After the great expeditions of Jacques Cartier to North America from 1534
to 1541, a half century elapsed before the French became interested again in
the new continent. Samuel de Champlain, the geographer of King Henry IV,
set out in 1603 on the first of many voyages, sailing up the Saint Lawrence
River, and returning to France to inform the King of the economic
opportunities and strategic importance of the area. Thus began 50 years of
French exploration, development and trade in New France.
With the need to populate and develop the new territory, the King awarded
land grants to meritorious citizens willing to immigrate to New France.
Most of those who immigrated were peasant farmers who worked as serfs on the
feudal domains of their respective lords. However, if they elected to
immigrate, they would own their grants by royal mandate if they remained
in New France and farmed the land for at least three years.
As time passed, New France began to be referred to as “kanata” (Canada)
from an Iroquois word meaning village/settlement and used when referring to the area. In 1608, Samuel de Champlain established
the French settlement called Kebec (Quebec), an Algonquin name that means “where the river narrows”, and now
one of the oldest cities in North America. In 1867, the country became officially known as Canada after maps and usage of the
name became commonplace.
The earliest record of our family in France is that of Didier Baucher who
was living on the Montmorency domain (depicted in red on the upper left map)
of the Val d’Oise Department in the Ile de France Region 9.5 miles north of Paris.
There he married Jacqueline Fond. Of their children, we only know of their
son, Antoine Baucher dit (also known as) Montmorency (1596/12-30-1648),
the father of Guillaume, who, along with his brother, Rene, elected to
immigrate to New France in 1653.
Since most of the shipping activity was at the port of Honfleur, we can
safely assume that Guillaume Baucher dit (also known as) Montmorency
(first generation), set out on a ship
from this port. Upon his arrival he settled on the land grant that was
awarded him at the Ste Famille Parish on the Ile d’Orleans (shown
on the map at the right).
His initial grant was three arpents (about 2½ acres) fronting the
St. Lawrence River. Take a moment to
view the layout of the original grants, the appearance of
Guillaume’s orginal grant today
and the Morency general store and chalets.
He farmed this land over the next ten years, sold it at a profit and
purchased a larger piece of property of 6 arpents. By the time of his death
in 1687, he had parlayed his property into a profitable farm of more than 50
arpents with 13 head of cattle, a better than average size farm at that time.
He also had entered into partnerships purchasing and selling land in Quebec
and bought into a portion of his father-in-law’s estate.
Guilllaume’s future wife, Marie Paradis, arrived in New France in 1652 with
her parents, Pierre Paradis and Barbe Guyon. Her family came from a somewhat
privileged class that was relatively cultured for that time. She went to
private school in Quebec operated by the Ursuline nuns where she completed
her education.
It is unknown how she met Guillaume Baucher dit (also known as)
Montmorency, but at sixteen years of age she married him on October 16, 1656 at the Notre Dame Church
in Quebec as the recorded document
attests. Her parents and grandparents gave her a
very generous dowry which helped to accelerate the growth of Guillaume’s
original land grant.
A little less than two years after they were married, Marie gave birth to her
first born, Martin. She would eventually give birth to 15 children,
the twelth of which, Joseph Marie, would become the
second generation of
Franco-American Morencys that bear my name today.
Guillaume died on October 26, 1687
and was buried on the Ile d’Orleans at the Sainte Famille Church Cemetery
pictured on the left. Following his death, the locality name of Montmorency
associated with Baucher was shortened to Morency and it became the surname
of his children.
There is nothing recorded regarding the lives of Joseph Marie
(second generation) nor of
(Joseph) Basile (third generation).
However, records show that Augustin (fourth
generation) moved from Ile d’Orleans about 150 miles north to Trois Pistoles
(pictured below) on the right bank of the Saint Lawrence River, married Josephte Lebel on
January 19, 1768, and was heir to paternal land.
Augustin’s son, Basile (fifth
generation), along with his son, Cyriac (sixth generation),
built and operated a number of saw mills along the
Trois Pistoles River to meet the demand for wood from England. In 1853,
they sold their land and mills for an agreed upon annuity and a cash
settlement for Cyriac. Unfortunately, in 1871 the mills went bankrupt
under the new owners and Basile and Cyriac lost everything.
Cyriac and his family, including his son, Basile
(seventh generation) and his family,
left Canada during the late 1890s to settle in Salem, MA.
After arriving in Salem, one of Basile’s sons, Vezina (eighth generation),
my great grandfather, became a U.S. citizen in 1902.
Vezina married Augustine Thibault on November 16, 1903 in Salem, MA and had
five sons, one of whom was my great grandfather, Ernest (ninth generation)
(4-5-1910/4-3-1966).
Ernest married Beatrice Morin at St. Joseph’s Church in Salem, MA on September 4, 1933, and
they had four children, one of whom was my grandfather, Conrad
(tenth generation)
(11-1-1934/1-21-1998).
Conrad married Mary Ellen Moakley on August 24, 1957 at St. Anselm's Church in Brooklyn, NY and had five children, one of whom was my father, Thomas
(eleventh generation)
(12-18-1960).
My father, Thomas, married Marilu Lacalamita on January 6, 1989 at St. Dominic's Church in Oyster Bay, NY and had two children: Tara, my sister, and I.
We are the twelfth generation
of Franco-American Morencys in North America.
