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Guillaume Guillemot part two

Indian Attack
January 6:
Guillaume Guillemot part two: Arriving in Trois Rivieres, Guillemot met with young Pierre Boucher who tried to convince him that a direct attack on the Iroquois was not a good idea. But Guillemot, itching for victory, fame, and a better post disagreed, suggesting the military maneuver referred to as the “Flying-Column.” The military and Boucher tried to explain this European tactic was not likely to succeed in the wilderness with the Iroquois. Guillemot was unimpeded and proceeded with his plan. Ending in disaster, of his troop of sixty men, twenty two, including Guillemot were killed. Read More 
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Guillaume Guillemot

Pierre Boucher
Guillaume Guillemot: Born to privilege as a seigneur in Brittany, he rose to great prestige in France. He was proposed to the King to be Governor of New France, and traveled to the colony in October of 1651 along with another French Aristocrat, Jean de Lauson. Arriving in Quebec, he was disappointed when the Compagnie des Cent-Associes named Lauson as Governor of Canada and Guillemot as Governor of Trois-Rivieres. He traveled inward to the Trois-Rivieres where he met Pierre Boucher. The town at that time was the outpost against severe Iroquois attacks, and Guillemot planned to make this his claim to fame and greater office. To be continued next week. Read More 
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BON JOUR DE NOEL

Christmas in Quebec
A Merry Quebec Christmas to all my readers.
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The Beaver Wars, more missionaries

Bad day in Canada for Jesuits
Jesuits and Sulpicians: For residents of the United States, much of early French-Canadian religious history is confusing. Although there were missionaries in the early English Colonies most were Protestant and they did not hold the same prominence and clout as their French-Canadian counterparts. Uniquely Catholic, in the early days almost all in New France were Jesuits who preferred hard work to leisure. Although they provided priestly duties to the colonists, their primary goal was salvation of the natives and they seemed to be happiest when suffering in the wilderness. They held this role exclusively until the late arrival of a more gentlemanly sect from Montreal: The Sulpicians. More on them next week. Read More 
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Calvados Exaggerated:

Calvados Exagerated
Calvados is a region in north-western France. It is also the name of a famous (at least in France) Brandy distilled from hard apple cider from apples of the same name. It can be purchased in American liquor stores (you may have to search). It is expensive and has, should I say, an acquired taste—fun to watch your friends faces when they take their first sip (it’s alcohol content is also quite high). In addition to the liqueur, and the apples, many French-Canadians came from the Calvados region, so the correlation was simple and fun, although I may have exaggerated its popularity in French Canada. Read More 
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Jesuits vs. Sulpicians

Jesuits in the wild
Jesuits and Sulpicians: Sorry for the lapse in the blog. The computer is a wonderful yet terrible thing. But enough of that and back to The Beaver Wars. The Jesuit order of monks came very early to Canada to teach and possibly convert the natives. They were a hard working order who preferred working in the wilds of the back-country. The Sulpicians on the other hand came late, with the beginning of Montreal. They tended to be more of the aristocratic stripe and worked with the French Canadians in the towns (particularly Montreal). For various reasons including their espoused missions, the groups did not get on well and sided with one side of Canadian Society or another. At least this is my read on it, with apologies to the Vatican. Read More 
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Ville-Marie/ Montreal

Old Map of Montreal
Early Ville-Marie -Montreal – The difference in names: (Continued from last week) In the Cathéderal of Notre Dame de Paris, this group of Frenchmen formed l’Association de Montreal and planned to send a group to Canada to settle on the island. Late in the next season, they departed France with 35 men, 10 women, a few nuns and one wealthy benefactor. Landing in October, they wintered near Québec. Sailing for the island in the spring, they founded the village of Ville -Marie. Their early years were difficult and occasionally deadly, but they eventually emerged as Canada’s great city. So the answer is: Montreal is an island (Mont Royal) and Ville-Marie is the City of Mary. Read More 
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Early Ville-Marie and Montreal: The difference in names

Notre Dame de Paris seen today
Early Ville Marie - Montreal—The difference in names: 1536: Very Early in French-Canadian history. Jacques Cartier passed the large island while exploring the St. Lawrence River. It is said he exclaimed, “Quel Mont Royal!” Hence the name Montreal. He tried to enter the native village of Hochelaga on the island, but was run off. As legend has it, the name held. It was not until 1612, however, that Samuel Champlain sailed by and tried to engage the natives in trade, again without success. In 1639, a tax collector (of all things), Jerome de Royer de la Dauversiere, set a small camp here with little effect, and it was not until 1641, that a group of religious Frenchmen met at the Cathéderal of Notre Dame de Paris… Continued next week. Read More 
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Ursuline Fire!!

Ursuline Convent Burns
Quebec records and the fire of 1650: On a winter night of 1650, the Ursuline Convent caught fire, and in spite of the efforts to extinguish it, the building was severely damaged. A treasure of the convent was the collected records of Québec: births, deaths, marriages, etc. At great risk to themselves, the nuns led by Marie de l’Incarnation collected the records and threw them out into the snow and escaped to retrieve them. Thereafter, it was deemed to keep all records in two separate locations, Generally the parish and the Convent, today in the Archives of Québec. If a fire occurred at one, the records could be found and copied at the other location and returned to the facility built after the fire. In the English colonies, a fire at a church or government facility generally meant loss forever of the records. Read More 
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French Canadian records

Archives of Quebec
French Canadian records: I am constantly hearing from readers who are searching their American ancestors. “I’m searching for my great grandmother’s history and can’t even find information about her birth or marriage. How can you know so much about French-Canadians in the 17th century? Well, the answer is in the intact nature of the record, and the odd event that started this accurate record is interesting. I’ll tell you about it next week. Read More 
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