IMAGES & HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
IMAGES & HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
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Le Roy, de Carrie and Carron families
Maison Viau
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Viau & Frere Bisquits ~ Charles Theodore Viau
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Coats of Arms
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Note: The following text regarding Coats-of-Arms has been
compiled from a variety of sources including the Library of Congress,
assorted heraldry news groups, and postings from our own members.
There is really no such thing as a "Family coat-of-arms" or a "Family crest"; even in the event that one can trace his or her lineage to a family that was granted such an honor. However, to find an ancestor's Coats of Arms, you would need to know (or find out) who your ancestors are. This may sound silly, but it emphasizes that you are looking for your actual blood ancestors, not just some dead stranger who happens to have the same name.
To use a Coat of Arms one must officially apply for its use only after the correct "differencing" has taken place. There may be an exception when it can be proved that the applicant is a direct male descendant of the original armiger. The mere coincidence of one's surname being the same as a person who was granted arms is no indication of family relationship, nor does it indicate any right to arms.
In the images above, the center emblem is the blason for the Viau family that hails from Nantes, which Jacques Viau Dit L'esperance comes from. The description is as follows and you need it to decipher the code they use to use for colouring in ancient books. (Au chef d'azur, chargé de trois pommes d'or, au chef de gules, chargé de deux croissants d'argent.) Basically it's a red field charged with 3 golden stars, blue field charged with two silver crescents. There is another for the St.Malo branch but we may not have it shown here.
In the United States it is no crime to display arms and related insignia if one wishes. However, it should be understood that such a display is purely decorative.
In Canada, there is an official office of heraldry. The Canadian Heraldic Authority includes:
The Chief Herald of Canada
Saint-Laurent Herald
Athabaska Herald, and the
Fraser Herald
The Canadian Heralds are responsible to the Herald Chancellor and Deputy Herald Chancellor.
Chief Herald of Canada, Rideau Hall, Ottawa can assist you in designing and recording a new coat of arms; there is a substantial fee. Or if you are so inclined you can just design new arms and assume them unofficially -- opinions here will vary as to whether that's "cricket".
The only option is to trot down to your favorite mall and purchase "the arms of your family name" [ain't no such animal] from some guy in a storefront with a computer.
Vieau Trading Post, Milwaukee, C 1830
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Andrew
Jacques Vieau,
Josette
Vieaux Juneau,
Angelique
Vieaux Juneau
Execution of Cordelia Viau
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A movie, a series, and a song described this scandal.
CORDÉLIA: (account given several years ago by a 91 year-old relative that has since died.) Yes, I know about her. She was hung on March 10th 1899 in the back of the prison of Ste-Scholastique in les Basses Laurentides . She had lived in St-Canut and had been accused of having her handyman as a lover and having killed her husband with his help. During the first trial - yes she had two, everything went wrong, from the police officers to the witnesses, and she was condemned. During the second trial, things went worse and they hung her. A journalist had started to get things together, alibis +++ and found out that many documents had disappeared from the files. You have to remember that this happened before 1900 and that peoples' tongs were dirtier than now (if this is at all possible) and that people were always happy to find or invent a lover or a mistress where they did not exist. This story went on tv screen about 5-6 years ago in the series Les Grands Procès and it won the first award for dramatic series. The same story was made as a film, before the series, and papa played (figuration) in it. I thought I had told you about that: when he reported himself at the shooting site, he told the official person there: I did not know you were making a film on my grand-mother's life? and the girl was so shy, did not know what to answer...and papa laughed a lot, finding himself very funny once more!
Note - The following appears to be annotation added after the above account was made:
I know that her husband's name was Isidore Poirier and that her handyman's name was Sam Parslow and also that her lawyer pleaded 5 hours in a row for her when he presented his case. Something else: Pierre Nadeau is the one who made the series LesGrands Procès and he had his office at 1338 Sainte-Catherine est, Montréal.
