THE CHARTRANDS
(voir hommage à Robert Chartrand, décédé le 5 mars 2003)
(ce site est hébergé par Régis Corbin)
1- WELCOME AT THE CHARTRANDS.
We bid you welcome, to you all, descendants of a Chartrand.
We're from all over North America. We have all kinds of professions and trades. As other North Americans, we have our hopes and our pleasures, our misfortunes and our griefs. We share with others common values, even though we may speak different languages, practice our religion under various denominations, and yet there is one fact that distinguish us from others...
We're, probably, all descendants of Thomas Chartran who came to North America around the middle of the XVIIth century...
We're thousands of Chartrands, Chartraws, Chartreaus ... And most probably all sharing one common ancestor.
2- WHY THIS TEXT?
To better know about our origins. That is to try and better know the history of the Chartrand first generations and those that followed.
To try and tie all of us to our common ancestor. Many amongst us have begun our family genealogy. Why not try and build the whole family tree, of all descendants of Thomas Chartran?
To try and have the talents and achievements of the " relatives " known. Many Chartrands have been well-known, others less. Let's try and know them better.
3- THE FUTURE
In order to do so, each one of us will have to bring in his own stone. Let's share our genealogical works, let's share our data. Let's share our "family histories". Let's build, together, the Chartrand building.
4- THE AUTHOR
Searcher in genealogy and volunteer administrator.
I've been in genealogy for over 35 years. (I started quite young, seriously!). In 1978, I was one of the founders of the "Société de généalogie de l'Outaouais" in Western Quebec, in Hull, being secretary of its founding committee. I was the first president elected by the members. With other colleagues, I have participated in the management of that group from 1978 to 1992. Secretary of the provisional founding committee, first elected president, treasurer and councillor responsible for the library, were all positions held. Of all these years, I was president for almost 10 years. I have also contributed to the initiation of new searchers by giving seminars on research in family history at the Western Quebec regional center of the "Archives nationales du Québec", in Hull.
I am the author of a Catalogue of genealogical sources at the Western Quebec center of the " Archives nationales du Québec " which still being used today. After my departure from Hull, it was updated by the " Société de généalogie de l'Outaouais " and the " Archives nationales du Québec, à Hull ".
I have written many articles, translated and edited others which were published in L'Outaouais généalogique, bulletin of the "Société de généalogie de l'Outaouais", in Les Argoulets, bulletin of the "Société d'histoire et de généalogie de Verdun", in Connections, of the Quebec Family History Society, of Pointe-Claire. I have also given many conferences in Quebec as well as in Ontario.
From 1979 to 1984, I was active on the "Genealogy Committee" of the "Fédération des sociétés d'histoire du Québec". In 1985, I was one of the applicants and founders of the "Fédération québécoise des sociétés de généalogie" of which I was an administrator for many years.
I work on two families: the Chartrands and the Rozons, my maternal grandmother's family.
I have done research in all the main genealogical centers in Quebec. I have done research at the National Archives of Canada, in Ottawa, and at the Archives of Ontario, in Toronto.
I have also done research in two French Departmental Archives. In Troyes, at the "Archives départementales de l'Aube" on the Rozons, as well as at the "Archives départementales de l'Isère", in Grenoble.
I have also had the pleasure of spending three one-week periods at the Family History Library, in Salt Lake City. I have also done research at the Public Libraries of New Orleans, St. Louis and Denver and at two genealogical libraries, Sutro, in San Francisco and Portland, Oregon as well as at the Family History Center in New York City, NY.
HE WAS A MEMBER OF MANY GENEALOGICAL SOCIETIES
"Société de généalogie de l'Outaouais", Hull, Qc;
"Société généalogique canadienne-française", in Montreal, Qc;
"Société d'histoire et de généalogie de Verdun", Verdun, Qc;
National Genealogical Society, Arlington, VA.
PEERS RECOGNITION
In 1984, the "Fédération des sociétés d'histoire du Québec" awarded me the title of genealogist emeritus.
In 1993, the "Société de généalogie canadienne-française" made me one of its youngest members emeritus.
5- ORIGIN OF OUR ANCESTOR
The Chartrands's ancestor came from Normandy. All authorities agree on that. More precisely, he would have been from Ectot-les-Baons. Normand Robert in Nos origines en France, volume 7, writes that Ectot-les-Baons is in the department of Seine-Maritime. Located north of the Seine River, in pays de Caux, a few kilometers from Yvetot, it was part of the diocese of Rouen. During the years preceding his departure, Normandy was troubled by religious wars and peasant revolts.
