|
| |
|
|
|
In about 1652, Nicolas Godbout sailed the ocean blue... |
|
|
Written by NEIL GODBOUT
Citizen news editor
|
|
Thursday, 17 July 2008 |
Related Items
PEACE RIVERNEIL GODBOUT
We have never met, but she knows more about me and my extended family than anyone in the world. Fortunately, she shares her knowledge on a website called The Godbouts and More.
Here is what I found out from it:
My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather, Michel Godbout, was born in Normandy in about 1573.
His son, Michel, was born in 1605 in Dieppe.
One of his eight children, Nicolas, was born in 1635, also in Dieppe. Nicolas came to Quebec sometime in the 1650s and had five children with his wife, Marie, also a recent arrival from France.
Joseph, the youngest, was born in 1672, in a village on Ile d’Orleans, the island in the St. Lawrence near Quebec City.
All 11 of Joseph’s children, including Jean in 1708, was born on the island.
Jean’s son, named after his father, was born in 1744.
Jean Charles arrived in 1773.
The third Jean was born in 1801.
The fourth of Jean’s seven children, Anselme Celestin, was born on July 20, 1833 in Bellechasse. My great-great-great grandfather sired nine children in 20 years with his first wife, Philomene, before the exhausted woman died in 1881. Anselme would outlive two more wives and married for the fourth and last time when he was 70, two years before he died.
Anselme’s oldest son, Jean, was born on Nov. 17, 1858.
Jean’s oldest son, Anathaleas, was born on March 18, 1881. My great-grandfather died on his 84th birthday, three years before I was born. He fathered 13 children including Joseph, my dad’s dad, who was born Feb. 4, 1910. I don’t remember him because he died when I was three years old.
Joseph left Quebec and married my grandmother Laura in Mattice, Ontario, in July 1936. Seven of their eight children, including my dad, Andy (Andre but nobody called him that except for his mother and she died nine years ago) were born in communities in northwestern Ontario.
My dad doesn’t remember Nakina where he was born. The family headed to northern Alberta shortly after his birth in 1946, settling in Jean Cote, one of those French-speaking farming villages south of Peace River.
I was born in High Prairie, part of the 11th generation of Godbouts to be born in Canada.
Cindy’s website even has my wedding date with Shelley and the birthday for my daughter Claire.
My parents, currently on a cross-Canada excursion in a camperized van, made several stops in small Quebec towns so dad could hook up with old cousins, aunts and uncles. My exasperated mom complained in an email that it seemed Dad was related to half of Quebec. One of her emails included a picture of Dad standing next to the statue of Joseph-Adelard Godbout, which stands in Quebec City to honour the wartime premier. He was a distant cousin. They also sent Claire a postcard from Godbout, Quebec, a little town on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.
Interest in genealogy runs through both sides of the family. My mom’s dad and my last remaining grandparent, Henri (that’s Henry for you anglos), has a well-read book detailing the historical background of the Brulottes.
On one occasion about 15 years ago, my sister Karen showed up to a family function with her boyfriend Scott. Henry started quizzing him out about his family background and then asked what his mother’s maiden name was. Suddenly, the Brulotte book was out. Turns out Karen was dating her fourth cousin or something crazy like that.
There’s no escaping family.
Cindy’s devotion to her work showed me that’s not always a bad thing.
-- Neil Godbout is The Citizen's news editor.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 240 guests and 17 members online
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