The following was submitted by the g-g-grandniece of Cordelia
According to my records, Marie-Cordelia Viau Poirier was the sister of my great-great grandfather Stanislaus Viau. Stanislaus was the son of Noel Viau and Emile' Charet. Noel's brother was Felix and their parents were Luc and Amable Viau. It's quite a tragic story. I believe she was the youngest child, and her parents were still living when the execution occured.Stanislaus and Napoleon never spoke of it, according to those relatives that knew them, as this was quite a scandal for the family at the time. I've seen quite a few records, however, that show a few different branches of Viaus marrying with the Poiriers.
Lachine Massacre & Kahnawake
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The article reads: Aug 5, 1967
A band of Iroquois Indians slew 200 settlers and captured 100 more in a surprise pre-dawn raid on the village of Lachine, Que. 278 years ago today in 1689. The hour of the massacre was carefully chosen, each house of the village, near Montreal, being surrounded during a storm. A monument in the cemetery recalls the fate of Lachine which later became an important jumping-off point for the traders heading West.
Vieux Brothers & Parents
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The
photo at top left is of the Vieux brothers who came to the US from France before the Civil
war. Peter, John, and Cassimer served in the Illinois Infantry; John was killed
at Drewry's bluff, VA and Cassimer was discharged due to disabilities shortly
after the war began. We do not have info on Louis. Peter married Leanna Prichard
and settled in Bourbon Co. KS. This information was sent to us by Peter's
great-granddaughter, Mary Graff. Unfortunately we have lost track of Mary and we
would like to re-establish that contact. During our last contact, she appeared
to be at a military base in Japan.
Top Row: Peter - Cassimer. Bottom Row: Louis - Jean.
Shown at right: The parents of the Vieux brothers, Louise Serpille and Louis Vieux Sr.
John P Vieux Land Deed
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It might be
useful to note that this deed is assigned to his heirs "forever". Do
we have any heirs?
Lesperance Family
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This
photo was sent by Darleen Bunker via Laurine Amo. The lady sitting in the second
row is Elizabeth Mosier Lesperance (1852-1937) married
to John Lesperance, (1845-1927). John was the son of Antoine Viau dit
Lesperance born about 1825.
Brown County Register of Viau/Veau Births
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This
Birth register is especially interesting because it shows the contempt for our
native american heritage. It is historically important in that it appears to
document transition in the Viau/Veau/Vieau line. Many of the recorded births are
known to us by different spellings.
History of the Viau dit Lesperance Family
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Clisson Map
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Louis Vieux - Potawatome
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Yott Ancestors ~Jacques Vieau Family Tree
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Louisiana Purchase
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Charles Emile Viau and Celima Grenier
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To the left is a picture of Charles Emile Viau. He died in 1945 of Gangrene & Hardening of the Arteries. In the second photo from the left he is seated beside his wife, Celima Grenier. The child is most probably Delia. If this is true, it would be soon after a fire (or plague) wiped out the couple's three other children. The blue tint photo shows Celima soon after Charles Died. Archie (my father) is in uniform so it was probably when he returned from the war in 1945. My father's sisters are from left, Marie Dorothy, Marie Delena, Marie Dorila (Charlie's Ledoux's mother), and Delia (Annette Constantineau's grandmother). The last picture is of Celima in her later years.
Deerfield Massacre
by Tom Glassel
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There were many factors that contributed to the attack on Deerfield, MA on the
early morning of Feb 29, 1704 (Mar 11 French Gregorian Calender)...Basically, on
the surface it would appear to be a continuation of the age old hatreds of the
English French cultures...
For one thing, on Aug 5, 1689, 1500 Iroquois warriors were ordered by the
English to secretly land on the island of Montreal with the mission to once and
for all erase the French from Canada ...more than 200 French settlers were
tortured and killed, known as the Lachine Massacre...Two years earlier, 1687,
the French had struck the Seneca and Onondaga villages in the Iroquois
homeland...mostly because of disputes over beaver trapping...(Full story in
summer 1988 issue of "Je Me Souviens" published by The American French
Genealogical Society of RI)
The basis of the continued clash between France and England [besides the local
fights over trade goods] became Queen Anne's War in North America, or in Europe
known as the War of the Spanish Seccession, which broke out in 1702. An
agreement of peace was signed between England and France at Ryswick in 1697,
then there was a 5 year temporary lull in the fighting in the New World. The big
concern was that Charles II of Spain would soon die without an heir, which he
did in 1700...And the fate of the lands of the Spanish Empire was unsettled.
