendar produced annually for 18 years by Dr. Virgil Benoit and Reine-Marie Mikesell. Note especially West Coast data. I think I could state without too much risk, that most of the west coast French had their antecedents in French-Canada; indeed the Midwest. This certainly was true in my family, going way back. “Go west, young man….”
from Quebec to Saskatchewan
Quebec to Minnesota to Dakota to Manitoba. This would have been the probable route of most of my branch of the family, most of whom came as a group in 1864.
Have at it!
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My own Bernard-Collette History is here. Remi and my Collette great-grandparents were brothers, Octave and Philippe, who came west with their entire family in the 1860s, and were in what is now the Twin Cities area from about 1850s-78; thence to the Dakota Territory area that became Oakwood-Grafton-Walsh County, North Dakota.
Special thanks to French-American Heritage Foundation which added this writing to their Library section.
Take your time. Enjoy. If you wish to make contact with Remi, email dickDOTbernarddt1878ATicloudDOTcom and I’ll pass along.
POSTNOTE: Here’s the European linguistic map I refer to in response to Mary Ellen Weller’s comment (below). The Map is from Rand McNally Goodes World Atlas 1996. European Languges
COMMENTS (more below):
from Richard: As for me I have perused the book of your recommendation two times. Since my area of study is generally West Central Minnesota before 1862, the second perusal was date specific. It is an excellent piece of work, if not a labor of love. I plan to revisit it at a later date for a more detailed read.
from Kathy: I am just now opening the French Canadian history piece that you sent. This is coming at a good time for me because I’m assessing ways of approaching my diverse family history…..past to present? present to past? or a little of both?… making an attempt to make family history understandable to my own family! Thank you for directing my attention to this labor of love!
from Brad: These histories are always great reading – especially the mysterious, unknown, and sometimes family secrets. The hard work and journeys too of our ancestors. Jeff and I are traveling to France and Spain next week for a month. We will be in Paris, and SW France (Bordeaux, Bergerac, Biarritz). Bilbao Spain (Guggenheim musée) afterwards. We’ve been to Normandy before but never Brittany. Some day we’ll visit Finistère and I’ll be on the lookout for “Colet!”
from Brian: Thanks for sharing! We have a cabin in way upstate NY near the Quebec border and my Peace Corps hostess mother lives just north of Montreal so we find ourselves going up to French-Canada often. Fun place!
from Carole: Thank you. I have a Canadian daughter-in-law, a cottage in Nova Scotia, elementary schooling at the College Des Ursulines in Quebec, and two son’s educated in Canada (University of Kings College and Acadia). And, have read much history. Always interested.
Marie-Reine must surely be gone by now, yes? Any details?
I’ve added Marie-Reine’s obituary as a link to her name, above. Her home base was Chicago. Dr. Virgil Benoit, her colleague in the calendar, is a retired professor of French at the University of North Dakota, and long-time very active and well known in French in America initiatives. He lives in rural Red Lake Falls MN. You said “She was quite the woman. Much respected in New England Franco circles”.
Well researched and presented article. Learned a lot I did not know. Had several visits to Canada and the most memorable was a tv production trip to Ottawa. That’s where Graham Kerr, known as the Galloping Gourmet, taped his cooking show. I needed to do a commercial with Mr. Kerr promoting his cookware. I really enjoyed visiting that part of Canada. It was a lot more French than Winnipeg. And that was quite exotic to a northern plains USA guy. The restaurants we visited were excellent and I’ll never forget, at one place, there was a loud political argument going on in French at a nearby table. A lot more interesting than loud rock music!
Excellent work and interesting family stories.
With regard to the Census data cited and the map, a sizable number of French speakers may be missing–those from Switzerland, Luxemburg, Belgium. My family francophones come from these minority groups. If the census question was ‘are you from France’ these people would have said ‘no’.
Your additions are welcome. We Americans lack a sense of both geographic scale and history of Europe. I noted that I am 50% French-Canadian and 50% German. 23 and Me says I’m 100% French-German Northwest European – my German ancestors live near the border with the Netherlands, and live much closer to the reputed birthplace of Charlemagne than my French lineage. My Collette ancestral country is Brittany, which on a map is south of western corner of England, and whose language is rooted in Gaelic and Welsh. (I will add the linguistic map to the post). None of this make sense till you look at the geography and history of the area. My French-Canadian ancestors in Canada became isolated after the French were defeated by the English 16 years before the American Revolution, thus it is more difficult to make even ancestral connections with people in France, and there are even linguistic differences.
Sorry for my writing in English, my mother tongue is French. Philippe Collette is my great-grandfather. Philippe donated the land where the church of St-Lambert de Lauzon is located.
In 1900-1901, the family arrived in St-Jean Baptiste after leaving Grafton, North Dakota.
My grandfather Edward left Manitoba around 1930, I believe for Montreal with his family, he was the vice-president of the Rawleigh company. My father was born in Manitoba, so he was a Franco-Manitobain.
Luc, your English is marvelous. I never learned French. My great-grandfather Octave was your Philippe’s brother, a year and a half older. Octave also had land at Ste Elizabeth which I believe was farmed by his sons Arcidas and Alire, both from Oakwood. Your Edward would have been cousin of my grandmother, Josephine Collette Bernard. The link to my own history of the family is near the end of this post. Take a look. My story of the Manitoba Collette’s is at pp 99-118. My grandparents travelled to Quebec in 1925, I believe, and there are a dozen photos from that trip on pp 190-193. Quite possibly some of the photos are of your grandfather and family. Family history is always imperfect and always fascinating. Thank you for your response. Are you in touch with Remi, who lives in Montreal?