Dennis

Proving a legend is a difficult task when so little facts are known. When time mangles memories, our minds try to fill in the gaps with something… anything. I find most family legends have a basic theme, but the actual facts may change depending on who you ask, and how much they embellish those missing …

Grandma’s Grandma was an Indian Read More »

In Quebec City, the Louis Hébert Monument stands in the corner of the garden of the Hôtel-de-Ville. The work of Canadian sculptor, Alfred Laliberté, the statue represents Louis Hébert, the first European settler of Canada, standing on the plinth, offering to God the first sheaf of wheat harvested on Canadian soil. At the base of …

Louis Hébert, the first European settler of Quebec Read More »

Certified genealogist, Amy Johnson Crow, created a program by which she encourages genealogists to write about 52 ancestors each week over the whole year. She calls it, 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. Since I was making a renewed effort to actually put down on paper all the stories my 40 years + research has …

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Read More »

On 3 November 1647, less than one month after Françoise Fafard arrived in Ville-Marie (Montreal) from France, she was married to Mathurin Meunier at the Basilique Notre Dame. To us, this probably sounds like a hurried marriage, and it was, but not for the reason you may think. In 1647, men outnumbered women 6 to …

The First White Marriage in Montreal Read More »

In the autumn of 1651, after Mathurin LeMeunier had finished assisting Chomedey sieur de Maisonneuve in building the societies mission on the the Isle of Montreal, Sieur de Maisonneuve left for France to engage at least 100 new men to protect the colony and mission of Ville-Marie. This year in particular had seen an increase …

La Grande Recrue de 1653 Read More »

My 9th Great Grandparents were Philip Durrell and his unknown wife This is their story

Cape Porpoise was named by Captain John Smith of the famed Pocahontas legend. On a trading mission in 1614, Smith visited the cape and likely seeing the large number of porpoises that resided there, named it Porkpiscis. This name was …

The Durrell Family of Cape Porpoise Read More »