Richard I. Melvoin in his book "New England Outpost, War and Society in
Colonial Deerfield" 1989, W.W. Norton & Co., New York- London provides
368 pages of well documented details of the entire background of the factors
leading up to the Deerfield Massacre...From his book, here are some of the basic
details:
Louis XIV of France and William of Orange of England had been working out a plan
to split the spoils of the Spanish Empire. But a surprise announcement was made
that Charles had a secret will, wherein all the Spanish Empire was left to
Louis' grandson Duc d'Anjou. If he did not take it, it would go to the Hapsburg
Emperor...Louis took the Spanish Lands at the risk of war with England, which
was bound to happen. War came in 1702 when England formed the Grand Alliance
composed of Holland, Rome, Brandenburg, Portugal and Savoy.
The English started to make trade agreements with the Abenaki in 1699, and MA
Gov. Joseph Dudley made agreements with the Indians at Casco Bay, Maine in
1702/03...The Marquis de Vaudreuil, the new Gov. General of New France (in
Canada since 1680s) knew the importance of keeping the Abenaki in the French
camp. Within 6 weeks, the French inspired Indians attacked the Maine towns of
Wells and Saco..in July/Aug 1703...the Queen Anne War had begun. Deerfield, in
western MA took heed and started to improve her defenses, in place since 1689 at
the start of King Williams War.
Deerfield went on the alert and 20 garrison soldiers arrived to help protect the
village. The French and Indian attack force came down from Montreal on frozen
Lake Champlain, a distance of 300 miles, and were in
position on Feb. 28, 1704, 2 miles outside the walls, watching for their chance
to attack. They were led by Sieur Hertel de Rouville, son of Francois Hertel, a
famous military hero who led earlier attacks at Salmon Falls, NH in 1690.
Deerfield had 291 inhabitants (including the 20 soldiers). 3/4 lived in
makeshift homes outside the 10-foot walls of the fort, but at night all came
into the fort to crowd into 10 or 12 houses behind the walls. The French-Indian
force of 200-300 had no trouble getting into the fort early 29 Feb 1704, as the
snow was banked so high several soldiers just crawled over the wall and opened
the main door...There was a 3-hour battle, during which the town was set afire.
By 9:00 a.m. the French forces were well on their way back to Montreal, with 109
Captives who would be used for ransom, trade or marriage...133 remained alive in
Deerfield. 44 residents were killed plus 5 of the garrison soldiers, and 7 from
Hadley and Hatfield who came to help out...a total of 56...the French were
reported to have lost over 40...
I, like many others with French-Canadian ancestry, descend from the captives
taken. My captive ancestress was Elizabeth Corse, 8 years old...Her mother
Elizabeth, wife of deceased James Corse, was killed on the way to Montreal. Her
grandfather, John Catlin and grandmother Mary Baldwin Catlin were killed in the
village. Elizabeth's 5 cousins, Martha, Freedom, and Abigal French and their 2
brothers were all taken to Montreal...the 2 brothers returned to Deerfield, the
girls did not. Elizabeth, Martha, and Freedom married Frenchmen at age 16, but
Abigail became an Indian in all respects in speech, custom, and dress and never
married...
For fascinating accounts and lists of captives taken, see these 2 books:
"True Stories of New England Captives: Carried to Canada during the Old
French and Indian Wars, by C. Alice Baker, 1897, and "New England
Captives Carried to Canada between 1677 and 1760, During the French and
Indian Wars," by Emma Lewis Coleman, 1925. Fairly old books, but they
are available in many libraries.
For more info on the Deerfield Massacre, refer to http://www.historic-deerfield.org/
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