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What a great surname ! Most "double names" from Québec are more pretenious, often trying to show some bogus connection to the 'rich and famous' of the day. Here we have a "dit name" (means "also known as" name) taken directly from a fond farewell - probably two close friends or family members - where one person told the other "go with an open heart" ("va de bon coeur").
Looking through the phone books for Canada - www.canada411.com - and USA - yahoo.com - I notice the following:
Canada has 298 VADEBONCOEUR surnames - about 85% of them live in Québec, our one francophone (French-speaking) province. The other 15% are divided up fairly evenly (9-11 each) among Ontario, Mantoba, Alberta, and British Columbia - I strongly suspect most of these relocated from Québec at some point in the past.
In the USA I see 152 VADEBONCOEUR surnames, with 50% in 4 states. About 20% live in Mass, another 14% in Rhode Island, 10% in Michigan, with 6% in New Hampshire, and the rest in Illinois, Florida, New York, Texas, Ohio, and Virginia, and a few other states. This tells me these American families probably descend from the Canadian people who migrated south and west. About 1 million Québecois (Quebeckers) moved to teh USA between 1860 and 1960 for economic reasons.
I noted that VOISARD and FONJAMY were mentioned in other postings as "dit" names (meaning "also known as" names). The USA phone listings show 127 VOISARD names, roughly divided along thesame state lines as Vadeboncoeur, while the FONJAMY name is only found in Canada, with 81 listed.
Look up some of the following other info sources:
What is a "dit" name ? Robert Quintin in RI (401-723-6797) published a book of "dit names" in 1993. Cyprien Tanguay was the first to publish such a listing, and his books are available at many of the larger genealogical libraries.
It was the "French" custom to list the wife under her maiden name, but the "French-Americans" soon fell into the "American" habit of having the wife "lose" her surname. In VT, try funeral notices in "The Burlington Press", death certificates or funeral home records. By the mid-1800's, Quebec's English government required that all dual-named Quebeckers drop one of their two names. Many elected to drop their original family surname and retain their "dit" name.
Under Québec's civil law (based on French Civil Law) the woman retains her maiden name instead of her husband's. The 1800's was also the time of considerable migration to the U.S. The U.S border officials required that a dual-named Quebec immigrant drop his first name. A very experienced French-Canadian genealogy researcher has said that it was common in the 19th century for US border officials to record only the last name of an immigrating dual-named Québecois(e). An original "dit name" may have lost the original name upon entry into the USA.
The "dit name" business sometimes got changed around by the parish priest who was one of the few who could write. What he wrote down became law just like the notary. There are a lot of theories about the "dit" names. Use of "dit" names was more common in early Quebec than it was in France.
A lot of French Canadians switched names themselves at the time of the English conquest 1758-1765. A man enlisting in the army had to take a "nom de guerre" which effectively became his "dit" name. The army likely required this for identification purposes. Suppose there were several men with the same given name and surname in the same regiment. Adding a "nom de guerre" would assist in keeping them separated in the records. Some non-soldiers likely took "dit" names for the same purpose - to better identify themselves from others with the same surname. For instance, there were about 8 different Tessier pioneers in old Quebec who were not related to each other. We would have had a genealogical nightmare if most had not elected to take a "dit" name.
Example: All French of New France were in the militia from age 16 to 60 and were obliged to fight as required. French Militia fought along with French troops (Régiment de Sorel) at the battle of Carillon (Ticonderoga) where the British suffered heavy losses. This regiment from the seigneurie of Sorel basically changed their names when the English took the census after the conquest in 1765. So, Benoits fought as Benoits in 1758 and were later counted as Livernois in 1765. Any French Canadian not wanting to be recognized by the new English masters may have pulled the name switch for a while.
Source Documents Online - http://members.xoom.com/srcdocsol/ - is officially opened to genealogists new and experienced by offering TOTALLY FREE access to source documents of every type and description. As of APRIL 2001, over 250 documents available for viewing, with over 133 surnames, including Bernard.
- http://www.genealogy.umontreal.ca/en/default.htm - The University of Montreal has put on-line ALL Catholic acts (births, marriages, deaths) plus other civilian acts (like notary and census) for the period 1608-1799 - a monumental task. Fee = CAN$20ºº (ca. US$13ºº) for max. 30 days access.
The Civil Archives of baptisms and deaths in the district of Montreal are available, but this list is certainly incomplete. One big problem is that until 1878, no parents are listed for children ! You have to check the parish register, and that is a very big task.
The "DETROIT CONNECTION" - The Archdiocese of Detroit, Michigan may be able to help locate parish records for ex-patriate Québecois once they got to USA. Many of the Québec parishes either sent their records to the Burton Library in Detroit, State Library of Michigan, or the Archdiocesan Archives for safekeeping. They may have documentation of confirmations or communions, including names of parishes, for you to work from. They may also tell you where the family parish was in Québec, if the records are complete enough.
ref: Denissen's "French Families of the Detroit River Region"
ref: "Histoire des Canadiens du Michigan et du Comté d'Essex, Ontario", Montreal, 1895 by T. Saint-Pierre, talks of French surnames in Detroit area in the mid-1750's.
It was the "French" custom to list the wife under her maiden name, but the "French-Americans" soon fell into the "American" habit of having the wife "lose" her surname. In VT, try funeral notices in "The Burlington Press", death certificates or funeral home records.
Manchester, NH has the American-Canadian Genealogical Society that focuses on French-Canadians of that area. Go to URL - http://www.acgs.org - Donald Chaput, queries editor for "the American-Canadian Genealogist", journal of the American-Canadian Genealogical Society receives e-mail at - 102475.2260@compuserve - The Society website is - http://www.acgs.org - Look at their Research Services. They charge modest fees for research. Fees are halved if you join the society which is also modestly priced. If you live in New England, visit them because they are the best library for French-Canadian genealogy research.
The American-French Genealogy Society in Woonsocket (in MA, where MA, RI and CT borders come together) is a very good society which focuses on the people of S-E MA and RI. The theme of that museum is "La Survivance", and tells the story of the survival of the French language, religion and culture. They have microfilm copies of all the birth, marriage and death certificates for all of Quebec, as well as some other Canadian provinces. They are an excellent source for genealogical records if you are tracing a Canadian name. Go to - http://www.mtn.org/mgs/branches/nw.html - with LINKS to:
Acadian Cultural Society
American-Canadian Genealogical Society
American French Genealogical Society
Cloud County Kansas Genealogical Society
Father Leo E. Begin Chapter, ACGS
Franco-American Genealogical society of York County Maine
French-Canadian/Acadian Genealogists of Wisconsin
French-Canadian Genealogical Society of Connecticut
French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan
Kankakee Valley Genealogical Society
Northern New York American-Canadian Genealogical Society
(1999: no internet site)
Northwest Territory Canadian & French Heritage Center, MGS
Southern California Genealogical Society-French Canadian
Interest Group
Vermont French-Canadian Genealogical Society
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