NORMANDY
When our ancestor, Thomas, was born, Normandy had been part of the royal domain for about 200 years. The duchy had been established in 911 by a treaty between Charles the Simple, king of France and Rollo, a Norman chief. For over 500 years, the duchy would be part of the rivalry between France and the Norman Plantagenets, rulers of England. In 1469, Normandy was finally conquered by France. The former duchy now forms 5 departments: Calvados, Orne, Eure, Manche and Seine-Maritime.
ARRIVAL OF OUR ANCESTOR THOMAS
Our ancestor must have arrived at the earliest in 1665. Or at least after 1663 and before 1666. He is not shown in Marcel Trudel's Catalogue des immigrants. This work covers the period 1632 to 1662. Our ancestor, thus, arrived after June 29, 1663 as the first ships from France, in 1663, arrived at Quebec on June 30, 1663. The latest he could have arrived would be with the last ship of 1665 as he is listed in the 1666 census which was taken before the arrival of that season's ships. In 1666, he is listed as an indentured servant in Montreal: Nicolas Chartran, 22 years old, indentured servant of Gilbert Barbier, in Montreal. The following year, 1667, another census is taken. Thomas Charton, 22 years old, is still a servant with Gilbert Barbier.
SETTLING IN NEW FRANCE
On January 29, 1669, in Montreal, Thomas Chartran, son of Louis and of Hermine Queval, takes as his wife Thecle Hunault, daughter of Toussaint and Marie Lorgueil. On January 6th preceding, Thomas and Thecle had passed a marriage contract in front of Basset, notary in Montreal. The Chartrands settled in Longueuil, across the St.Lawrence River, in the seigniory of Charles Lemoyne. They left, however, before 1673, for the island of Montreal. In 1681, Thomas is listed in the census as an shoemaker of Riviere-des-Prairies. He is then 45 years old. Two children were born of his marriage with Thecle Hunault: Thomas, the first, is christened in Montreal on August 28, 1670; this Thomas will wed Marguerite Voyne on November 22, 1694 at Ile Ste-Thérèse, the marriage being registered at Varennes; Thomas (Jr) dies on August 26, 1728 at the Hotel-Dieu Hospital in Montreal and is buried on the 27th, the registers showing that he was a resident of Ile Jesus, now city of Laval. The second child, Toussaint, is christened on April 29, 1673 in Montreal ans is buried on May 7th in Montreal. Thecle Hunault is buried on March 12th, 1674. Five years later, on April 17, 1679, in Montreal, after having had a marriage contract before Maugue, notary in Montreal, on April 3rd, Thomas (the elder) takes, as his second wife, Jeanne Matou, daughter of Philippe and of Marguerite Doucinet. They will have 8 children: Marie-Suzanne, born in 1681, weds Isaac Christin in 1699; Pierre, born in 1684, marries Jeanne Hogue in 1702; Jeanne, born in 1686, weds Paul-Charles Dazé in 1706; Jacques born in 1693, dies in 1694; Joseph marries Marie Chapelain in 1711; Jean-Paul, born in 1698, takes as his wife, Marguerite Corbeil, in 1719; Paul, born in 1703, dies that same year; Marie, born in 1705, weds André Corbeil in 1719. Thomas (Sr) dies on November 1st, 1708 at Riviere-des-Prairies. He would have been 67 years old. Hiw widow, Jeanne Matou, weds René Brien in 1709.
DISPERSAL IN AMERICA
If the majority of Thomas Chartrand's descendants, of his name, live in the Greater Montreal, there are Chartrands in almost all provinces in Canada and many states in the USA. Many descendants are known under a variation of the name: Chartran, Chartrant, Chartrand, Charetan, Charretan, Charten, Chartreau, Chartraw, Chartron, Shartran, Shartrand, Sharten. It seems that the only " dit name " is Labécasse for a number of Chartrands who lived in the Illinois Country between 1750-1800. There were still a number of Chartrands in Illinois in the 20th century. Others lived in Missouri under the Spanish regime up to today. There are Chartrand dit Gagnon and Chartrand dit Daoust, but it would seem that they got their dit name through a second marriage of a Chartrand widow.
6- THE AUTHOR'S ANCESTORS (forthcoming)
7- ATTEMPT OF DESCENDANCY (forthcoming)
8- A FEW CHARTRANDS
Chartrand des Écorres
Joseph-Damase Chartrand had an exceptional life. Born at St-Vincent-de-Paul, on "l'île Jésus",on November 23rd, 1852, he studies at College Laval in his native village and at College Masson, in nearby Terrebonne, where he completes his education in 1868. From 1868 to 1871, he lives in Toronto and in the United States. For a short while, he works for a merchant in Chicago. Shortly after, if my memory serves me well, he goes to Texas where he joins the Texas Rangers under the name of Charles Parker. He becomes a corporal of the Rangers. He also lives in New Orleans. Later, he comes back to Canada. From 1869 to 1871, he completes his military instruction in Montreal. He participates in the Red River Campaign, in Manitoba. Back in Montreal, he takes on the job of accountant for two newspapers, the National and the Bien Public, in 1874. He joins the militia and becomes captain of the 65th Militia Battalion of the Mont-Royal Rifles (Carabiniers Mont-Royal). That same year, he leaves for France where he joins the Foreign Legion. He serves in Algeria. To spend his leisure time, he starts writing. The beginning of his writing career, about 1880. Between 1878 and 1882, he is in campaign with the Legion in Algeria (Sud-Oranais). In 1881, he becomes a French
citizen. From 1882 to 1883, he studies at the French Infantry School at Saint-Maixent. On November 30th, 1883, at Grenade (Haute-Garonne), he marries Ernestine-Jeanne-Marguerite de Latour. In 1885, he is in Vietnam (or Tonkin as the French used to call that area of Indochina) where he is on campaign from Hanoi to Hue. In 1886, he is back in Algeria where he is a lieutenant with the 3rd Zouaves Regiment at Bône (Annaba). From 1886 to 1890, he teaches at the Military School at Saint-Hippolyte-du-Fort (Gard). In 1887, he publishes Expédition autour de ma tente, Boutades militaires. The next year, he publishes Saint-Maixent, Souvenirs d'école militaire. In 1889, follows Étude sommaire sur les cadres de l'infanterie. That same year, he adheres as a member to the Société des Gens de lettres (French Writers' Guild) and in 1890 he receives an honorific diploma from the Royal Society of Canada. In 1890, he becomes a lieutenant with the 161th Infantry Regiment, at Nice. He receives the Cross of the Legion d'Honneur in 1891. In 1892, he transfers to the 27th Battalion of "Chasseurs Alpins" at Menton. That same year, he publishes Étude sommaire sur les écoles militaires préparatoires and Au pays des étapes. Notes d'un légionnaire. In 1894, he is promoted captain with the 7th Battalion of "Chasseurs Alpins" at Nice and Antibes. He takes a leave and comes back to Canada where his family joins him shortly. In Montreal, he is the founder and editor of Revue Canadienne from February 1895 to March 1895. His leave expired, he refuses to go back to France and is destituted from the French army. He gets a post as French teacher at the Royal Military College, in Kingston, in 1897. He wants to be appointed Chief of the Montreal Police Department, a political appointment at the time. He does not get the position. He flirts with the idea of getting elected as mayor of Montreal, another deception. In 1901, he relinquishes his French citenzenship to renew his Canadian one. He was an excellent writer. Poems, essays, articles, travel narratives... Many of his writings were published in a newspaper that his brother had founded in New Bedford, New England. He dies, in Kingston, on April 2, 1905. For many years, his family lived in Ottawa. From his marriage were born two children, a boy, in February 1885, and a girl, in March 1888. His wife and daughter long lived in Ottawa, the daughter calling herself Chartrand de Latour. She died in 1971 at Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue on the Island of Montreal where her brother lived.
(Source:Marcoux-Boivin, Chartrand des Écorres, Éditions Asticou, 1979.)
Ernest Chartrand, an RCMP member of the "S.S. St. Roch" expedition around North America (forthcoming)
Vincent Chartrand, sculptor and painter (forthcoming)
Michel Chartrand, Union leader (forthcoming)
Alain Chartrand, film producer (forthcoming)
Christine Chartrand, popular singer (forthcoming)
Jean-Paul Chartrand, father and son, sports commentator (forthcoming)
Rick Chartraw, hockey player (forthcoming)
Mark Chartrand III, astronomer (forthcoming)
Mgr Joseph Chartrand, Roman Catholic Archbishop of
Cincinnati (forthcoming)
Philippe Chartrand, Olympic athlete (forthcoming)
Jacques Chartrand, vice-président, "Canadian Equities",
Natcan (forthcoming)
Brent Chartrand, "President of NEB & W, Rensselaer Model
Railroad Society" (forthcoming)
Sabra Chartrand, journaliste(??), article dans le
New York Times, March 13,1995 (forthcoming)
9- STATISTICS ON THE CHARTRANDS
Canada -Home Phone Directories on cd-rom, 1996, edition one
Number of Chartrands (and variations) registered on this PRO-CD directory by province and territory in Canada. Out of 12 provinces and territories, Chartrands can be found in 10. The names in bracket are the ones found.
QC 2627 (Chartrad, Chartrain, Chartran, Chartrand)
ON 1065 (Chartran, Chartrand, Chartren)
MB 265 (Chartrand)
BC 117 (Chartrand, Chartren)
AB 115 (Chartrand)
SK 36 (Chartrand)
NS 11 (Chartrand)
NB 9 (Chartrand)
NT 5 (Chartrand)
NF 1 (Chartrand)
TOTAL 4251
USA -HOME PHONE ON CD-ROM, 4TH QUARTER 1994
Number of Chartrands (and variations) registered on this PRO-CD directory, by state. Out of 50 states, Chartrands can be found in 42, from Maine to Hawaii, from Florida to Alaska.
FL 100 (Chartrain, Chartrand, Chartrau, Chartraw, Shartran, Shartrand)
NY 73 (Chartrain, Chartrand, Chartraw, Chartreau, Shartran, Shartrand)
MA 53 (Chartrand, Shartrand)
MI 49 (Chartrand)
CA 36 (Chartrand, Chartraw, Shartrand)
MO 35 (Chartrand, Chartrau)
WI 35 (Chartrand, Chartraw)
IL 26 (Chartrand, Chartrau, Chartraw, Chartron)
WA 26 (Chartrand, Chartraw)
MN 21 (Chartran, Chartrand, Chartraw)
TX 18 (Chartrain, Chartrand)
NH 14 (Chartrain, Chartrand)
AZ 11 (Chartrand, Shartrant)
PA 11 (Chartrand, Chartraw, Chartreau, Chartron)
VT 11 (Chartrand, Shartrand)
CO 10 (Chartrand, Shartran)
MD 8 (Chartrand)
OR 8 (Chartrand, Chartraw)
TN 7 (Chartrand, Chartrau)
NE 6 (Chartrand, Chartrant, Chartraw)
NJ 6 (Chartrain, Chartrand)
OH 6 (Chartrand, Chartrau,Shartran)
IN 5 (Chartrain, Chartrand)
KS 5 (Chartrand, Shartran)
ME 5 (Chartrain, Chartrand)
AL 4 (Chartrand)
VA 4 (Chartrand)
AR 3 (Chartrand)
GA 3 (Chartrand)
HI 3 (Chartrand)
IA 3 (Chartrand)
NV 3 (Chartrand, Chartraw, Shartrand)
RI 3 (Chartrand)
UT 3 (Chartrand)
WV 3 (Chartrand)
AK 2 (Chartrand)
ID 2 (Chartrand)
NC 2 (Chartrand, Chartraw)
SC 2 (Chartrand)
CT 1 (Chartrand)
ND 1 (Chartraw)
SD 1 (Chartrand)
TOTAL 628
Family Tree Maker (Version 3.0) - FamilyFinder Index
About 524 entries under many variations(28):
Chartra, Chartrain, Chartraine, Chartram, Chartran, Chartrand, Chartrano, Chartrant, Chartrar, Chartrau, Chartraud, Chartraw, Chartreau, Chartreaux, Chartren, Chartrend, Chartrin, Chartring, Chartron, Chartrond, Chartruad, Shartram, Shartran, Shartrand, Shartrane, Shartrine, Shartro, Shartton.
THANKS TO REGIS CORBIN WHO HAS GRACIOUSLY OFFERED
TO CARRY ON MY TEXTS UNTIL I GET MY OWN
WEB PAGE. MUCHAS GRACIAS, SENIOR CORBIN
© Robert Chartrand and since March 3rd 2003, Régis Corbin