The Metis

They Were Canoemen & Fur-traders

This genealogical study connects my Metis ethnic ancestry through the SOULIERE and LAROCQUE surnames. 

The following historical description has been extracted from the Canadian Encyclopedia

~

Métis are people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry, and one of the three recognized Aboriginal peoples in Canada.

James Thomas O'Kane

My dad was 16 or 17 when he signed up to join the Canadian military in WWII.

He asked to join the Air Force but was eventually assigned to the Navy. In residence at Quebec City Army Barracks at the time, his basic training as a signalman was completed in a year (c.1942). 

Photo: Plains of Abraham, Quebec City

James O'Kane is back row, 4th from right

French Nobility

Myth or Royalty?

Philibert COUILLAUD dit ROCBRUNE (1641 - 1701)

Relationship to Me
SEVENTH Great Grand-Father

~

Is the ancestor of the great majority of Larocques in Canada and the U.S., but he is also the ancestor of Larock, Roquebrune, Rockburn etc. and also the Rock, Roque and Célerier dit Roque. 

The Hessians

A Mercenary Soldier

Johann LENTZ (1765 - 1810) 

Relationship to Me
THIRD Great Grand-Father

~

In early 1776, King George III of England  hired units from the various houses or states of Germany to assist with bringing the the colonist's rebellion to order. The hiring of foreign troops to supplement a country's army was a normal procedure during this time of history. Several of the German rulers, needing hard currency and being "between wars", were only too happy to oblige.

The Filles du Roi

A Kings' Daughter

Marie BLANCHARD (1647 - 1722) arr. 25/09/1667 Québec aboard Le St Louis de Dieppe

Relationship to Me
NINTH Great Grand-Mother

~

Unmarried women sponsored by the king to immigrate to New France between 1663 and 1673. Private interests gave priority to bringing over male workers, and the French government and religious communities wanted to correct the gender imbalance in the colonies. The king’s advisor, Minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert, sent the “Filles du Roi” as an incentive for male workers who had finished their contract and soldiers of the Carignan-Salières regiment (which had just been demobilized) to settle in the colony.

The Acadians

My Oldest IMMIGRANT Ancestor

Pierre VINCENT (1631 - 1686) arr. May 1654 Port Royal, NS aboard the Chateaufort

Relationship to Me
SEVENTH Great Grand-Father

~

History of the Name "Acadia"

Acadia has its origins in the explorations of Giovanni da Verrazzano, an Italian explorer serving the king of France. In 1524-25 he explored the Atlantic coast of North America and gave the name "Archadia", or “Arcadia” in Italian, to a region near the present-day American state of Delaware. In 1566, the cartographer Bolongnini Zaltieri gave a similar name, "Larcadia," to an area far to the northeast that was to become Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. The 1524 notes of Portuguese explorer Estêvão Gomes also included Newfoundland as part of the area he called “Arcadie” (see also Acadia).

French Presence (1534--1713)

Immigrants, Indians, a Voyageur Canoe Man and Al Capone

This post was originally written for another blog website I publish and you can go to it by clicking. I felt it would be appropriate to include it here also. It's been edited  slightly ...

~
There was a time ... not to recently, when people did not have the opportunity to travel as we can today.

My maternal grandfather Maxime Gilbert Lance lived to be 92 and my maternal grandmother Bertha Paulina Biederman to 87.

Neither, was ever a licensed driver, owned a vehicle or even, drove a vehicle that I know of. 

The Warrior Clan of O'CATHAIN

Descended from IRISH Kings

It has been said that the O'CATHAIN "Warrior Clan", was a comparatively small military elite, quite distinct from other larger groups bearing the same or similar surnames. A recent book entitled "Cenel Connail and The Donegal Kingdoms - AD 500 - 800" by Brian Lacey (Four Courts Press, 2006) makes this remarkable statement on page 33 -: