HELENE DESPORTES

When going so far back in time to learn about your ancestors the information available is often unproven and conflicting.

Take for instance my 8th. Great Grandmother, Helene Desportes. With my French heritage there seems to be a lot of firsts that happened in New France (Quebec). I have mentioned Louis Hebert and Marie Rollet being the first official family of NewFrance before. Now Helene Desportes was said to be the first white child (non aboriginal or Metis) born in New France. Helene was born to Pierre Desportes and Francoise Langlois. The date of her birth varies from 1619,1620,1621, 1622 or not even born in New France at all depending on what source is checked.

The next likely child who would have been the first born would have been the child of Anne Hebert and her husband Etienne Jonquet born in 1620. According to Samuel Champlain Anne Hebert died in child birth previous to 1620 and with no further mention of her child it was presumed stillborn. So this takes us back to Helene.

The historian Benjamin Sulte (1841-1923)¹ maintains that Guillemette Hebert was the first born Canadienne because he assumed that Marie Rollet had come to Acadia with her husband Louis Hebert in 1606 but this has been refuted and she is said to have come from Paris in 1617.

It is believed that Helene's father, Pierre came to New France with Abraham Martin (as in The Plains of Abraham) who was married to Marguerite Langlois, the sister of Pierre's wife, Francois Langlois. Pierre could read and write and held some standing in the community. He signed on behalf of the inhabitants of New France in appeal to the King of France. .

When Helene and Guillaume Hebert's marriage contract was drawn up in 1634² her parents did not sign as witnesses. They had 3 children, one who died in infancy. Joseph, born 1636³ and Francoise, born 16384

Helene's husband Guillaume died in 1639⁵ and she married Noel Morin. He was a wheelwright and became one of the early pioneers of Montmagny.
Their son, Germain was consecrated to the priesthood in September, 1665, making him the first Canadienne born priest. Their daughter Marie became the first Canadienne born nun. And their other son Jean Baptiste was member of the Conseil Souverain, political body appointed by the King of France, chosen as a part of French nobility.⁶
There have been many firsts in my family history. I believe I am the first to blog.

Sources:

W. Stewart WALLACE, "Benjamin Sulte", in The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. VI, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 398p. p. 85.
Quebec Vital Records, Drouin Collection, 1621-1967, online [http://www.ancestry.ca/]
Quebec Vital Records, Drouin Collection, 1621-1967, ancestry.ca online [http://www.ancestry.ca/], accessed, Quebec, Notre Dame, Baptemes 1621-1667, page 7
Quebec Vital Records, Drouin Collection, 1621-1967, ancestry.ca online [http://www.ancestry.ca/], accessed, Quebec, Notre Dame, Baptemes 1621-1667, page 10
Dictionary Of Canadian Biography Online, Library and Archives Canada online [http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=34521&query=marsolet], accessed May 15, 2007, http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=34294&query=desportes
Ethel M. G. Bennett For information about the Desportes family in Quebec see Léon Roy, “Pierre Desportes et sa descendance,” SGCF Mémoires, II (1946–47), 165–68. See also Azarie Couillard Després, Louis Hébert: premier colon canadien et sa famille (Lille, Paris, Bruges, 1913; Montréal, 1918); La première famille française au Canada. Dionne Champlain, II, passim. Sulte, Hist. des Can.-fr., II, 37, 78.

SATURDAY NIGHT GENEALOGY CHALLENGE

Randy @ Genea-Musings has given us a Saturday night challenge. Our mission should we choose to accept it is to list our ancestors 5 generations back. This gives us 16 people. We are to also list their information as well as their ethnicity. That will be pretty easy for me.
Here we go:

1. Francois Lemire b. 1783 in Nicolet, Quebec- d.1854 Nicolet, Quebec, French

   Image via Wikipedia

2. Marie Louise Salmon b. 1786, Nicolet, Quebec- d.1861 Nicolet, Quebec, French
3. Antoine Martel b. 1793 Baie du Febvre, Quebec - d. 1860 Nicolet, Quebec, French
4. Rosalie Faucher dit Chateauverd b. 1791 Baie du Febvre, Quebec - d. 1874 Nicolet French
5. Etienne Pinard dit Beauchemin b. 1813 Nicolet, Quebec - d. 1895 Nicolet, Quebec, French
6. Marguerite Beauchemin b. 1814 Nicolet, Quebec - d. 1880 Nicolet, Quebec, French
7. Louis Theophile Pinard b. 1829 Nicolet, Quebec - d. 1910 Nicolet, Quebec, French
8. Agnes Leblanc b. 1839 Nicolet, Quebec - d. 1877 Nicolet, Quebec, French
9. Emmanuel Beaugrand dit Champagne b. 1799 Berthierville, Quebec - d. 1872 St. Boniface, Manitoba, French

   Image by merlinprincesse via Flickr

10. Madeleine Laderoute b. 1828 St. Boniface, Manitoba - d. unknown, Manitoba, Metis, (French & Aboriginal)
11. Daniel Carriere b. 1823 Red River, Manitoba - d. unknown, Metis (French & Aboriginal)
12. Dorothee Landry b. 1826 St. Boniface, Manitoba - d. 1898 St. Boniface, Manitoba, Metis
13. Moise Carriere b. 1819 Red River, Manitoba - d. 1890 Desalaberry, Manitoba, Metis
14. Josephte Beaugrand dit Champagne b. 1828 Red River, Manitoba - d. unknown, Metis
15. Thomas Stanislaus Bruneau b. 1833 St. Boniface, Manitoba - d. 1896 Desalaberry, Manitoba, Metis
16. Adelaide Landry b. 1834 Red River, Manitoba - d. 1925 Desalaberry, Manitoba, Metis
    

So I figure my ancestors were 56.25 % French and 43.75% Metis (French & Aboriginal). So would this mean I would add another 21.875 % to my French side? That would make me 78.125% French and 21.875% Aboriginal. Depending on how you look at this I guess I would also be 100% Canadian.